Ich bin ein Berliner ...

I bet John F. Kennedy didn't know, that the word "Berliner" does not only refer to the citizens of Berlin, when he said those famous words in front of the Berlin Wall. But in certain parts of Germany "Berliner" is also used to describe a sweet dessert. I will be in Berlin for a few days before school starts again, so it was easy to find a topic for this weeks Thursday Thirteen:

BERLIN

1. Basic facts: Berlin has been the capital for the reunited Germany since 1990. It has about 3,3 million citizens, covers an area of 900 km² and is parted in 12 districts. The river that goes right through the city is called Spree.

2. The official coat of arms looks like this:

3. The bear is a big theme in Berlin. in 2001 some artists started the exhibition "Buddy Bears". They made 350 bear statues and painted them colorful. Each bear representing one country in the world. This was so succesful, that by now there 1400 bears all over the world as a sign of piece and friendship and as representatives for the German capital. They look like this:

4. Berlin is also home to famous architecture like the Brandenburg Gate

5. Berlin has lots of great museums. The most renowned are on "Museuminsel". There you can visit the Bust of queen Nefertiti in the Neues Museum:

6. This is what some parts of Germany call a "Berliner". It's like a fluffy Donut, coated with sugar and filled with jam. They are very popular, especially in January and February as a typical food for carnival parties.

7. Berlin is also home to the government buildings. The citizens call the chancellery "Waschmaschine" - washing machine - because of the big round glass front:

8. The Alexanderplatz in the eastern part of town, with the highest building, the TV-tower.

9. Also on Alexanderplatz, you can find the "Weltzeituhr". It's a huge clock, that shows the time all around the world in the different timezones.

10. One of the most famous bands from Berlin "Seeed". Their No1-Hit-Song was about Berlin:


11. The Berlin Wall separated the city for 30 years. In some streets the houses were just parted in the middle. Today there are only a few cement blocks left as a monument. But you can find pieces of the Wall in almost every German city.

12. Of course JFK is a big part of Berlin's history:

13. And finally me and my students on last year's school trip to Berlin:

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