Our Easter excursion launched us to the capital of Germany to visit Sophie's friend, Stephanie. Despite its turbulent past, the Berlin of today is known just as much for its rich contemporary culture as its historical terror. Although badly damaged in the final years of World War II and broken apart during the Cold War, Berlin has reconstructed itself impressively and boasts a wide range of architecture from a few surviving medieval buildings near Alexanderplatz to the glitzy high-tech structures surrounding Postdamer Platz.
We kicked off our trip with a visit to Stephanie's west Berlin suburb for afternoon coffee and cake, followed by a game of ping-pong in the public square outside her apartment block
. That evening we grabbed a Currywurst from an Imbiss before heading out for some sophisticated Berlin drinking with Stephanie and her friend.
Next morning we were up early for the quintessential Berlin activity of fresh waffles for breakfast. It was particularly lovely, made special by all the little Easter decorations around Stephanie's flat. The best way to get around Berlin is by bike so we hired a couple and headed out to the East Side Gallery. This 1316m section of the Berlin Wall is an international memorial for freedom and consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990 on the east side. The paintings document a time of change and express the euphoria and great hopes for a better, more free future for all people of the world and was very interesting to wander along.
With rain beginning to fall, we ducked into the Berliner Dom and soon found ourselves engrossed in its epic audio-guided tour. We climbed to the top of the Dom for a wonderful, if slightly grey view over the city. In the evening we enjoyed a meal at Stephanie's Lokal with a couple of brightly coloured Berliner Kindl Weisse.
For our history fix, we joined a free walking tour to gain an insight into Berlin's sinister past during the rise and fall of the Third Reich under Hitler. We began at the bombed-out Memorial Church and followed the route of the Soviet attack towards the final battle for the Reichstag
. The sites of former Nazi Headquarters are unrecognisable today and we were amazed when our guide showed us pictures of how the scenes used to look. However, some of the lower blocks of the buildings still bare the scars of war, a stark reminder of this recent history. One of the most fascinating sights was standing at the exact location of the 'Fuehrerbunker' and listening to a step-by-step account of Hitler's suicide. Today it is an ordinary car park.
Probably the most moving sight we encountered was the former ruins of Himmler's SS and Gestapo HQ at the 'Topography of Terror' exhibition. Berlin does not attempt to hide the atrocities of its past. Equally sobering was our visit to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This gigantic abstract artwork, with its varying sized concrete blocks casting shadows at striking angles in the afternoon sun, was mesmerising. After walking past the Reichstag and through the Brandenburg Gate, our final stop was Checkpoint Charlie, now a relatively cheesy tourist location with the ironically located McDonald's immediately inside the 'American Sector'.
Despite a packed itinerary during our visit, we left feeling we had only scratched the surface of this immense city. Auf wiedersehen Berlin!
Berlin Besuch!
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Berlin, Germany
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2025-02-13