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Published: November 1st 2006
Brandenburg Tor
The Brandenburg Gate all lit upOne of the most important cities over the past 100 years .. the modern history!
Berlin is a really amazing city for so many reasons. Arriving into Germany, I had to make a change of trains at Hamburg, so after seeing purely the inside of the station at Hamburg we were off on a fast train to Berlin. Unfortunately I was going to catch up with Kristin from my Scotland tour but we messed up the dates and she was on the North Sea for the week. After stumbling around trying to find directions to a hostel, I made my way to the Schoneberg area and to Meininger City Hostel. I wandered around this area of town before taking it easy back at the hostel.
The next day it was really sunny and actually a bit warm. So took of a jumper for the first time in ages! Made my way to Potsdamer Platz which was a thriving area before the war, it then became a desolate area of nothingness until the wall came down and it is quickly becoming a thriving area again. From here a walk up towards the Brandenburg Gate, but first via the new Holocaust
Sunset from Reichstag
From atop the Reichstag building this amazing sunset took place. Memorial Site, which is an area with large blocks on an uneven surface spread about. From here I made my way to Brandenburg Gate, which is as impressive as most photos suggest, I took a heap of photos, but the night ones I would take later on seemed to come out best.
It was at this area we began a free walking tour of the city. Lots of people joined up and we learnt that Napoleon first seized the statue on top of the gate and put it in the Louvre only for it to be taken back and then changed and updated. All nations of the allied forces have their embassys in this area (well the USA is being built at the moment). We learnt more about the Reichstag building (Parliament) which was burned down in the 1920s and this event acted as a means for allowing Hitler more and more power. We then made our way back towards the Holocaust Memorial, which I now learnt was plagued by some controversy, as it only paid respects to the Jewish and not any other group that was abused by the Nazi regime, so this has brought about having to
mark more memorials around Berlin to pay respects to them.
From here we walked to where Hitler's bunker is and where he was found dead. Would you think there is a plaque or something to suggest? No. Just a carpark!!!! It seems they believe that anything like that would just be ruined, so just a board with some information suggests this is where Hitler's bunker was .. oh and the carpark! We then walked around to some murals painted during the communist reign that were sources of propaganda (someone read this and made me change what I wrote previously). Then to the Topography of Terror where a section of the Berlin Wall still stands and is also the site of the former SS-Gestapo headquarters, the open air exhibition now stands there. From here we walked around to Checkpoint Charlie, which is so over the top now with tourism. German men dressed as American soldiers stand out the front of a mock-up of Checkpoint Charlie and make money from photos. Its interesting to see the real American soldier in a photo before Checkpoint Charlie and on the other side is a Soviet soldier .. apparantly this is supposed to show
East Side Gallery
The longest still standing section of the Berlin Wall, now acts as a gallery of graffiti. those heading towards either direction are either going to East or West Berlin based on the soldier. Apart from the tourist trap of the area it still is extremely interesting, and this was added with the fact we were standing there at the point where 60 years ago to the date WW3 almost broke out. It seemed American officials were not allowed to cross the border which broke agreed terms between the 2 sides and as a result a day long stand off of tanks occurred there at Checkpoint Charlie, and one single shot has many believing WW3 would have started. There is so much information to be read in this area, we tried our best before stopping for some lunch.
From this spot we continued our tour, through towards where two churches of different faiths stand either side of each other, and then to Babelplatz, which is the scene of the famous book burning that took place by the Nazi's (anyone who has seen Indiana Jones would understand). The university that lies across from Babelplatz, Humboldt actually educated the most number of Noble prize recipients. We then continued onto Museum Island, where the Berliner Dom really stands out.
Its interesting to note that to the left of this dome, is where the Berliner Schloss (palace), but they tore it down due to its war implications (as they have done to many buildings and sites), it seems many of the sites are being built over or developed.
After this we finished our tour and I made my way back to the hostel before heading out for a nice Italian meal and then to hit the pub crawl I had been told about by a few people. 10 Euros for free shots and free beer for the first 45 minutes. I caught up with a few from the walking tour during the day and basically hung out with a bunch of Aussies and Kiwis. It was a pretty huge night as we stumbled our way around town, some young Aussies had obviously started too early and were in gutters far too early!!! The idea of Berlin as being a party central was well evident and I think after the last club I stumbled back to the hostel at around about 5:00.
