Berlin
Berlin, derived from some old language for bog since that is what it was originally, is the capital of Germany and was the epitome of the cold war and iron curtain. Cemented in history from the time of the Nazi’s, but equally prominent before then as well, it is often described as one of the most exciting places in Europe. This is due to the continually evolving nature of the city as it takes it time amalgamating the old Eastern and Western parts.
After arriving at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, main station, we were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer size of the 6 story structure. After struggling to find a way out, we eventually realised that we needed to catch a different train and in fact, not try to get out at all! Eventually we settled into our hostel in old East Berlin and quickly realised an important thing…..Berlin is very cheap!! As had quickly become our habit, we dumped our bags and get out to have a look around. with run down buildings, graffiti scrawled on every space spot of wall and multiple funky little bars and cafes it quickly became apparent that Berlin was going to be a wicked stop.
The best way to orientate yourself to Berlin is to take a walking tour. Led by our NZ guide, we learnt more than we could about the history of Berlin then we could have by ourselves (save of course spending the next months sitting in a library!!). The tour, run by “New Berlin”, was free and worked on a tip basis. After a thoroughly enjoyable 3.5 hour tour, we almost felt cheap leaving only €15 for the two of us. I would strongly recommend these guys should anyone venture towards Berlin.
The few days we had in Berlin was to be nowhere near enough. After the walking tour we headed to the “Checkpoint Charlie” museum. This museum, which detailed the erection of the wall and the many and varied escapes (successful and not) that occurred during the time of the division, was one of the most randomly arranged museums on Earth. It felt like you were walking in the Tardis as you continued to find yet another room cramped wall to ceiling with photos and information. None of the information really seemed to follow any logical order and the amount of it almost became oppressing. Checkpoint Charlie itself the point of greatest tension during the cold war as American and Russian tanks faced off over the gate between East and West Berlin over an incident involving an American army general and an opera. The reconstructed border-post, complete with people dressed in mock American and Russian uniforms (who are in fact porn stars….no kidding) provides a reminder of times gone by.
Also on the agenda was the Jewish museum. After passing through the metal detectors we ventured in to learn about the history of the Jewish people in Europe. A temporary exhibition related to Sigmund Freud (he really was obsessed with sex with his mother) was an interesting aside from the rest of the museum which of course included details of the persecution under the Nazi regime.
The “Topography of Terror” was a free outdoor exhibition detailing the Nürembourg trials (the Nazi post-war war crimes trials) as well as the history of the SS and Gestapo. The most chilling aspect was a quoted excerpt from the trial of Herman Goering, a prominent Nazi party member, who said something to the effect of:
“Yes, we believed it lawful to detail people, with or without proof, on the suspicion that they may or may not be thinking of perpetrating a crime against the state in the future”. I thought the world was supposed to learn from it’s mistakes?!??!
Robin and I also managed a trip to nearby Potsdam on the Southwest side of Berlin. The hi-light of Potsdam was a series of summer palaces of royalty gone by, nestled in an immense parkland. The grand magnificence of some of the palaces was overwhelming and it included a room decorated entirely of sea shells! Whilst in one room, Robin took the time to take a photo of a bathroom, an act (i.e. photography) that was strictly forbidden. To ensure that this did not occur again, in something resembling Chinese Whispers, each guard relayed to the next the information about the dodgy blonde girl taking photos. This of course freed me up to shoot a few shots from the hip, with the shutter noise covered by the ever reliable and always conspicuous cough!! They were watching the wrong person since Robin didn’t actually know at the time that she was doing the wrong thing!! As you can see, not all of the photos worked but the “Mission Impossible” nature of clandestine photography was funny.
Our last night in Berlin was spent doing another of the essential activities in Berlin…an organised pub crawl. Of the many bars and clubs visited that night, the coolest was the bar inside a squat. The building, through some loop hole, is rented for €1 per month and inside is about 5 bars, with different music blaring as well as a massive beer garden, covered in sand, and complete with caravan bars and a helicopter shell!! The walls were covered with awesome graffiti and there were regularly metal work statues scattered around as well.
