Berlin
I don't even know where to start with Berlin. A sprawling city of 3.5 million people with a tumultuous history and only 3 days to try and glimpse a portion of all it offers.
We arrived Sunday night via a 5 hour train ride with 3 hectic changes between platforms. One of the 2 hour legs we spent the duration of the ride standing with our backs pressed against the rumbling wall, our luggage clutched to our sides, packed like tuna fish as bodies impossibly crammed their way through the doors on each stop. Our host in Berlin was my former exchange student, Carolin Sauer. She lived with my family for a year when I was a Junior in high school. I couldn't believe that 5 years have passed us by since we have last seen one another. We are no longer the giddy, teenage, girls we once were, but it took no time at all to get used to the women we came together as today.
Caro suggested that we start our time in Berlin on Monday morning with a "free" walking tour of the city with a guide from the hostel she works for. We agreed and it turned out to be the perfect solution to seeing loads of amazing sites while being pumped full on fascinating facts from German history. Now, as this blog doubles as a way to keep in touch with people as well as a scrapbook/journal for me, I am more than happy to have you all skim the pictures while I document some of the crazy facts we learned to help myself remember them in the future!
We started walking from the hostel in the former East Berlin and learned some neat facts about the cafe and music districts along our walk. One club is built directly under the train tracks for the sole purpose of having a place where they can play their music as loud as they want! We passed "Museum Island" where several huge, columned museums all run together, the most famous of which displays the Egyptian bust of Queen Nefertiti. As we rounded the corner from the museums and saw the Berlin Dome (the building pictured above) my mouth dropped. We later learned that this impressive palace was actually built only 104 years ago, although the architecture and weathering make it appear much older. Our guide called it "gaudy" and "bombastic," but Burke and I both enjoyed this spot and returned a couple of times throughout the next few days.
We proceeded to learn about the monarchy, Nazis and Communist political eras, as well as how each of the buildings were used, or destroyed, by whichever party happened to be in control. On this tour, as well as throughout the next 2 days, we saw the Rathause of Berlin (town hall), the Royal Armoury where a man attempted to assassinate Hitler, the East Berlin TV Tower, the square across from Humboldt University where the famous book burning rally by Nazis took place, Fredrick the Great's library, a shopping area with a giant glass "circus tent" covering an open courtyard, Checkpoint Charlie, a car gallery (with models from Volkswagon, BMW, Bentley, Bugatti and Mercedes) the Riechstag, the Tiergarten (a giant park/forest in the middle of the city that stretches for miles), the location of Hitler's death at his hidden bunker (now covered by a harmless looking parking lot), the US Embassy, a world clock at Alexander Platz that shows the time anywhere in the world, a giant Lego giraffe and Albert Einstein head at Lego Land, the Turkish open air market, the Communications Museum, the Brandberg Gate and, of course, The Wall.
The majority of these were seen while walking around the city. Man were we sore, but excited to hopefully be loosing some cruise fat from our honeymoon last year! After all the facts and stories, the thing I appreciate most from our guide was when he reminded us of the vibrant, tolerant and peaceful city Berlin had been for centuries, dominated for only 13 years by the Nazi party and divided after WWII for nearly 40 years by the East and West sections of the city. These events, while they had an immense impact on the city and the lives of the millions who lived there, are not all that Germany or Berlin should be remembered for.
We discovered this to be true as our preconceived notions of this beautiful country were completely changed after our short 1 week visit. We interacted with very kind and helpful people, saw beautiful old and modern architecture, ate terrific food and were surrounded by musicians from the subway to the street corner. We felt completely safe the whole time, loved our stay in Berlin and would highly recommend it to anyone. Our only further recommendation: bring a THICK coat! Brrrr!!!
We arrived Sunday night via a 5 hour train ride with 3 hectic changes between platforms. One of the 2 hour legs we spent the duration of the ride standing with our backs pressed against the rumbling wall, our luggage clutched to our sides, packed like tuna fish as bodies impossibly crammed their way through the doors on each stop. Our host in Berlin was my former exchange student, Carolin Sauer. She lived with my family for a year when I was a Junior in high school. I couldn't believe that 5 years have passed us by since we have last seen one another. We are no longer the giddy, teenage, girls we once were, but it took no time at all to get used to the women we came together as today.
Caro suggested that we start our time in Berlin on Monday morning with a "free" walking tour of the city with a guide from the hostel she works for. We agreed and it turned out to be the perfect solution to seeing loads of amazing sites while being pumped full on fascinating facts from German history. Now, as this blog doubles as a way to keep in touch with people as well as a scrapbook/journal for me, I am more than happy to have you all skim the pictures while I document some of the crazy facts we learned to help myself remember them in the future!
We started walking from the hostel in the former East Berlin and learned some neat facts about the cafe and music districts along our walk. One club is built directly under the train tracks for the sole purpose of having a place where they can play their music as loud as they want! We passed "Museum Island" where several huge, columned museums all run together, the most famous of which displays the Egyptian bust of Queen Nefertiti. As we rounded the corner from the museums and saw the Berlin Dome (the building pictured above) my mouth dropped. We later learned that this impressive palace was actually built only 104 years ago, although the architecture and weathering make it appear much older. Our guide called it "gaudy" and "bombastic," but Burke and I both enjoyed this spot and returned a couple of times throughout the next few days.
We proceeded to learn about the monarchy, Nazis and Communist political eras, as well as how each of the buildings were used, or destroyed, by whichever party happened to be in control. On this tour, as well as throughout the next 2 days, we saw the Rathause of Berlin (town hall), the Royal Armoury where a man attempted to assassinate Hitler, the East Berlin TV Tower, the square across from Humboldt University where the famous book burning rally by Nazis took place, Fredrick the Great's library, a shopping area with a giant glass "circus tent" covering an open courtyard, Checkpoint Charlie, a car gallery (with models from Volkswagon, BMW, Bentley, Bugatti and Mercedes) the Riechstag, the Tiergarten (a giant park/forest in the middle of the city that stretches for miles), the location of Hitler's death at his hidden bunker (now covered by a harmless looking parking lot), the US Embassy, a world clock at Alexander Platz that shows the time anywhere in the world, a giant Lego giraffe and Albert Einstein head at Lego Land, the Turkish open air market, the Communications Museum, the Brandberg Gate and, of course, The Wall.
The majority of these were seen while walking around the city. Man were we sore, but excited to hopefully be loosing some cruise fat from our honeymoon last year! After all the facts and stories, the thing I appreciate most from our guide was when he reminded us of the vibrant, tolerant and peaceful city Berlin had been for centuries, dominated for only 13 years by the Nazi party and divided after WWII for nearly 40 years by the East and West sections of the city. These events, while they had an immense impact on the city and the lives of the millions who lived there, are not all that Germany or Berlin should be remembered for.
We discovered this to be true as our preconceived notions of this beautiful country were completely changed after our short 1 week visit. We interacted with very kind and helpful people, saw beautiful old and modern architecture, ate terrific food and were surrounded by musicians from the subway to the street corner. We felt completely safe the whole time, loved our stay in Berlin and would highly recommend it to anyone. Our only further recommendation: bring a THICK coat! Brrrr!!!
Comments