Got off the bus in the central area of old East Berlin and started our walking tour. First place we wanted to visit was the famous Brandenburg Gate, which was built in 1791 and is the last survivor of 14 gates in Berlin's old city wall. On top of the gate sits a four horse chariot carrying the Goddess of Peace at the reins. However, it became famous as the symbol of a divided Berlin as it was part of the Wall dividing East and West. The world watched on November 9, 1989 as Berliners from East and West jammed through the gates in celebration of a soon to be united Germany. Its quite impressive to walk through the gats today but certainly cannot compare to what it must have been like in 1989. From the Brandenburg Gate we moved onto the Reichstag Building, which is Germany's federal parliament building. It was built in the 1890's and was hardly used from 1933 to 1999 due to a fire and severe damage during the war. It was completly rebuilt and includes a 155 ft glass dome rising from the top of the building which has a spiral staircase for public viewing. Next we walked to the Memorial to the "Murdered Jews of Europe", made of 2,711 gravestone-like pillars in black. Its a very unique experience walking through the labyrinth of pillars.
We walked up to Unter den Linden, named after the thousands of Linden trees that line the boulevard and onto Museum Island to get a better look at the buildings we passed yesterday. It was then onto Alexanderplatz, the commercial pride and joy of East Berlin. A huge square that includes St. Marion Church (14th century), Berlin City Hall (1869) the Neptune Fountain (1891) and the East German additions of the World Time Clock (1969) and the 365 meter TV Tower (1969) plus many retail stores and restaurants.
It was time to feed Rita and so it was off the Potsdamer Platz, known as the "Times Square of Berlin". It was cut in two by the Wall and left as a deserted no-man's land for 40 years. Today its all brand new buildings and is the new business and entertainment hub for Berlin. We had an excellent "German" lunch. Rita has white asparagus with hollandaise sause and boiled potatoes and I had "Schweinshaxe" (roasted pork knuckle) and washed it down with a Hefeweizen (wheat) beer. After that we were ready for a walk to Checkpoint Charlie, the border between the American Sector and East Germany. The tense history of the most famous of the border crossings (because it was where most foreigners would pass through) is very well described (in English) through a photo exhibit stetching down the street to the Topography of Terror Exhibit which includes 300 meters of the original Wall and a museum that tells the story of National Socialism and its vicims in Berlin. The museum is located on the site where the Gestapo and SS headquarters once stood. A very emotional way to end our tour but it was getting late so we hopped on the tour bus and headed home and a pizza dinner at one of the outdoor local restaurants. Tomorrow we will take a river cruise on the Spree River and visit Charlottenburgh Palace.
Brandenburg Gate 
Rita inside the Glass Dome at the Reichstag Building
Rita at the Jewish Memorial
365 meter tall TV Tower at Alexander Platz
Berlin Cathedral located on Museum Island
No comments:
Post a Comment