Nursing slight hangovers, and on very little sleep, we crawled out of the hostel and bordered the train for Prague having not done half of what we wanted.
After arriving at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, main station, we were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer size of the 6 story structure. After struggling to find a way out, we eventually realised that we needed to catch a different train and in fact, not try to get out at all! Eventually we settled into our hostel in old East Berlin and quickly realised an important thing…..Berlin is very cheap!! As had quickly become our habit, we dumped our bags and get out to have a look around. with run down buildings, graffiti scrawled on every space spot of wall and multiple funky little bars and cafes it quickly became apparent that Berlin was going to be a wicked stop.
The best way to orientate yourself to Berlin is to take a walking tour. Led by our NZ guide, we learnt more than we could about the history of Berlin then we could have by ourselves (save of course spending the next months sitting in a library!!). The tour, run by “New Berlin”, was free and worked on a tip basis. After a thoroughly enjoyable 3.5 hour tour, we almost felt cheap leaving only €15 for the two of us. I would strongly recommend these guys should anyone venture towards Berlin.
The few days we had in Berlin was to be nowhere near enough. After the walking tour we headed to the “Checkpoint Charlie” museum. This museum, which detailed the erection of the wall and the many and varied escapes (successful and not) that occurred during the time of the division, was one of the most randomly arranged museums on Earth. It felt like you were walking in the Tardis as you continued to find yet another room cramped wall to ceiling with photos and information. None of the information really seemed to follow any logical order and the amount of it almost became oppressing. Checkpoint Charlie itself the point of greatest tension during the cold war as American and Russian tanks faced off over the gate between East and West Berlin over an incident involving an American army general and an opera. The reconstructed border-post, complete with people dressed in mock American and Russian uniforms (who are in fact porn stars….no kidding) provides a reminder of times gone by.
Also on the agenda was the Jewish museum. After passing through the metal detectors we ventured in to learn about the history of the Jewish people in Europe. A temporary exhibition related to Sigmund Freud (he really was obsessed with sex with his mother) was an interesting aside from the rest of the museum which of course included details of the persecution under the Nazi regime.
The “Topography of Terror” was a free outdoor exhibition detailing the Nürembourg trials (the Nazi post-war war crimes trials) as well as the history of the SS and Gestapo. The most chilling aspect was a quoted excerpt from the trial of Herman Goering, a prominent Nazi party member, who said something to the effect of:
“Yes, we believed it lawful to detail people, with or without proof, on the suspicion that they may or may not be thinking of perpetrating a crime against the state in the future”. I thought the world was supposed to learn from it’s mistakes?!??!
Robin and I also managed a trip to nearby Potsdam on the Southwest side of Berlin. The hi-light of Potsdam was a series of summer palaces of royalty gone by, nestled in an immense parkland. The grand magnificence of some of the palaces was overwhelming and it included a room decorated entirely of sea shells! Whilst in one room, Robin took the time to take a photo of a bathroom, an act (i.e. photography) that was strictly forbidden. To ensure that this did not occur again, in something resembling Chinese Whispers, each guard relayed to the next the information about the dodgy blonde girl taking photos. This of course freed me up to shoot a few shots from the hip, with the shutter noise covered by the ever reliable and always conspicuous cough!! They were watching the wrong person since Robin didn’t actually know at the time that she was doing the wrong thing!! As you can see, not all of the photos worked but the “Mission Impossible” nature of clandestine photography was funny.
Our last night in Berlin was spent doing another of the essential activities in Berlin…an organised pub crawl. Of the many bars and clubs visited that night, the coolest was the bar inside a squat. The building, through some loop hole, is rented for €1 per month and inside is about 5 bars, with different music blaring as well as a massive beer garden, covered in sand, and complete with caravan bars and a helicopter shell!! The walls were covered with awesome graffiti and there were regularly metal work statues scattered around as well.
Nursing slight hangovers, and on very little sleep, we crawled out of the hostel and bordered the train for Prague having not done half of what we wanted.
posted by santas walkabout at 11:12 pm
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