Hodgepodge

The Brandenburg Gate - Symbol of German Unification

This former city gate is one of the main symbols of Berlin. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which Berlin was once entered. The gate leads to Unter den Linden (Under the Trees?), a street of linden trees which at one point led to the Palace of the Prussian monarchs. The gate was commission by the Prussian King Frederick William II and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans between 1788 and 1791. (It was recently restored between 2000 and 2002)











To the left is the "German Church".

Immediately across the square and Gendarmenmarkt is the French Church, and in the center is the Operahouse.














French Church
This was built for the Huguenot (Calvinist) population in Berlin








A sign just outside of the Church read :
"Open Church"
Oxymoron much?














The Operahouse in the Center of the Square

















The Russian Embassy--complete with hammer and sickle























Douglas and I-- Unter den Linden
(I'm actually not sure that this is part of the path, but we are under trees...)