After fighting off my hangover the next morning, I headed to the Zoolgischer Garten area. After a
bit of lunch I then wandered to this famous church that was bombed during WWII and was the only church not to be restored as a reminder of the atrocities of Berlin during that time. I was then off to the Berlin Olympic Stadium. A bit further out of town, it was the site of Hitler's Olympics. A very interesting stadium, still showing signs of its Nazi past. But more recently was the site of the soccer World Cup final. Very impressive and with an audio guide, I was able to learn a lot about the history of the stadium and area. From there I headed back into the main part of town and after sorting out some travel info, I headed to the Reichstag (Parliament Building) and where Germany was officially re-unified. On top of the Reichstag is a glass dome, designed by Sir Norman Foster as if to show a sense of openess and no closure since the War times, ie with the glass dome it allows you to see into Parliament going on below you. As it is free it is one of the major tourist destinations, and it was well over and hour long wait, but
as the sun was setting it become a great time to be up there and get some amazing photos.
From here it was back to the Brandenburg Gate and some more great photos as night hit Berlin. Toursits everywhere and a great site to see. Before again going back to the same Italian restaurant in the Oranieburger area.
The following day I was up and ready to go see the East Side Gallery, took a bit longer than expected with problems with my cameras. But anyway got to the East Side Gallery which is the longest still standing section of the Berlin Wall and has allowed for many graffiti inspired murals along the way. I got my passport stamped here and walked along the wall ... its amazing to think people couldn't actually cross to another side to see family members who happened to be on the other side of town on that night they decided to put up the wall ... and here I was just walking along side what was so historic but still was going on in my lifetime.
From here I continued onwards towards Alexanderplatz, which was largely under construction, but there were
Sunset
As I walked up through the glass dome some performers going on (there are Native Indian performers everywhere in Europe!). I also got some bratwurst sausages at one of the many vendors selling it in the area. Continuing onwards by foot I was making my way to the Jewish Museum which had been well talked of in many travel guides, along the way I wandered down some side streets and saw some very pretty streets. That is one of the great things about Europe, that you can just wander and find these wonderful cobbled side streets (Melbourne has that to a degree too and I guess why many say Melbourne is closest to a European city).
Arriving at the Jewish museum its a fairly new construction (like much of Berlin) and is a very interesting building in itself, sloping everywhere. Inside there is a room where you just stand by yourself in a dark room with a light flickering about 100 feet up, to give a sense of isloation and what not. The museum is pretty interesting walking around, but much of the Nazi oppression doesn't come up until towards the end.
From hear as dusk began to settle I ventured back towards Checkpoint Charlie to
German Flag
Massive German Flag outside the Reichstag as the su was setting read more of the boards and get some photos together which I had missed beforehand. Then on again to the Topography of Terror site to read more there. Then back towards Brandenburg Tor once more for a final look, as I passed Potsdamer Platz and the Holocaust Memorial. At the Brandenburg Tor this time some procession was going on and it was quite a site to see all this military garb and bands playing as they marched the area.
From here I headed back to the hostel and got some washing and other chores done. I finished off having a few beers with a couple of Canadians who had actually made it to Berlin by hitchhiking from Amsterdam (they are only 18!). The story of their hitch-hiking was very interesting and ballsy, and I think they were very lucky to be safe.
Up again for another early morning train, but before that got to call mum and wish her a happy birthday and it was good chatting as I hadn't spoken to her since Ireland. After that this time it was a train to Poland!
Berlin is an incredible city, with so much modern day history and
Checkpoint Charlie
It is more a tourist extravaganza now, with German men dressed as USA soldiers to get money for photos. Interesting spot nonetheless. fantastic nightlife. You need at least 3 days there and as I have heard many stay far longer.
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shiplorian
Robert Pelletier
Excellent Berlin report
Berlin is probably my favorite city in the whole world, and you've been right on with your descriptions. Marlene Dietrick sang a song about leaving a suitcase (of nostalgia) in Berlin so I guess I have. Many thanks.