Berlin
After a fifty-year lull, Berlin is back – back as
the capital of a reunified Germany and back as one of
Europe’s greatest cities. After World War II, Berlin
was a crippled pawn, sandwiched between East and West,
with a literal and metaphoric wall deeply dividing the
two halves. The northeastern German city even suffered
the ignominy of losing its capital status, as the West
German government fled to Bonn. Today, the Cold War and
the iconic events of November 1989, which saw the Berlin
Wall torn to pieces by those whom it had oppressed for
so long, are starting to seem like a distant memory and
all the talk in Berlin is of the future. |
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Chicago's Bronze Lions
The Art Institute of Chicago's famous western entrance
on Michigan Avenue is guarded by two 10-foot-tall bronze
lions created by Edward L. Kemeys. These lions are probably
the most well-known, and photographed in the world.Born
in Savannah, Georgia in 1843, Kemeys was America's first
specialist in animal sculpture. Having first become interested
in animals while employed in the construction of New York
City's Central Park, Kemeys went on to study animals and
exhibit his sculptures around the world finally creating
the bronze lions for the Art Institute of Chicago's opening
in 1893. |
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Downtown Chicago
Chicago is an enormous city and it would take months to
see all that it has to offer. Fortunately, there is enough
to do in the downtown district that you may never even
need to see anything else in the city. Be advised that
Chicagoans do not refer to the city center as "Downtown".
The area has been known as "the Loop" for several
decades. When the city built the first elevated train
tracks, the central commercial district was far too dense
to allow for easy construction with the area, so a large
circle of track was constructed around the tall buildings
and narrow streets. The "Loop" has now outgrown
the circle of track, but the name stuck. |
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