But I am now a
tremendous fan of Berlin. As Amanda mentioned in one of her previous posts
Berlin was a destination that we both felt needed to be seen but wasn’t
particularly high on our list. There are various reasons for this stretching
from the minimal number of pre-WWII historic landmarks, decades of Soviet
occupation following the war and a general sense from 80’s pop culture that
Berlin is mainly an industrial town with unattractive buildings covered by
layers of graffiti. This is decidedly not what we encountered during our stay in
Berlin.
We arrived at
the Berlin central train station around 10:30 AM and noticed at once how much
cleaner and better organized it is than its French or British counterparts. Paris and London stations often overcrowded, with trash scattered about, and in the case of Paris particularly sticky and smelly. Berlin's central station was absolutely nothing like that!
Given the early hour we were slightly concerned about trying to check into our hotel
early but figured we’d at least be able to drop our luggage off so we wouldn’t
have to spend most of the day wandering the streets of Berlin with rolling
suitcases. Thankfully there was already a room available for us at 11:00 AM so
we got to do a bit of freshening up as well. The room itself was fantastic and
perhaps the largest hotel room we’ve ever stayed in. Not only that, it too was fastidiously clean (this will be a recurring theme) and modern, with an entire
wall of floor to ceiling windows that ran the length of the room. It also had the
nicest bathroom I’ve been in. It may not qualify as premier five star accommodation but it’s probably as close as one can get without breaking the bank.
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| No Links Allowed! |
Our next stop after
the hotel was supposed to be the Brandenburg Gate followed by a stroll down Unter der
Linden where many of the Embassy’s are located as well as some decent shopping
and a bit further on Humboldt University. However, we were distracted by a
field of concrete pillars that rise out of the landscape just south of the
Brandenburg gate and stopped to take a look. In the space of half a city block
there are 2,711 of these concrete pillars which make up the first Holocaust
memorial sponsored by the German government. It is known as the Memorial to the
Murdered Jews of Europe and is a compelling sight. Beneath the pillars is an
austere museum which tells the stories of many of the individuals and families
who suffered at the hands of the Nazis.
The Brandenburg Gate
was only a few hundred steps north of the Memorial so we made our way to the
most recognizable piece of architecture in the city. The original gate was part
of the Berlin Customs Wall which was completed in 1737 and stood until 1861
when the city had begun to expand beyond its original borders. 50 years after
the Custom’s Wall was completed King Fredrick William II of Prussia
commissioned a new Brandenburg Gate be built that would be a
symbol of Peace. This is the gate we are all familiar with now and was
completed in 1791. It stands alone as the only city gate remaining from the
time of the Prussian Empire and has been the scene of several major events
throughout history. Napoleon processed through the Brandenburg Gate upon
defeating the Prussians in 1806 at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt and took the
original statue that was set atop the gate with him back to Paris. Upon Napoleon’s
subsequent defeat in 1814 the statue was liberated, brought back to Berlin and redesigned
to include the Iron Cross of the Prussian Empire along with the Prussian Eagle
that sits atop it. While the Nazi symbol of the Iron Cross can be traced all
the way back to 13th century Jerusalem when it was granted to the
Teutonic Order as a their orderly symbol, it is far more likely that the Nazis
were simply carrying on the Prussian tradition of using this symbol to instill
a sense pride and in their party while also implying a sense of history into
their movement by reclaiming symbols from previous Prussian Empires. In fact, the
Prussian version of the Iron Cross was established by King Fredrick Wilhelm III
of Prussia as a medal of honor for those who fought during the Napoleonic Wars
and was also used in the Franco Prussian War as well as World War I a scant 20
years earlier.
Other historic events
that have taken place within sight of the Brandenburg gate include John F
Kennedy’s rather infamous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech in 1963, A Concert for
the People in 1980 and the eventual fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.
Moving on from the Brandenburg
gate we did some window-shopping down Unter der Linden while taking some photos
of the surrounding buildings and statues. By the time we reached what is known
as Museum Island dusk was quickly we approaching so we made our way back to the
hotel to rest up for day two in Berlin.
