Berlin Part 1

The clocks are turning back today and although we are only in the middle of autumn, I cannot but dread the approaching winter. It certainly feels like we are in a deep freeze at present. Yet another umbrella of mine was sacrificed to the greedy winds today!

On days like this, one must think of warmer times .

In July this year, I was in London visiting my sister and managed to persuade her to join me in a short trip to Berlin. It was originally intended to be for 4 days, and three nights. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, we arrived 12 hours later than intended. As a result I was really grumpy by the time we made it to the airport in Berlin late at night.

Berlin Schonefield airport

Never had I been more grateful that our hotel was easily accessible once we entered the city from the airport.

Statue of a horsed rider in the lobby

Inviting room!!

We immediately laid our heads down to sleep, after a long day of travelling and disappointment that we'd missed a whole day of sightseeing. Thus ended Day 1.

Day 2 dawned bright and sunny, despite dire predictions of heavy showers by the weather forecast. We set out to see Berlin, armed with an umbrella, just in case.

Reichstag

First stop: The German parliament building, also known as the Reichstag.

Ah, the sun!! and a long queue:(

It was a good three quarters of an hour before we were allowed in. There's quite an interesting story behind the current building. Completed in 1894, the original was damaged by fire in 1933. A Dutchman was found guilty of arson, but there are suspicions that the Nazi army may have had a hand in it. During the battle of Berlin in 1945, it became a target for bombing due to its symbolic significance. Finally in 1956, it was decided that the Reichstag building should be restored. Unfortunately the original cupola was irreversibly damaged and a new glass dome was built in its place. The capital had moved to Bonn, another German city, during the Cold War and it was only in 1991 after Germany had reunited that the parliament moved back into the Reichstag in Berlin.

Inside the glass dome of the Reichstag. Can you see my reflection?

The people behind me are having a look down at the parliament in session. This in itself is symbolic as it reminds the ministers that the people are above them. They were chosen by the people and they should serve their best interests.

Currywurst

As we walked away from the Reichstag and its interesting legacy, we passed by this stall selling Currywurst. Currywurst is essentially a sausage coated with ketchup and curry powder, and served with a roll. It is almost like a national institution in Germany. We could not resist, and were soon sitting on a bench nearby sampling this.

Trust me this tastes quite good!

Brandenburg Gate

2nd stop: the Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor)

Beautiful Pariser Platz with the Brandenburg Gate immediately adjoining it in the background.

This grand former city gate was commisioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia and is the only remaining gate of a series which led into Berlin and towards the palace of the Prussian kings. It was built in 1791. On top of the gate is a chariot drawn by four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory. The gate was modelled after the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Greece. When Napolean defeated the Prussians in 1806, he took the chariot to Paris. It was restored to Berlin after the defeat of Napolean in 1814. The gate was used by the East and West Berliners to travel to the other region. The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, and traffic through the gate ceased. Finally, in 1989, the West German Chancellor walked through the gate to be greeted by the East German Prime Minister as a symbol of the reunification of Germany.

Ampelmannchen

My sister pointed this out to me first, that the red and green men on the traffic lights looked different to what we were used to. I initially passed this off as a regional thing but later realised that there was a significance to these cute lights. Ampelmannchen is the name of the person on the traffic lights. The ampelmannchen prior to reunification of East and West Germany were different in each, the main distinction being that the figure in the East wore a hat. Following reunification, the traffic lights needed to be standardised. Initially the plans were to adopt the West German design for the whole of Germany. This raised protests and a movement to preserve the Ampelmannchen of the East driven mainly by nostalgia. This movement suceeded, and West Germany has since adopted the figure with the hat. This Ampelmannchen is now a character in a teaching video for people learning how to drive.

Crossing the road at Pariser Platz - Isn't the Ampelmannchen cute?

Go, Stop

Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe

It was now almost 1pm, and the skies were dark with the promise of rain. Thank goodness for an umbrella! My sister and I joined a tour, which promised to show us the historical sights.

Memorial to the Jews - the greyness of the stone slabs echoes that of the skies.

The memorial was completed in 2005 to remember the Jews who died during the Holocaust. This is not a cemetery, but the many stone slabs made me think of tombs.

Adolf Hitler's Death

Next was the actual area where Hitler died. He had a bunker underneath the ground shown in the picture below where he hid out in the final days. The story goes that he married Eva Braun the day before taking his own life and that of hers. Eva died from cyanide poisoning and Hitler shot himself in the temple. To avoid a potential Nazi shrine to the remains of the Fuehrer, his remains were cremated and the ashes thrown into the Elbe river.

Would you have guessed that this nondescript area used to be Hitler's headquarters?

The marks of war

Our now subdued group moved on at the bidding of the tour guide and we saw this:

Gunshot marks on the building wall

Many buildings in Berlin still bear marks from World War II, and this is just one example.

The Berlin Wall

The famous (or infamous) Berlin Wall separated East from West Germany and came to symbolise the Iron Curtain between East and West Europe. It stood for 28 years and 136 people are documented to have died in an attempt to cross the wall into the West, shot by East Germany guards. In 1989, the East German Minister of Propaganda accidentally announced that East Berliners who had obtained proper permission would be allowed to cross the Wall into West Berlin effective immediately, when the actual date of effect was supposed to be the next day. The guards at the border checks had not been informed of this. Thousands of East Berliners who heard the announcement live on television descended on the border crossings. The guards were caught by surprise as none of them had been briefed on what to do and which people could be let through. The sheer volume of people overwhelmed the crossings and the guards were left helpless. Soon after, the Berlin Wall was dismantled in most places. Only strips here and there remain now.

Part of the Berlin Wall which still stands

Checkpoint Charlie

This is possibly the most touristy spot in Berlin. It has been romanticised and incorporated into many spy books and movies depicting the Cold War. Charlie stands for C in the NATO phonetic alphabet. There are also checkpoints Alpha and Bravo, but Charlie remains the most famous. It was a crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.


On one side of the memorial is the picture of a young Russian soldier, on the other, a young American soldier. Both were stationed in Berlin in the 1990s.

The Twin Towers

The final stop of the tour was at Gendarmenmarkt, a square which is bounded on one side by the Deutscher Dom (German Cathedral) and the Franzosischer Dom (French Cathedral) on the opposite side, both of which look remarkably similar and are thus known as the Twin Towers. They flank the Konzerthaus which houses the Berlin Orchestra.

Gendarmenmarkt

Berliner Dom

On our way back to the hotel we passed by this massive structure. Known as the Berliner Dom, this is the largest cathedral in Berlin and is visible for miles all around.

The Berliner Dom

I love trying out local food and was keen to sample some German fare for dinner. However, my sister persuaded me to go for sushi instead. No regrets here. We found a really nice sushi place recommended in an eating guide which was serving yummy uramaki for half-price.

Our stomachs placated, we returned to our hotel. This is probably the best one I've stayed in so far for a visit to an European city. It's located steps away from a central underground station which makes for easy travelling around.

The Markisches Museum Underground entrance

Not to mention the cushyliciousness of the beds!

And so ends Day 2.