View from the Water

We've taken boat tours in some other cities (Hamburg, Amsterdam, etc) and found them fascinating and enjoyable. So, with the weather exceptionally nice on Sunday, we decided to try a 3 1/4 hour tour that started not too far from where we live at the Schlossbruecke. We rode our bikes there and were on the boat a little early. But soon our trip started.

Power plant

A narrator explained what we saw in both German and English (though we found that they often left out the interesting bits in the English version). The boat took us first along the river Spree going east for a fairly long distance. We saw old industrial buildings, such as the power plant in Charlottenburg above. And we went right by many of the museums on the Museumsinsel. Here's one of them with the Funkturm in the background.

Museum and Funkturm 

By then, we had moved downstairs to the covered area both to avoid sunburn and to be able to hear the narration. Regrettably, most of the photos have some glare - but you get the idea.

After the museums, we went by the government buildings. It's always interesting how different everything looks from the water.

For the kids, the highpoints of the ride were the locks. The boat entered the lock, was tied up, and was quickly lifted 30 feet. I was surprised how fast we were back out of the lock. If I remember correctly, we went through 3 locks, two that lifted us and 1 that brought us back down.

Entering the Lock

Another highpoint was the German Museum of Technology. They show off one of the airplanes that was used to supply Berlin during the blockade.  The Soviet Union blocked access by road, railway, or canal and the allied forces flew over 200,000 flights in one year - up to 8, 893 tons of necessities each day. The blockade ended in May 1949. Wow!

German Museum of Technology

By the time we were at the museum, we were actually no longer on the Spree but on the Landwehrkanal, one of the canals that link the different waterways around Berlin. Everything was green and lush, and half the time you could only catch a glimpse of the sights that the announcer was talking about.

On the Landwehrkanal

But really, that was fine with us. After 2 1/2 hours, we were getting a little drowsy and a little hungry. The boat actually included a restaurant, and the food looked to be decent quality if a bit on the expensive side. So we enjoyed the green views and were also happy to return to our starting point at the Schlossbruecke in Charlottenburg. We hopped on our bikes, quickly found a very fine (and cheap) Vietnamese fusion restaurant, and dined on sushi and red curry. Thus fortified, we went on to Mauerpark to spend the rest of the day with friends. But Mauerpark and the Berlin Wall is a different story.