Brandenburg Gate and area

 One of our stops was the Brandenburg Gate. The gate is the monumental entry to the boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. After the 1806 Prussians were defeated, Napoleon was the first to use the Brandenburg Gate for a triumphal procession and took its Quadriga to Paris. Reagan stood in front of the gate and said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall..."

A short walk down the street leads to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The 5 acre site makes for a very powerful visual monument.

There are 2700 concrete slabs or stelae. According to the architect's project text, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.

The ground is uneven inside the area and all the slabs have different angles

 

It does produce a strange feeling as you are walking through the stones.

 

And yes - there is a dunkin donuts right by the Brandenburg Gate.