Tiergarten

Guten Tag!
Or rather ooof!  I am tired having walked a lot in and around the titular Tiergarten.  Regular readers of this blog are aware of my passionate fondness for woodland walks.  Berlin offers the visitor an unparalleled opportunity--right in the center of the city!
But first I need to recruit my forces with some tea, an egg, and bread and butter.  I'll have apero later.
Tiergarten translates to animal park, and the area used to be the hunting grounds of the Hohenzollern and their pals.  It was transformed into a urban park in the eighteenth century, and it is one of the largest city parks in the world.  I barely scratched the surface.
Fortunately I was back to being binocular today, and the weather was very pleasant--clear, but cool.  I set off via U bahn pausing only to buy some postcards.  It pays to comparison shop!  Some places were charging double the price I paid.
I got off at Zoological Garten, but I had to walk around the zoo to get to the park.  Now when I say park, I do not mean manicured lawns, etc.  This is old growth woodland, carefully managed to be sure and with well maintained paths, but I had entered the green world that I craved.
As it is Saturday, I shared the paths with joggers, bikers, and folks walking their dogs.  The S bahn or suburban train runs right by the park, and it is also bisected by a very wide, busy street, so one does not escape the traffic noise.  Nevertheless, my time there was pleasant and renewing.
I came to one edge of the park where I encountered a monument called the Siegessaule, which honors the victories of Bismarck.  After snapping a photo I turned back to the green.
Apparently being among trees is therapeutic.  The Japanese have a practice called "forest bathing," which Europeans are beginning to adopt.  It does not usually involve actual baths, but rather immersing oneself in nature.  This is not something I can easily achieve at home.
I was not in a hurry.  I strolled along streams and by lakes.  I said hi to some ducks.  Tiergarten is a genuine nature reserve, but most of the creatures do not come out in the daytime when people use the park.
I do not know a lot about trees.  I can recognize oak, but I can't tell you what kind it is.  I saw a lot of beech trees and some conifers--pine I'm guessing.  It was too late for the Rhododendrons, and few wild flowers appeared as the tall trees blocked the light unless it was at the edge of a lake.
I walked a long time, and I got tired.  I made my way out of the park, but I did not exit where I entered.  I had only a vague idea of where I was.  I saw an S bahn station, but after consulting my map, I decided to carry on to a U bahn (Ernst Rueter Platz) stop on the line home.  In the distance I spotted a jetting fountain.  Aha.  Often fountains = platzes.  And so it proved.
My feet tell me that they are glad to be home.
Dinner is some pasta washed down with weissbier. It is satisfying.