Yesterday we took a walking tour of Berlin and I began to realize why, at first, I didn't like this city. It's not what you expect to find in the capital city of Germany with all of the construction construction, lack of a noticeable style of architecture, and ample graffiti. If I hadn't seen the few centuries-old buildings that we saw yesterday, I might even have said Berlin could easily be any city in America.
And that's true, it kind of could...except for the reasons the way Berlin is nothing like Paris: it was completely destroyed during the World Wars. That's what makes Berlin so different from any place I've ever been.
This city has such a rich, powerful history. Just imagine what a city ravaged by war and then half-ruled be the Soviet Union less than 30 years ago. The result is obviously not going to be the prettiest thing.
But Berlin's a beautiful city in its own way and there definitely are more traditionally beautiful sections.
Our tour stated yesterday at the Brandenburg Gate which, among other things, served as one of the checkpoints between East and West Berlin. Up until 1997 (I think?), the square all around it was barren...and if you we're caught there, you'd be shot (to kill) immediately by Soviet border guards. Located there now is the most luxurious hotel in Berlin out of which Michael Jackson famously dangled his baby.
Then we went to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It's the picture of the concrete blocks. There are no names, no dates, no writing at all. You're meant to just walk thought the lines of blocks that begin to tower over you and block your vision of just about anything except for what's in a straight line directly in front of and behind you. The architect didn't assign any direct interpretation so you're allowed to take it as you will.
We then saw sections of the wall (that have been removed from the original site) that have been painted more recently on our way to Hitler's bunker where he and his wife committed suicide, putting an end to the war. Now there's a parking lot there. Usually I'd be disappointed that a part of history was just buried, but I think it was definitely the appropriate move for this particular place.
Then we got into the section of the city where the older buildings are as you can see, there's construction literally everywhere. Berlin's still rebuilding and restoring from all of the destruction, especially in East Berlin because the Soviet's didn't exactly care about spending money on old German buildings.
Museum Island, which is really is an island, is super beautiful. There are tons of old (partially rebuilt---no area was spared in the bombings) buildings and museums. Sadly the palace of the former royal family was demolished instead of restored by the Soviets after World War II.
After the tour we go Vietnamese food for lunch at a restaurant called Miss Saigon. So delicious and so cheap, I even got an avocado shake. It's definitely a must-visit if you're ever in Berlin.
The next thing we saw was the East Side Gallery, over a mile of the wall and the most famous section. It's a lot the riverfront and the government has talked about moving sections to build luxury apartments. On one hand I think that's a terrible move but on the other, it might bring some much-needed revenue to the city.
Just one last thing I want to mention: notice the postcards with the little red and green men. Those are actually the traffic men (you know on lights, that tell you when to walk) in East Berlin. We noticed them and thought they were really weird when we got here hit yesterday our tour guide explained to us that they're supposed to be little communist men wearing work hats. I guess the German government chose to keep them in Easy Berlin for the sake of history!
And finally after our long day we went to a hookah bar. I don't have any pictures because it was really dark, but it was lots of fun.
Oh and also yesterday we learned that the fall of the Berlin Wall was a complete accident. A politician accidentally read aloud a top-secret document which was actually about be fact that some people would be allowed to apply for visas to leave East Berlin. Instead he told journalists that literally anyone could leave East Berlin, effective immediately...not exactly what his bosses had detailed. Anyway, that's how it happened.
Since I have a lot of pictures to post I have to put them in separate entries, the blogger app on my phone can't handle it.
Here are the links to the entries with photos.
East Side Gallery:
http://labelleviehmg.blogspot.de/2013/04/pictures-east-side-gallery.html?m=1
All the rest:
http://labelleviehmg.blogspot.de/2013/04/pictures-walking-tour-berlin.html?m=1
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