A Quick Visit to West Berlin

The first time I went to Berlin I stayed in the part of the city that was the former West Berlin.  Since then, I have always stayed in what would have been East Berlin and usually near Hackescher Markt as it is more centrally located to most of the major sights in the city.  However, we did want to visit the western side, particularly to see the Kaiser Wilhelm Kirche, Kurfurtendamm aka Ku'damm (the famous shopping street in Berlin often likened to Paris' Champs des Elysees) and pay a visit to Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe,) the famous department that is somewhat like Harrods.  Thankfully, getting around in this city is very easy be it with S-bahn, U-bahn, buses or Uber.  So, the #100 bus (recommended from Alexanderplatz to Zoolischer Garten) passes by most of Berlin's major historical sites.  

Our visit to West Berlin started with a stop at the Kaiser Wilhelm Church which was bombed during the war.  A new modern church has been built beside it.  Both are worth seeing.

The two nails forming the cross are from Coventry Cathedral
which received two nails from this church in exchange.
Both churches were severely bombed during the war.

There was a Christmas market around the two churches.  This was the market which was attacked on December 19, 2016.  A truck was deliberately driven into the Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, leaving 12 people dead and 56 others injured.  There is now a memorial on the steps leading to the churches.  

The Christmas market here had some products that we hadn't seen before and there was also a Kathe Wollfarht store which always sells beautiful Christmas and other seasonal decorations and ornaments.

As my back was bothering me, I didn't continue on to KaDeWe although my sister and my friends did.  The following are photos from the store - very impressive - and of the pretty decorations along Ku'damm later that afternoon.  This was to be our second to last day in Berlin.