Berlin

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I had been looking forward to Berlin as many people had said it was a top city. Plus I was going to catch up with a good mate Pietro (aka Fuey) who was travelling in from Dusseldorf (where he lives) and whom I hadn´t seen for a couple of years.

Berlin is built on a boggy swamp, so can be a bit whiffy at times. But it just adds more character to a city that is already very individual and diverse. Took a free walking tour (they work on tips alone) which was really worthwhile for orientation purposes. During my stay got to see the usual sights (Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Berlin Wall), plus went to some museums (Holocaust Memorial, Pergamon, Stasi Museum, Checkpoint Charlie museum) and a local jazz club (Schlott), and also checked out some trendy neighbourhoods (Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg, Oranienburger). Also took a day trip to Dresden, which is a bit over 2 hours away by fast train.

Since I am off to the Middle East for the next 6-8 weeks, we decided to get in our Asian fix with lots of good Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese tucker. Fuey was more than happy to oblige and even said it was the best food he had eaten during his 7.5 years in Germany.

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Photos

Beer o'clock
Enjoying a beer break at this cool bar in a sand pit at the Galerie Tacheles (art space)

Fuhrerbunker
Hitler's Bunker could not be destroyed by explosives (walls were up to 4 metres thick). So it was filled with concrete instead, and is now covered by a carpark with a random explanatory sign

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Consists of 2711 concrete stelae which can be walked in from all sides. Looks like blank gravestones. Underneath is a museum which tells the history of the Nazi extermination policy, and stories from 15 different European Jewish families that were wiped out.

Dark times
The highest blocks are over 4 metres tall in the middle, and appear to symbolise the darkest period with the mass extermination of an entire race. Original architect wanted visitors to feel a sense of dislocation.

Mother
Statue known as "Mother" in the Memeorial to War and Tyranny. She sit atop 4 quadrants consisting of the remains of an unknown WW1 soldier, the remains of a WW2 concentration camp vistim, and soil from each of the concentration camps.

Reichstag
Cupola designed by Norman Foster. Great panoramic view of Berlin and you can look down into the Bundestag (Parliament).

Luftwaffe
This building has been scaring generations of Berliners. Previously it was the Nazi Air Force Ministry, and then the Communist Party headquarters. Now it's the Tax Office.

1953 uprising
Previous Communist Party headquarters (background) was the scene of the 1953 uprising by striking workers against raised work quotas, which was violently suppressed by Soviet tanks.

Brandenburg Gate
Berlin Wall used to run right behind it

Berlin Wall
Last remaining stretch

Dividing line
The government has laid down double cobblestones to show where the Wall used to be. Where there are buildings, there are different coloured carpets instead

Checkpoint Charlie
This is a copy of the original which was demolished on 22 June 1990

Daring escape
People became very inventive when escaping from East Berlin. Total of 5075 successful escape attempts under, over and above the Wall. However over 1000 others did not make it.

Pergamon Altar
Reconstruction of original altar which dates from around 170 BC

Ishtar Gate of Babylon
Reconstruction of original gate (580BC) located in the Pergamon museum

Spies
The Stasi was the biggest spy network in the world. Approx 2 out of every 13 people were officially working for and unofficially informing for the Stasi.

Body odour samples
After people were interrogated for hours by the Stasi (East German equivalent of the KGB), the seat covering was stripped and a sample of their body odour was kept in a labelled jar. Supposedly if the Stasi wanted to locate you, they would re-open the bottle and give it to a sniffer dog. Thousands of these bottles were kept. But not sure how effective it was.

Ironing
My passport photo page had started to come apart which resulted in some queries at border crossings. Bit concerned as I was heading to the Middle East, so called the Aussie Embassy to try and get it fixed. No such luck, but their advice was to iron it like a sticker transfer. Seemed to work so far.

Breakdancing
Dancing the German way

Frauenkirche
Dresden was totally flattened during WWII. Being in East Germany there was no money to reconstruct any of the public buildings until the 1990's after reunification. This church was one of the first.

Greens and water hazards
Zwinger palace grounds. Would make a great pitch and putt golf course

VW transparent factory
Very impressive structure. You can see the assembly line for the Phaeton model, and glass parking tower for cars to be personally picked up in Dresden or shipped elsewhere

Hooning
Driving the Phaeton in test simulator at around 200kms. Great fun.

Comments

[Matthew]

Canada
Greetings from Canada. I loved reading your blog and looking at all the wonderful pictures.

[sambot]

Hello!
Hello there moblogger/travelblogger! I'm a graduate student at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, USA. As part of my Master's Thesis, I am researching the concept of travelblogging and moblogging in the hopes of constructing a unique service geared toward the moblogger/travelblogger's distinct community. Of note, and maybe just to put us all at ease, this is not a money-making thing... nope, it's a crucial part of my graduate research that I hope you can participate in! I've constructed an online survey that should only take about 2 minutes to complete. Any input that you could provide would be of great help! You can take the survey at the following address: www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=15302763533 Thanks so much for your help! Blog on! Sam P.S. If you have any questions, comments, or difficulties with the survey, please feel free to send me an email at [e-mail]. P.P.S. Oh... and I promise, any and all of the information that you provide will go directly toward my research. I will never, ever, ever share your information with anyone else. Again, thank you so much!

[anonymous]

Geez Gus - looks like you are getting a world wide fan club! Glad to see you enjoying life, and love reading your blogs too. Was over in Sydney a couple of weeks back, and caught up with the old team - all great, and had a brilliant time. Take care and keep in touch. Rosco