Berlin
Ron Rutter
We welcomed Ron Rutter to Stonecross Manor as speaker on 11th August. He took us on a photographic journey through Berlin, pointing out interesting and historical sites not to be missed; the wide majestic Kurfurstendamm with its independent shops, the Tiergarten, Victory Column, the Brandedburger Tor, the Reichstag building which was damaged during WW2 and now has a modern, moving dome. Ron told us that Berliners had taken away much of the stone from the damaged part of the building but most of it was returned when plans to reuse it in the rebuild were announced, with a plea for the whereabouts of the missing masonry.
The city has three cathedrals and an impressive railway station building and a very straight canal waterway.
On one of his visits Ron saw the Angela Merkel / Vladimir Putin motorcade pass by: Mrs Merkel is a fluent Russian speaker, having been brought up in East Berlin. It must have made for an interesting meeting.
Also in Ron’s photographic tour were Alexander Platz with its impressive 3D representation of the Universe, a remnant of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the bluntly described Stasi HQ museum and the Olympic Stadium.
