The kids are fresh after the long days
drive so we are going to be out and about in the city of Berlin. From my personal point of view I am
pretty excited because I have never been here and new cities really intrigue
me. Before I ramble on I need to
print an omission from the other day…..I forgot to mention my main help in
Holten the other day, photographer Chloe Champion. Chloe said she noticed that I had not mentioned who was responsible
for all that picture taking….my bad Chloe!!!! You were a great help!!
Back to Berlin…we pick up our guide at the
hotel at 9 AM and we are off to our tour throughout the city. Alex our tour guide is originally from
North Carolina and has lived in Berlin for the past 6 years and is studying the
history of the city. First of all
let me preface this city by saying it is not like Paris, Rome or London…if you
are into seeing the pure beauty of the city from the naked eye…...this is not
the place for you. It is an
interesting city to say the least, but you have to manage the communist
structures, either square or rectangle in shape in the east, to rebuilt and
eclectic in the west. The other
difficult thing to understand is that the city was almost completely destroyed
after WWII. Our first
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| Guard tower...actually purchased on eBay and returned to site |
stop will be
at the famous section of the wall that is still standing and the section in
between referred to as “no man’s land.”
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| Trip wire activation panel still standing in "No Man's Land" |
If you need to have no idea about this
area of the world and the history of the 20th century, then I
suggest you read Ken Follet’s Century Trilogy. The last of the series is called “Edge of Eternity” and it
describes the Second World War, the Cold War and the modern era of world
history. Within the book Follet
describes families that are separated by the Berlin Wall and the effects that
it had on their daily lives. I
highly recommend the series, Fall of Giants, Winter of the World and the Edge
of Eternity, should actually be used in history classes. Back to the tour!!!
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| Western Side of the Wall |
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| No Man's Land |
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| Wall on Eastern Side and Guard Tower |
We have made our way back and forth across
the wall and have stopped at this section that was unfortunately the site of
most of the death that occurred from either firefighting or the attempted
escapes. Really hard to see the
faces of the dead in the no man’s land area and as well the stories that are
attached to them. I wish I had the
opportunity to get the kid’s to write about this one, but we came back and went
to bed so it’s not happening tonight.
When we return I think I will get them to summarize what they have seen,
done and felt during this experience.
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| Panel of pictures and names of East Berliners killed trying to escape |
From the wall, we head towards Museum
Island. When you get to the heart
of the city you see the real beauty of Berlin. You also see much of the partial destruction that took place
during the bombing and battle of Berlin on the monuments that were left as
reminders to what can take place when the wrong people are in charge.
The Berlin Cathedral and the Berlin Museum
are the two main attractions that are located on the island. As you drive down from the island you
also pass the German Reichstag, which is a wonderful building that exhibits
everything that Germany is about, efficiency and forward thinking. The Reichstag is powered completely by
alternative energy as the building is run on wind, sun, and vegetable oil. Efficiency and forward thinking!!! From the government promenade we make
our way to the Victory Column, which was built for the German victories over
the years, and unlike Napoleon and the French, they actually acknowledge their losses.
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| Kaiser Wilhelm Church |
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| Kaiser Wilhelm Church |
After a couple of hours for lunch and free shopping time, and yes I said that this was not a shopping trip, but we have had a couple of hours in come of the best shopping areas of Europe. They are fine and certainly contributing to the economy of the European Union. One of the most interesting things that we have learned in both the Netherlands and Germany is one of acceptance. Fiza, our guide in Amsterdam, told us to find the "Stolperstein" or "Stumble Stones" that can be found throughout many German cities. As you can see these "stumble stones" denote a Jewish German family member that died during the holocaust. These stones are place in front of the areas where the people used to live, their houses to be exact. So as you can see, the Germans don't run from their history, something we all should learn from.
After our shopping and lunch time we head to "Checkpoint Charlie" and the museum that accompanies the area. The history of Berlin is extremely confusing, but David Harrod is doing a wonderful job of sorting through all of the different angles that we are seeing.
Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War. The museum itself has so much information that we would need a minimum of a full day to read through everything that took place during the era when it was established and beyond. We do the best we can and wind our way through and fittingly enough I finish in the room that has Reagan's famous speech being conducted at the wall that has Reagan asking Gorbachev to tear down the wall!!! Pretty neat stuff!!!
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| End of American Zone...Picture of Russian Soldier at entrance to Russian sector |
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| "American" Soldiers available for photos everyday |
After Checkpoint Charlie we head to supper in a high end department store and once again we have a wonderful meal!!! After supper, the kids ask for some more shopping time as they have found a wonderful store in Alexanderplatts that is cheap and trendy...they are loving this part of Berlin!!
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| Students in front of Eastern Gallery of the Wall....Famous Breznev kiss!! |
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| The former Iron Curtain were really close!!! |
From here we walk back to the hotel. Very difficult to see the beauty in this city as I have said before. The kids seem to be a little nervous because there are a lot of people in the street and seeing as it is Saturday, they are ready to party. Always keep in mind, that European views on things like alcohol and where it is consumed are far more liberal than we are in Canada. The city also has a very "fight the power" kind of flair and the kids are noticing a lot of graffiti. Well there is, but what we have seen on this eastern gallery is not just graffiti, it is art.....the problem is that some people come along and deface the art with mindless "tags" that are just graffiti. I always keep in mind where these kids are from and recognize how intimidating things like this can be. Anyways, we are all tucked in and ready for a very heavy day tomorrow with the concentration camp in the morning and the Topography of Terror Museum in the afternoon!!1 Take care from Berlin and Gute Nachte !!!
Back to Berlin…we pick up our guide at the
hotel at 9 AM and we are off to our tour throughout the city. Alex our tour guide is originally from
North Carolina and has lived in Berlin for the past 6 years and is studying the
history of the city. First of all
let me preface this city by saying it is not like Paris, Rome or London…if you
are into seeing the pure beauty of the city from the naked eye…...this is not
the place for you. It is an
interesting city to say the least, but you have to manage the communist
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