Walking All Day in Berlin
1 Comment [Pictures uploaded earlier, but I haven't a chance to write until now (in Krakow). (Delay in Time) As I finish writing this, I am leaving Krakaw for Vienna.]
I took an all day walking tour with Brewer’s Berlin Tours. I have to say, off the bat, that it is the best walking tour I’ve ever been on. The guides (two that I’ve met) were really funny and full of insightful history about the city. This tour is more than just a walk from A-B-C through the city, the guide tailored the tour for the people in our group… we walked A-Z in an order that worked for us.
Our tour started off in front of the New Synagogue in Berlin. The Synagogue isn’t really new, but it is newer than the Old Synagogue. 
It is fascinating that this synagogue survived the Night of Broken Glass. As a mob of Nazi thugs crowded the street, an old 65 year old police officer stood in front of the door and would not let them pass. This old officer stared down the fanatics and told them to all go home… and they did! This is the height of Nazi bully-ism in Germany as they were taking power and not many would stand up against them.
And during the war, buildings were bombed flat… Some survived, and many that survived were slated for demolition… One was the following building, which was taken over by squatters after some time… Needless to say that the building was never demolished and has been turned into a hip hangout place:
Then we had a story of the number 6.
After that we ended up at the “Palace of Tears”. The nickname was of the trainstation, located in East Berlin, where friends and family shed countless tears as visiting members from West Berlin were about to leave. This was during a time when those from the West could have a twentyfour hour visa to visit the East. And once that was up, they had to leave… and they all queued up in front of the station trying to spend their last moments together. Once the visitor entered the station, they were subject to hidden cameras and about 20 minutes of border guards verifying the person against his passport. So here we are, victorious– with a backdrop of a relocated piece of the wall:
And here I am next to the best preserved building from World War 2 in East Berlin. The pock marks in the side of the building are actual bullet holes and bomb damage.
We then took a stop in front of the palace, which was once a plain concrete square. This is where many infamous Nazi rallies were held. It is now a bit more beautiful with the lawns of grass.
We walked to a “Monument of Sorrow”. It’s quite a sad story… half the artist’s family died in the First World War, the other half died in the Second World War. This statue is of a mother cradling her dead child… in symbolic overtures to the pain caused by war.
We stopped for lunch in The square with dueling churches and a concert hall. One protestant, one catholic.
A quick stop to the largest chocolate store in europe…. not too impressed, the candy was better in Bruges.
This is the point where we walked to Checkpoint Charlie. I’ve written enough about it so I will skip any description here.
Walked by the Topography of Terror, the old remains of the SS/Gestapo headquarters. I went back a little later to take a free audio guide tour– they just kept your ID as insurance/deposit– for a couple of hours. They packed a lot of info into how the SS and Gestapo worked. The ruins unearthed are tiny jail cells used to house prisoners while they were being interrogated in the headquarters. The site originally was to be renovated, but was indefinately left as an exhibit after it the ruins were found during the initial digs.
After that, we stopped by the infamous last bunker where “certain high ranking Nazi people” committed suicide. There is a Catch-22 about what to do with the place… The government would be criticized for turning it into a museum, they would be criticized for just about doing any there… Instead, they just left it as a carpark. The funny thing is that that small grass lawn (pictured) used to be the rose garden that sat directly above the bunker and is now where owners let their dogs poop. There was quite a bit of dog doody on the lawn.
And to top off with more controversy in Berlin, the new Jewish memorial sits smack dab in the middle of Berlin. Ignoring the the meaning of the memorial, I thought the structure was quite fascinating. The stone columns just sat there, and one would walk down amongst them… leaving one to feel both alone, yet amongst others.
Then off walking around to Brandonburg Gate… I am not going to say much because the entire place was just filled with tourists doing the World Cup party thing… Although, there are ironies found in the square. Such as how the French Embassy is located in a square named after a Prussian victory over the French in some war.
The german parlaiment… Very nice. Glad I went. Time is running out and I want to finally publish this post. The view is so so, but I thought it was a good structure to just visit.
Ok. That was it for a walking trip of Berlin. Next up was Prague, which I will get to soon.
Hey Ben…YC reminded me of your blog last night so in this lovely July 4th wkend and after a lovely dinner @ I Luv Sushi, I got on-line and in one sitting read the whole travel blog. Fascinating journey and journal…I transported myself there w/ your writings and recalls many travels of my youth (and recent sr yrs
! Think it so cool to really having real exchanges w/ the citizens of the world! Woulda love those chocalates, churros, herrings and other yummy foods w/ you. Must enjoy and experience for us all stuck on our own behinds here! Love ya and miss ya! Good sharing as it brings much joy!
Love, Auntie L
Comment by Auntie L — July 4, 2006 @ 10:49 am