Berlin

In Denmark we get five days off for easter (if you count the weekend), so Lisbeth and I decided it was a good time to go see Berlin. I’d never been there, and she’d only been there briefly as a teenager.

Day 1

We walked about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) on the first day, starting at the Sunflower Hostel where we stayed and ending in a completely different part of town. We started by waking toward the center of town, down Karl Marx Alle, which is a really wide boulveard that the communists used for parades and such.

Inexplicable sculpture on Karl Marx AlleOn Karl Marx Alle in East BerlinOn Karl Marx Alle in East Berlin

It’s an impressive street. It’s entirely symmetric. Each building has an exact mirror copy on the other side — something that’s hard to capture with a camera. It’s also hard to say how much of it seems strange just because you know you’re in an area that was under tight state control until relatively recently.

The East Berlin TV towerTown hall (very near the TV tower)Nepture Fountain

That took us to a part of the city where Eastern Berlin protrudes into Western Berlin and a huge TV/radio tower was constructed. It was built as a symbol of the success of the Eastern side, highly visible to the West. There was a long line to get in to the tower, from which I’m sure the views are amazing, but we didn’t feel like waiting, so we kept walking, past the nearby town hall and a very busy (maybe even ugly) Neptune fountain.

Status outside the DDR museumThe Berlin  Dom  (Cathedral)

There are a lot of museums in this part of town, including the DDR museum, which we returned to on Sunday right before we left. It’s small but interesting — sort of a time capsule of what life was like in communist Berlin. The main things I learned there is that there was an enforced ratio of state-approved music to Western music. Radio stations had to play 60% state-approved material. But at live performances musicians would often start a state-approved song and then cut it short and switch to the more trendy Western songs.

The Brandenburg Gate, previously on the East side of The WallNext we came upon probably the most famous symbol of Berlin — the Brandenburg Gate. The Wall divided Berlin immediately beyond this gate, which is attrocious for a lot of reasons, including that it broke up a clear shot through this gate into a huge park.

Going through the Brandenburg Gate we found the Reichstag to the right, which stood just over the wall on the Western side. It was amazing to see the building that Hitler used to consolidate power, including burning it in order to justify granting himself “emergency” but indefinate powers in the form of The Enabling Act, or the “Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Nation.”

The ReichstagThe hour-long line at the ReichstagThe Reichstag

The Reichstag is one of the most frequently visited sites in Berlin, and we were apparently not the only people with the idea of visiting Berlin over Easter. The line to get in was an hour long, so we again opted to keep walking.

Officebuilding next to the ReichstagThe Marie-Elizabeth building, across the river from the ReichstagThese bikes are everywhere in Berlin

There are some interesting buildings near the Reichstag. It wasn’t clear to me whether they were governmental or merely office buildings, but it made walking around interesting.

The bikes above were parked outside the Reichstag, but can be found all over Berlin. They’re high-tech rental bikes. You call a number on your mobile and enter the bike number. The bike unlocks, and off you go. You get billed by the minute (about seven cents). We didn’t try it, but it’s an interesting idea, and the bikes seemed very well maintained.

Where The Wall met the riverTracing The Wall, heading toward the central stationTracing The Wall

After the Reichstag we left the typical tourist track simply by following the evidence of where the wall had been. We started at the first picture above, which is right next to the Reichstag. The wall apparently crossed the river here (I saw apparently because the maps contracted each other). This was one of many spots where people tried to cross, and there are memorials nearby.

Pieces of the inner wallThe Wall was just part of what kept people in

Following traces of The Wall eventually took is to a cemetery where some pieces of the wall still stand (although not in their original locations.) There we found the drawing above posted, which shows that the Berlin Wall wasn’t just a wall — it was a complete barrier system. The wall itself isn’t that high or that thick, but you couldn’t even get to it without being shot. This picture shows the “death zone” on the East side of the wall quite clearly.

Nevertheless, I was a little surprised at how few people died. In all, 171 people were killed or died trying to escape, but that’s between 1961 and 1989. In school I practially got the impression that the East German guards only stopped shooting people to re-load.

Delapadated building in East BerlinDelapodated building in East BerlinDelapodated building in East Berlin

At this point we were getting really tired and my GPS showed that we’d walked about 15 kilometers, so we decided to head to a train station. On the way we passed the building above. It was behind big iron gates as old as the building itself, and is right in the middle of a residental area.

A building full of satalite TV fanaticsA building full of satelite TV fanaticsdsc_0667.jpg

We saw a few more intersting sights before we stepped into a cafe for a coffee and to get off our feet. I don’t know what the deal is with the satalite dishes, but suspect that it’s an immigrant area and they aren’t interested in what’s on German cable.

Relaxing after walking at least 15 kilometers (or 9.3 miles)We found a cool little coffee shop and took it easy for a while, which prompts me to mention that we found that people were friendly in Berlin. Most don’t know English nearly as well as the Danes do, but they seemed happy to give it a try, and certainly know enough English to take your food order and give directions.

