The Schrag Blog: Berlin Walking Tour. . .

We woke up early that Sunday morning to drive to Manhattan from Kevin's parents' place. It was 4am, dark outside, and we enjoyed a quiet drive to the airport, meaning we had an uninterrupted conversation for the whole drive. Every once in while when I was little, my dad would wake us before the sun was up to get on the road somewhere. The air is always cooler then and it's just so quiet everywhere. As a kid, I don't think I had an appreciation for that hour of the day. This time, I loved it.

We flew from Manhattan to Chicago and had five hours to just hang out with each other. Here we are, enjoying some coffee and anonymity in O'Hare before our flight to Berlin.

When I was 18, I went on a 2-week trip to Europe with some friends and a sponsor. I don't remember a lot from the trip and I know I didn't pay much attention to the information that was given. Years later, I decided I really wanted to go back so I could actually appreciate the history and culture. We landed in Berlin and I was so excited! Kevin is amazing with figuring out public transportation so we bought a Red Book and hopped on a bus towards downtown. We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and took off for the Berlin Walking Tour. We were about an hour early, so we decided to make a quick trip up the TV Tower. The TV Tower came into operation in 1969, during the GDR (German Democratic Republic, what we know as East Germany). After Germany was reunified in 1990, it became one of the most famous symbols of Berlin.

From the top of the tower, which is the tallest structure in Berlin, you have a 360 degree view of the city. It's pretty amazing, although I only recognized a few of the buildings below. I kind of wish we had visited it again after touring the city. One thing that surprised me about Berlin is that there really aren't that many skyscrapers. There are a few, but not like Chicago or New York City. Some people have said it's expensive and just not the style of the city. In fact, there aren't any cities in Germany that are laden with the tall buildings.

After our trip up the tower, we rushed over to the meeting area for the walking tour. I think the guide was slightly overwhelmed when more than 60 people showed up! Johnny was from England and had a beautiful accent. He was full of knowledge and humor, which made for an incredible 3-hour tour!! We were SO happy with our experience! We also walked several miles during that time.

This is an interesting statue just outside the Old Museum. I believe the naked man is trying to spear a lion while his horse is trying to buck him off. I didn't learn the significance of the statue. I'm not sure I wanted to.

The Berlin Cathedral or Berliner Dom. We only saw the outside, but didn't enter.

One of the many beautiful canals in Berlin:

This is the Mother with her Dead Son statue. Rick Steve's description says, "This marks the tombs of Germany's unknown soldier and an unknown concentration camp victim. The inscription in front reads, 'To the victims of war and tyranny.'" The statue is located in a stone building with an open roof. Sunshine, rain, and snow fall on the statue, symbolism intended.

I've read several WWII books over the last few years, some fiction, some non-fiction, so I had read about the infamous book burning ceremonies. When Hitler was in power, there was a campaign to burn all books that weren't approved by him, so they wouldn't "corrupt" the minds of his people. On this square, Bebelplatz, over 20,000 books were burned on the night of May 10, 1933. On the left plaque, translated in English, it says, "Where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people," a quote from Heinrich Heine. Students from the university hold a book sale every year to mark the anniversary. It's just incredible to me how deep the regime was. I cannot even begin to touch on it. I could write for days about the atrocities committed and all those involved. One thing is certain: Hitler was not alone. This wasn't a one-man show. Thousands and thousands of people were involved and they honestly believed they were doing right.

The Berlin Concert Hall (Konzarthaus)

Next to the Concert Hall was the French Cathedral. We didn't have time to go inside either of these.

The Brandenburg Gate:

This is the Hotel Adlon, one of the most expensive and famous hotels in Berlin. It's located on Unter den Linden, just down from the Brandenburg Gate. Most of it was destroyed in the final days of WWII, some of it used during the Soviet regime, but then reconstructed and opened again in 1997. Some of the rooms can run you over $25,000 per night!!! That was slightly out of our budget, so we just took a picture of the place. Actually, one of the reasons the Adlon is so famous in American minds is because Michael Jackson idiotically dangled one of his kids out the window for his fans.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was a powerful place to walk. There are 2,711 concrete slabs of varying sizes covering 4.7 acres. It was amazing. I'll cover it more in a separate post. Because it deserves it.

Next we went to one section of what remains of the Berlin Wall. (There are three major sections that have been preserved. This was was near Checkpoint Charlie.) I've heard about the Wall and knew a bit of the history and I even remember how important it was when it came down. But like most events I learned about in high school, it was just an event. It became a tangible reality as I stood next to the wall and read about the terror that was once again inflicted upon the German people, so few years after they had endured the pain of the Nazi regime.

Just to give you an idea of the height of the wall, here we are next to some of the salvaged sections. On top of the wall was another barrier, a smooth pipe that made it even more difficult for people to escape East Germany into West Germany.

Several sections of the wall were painted and are now part of a memorial to that era.

Checkpoint Charlie was the most popular checkpoint because most foreigners passed through there during the Cold War. The checkpoint has pretty much been destroyed and it doesn't look like it did back then, but again, it was good to learn more about this area and the significance of the sight.

Just under the remaining stretch of the Wall stands the Topography of Terror. Interestingly, the building behind the Wall (not the one in the picture, but the opposite side of the Wall) was where the Gestapo and SS were located during Hitler's regime. Below the Wall is an outdoor exhibit called Berlin 1933-1945: Between Propaganda and Terror. We spent over half an hour reading the chronological history of the Nazi regime. It was overwhelmingly sickening.

Just to get an idea of how impossible it would have been to just "jump" over the Wall, look at the height of it compared to me. In addition to it were the guards who would shoot anyone trying to escape!

There's a brick line surrounding the city, marking where the Berlin Wall once stood. Had someone not pointed these out to me, I might have missed them.

Just a few of the skyscrapers near Potsdamer Platz. We didn't really visit this area, but it's one of the newer sections in the city to be built, complete with businesses, shopping and dining.

The Brandenburg Gate from the west, looking east. The Berlin Wall once stood just in front of the Gate. You can just barely see the brick line running through the white street lines.

The Brandenburg Gate from the Reichstag.

Hanging out with some fake soldiers.

It was fun being goofy with them.

Without warning, one of the men picked me up and held me for a picture. I was screaming at my laughing husband who decided to get a picture. Apparently, the guy in the background thought it was pretty funny.

Unter den Linden is the major boulevard in what used to be East Berlin. Pariser Platz is the area just in front of the Brandenburg Gate, on the east side.

Imagine the joy in my husband's eyes as the familiar coffee shop came into view. No matter what country we've visited, a Starbuck's Americano is one of the best coffees around! We enjoyed a hot cup while we did some people watching.