We had a busy schedule for this day in Berlin. Everything should work as planned if only our legs will hold out. Solved part of that problem by purchasing a 48 hour bus/S-Bahn/U-Bahn ticket that would allow us to use any of those three transportation devices to get around Berlin. Bus 100 was the best choice as we caught it just outside our hotel.
On the way we passed the Berliner Dom, (Dom means cathedral) the largest Protestant church in Berlin. It’s a pre-war relic that spent the post-war years as a non-entity due to Communism.
Directly across the street is the new symbol of East Berlin. Construction gantries are everywhere as the East slowly but steadily becomes part of the West. They almost appear to be the city bird of Berlin.
While waiting for the bus we noticed the unusual pedestrian traffic lights characters.
We learned that they are unique to the former East Germany and have been given the nickname, Ampelmännchen. Both Google and Bing have translated it as “Ampelmännchen” so you’ll have to live with that.
There are even stores dedicated to the character, like the one next door to our hotel. We resisted buying this one.
The first stop on our Berlin tour was The Holocaust Memorial. The title of this memorial doesn’t mince words. “The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe,” is the official name and is reinforced by a whole city block of cement slabs, reminding one of tombstones. The 2711 gravestone-like pillars were completed in 2005. We didn’t take the time to count them so we are taking Rick Steve’s word for it.
You are allowed to walk between the slabs and even sit on them…but don’t try to stand on one for a better photo shot. A little man pops up from nowhere shouting, “Nicht, Nein, No, Non,” in whatever language works. They all worked on me.
We headed for Potsdamer Platz, an attempt to build a new commercial center in Berlin. The Mall of Berlin is one example. It has attracted some major firms but hasn’t really clicked with the shopping public. It was our first experience with the U-Bahn or subway in our language.
With some guidance from English speaking locals, we managed to surface near the famous Checkpoint Charlie. This was the entry point to Russian held territory, and at one time was a popular exit point for East Germans fleeing to the West.
The sign certainly reinforces the seriousness of passage to and from East/West.
Checkpoint Charlie is still very active with locals now posing as American MP’s appealing to the tourist largesse. My friend, Skip Lusk, was an MP in Germany during his service. I’m sure he would agree that none of these guys would pass inspection. Now McDonald’s stands guard as an example of American might and power.
The girl standing between the MP’s certainly would not have passed muster…especially with that Russian soldier’s hat on her head. But, a guy has to make a living.
Checkpoint Charlie attracts a lot of traffic including this Trabant automobile, a left-over from the East German days. It was underpowered by a two stroke engine that ran on gas mixed with oil…much like a lawnmower. The combustion was not terribly efficient resulting in the car being called, “Little Stinker.”
Could anyone have foreseen the day when the lowly Trabant would be converted into a sightseeing limousine. We saw several of these in Berlin.
We used our subway passes to take us to the Berlin Wall Memorial at the Nordhof subway station. We were a little disappointed in the scene as a memorial because it was largely overgrown by weeds. Couldn’t help but notice the wide swath that the East Germans cleared to put up the wall and the No Man’s Land that anyone had to cross to escape.
It turns out we didn’t quite reach the memorial and didn’t have the energy to search for it. We settled for the weeds. There’s an interesting story of the Nordhof subway station though. The Wall cut right through it, thus causing a possible exit point for East Germans. The station was closed and guards were stationed there to make sure no one got on or off the train. The twist was that the guards themselves were locked in to make sure they didn’t defect to the West as well.
Next on the agenda was a tour of the German Reichstag building. It has had a difficult history and was damaged by burning 1933. Adolph Hitler (some think he started the fire) blamed it on the Communists so he could have complete power. It sat largely idle during the Russian occupation and has come to life as the center of today’s democratic Germany.
To replace the irreparable dome, a new design was built that would serve many purposes. It consists of a bevy of 360 mirrors hung in the center of the glass dome that reflect light down into the Reichstag chamber to provide daylight to the lawmakers.
It also is a magnet to those wanting to take a good hike up to nowhere and then back down. There is something fascinating about walking in a complete circle over and over again.
Of course the view changes with every footstep. Needless to say, since this is the center of government, access is heavily guarded. The entry tickets are free (depending on how you value your time) after an hour-long wait for a passport check. Entry is through an airport TSA type of security check, different only in that you don’t have to remove your shoes.
A pictorial history of the Reichstag is at the base of the mirror stand and shows just how much this building has been through.
At the very top is an open vent that takes in fresh air and expels the hot air coming from the legislature. Rain that falls in is distributed to the shrubs on the grounds. After hiking all the way to the top and back down again, there was a coffee shop conveniently placed at the base of the dome. We stopped in for a coffee break. The shock came when we got the bill. We thought $22 was just a little high for two glasses of orange juice and two cups of ordinary coffee. We inspected the check closely and found the orange juice was hand-squeezed. At that price we can only assume the squeezing was done by Angela Merkle herself.
On the way back to our hotel, we decided on one last treat before leaving Berlin. An hour and one half ride on the River Spree seemed just the ticket.
