Berlin Marathon Sep. 27, 2015 - No Limits by Bob Welbaum

The symbol of the city of Berlin is the bear. I saw these everywhere.

The city was built on marshy land, so much of the infrastructure is above ground. There once was a color code for pipes, but it is no longer followed, so It’s not a good idea to sample any leakage.

Berlin is famous for its street art. Here is one example.

You may have heard of Checkpoint Charlie, the crossing from West Berlin to East Berlin and the site of several Cold War confrontations. Today it’s a tourist trap.

Chilling photo from the Nazi era on display at the Topography of Terror Museum.

One of the unsung heroes was Otto Weidt, who set up a workshop to make brooms and brushes. He employed Jews with special needs and did everything to keep them safe, including hiding them in a secret room. From the Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is a maze of 2700 concrete stelae that can be entered at any point (left). But the further you go, the higher they get until you feel overwhelmed (right). The effect can be downright claustrophobic.

Of course, all the Nazi buildings have been destroyed. But here the outline has been preserved. The lettering on the far section says “On this site were the cells of the House Prison at Gestapo Headquarters.”

What is it like to live in a dictatorship? Here is a series of surveillance photos of ordinary mailboxes in the former East Germany. They were on display in the Stasi (East German secret police) Museum. By the way, you don’t want to see the “shot while trying to escape” photo collection.

An emergency light embedded with a listening device on display in the Stasi Museum.

The former location of the Berlin Wall is marked by a double row of bricks running through the city.