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Shani Davis Wins Second Straight World Cup Race in Berlin

Olympic gold medalist speedskater Shani Davis continues his strong start to the season and struck double gold on the final day of the latest World Cup speed skating event.

Davis won the 1000 meters at Sunday's race at Berlin, his 11th straight World Cup 1000M victory. And after winning 1000M gold, Davis helped the USA win Sunday's team pursuit race. Davis has not lost a 1,000-meter World Cup race since Jan. 25, 2009 in Russia after cut his leg with his blade.

At the 2006 Turin Winter Games, Shani Davis speedskated to history as the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games. The 28-year-old Chicagoan won the 1000m gold at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics and the 1500M silver at the 2010 Olympics.

WATCH: CNN Surveys Gay Rights in South Africa, Kenya, Cuba, Britain

CNN does a short but informative survey on the status of gay rights around the world, visiting Havana, Johannesburg, Berlin, London, Delhi and Nairobi.

David Kuria of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya says there is some progress in his nation but "arrests of gays happens every day. Successful prosecutions are rate though. People are frightened but there are able to have some support in their community. Outside there is still much hostility, though."

At AIDS 2010 in Vienna we interviewed a number of African LGBT/HIV activists, including several Kenyans. Most were hopeful about progress made in Kenya. Watch the clip WHEN YOU JUMP ...

Jetlagged

Running late and should be up by noonish. Trying to get readjusted to sleeping and time back in the States. Thankfully it's not as difficult as the crossing to Europe. And I'll be doing it again soon, oy.

Thanks a million to everyone who sent good wishes, positive vibes, comments and great support on my assignment to AIDS 2010 in Vienna, as well as my time in Austria, Germany and Denmark. A big virtual (albeit sleepy) hug.

Berlin: The Fernsehturm

One of the highlights of the trip to Berlin was ascending the city's Fernsehturm, which is German for "television tower." The iconic tower is situated in Alexanderplatz and dominates the city's central and eastern skyline. The tower was built in the mid 1960s as a symbol of communist superiority in the former DDR. It's an archetype of the massive, modernist Eastern Bloc architecture of that period.

Berliner Fernsehturm is 268m or 1207 ft and the fourth tallest freestanding structure in Europe. It offers a 360 degree view of Berln and visibility up to 26 miles.

My ticket number is 2302 ...

About 90 minutes wait. Time to watch the homoerotic breakdancing crew just a few feet outside. More images and the view from above AFTER THE JUMP ...

PHOTOS: Homoerotic Breakdancing at Berlin's Fernsehturm

Spotted at the base of Berlin's iconic Fernsehturm: Six young men in their late teen and early twenties performed an incredibly athletic and over-the-top homoerotic breakdancing routine.

The leader was 19-year-old Dhan, from Ghana. Dhan has SKILLS and is ....

 

Probably the most flexible man you will ever see.

Ever.

More: Dhan wraps himself around Pyotr, from the Ukraine.

 

 

Two of the other guys roll up their t-shirts, flash their abs and perform a hump dance, those images AFTER THE JUMP ...

Berlin: Potsdamer Platz, U-Bahn and Alexanderplatz

When arriving in a new city, the first thing I usually try to do is learn the streets and the transit system. While in Berlin, I'm staying in "Mitte", the middle of the city, and the hotel is only two blocks down the Stresemann Strasse from the famous Potsdamer Platz. It's a transit hub for the S-Bahn and U-Bahn and steps to the Brandenburg Gate and the Unter den Linden.

I've you been following me on Facebook or Twitter, you've probably seen that I've learned to navigate the transit system in Berlin. Some snaps from my trip to Alexanderplatz.

One of several 3-D advertising billboards around the square.

Looking to the east. Alexanderplatz and the iconic Fernsehturm (television tower) is in the background. This is where I'm headed.

The post-modernist train station.This used to be the no-man's land between East and West. In the background, the high-rise developments straddle the route of the former Berlin Wall.

Sort of like New York City's Time Square. Oh and I'm going the wrong way, I'm looking for the U2. More adventures underground and at Alexanderplatz AFTER THE JUMP ...

Berlin Day 2: Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

The hotel in Berlin is on the Stresemann Strasse and about two blocks from the controversial Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, sometimes referred to as the Holocaust Memorial. The memorial is on a 19,000 square meter (4.7 acre) site that is covered with 2,711 concrete slabs. There is one slab or "stelae" for each page of the Talmud. They are arranged in a grid pattern across a sloping field.

The idea is to feel vertigo or discomfort when viewing the stelae. It's a very uneasy feeling.

It's a very haunting memorial, but one of many in Berlin. Throughout the city are reminders of the war and the Nazi period. At times just walking down the street it can be quite eerie or surrealistic.

Berlin Day One: The Former Wall

BERLIN: My hotel in Berlin is right off Potsdamer Platz on the Stresemann Strasse. This formerly was the dividing line between East and West. The brick on the sidewalk and streets throughout Berlin marks the route of the former Berlin Wall.

PHOTOS: Berlin Travel Diary

BERLIN: A few images from our trip from Vienna, Austria to Berlin, Germany. It began Friday late morning at Vienna International Airport (VIE) on Air Berlin Flight 8269 to Berlin Tegel (TXL). 

Our tags from Vienna and Dusseldorf ...

 

The airport itself is fairly manageable. The Air Berlin terminal is separate from the main terminal at VIE. 

I'm in the C Concourse.

Minor drama. Delay and gate change.

Definitely not going to Slovenia. More images WHEN YOU JUMP...

Wilkommen in Berlin

The ticket stub from Berlin-Tegel to the Hauptbanhof on the TXL express. After a dynamic but exhausting eight days in Vienna, arrived in Berlin for a few days of R&R. It's raining here and I'm about to get some much-needed rest. Will (try to) post tomorrow.