Later that day, after taking a train back to the section of East Berlin where we were staying, we took a recommendation of my friend Steven at work and went to a bar called Dachkammer, where we had a bit of dinner and some beers. This is in a section of East Berlin that has clearly seen bad times, but is expereiencing an upswing, as a lot of trendy bars and cafes have opened in the last few years. Indeed, we noticed that the trains into East Berlin were packed with young people in the evenings, clearly on their way to clubs and parties.

Building with lots of character in East BerlinBuilding with lots of character in East Berlindsc_0687.jpg

From our table at Dachkammer we could see the building above. The buildings on either side were fine, but this building looks like it hasn’t been maintained at all since WWII. Some of the units appear to be occupied, but even plants and decorations seemed worn out.

The next day we walked through the same area again, this time to get some breakfast. This area is covered with graffiti. I’ve never seen anything like it. Some of it is really interesting, and after a while the other parts of town started to seem boring in contrast. This was definitely my favorite part of Berlin.

Building in East BerlinTattoo parlor in East BerlinA kiosk in East Berlin
A door in East BerlinMore East Berlin artDon't mess with my bike, dude'

Day 2

On the second day we went to the “Story of Berlin” museum. It’s billed as an interactive, multi-media experience, but in reality it’s a dis-jointed and frequently lame collection of rooms, each of which is intended to represent an era of Berlin history, starting from the very begining. The WWII part is more coherrent, but overall I can’t recommend it.

The washroom in the atomic bunker in West BerlinAtomic bunker in West Berlin

However, the ticket includes a tour of a bomb shelter that the German government set up in case of a nuclear attack. That alone made the visit worthwhile. The shelter is, in fact, just the lowest level of a parking garage. You can still see the space numbers.

The  emergency room  in the atomic bunkerIt was converted in 1973 and apparently has space for almost 4,000 people. In theory it could protect and feed that many for two weeks, but it clearly lacked the food and water to do so. The ventilation system, we were told, was fragile too. Our guide told us about many problems with the facility. There was no clear leadership planned, for example — no way to determine who got in, and no clear instruction on what to do for the people that did get in.

Atomic bunker in West BerlinAtomic bunker in West Berlin

What really struck me though was what it would have been like even if everything did turn out as planned. Being stuck down there with 4,000 people, sleeping bascially on a shelf, not knowing what is going on outside and what will happen when supplies run out… it would be a nightmare. A long, surreal, claustrophobic nightmare.

I didn’t take many pictures on the second day, partly because we were tired from day one and didn’t see as much, and partly because it rained for most of the day.

Day 3

After two nights at the Sunflower Hostel, we moved over to a hostel-on-a-boat. We would have stayed at the Sunflower the whole time, but they were booked for Friday and Saturday nights, so we found the room on the boat, and were both glad we did. The Sunflower is fine, but the boat wasn’t much more expensive and it was a lot nicer.

The view from our roomOn the  Eastern Comfort  boat hostelThe Western Comfort, sister to the Eastern Comfort

The boat is also right next to a long stretch of The Wall that is still intact, which is great because very little of the wall remains. Ironically I found it depressing how hard it is to find portions of the wall. We read that the reason was mostly because of tourists taking pieces, and that was even more depressing. At any rate, the portions that remain are covered with graffiti, and some of it is great stuff.

The Wall is surprisingly thinThe Wall with  Brother Kiss , a common image in BerlinGraffiti on The WallGraffiti on The WallGraffiti on The WallGraffiti on The Wall

Later that day we went to the Jewish Museam. The building itself is worth seeing, and some of the exhibits are very moving. The “Fallen leaves” exhibit (below) was my favorite part.

'Fallen leaves' at the Jewish Museum'Fallen leaves' at the Jewish Museum'Fallen leaves' at the Jewish Museum

Miscellanious

There are a lot of Smart cars in Berlin, and we saw a sporty version that I’d never seen before. Berlin also seems to have more than its share of unusual motorcycles.

Smart cars (which make the Mini look big)Sporty version of the Smart carThe Sporty version of the smart carI would have killed for this bike -- 25 years agoYou don't see... one of these very oftenPerfect bikes for living in a perfectly flat city

I took the three shots below from the window of our room on the boat. I don’t know what the history is, but this bridge leads into Western Berlin, so I thought it was strange that Easterners would be greeted by this mural in particular.

The bridge into West BerlinSurreal mural entering West BerlinWelcome to West Berlin

Lisbeth tells me that it’s not unusual in Denmark, but I’ve never seen candy machines like this. It looks depressing. And unsafe.

Candy, anyone?Candy, anyone?

You can really tell that the transit systems are not the same between East and West. Our stop was the last one for the U-Bahn line. If you want to go further into East Berlin, you have to switch to these street cars. I included the second picture to demonstrate that not all the buildings in East Berlin are run down.

An East Berlin street tramNot all the buildings are run-down in East Berlin

And a few final pictures. Longest blog entry ever…

Germany is serious about recycling Hey, we need more space! Anybody have any ideas? The Travant at the DDR museum -- The East German response to the VW Beetle

Except for the weather (cold, rainy, and windy) we had a great time, and can’t wait to go back. And I suspect we will. After all, the flying time down there was 35 minutes!

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