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Published: April 8th 2010
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I woke up early this morning! Yea! Finally getting with the program and I leave tomorrow. I had a lazy morning, then I took a taxi to the area where I planned to join a walking tour. I was early enough to find where I was supposed to be, do some window shopping and have a coffee at an outdoor café. It was a gorgeous day and I got rid of my coat.
I am so impressed by how pet friendly Europe is. I saw so many people with their dogs and they are welcome in the stores, the outdoor cafes and the trains.
I saw a cab driver doing push-ups on his cab while waiting for someone to hire him.
I was approached by several people trying to sell me things, get money or cigarettes. It was kind of funny to me to see that some of the people tried to repeat themselves slowly, in German. I learned to say “nein”.
I saw people having a quick beer on the street, that seemed to be fairy common but it just looked strange to me.
Personal space is not so much an issue here as it
is at home. People don’t seem to have the same personal boundaries that we do. A group of men were walking down the street and I was leaning up against a post waiting on my tour and the man knocked in to me so hard I thought I might fall. I didn’t, but his laptop bag really slammed in to my stomach. I need to stay out of the way a little better and not make assumptions.
I took a City Walks Tour and it was excellent. I have been reading about these for a while and they are exactly as advertised. They have them everywhere, this just happens to be the first time I have been able to make it work. The tour was four hours and covered everything I wanted to see and was reasonably priced.
Our guide was a native German who lived through the East/West Berlin period. He told personal stories of what it was like growing up in a divided Berlin and what it was like after the wall came down.
We started out with the history of Berlin back to the beginning of time. Berlin means “little swamp”; the city is built
literally on a swamp. All of the souvenir shops have things with bears in them; Berlin’s first industry was selling Russian black bear skins to western Europeans. Our guide covered everything from the Prussian Imperial family to the Nazi regime, the Cold War and today. It was very interesting.
We spent the entire day inside the boundaries of what used to be East Berlin.
We saw where Hitler’s bunker was and where he committed suicide along with sites of the SS and Gestapo headquarters.
We saw the Memorial to the Murdered Jews which was beautiful and has an interesting story behind the artists interpretation of it.
We saw Humboldt University, where Albert Einstein taught and the Brothers Grimm attended.
We saw Bebelplatz, the place of the Nazi book burnings, very interesting. There is an underground memorial on this site that is open to the street. It is a square room filled with white book cases around the perimeter and the shelves are empty. The Nazi’s were opposed to anything that didn’t support their philosophies so they burned every single book in the library that didn’t.
We saw Museum Island which is home to the
original collection of the Prussian King. Today, there are five museums on the island and according to our guide, if you spent two minutes looking at each work available today, it would take you two years to see everything.
We spent some time in an underground station that was original to the 1920’s. When the wall went up, the Soviets poured concrete into the station, sealing it until the wall came down. It was fully functional but totally inaccessible for 31 years.
We saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Deathstrip outside the wall, the Nazi Air Ministry, the Reichstag (parliament), the Palace Square, Red Town Hall, the Russian Embassy, the Soviet TV Tower, the Berlin Cathedral, the Tiergarten.
We ended up the tour at the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie, both very amazing to see in person. Checkpoint Charlie is no longer in existence, they are building something in its place but there are replicas of the post and signs along with a museum.
It was a full day but fascinating. I am back in my hotel after having dinner, and tomorrows plans include a couple of museums and shopping before I head to Frankfurt.
I
feel like after having gotten off to a rocky start with Berlin, it has all ended well. The German people are gracious, kind and helpful. The city is just beautiful and it is Spring here! My windows are open, my hotel is quiet and life is good!
-more to come
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Eric
non-member comment
I really enjoyed your Berlin post. I have always wanted to go there. My blog is looking for travel photos, travel stories, hostel reviews, and food reviews. If you have any to share email us at dirtyhippiesblog@gmail.com, or check us at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com Continued fun on your travels, Eric