Berlin

The infamous Trabant

Berlin was a bit of a mixed bag - I loved learning about the history of the city, but found little conversation with the Berliners. Instead of taking the metro, I walked for miles over the 2 days I spent there. Perhaps spending the previous 2 weeks mostly cooped up in a train really encouraged me to stretch my legs.

Brandenburg Gate by night......

After arriving at my hotel on the first evening, a quick look on the map told me I was only about 15 minutes walk from the Brandenburg Gate, another famous European sight I have never been fortunate enough to see. It was a good time to visit - very few people were around. After my first little adventure in Berlin, I returned to a restaurant outside my hotel for some pasta and a couple of glasses of wine.

......and by day

The next day was pretty busy. I walked, walked, and then walked some more. Having a good iPhone map application really does make life much easier. I researched the places I wished to visit, marked them on my map with a pin, and then set off on foot - the best way to get to know a city!

Some sights from my first full day in Berlin included the Brandenburg Gate (by day), the government building called the 'Bundestag or Reichstag', Checkpoint Charlie, the Topography of Terror Museum, Potsdamer Platz, the Fuhrerbunker, and the memorial to Europe's murdered Jewish population.

The Topography of Terror it seemed was mostly an apology to Poland and the city of Warsaw for the atrocities which happened in WWII. Some of the pictures and written history were brutally honest - a small Polish girl crying over her bullet riddled sister's body. This museum is placed at the location of the former headquarters of the Waffen SS, the most brutal arm of Hitler's war machine. Along the periphery of the museum, it was interesting to see a large intact section of the famous Berlin Wall.

Checkpoint Charlie was a mild curiosity - the former crossing point between East and West. Today, tourist tat has taken over.

Checkpoint Charlie

I especially enjoyed seeing the Fuhrerbunker, the location where Hitler killed himself and then was burnt in a pool of kerosene. There is very little to indicate the dark history which is associated with this site, apart from an information sign explaining the layout of the bunker. The site is now a scruffy little car park beside an ageing East German block of flats.

Site of the Furherbunker

A small act of justice to Europe's Jewish population was the placing of the Jewish memorial a mere couple of minutes from Hitler's bunker. Surely not a coincidence. I smiled imagining Hitler going apoplectic at what had happened to his precious Berlin.

Perhaps I was staying in the wrong part of Berlin. The nightlife did not seem particularly interesting and so I was in bed both nights not long after midnight. However, my disappointment with the nightlife was just a minor inconvenience - it was fascinating to see modern Berlin and sights connected to the dark days of the Nazis.

Jewish Memorial

Next Paris!