Our second day started
early with what I hoped would be a visit to the Gemäldegalerie where a large
collection of Peter Paul Rubens paintings were on display. Apparently I have
become far to use to the free access provided by most every museum here in
London because when we walked up to the desk and saw that tickets to enter were
€8 per person I decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. Anyway from there our next
stop of the day was the Jewish Museum Berlin. It is billed as the largest
museum in the world devoted strictly to Jewish history and that’s not a
statement that should be taken lightly. We arrived at the museum shortly after
ten in the morning and were there so long we actually missed lunch. Most of
what I have learned about Jewish history is, not surprisingly, from the
time of the Second World War or in relation to the times immediately
surrounding Jesus’ walk amongst us. There is, of course, much more too Jewish
history than what I had learnt and while I instinctively knew this, when you’re actually
faced with the sheer scale of history on display at the Jewish Museum Berlin it
becomes more than a bit overwhelming. We
would both recommend it to anyone who travels to Berlin and has a bit of time
to spare as its perhaps the most impressive collection of history on a single people anywhere in the world.
As we were utterly
famished by the time we left the Jewish Museum we set out to find something to
tide us over until dinner. Unfortunately we were so hungry we couldn’t quite
decide what we wanted and ended up all the way back up on Unter der Linden by
Museum Island, or about 4 miles from where we the museum is located. We did come across an open air market which ran along the banks
of the Spree River opposite Museum Island and spent some time selecting the art
work we would eventually add to our growing collection. Eventually we decided
to skip eating altogether and make our way down to Check-Point Charlie Museum.
Compared to the Jewish Museum the Check-Point Charlie Museum was surprisingly
disappointing. There is more information displayed than a person could possible
read in one visit but it is all just thrown up on the walls in
no particular order. The rooms were also very small throughout and I got the
sense of being in a tightly confined space with no way out on several occasions. We did manage to get a few pictures next to what is left of the Wall but since that’s not part of the
Check-Point Charlie Museum I came away feeling as if I could have just taken the photos and been perfectly happy.
By this time hunger
had taken us again and since I wasn’t at interested in skipping dinner we found a
restaurant and bar close by called the Augustiner and stepped inside. It was absolutely packed. To deal with this situation the wait staff had a decidedly German solution of sitting couples at tables that were already occupied but still had seats available. Amanda and I however managed to get a table with only two seats so we didn't get to make any new friends, but it was interesting watching customers walk in and be seated with total strangers. I
have no recollection of what Amanda had for dinner that but I had two
boiled sausages and a pint of Augustiner Dunkel. It was amazing, but not as
good as the treat Amanda had in store for me afterwards.
Fassbender and Rauch
are, according to their website, the largest chocolatier’s in the world and
where just down the street from our restaurant. Not sure how I missed them on my
way to dinner but Amanda apparently did not. The ground floor is devoted
entirely to the sale and display of chocolate goodies while the first floor
(second floor for all you American’s) is a café that serves specialty hot
chocolates paired with delectable chocolate desserts. I was in absolute heaven!
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| Yep, I could eat that. |
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| and this |
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| and most definitely this, and I did! |
Our final day in
Berlin was spent walking around the Christmas markets that were just opening up
for the season and finishing up the last half of the self guided walk we
started earlier in the week. As you can probably tell by the photos the weather
was spectacular and we managed to find bratwurst and pretzels at each of the
markets we visited to keep us warm and fueled up for our day. Our last stop of the trip
before collecting our luggage and getting back on the sleeper train to Paris
was a tour of the Reichstag’s glass dome. What was once the center of the Nazi
party in Berlin, the Reichstag is now home to the German Parliament and while
you can’t really tour the inside of the building you can tour the glass dome
that is set atop it. Once inside there is a winding walkway that ascends about
half way up the sides the dome which afford great views of the city. A free
audio guide is included to explain what it is you are seeing as well as
describing the dual purpose of the dome (sun light filters into the parliamentary
chambers below via mirrors that descend from the top of the dome down the
center of the structure while air from the chamber is filtered out of the dome
through vents in the roof and then expelled through slots in the dome where overlapping sheets of
glass connect) and how it works to keep the chambers below lit during the day and at a
constant temperature no matter what the weather is like outside.
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| How many buildings can I get pictured next to the Berlin TV Tower? |
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| This was in a hotel! Apparently you can ride an elevator that runs through the center but we couldn't quite decipher how that worked. Need to work on my German some I guess |
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| Here's another |
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| This pony wanted nothing to do with Amanda, |
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| but this one was more than happy to make friends. |
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| and another |
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| Enjoying a hot chocolate and a pretzel. The pretzel's already gone! |
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| Berlin from the top of the Riechstag |
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| Brandenburg Gate from the Tiergarten |
Well that’s about it
for our time in Berlin. It was an excellent trip and completely surpassed my
expectations. Can’t wait to go again!
