Last night was a quiet one for us. Because we stayed out in the morning/early afternoon longer, we were stuck in our room working late into the night. We took a break for dinner but that was about it. Today we made our way to Museum Island to check out the antiquities at the Neues Museum. Afterward we tried to go for a hot air balloon ride but couldn’t because of the high winds. Instead, we visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, saw more of the Berlin Wall and met up for lunch with our new friend Michael.

The Neues Museum was pretty spectacular. I love seeing antiquities up close and the the Neues Museum has a lot to offer. Their main attraction, a bust of Egyptian queen Nefertiti, was really fantastic to see in person but all of the Egyptian and Roman artifacts on display were stunning. Next, visited the Berliner Dom and then made our way to the center of town for a hot air balloon ride but the balloon was grounded today due to high winds. Instead, we visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum which stands at the part where East and West Berlin were divided at the old US Army Checkpoint:

The Checkpoint Charlie Museum is really a fantastic visit, I highly recommend it. Seeing artifacts from the time when Berlin was divided in half was really moving. So many people lost their lives trying to scale the Berlin Wall but it was very happy to learn of the people who were successful in fleeing Communist East Berlin.

For lunch, we met with a new friend Michael (an American living here in Berlin) in Mitte and then came back to our place to work. Tonight, we are planning to meet up with some other friends for Mardi Gras celebrating, Berlin style. It should be a blast!! Happy Fat Tuesday, Happy Mardi Gras and Happy International Women’s Day!