Berlin　柏林之旅 1

Hello and welcome to discover Germany. Today we are in the German capital---- Berlin. But I imagine you'd already realized that because we've arranged to meet today's guests in front of one of Berlin's most famous sites, the Brandenburg Gate. Joining me this time are Margits and Tsi Jants Burma from Leipzig. We've put together a really great holiday program for them here in the capital, using the suggestions you send us. So let's get started on our tour of central Berlin as quickly as possible. But first of all we are going to meet our 2 guests. Let's do it.

Alexander Mater has to search for a while before he finds his guests among all the other visitors and the street artists, because the Brandenburg Gate is a real magnet for tourists.

Hello, Margits. Hello, Jants.

(not English)

What kind of weather did you bring along with you?

It's nice winter weather in spring. So what, it makes for a change.

Before we get started I've been wondering why you decided to apply for this particular trip because as I understand it you two have actually lived in Berlin yourselves for a while, haven't you?

We were students in Berlin for a while in the mid 1980s and that was really wild. Berlin's always worth a trip.

Well we are going to start the trip in two velo taxies which have become a very typical means of transport in Berlin in recent years. They are standing over there, light blue.

Margits is a teacher and Jants works in market research, together they want to discover some new aspects of the town they once studied in. And velo taxi is ideal for that, a very individual way of going sightseeing and a real alternative to a bus tour.

Our velo Taxi chauffeurs Gostoval Potentsial and Hasson Margy also double as guides. The covered rickshaws already afford some protection against the wintry weather but in addition Gostoval and Hasson tuck in their guests with a thick warm blanket before setting off on a bike tour through Berlin's government district.

So this is something special, isn't it?

Their first stop is the Reichstag. It is not only the seat of the Bundestag, the German parliament, but also a favorite among Berlin's sightseers. Long queues of visitors form here, whatever the weather. So you just have to wait your turn.

After the wall came down in 1989, the two halves of Berlin quickly grew together to become an international metropolis.

These days only a few remnants of the wall between east and west are left standing. One of them is in the Wall Museum here in Bernauerstrasse.

The Gendarmen Markt on the other hand is renowned for its classical architecture. Together with the Schauspielhaus, the German and the French Cathedrals form an impressive ensemble of buildings. The German Cathedral remained a ruin for almost 40 years after World War Two until the church was renovated at last and turned into a museum.

------------------------

chauffeur: n. 司機

double as: v. 兼飾兩角

rickshaw: n. 人力車

metropolis: n. 大城市

ensemble: n. 集合,全體