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Published: March 17th 2011
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Sunday 13 March 2011
Ida (our host) insisted on getting up to see us off at 6.30 and providing us with a packed breakfast. We were glad though, once we got to the airport and found there was little on offer anywhere within spitting distance of our gate! We arrived in Berlin with enough time to have a bit of an explore. (Thanks to Rick Steves for his excellent self-guided walks!)
Culturally, Berlin seems to have so much to offer that you could spend any number of weeks here. Sadly, we only had one afternoon! As we were staying in the old East Berlin, we decided to just spend our time wandering around the immediate area. Within easy walk of our hotel are remnants of imperialist, National Socialist and Communist Germany. In many ways, the Brandenburg Gate reflects this. Built in 1791, it was one of 14 gates in Berlin's old city wall, it's grandeur symbolising Prussian Berlin. On top there is a statue of the Goddess of Peace in her chariot. Napoleon took it to Paris after he defeated the Prussians in 1806. The Prussians won it back again in 1813 and renamed her the Goddess of Victory. Later,
The Reichstag building
Inaugurated in the 1890s, the Nazis made their last stand here at the end of WWII - now home to Germany's lower house of parliament. the Nazis used the Gate as a symbolic backdrop for rallies and parades. After the division of Berlin, the Russians made it part of the Berlin Wall.
In so many areas there are fabulous information displays. It's hard to tell because we were in the old East Berlin, but there seemed to be more emphasis on the old imperialist and Communist history than the Nazi era (but what we did see was honest yet subtle). The memorial to the infamous book burning in 1933 by National Socialism students and lecturers - they burned 20,000 newly forbidden books - is hard to find and incredibly simple but effective. It's a small glass window in the pavement outside the Humboldt University (where the burning took place), through which can be seen a room full of empty bookshelves. Ironically, among the books burned were those of German Jewish philosopher Heinrich Heine who, more than 100 years earlier, had said "When you start by burning books, you will end up by burning people". Outside the Reichstag building, is a remarkable monument to the 96 'Weimar Republic' politicians who opposed Hitler between the wars. They were among Hitler's first victims. There are 96 slabs
Brandenburg Gate
Taken from Pariser Platz (Paris Square) which was named by the Prussians after they defeated Napoleon in 1813. It was all but destroyed by the Allied bombing in WWII - since rebuilt, obviously ;) of slate, each with the name, party and date and location of death of one person. It's very moving.
The famous Checkpoint Charlie, with its McDonalds across the road and fake US guard is at once crass and poignant. There is very little left of the Berlin Wall, but apparently it's route is marked by a double line of cobble stones running throughout the city, in places even in the floors of buildings (we didn't follow it the whole way!).
As is our wont, we ventured into the century-old
Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral). While we were in there, the organist decided to have a little play on the huge pipe organ. It was pretty cool sitting there listening the sound echoing around the cathedral. Then, as we walked out the doors, the bells started tolling - and continued to do so for about half an hour! They accompanied us as we made our way along the Spree River, back to the hotel.
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