We stayed at the Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof, which was in a good location, really close to the zoo, and not far from the closest train station. It worked well for us because we could get two adjoining rooms without having to pay an arm and a leg as well. A couple of good places we ate included Lieu in Berlin, a Vietnamese restaurant, and Belmondo Restaurant, a French restaurant that was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. BK thought that Belmondo was one of the best meals he'd had in long time, and the service was great as well (not always a guarantee in Europe).
So, now onto our marathon days in Berlin!
This gate has seen a lot of significant events and is a big part of Berlin's history. Napoleon stole the statue off the top when he occupied Berlin, Hitler marched there just after being appointed Chancellor, it was walled off in East Berlin, Presidents Kennedy and Reagan spoke nearly at the gate (just on the Western side), and numerous reunification events have taken place there. Somehow the gate obviously survived WWII, and now near the gate stand the four embassies of the Allies as well. It's a can't miss if you're in Berlin.
The Reichstag Building is Germany's Parliament building. Unfortunately, due to our last minute trip, we did not get to go inside for a tour and to walk inside the dome. If you're visiting Berlin, I would suggest making a reservation to do a dome tour, as you can't walk up and visit.
The thing I liked most about this building is the dome. It's supposed to boast great views of the city, but I like most what it symbolizes. The dome is transparent, symbolizing that the government should have transparency to it's people. In addition, the dome is the top of the building where anyone can walk around and see what happens below, symbolizing the people over the government, and not the other way around. I'm not sure how true it holds, but I appreciate the idea.
This one was a bit different from what we were expecting; apparently people either love it or hate it. The memorial is essentially unmarked and is made up of 2,700 concrete slabs or boxes. It's all gray, and the concrete markers start at the same level as the sidewalk so you're in the memorial before you even realize it. The memorial site is on a wavy ground and is open from all sides.
When you enter the memorial you go deeper into the center, where anyone who goes essentially disappears. You can get separated from your group, and lost, as everything looks the same. The architect realized that you can never build something to capture all the tragedy caused by the Holocaust, so is seems that he wanted to create a feeling when you're in the memorial. When you reach the center you are in a negative space, a void, something that sucks all of the life away from around you. I think this is what the architect wanted to demonstrate about WWII. The unfortunate thing about the memorial is that unless someone explains it to you (like our tour guide), I'm not sure you would take that away.
We walked through a small part of East Berlin, enough to see some of the government buildings and the area that was known as the death strip. There were actually two walls, one in West Berlin and one in East Berlin, with the death strip in the middle to catch anyone who was trying to flee to West Berlin. The building that is now the Ministry of Finance for Germany used to be the Nazi Airforce Headquarters, and boasts a mural depicting the greatness of socialism, but also includes an answer to the mural with the reality of socialism.
There is only a small part of the Berlin Wall left to see, and now it is protected by a fence to prohibit people from taking pieces for souvenirs. The Berlin Wall was rebuilt three times, with the final wall being about 12 feet tall and a round top so no one would have anything to grasp onto when trying to get over the wall. I can understand why people want it taken down, but also understand leaving part of it up to remember the time. In addition, the city has laid bricks throughout the city to show where the wall once stood. I don't know that you will be blown away by the Berlin Wall, but it's a pretty significant thing to see.
Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie was the best known border crossing at the Berlin Wall during the Cold War, where diplomats, journalists and others crossed from the American sector of West Berlin into East Berlin. This area has now been turned into a big tourist area where actors are dressed up as American soldiers, to give you an idea of what it would have been like when crossing from the American sector. It's called Checkpoint Charlie because the American checkpoint was the third one, making it C, or Charlie in the military alphabet.
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| Old National Gallery |
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| German History Museum |
Berlin boasts a surprising number of really good museums. I say surprising because museums are not what I think about when I think about Berlin. The complex of five museums on Museum Island was actually Berlin's answer to the Louvre, with all of the museums being connected at some point. Now, they are all separate and cover subjects from German History to Islamic Art to Roman and Byzantine artifacts. We visited the German History Museum and the Pergamon Museum.
I really liked the German History Museum and found it quite interesting. The Pergamon was not my favorite one we've ever been to, but people typically say that if you're going to visit one, this one is it. It has Islamic Art, including the Gates of Babylon and a Greek temple. My recommendation would be to check out the museums on the island and decide which one(s) interest you most. Easy enough. Also, buy the Berlin Pass for free or reduced entry to museums, landmarks and public transportation.
The Television Tower is just kind of weird to me. It looms over the city and appears very utilitarian. It is in East Berlin and a bit of a walk from all of the other sites. It was built by the East German government during the 60s as a demonstration of strength and efficiency of the socialist party. We visited the tower as one of our last stops on Saturday, and by this time Baby K had pretty much had it. At one point she was on the floor rolling around, and at another, she was running away and I pulled on her shirt causing her to fall...in front of about 30 people. Awesome. Oh well, life happens. So, I may not be the best judge of this landmark, but if seeing the city from above is your thing, you may want to take a visit. Also, either buy your tickets online before you go, or buy the VIP tickets so you don't have to wait two hours to get to the top.
Tiergarten is not necessarily a landmark to see, but it is a huge park in the middle of the city that's great to walk through. To give you an idea of size, it's 10 acres short of Central Park, which is pretty big for any urban city. It was nice for us because we could let Baby K out to explore a bit and just wander around. It was surprising how large the trees were, as many of the trees around the city are young, due to everything being destroyed during the war. If you need a break from the urban feel, Tiergarten is a nice place to escape from the hustle and bustle.
BK thought this was one of the best cathedrals we've seen in Europe, and we've seen quite a few. It was built in the 1400s and has been expanded numerous times. One thing I liked about it was that it has statues around the dome, four of significant religious figures and four lay people that had a significant impact on the spreading of the church in Germany. BK and I also did our usual thing of climbing to the top of where ever we are and climbed to the top of the dome to check out the view from there. Baby K slept through the site, so we each did laps around the sanctuary while the other went to the top. The Cathedral is very close to museum island, so make a stop in if you have time.
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| Memorial to the Gypsies |
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| Empty bookshelves in Bebelplatz |
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| Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
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| Russian memorial |
There are a number of war memorials throughout the city, memorializing various groups impacted by the war and the Nazi regime. They are all very different from one another and do a good job at memorializing their specific group or event. The ones we visited include the memorial for the gypsies, Soviet War Memorial, the tomb of the unknown soldier, and the Babelplatz book burning.
The tomb of the unknown soldier was particularly impactful, as the woman who designed the sculpture held a staunch anti-war stance until her son convinced her to let him fight in WWI. The son was killed three weeks after going to war. After this all of her sculptures were shaped by this tragedy and she believed that in the end war ultimately left many mothers without their children.
The other memorial-type thing we saw was in Bebelplatz, just outside of Humboldt University; empty bookshelves to signify all the books lost in a mass book burning. In the square, if you look down into the ground, there is a memorial for the 20,000 books that were burned on May 10, 1933. These books, by renowned authors, philosophers, and scientists, were seen as threats to Nazi ideology and were burned to put an end to the thought.
Whew! I think that about sums it up for us in Berlin. It's a lot, but it was really, really good. We really enjoyed the city and all it had to offer. Like every other destination I tell you about, go if you get the chance!
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