Seventy percent of Berlin was destroyed by the end of WWII. That is unreal. What I found today is a thriving, beautiful city, still being rebuilt and reunified. It speaks volumes for what man can endure and what man can overcome.
When I spoke to people working in the restaurants or at the hotel I found myself wondering what their families did during the war. We asked directions to various WWII sites and again I found myself wondering what their family's connection was to that history. If we asked to see some site about the Berlin Wall, again, what personal stories or history did those people who gave the information have to relate. Were they living in the East or the West? Were their families separated by the Wall? Did they know anyone who died trying to escape?
It would have been fascinating and emotional I'm sure to have conversations with Berliners about their city and their history and find out their experiences as well as their perceptions.
Berlin is more than 775 years old and over the decades, all generations have left their monuments and landmarks in town. There is a lot to see - it's a big city and the places we went to demanded a lot of reading and standing. Definitely hope that I can get back some day.
So on with the trip. Our wake up call was early. The train from Amsterdam left at 6:50, or to make it sound better, Sharon insisted we say ten til seven. (I have to admit, that does that sound better).
We got on the train and started our 6 hour trip to Berlin. The train had a real dining car on it so we were able to break up our trip with a very nice meal. We arrived in Berlin and checked into our hotel around 2:00. Received some information from the Concierge and decided a trip around the city on the tour bus -- this time yellow- would be a good idea.
In the dining car! Such fun!
The new transpotation hub in Berlin.
Very modern. Lovely stores and lots of eating places. I'm sure you can spot McDonald's. The station opened in 2006. It provides central transportation for the entire city. It was required after the reunification to meet the needs of the Citizens who were now free to travel from one part of the country to the other.
Inside.
Outside.Our hotel. Located in the former East Berlin.
This building is the Berlin Concert Hall , Konzerthaus, on Gendarmentmarket square which was very close to our hotel and across the street from where we caught the tour bus. This is in the center of the square and the next buillding is one of two identical buildings that are on each side of the concert hall facing each other and they are the French and German Cathedrals. One is now a museum which teaches about the parliamentary government. It was all in German so we couldn't understand much but it was very well done and is used a lot by the schools to teach their students about their system of government. The other remains a church but neither is a cathedral in the true sense of the word. The statue in the center is of Friedrich Schiller, a renowned German poet. It's a beauitful square with these lovely buildings and a little outdoor cafe is also located there. 
This is the inside of the Parliamentary Museum.
It was beautifully done. Lots of interactive displays in the museum itself. This is just the entrance.
Faith 
TruthNot us, but could have been. We did climb these stairs to the Concert Hall.
Our view from the top!
We got on the bus which drove us around part of the city which included the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, Reichstag, Holocast Memorial, Tiergarten, numerous museums, monuments and churches.
The Spree River in Berlin.
The Altes Museum 
The Molkenmarkt is the oldest square in Berlin and was the market place until the 13th centruy. The area around the square was originally densely populated. However, much of the center of Berlin was destroyed in World War II. In addition the Nazi's cleared many buildings with the intention of building an administrative forum around it. In 1959 under the German Democratic Republic the street, Grunerstrasse was extended through the square.The Bellevue Palace. Now the official residence of the German president. It was built in 1786 as a summer residence for Prince Ferdinand of Prussia
The Brandenburg Gate.
The Charlottenburg Castle, built in 1695-99 as a summer residence for Sophie
Charlotte.
Potsdamer Platz is one of the more lively districts in West Berlin with many new developments in recent years. You can find museums, movies, restaurants and reminders of the Berlin Wall all with in a few minutes.
Almost all of Potsdamer Platz was destroyed of heaviy damaged during WWII. After the war, when the Berlin Wall went up, part of this area was known as "No Man's Land" and deserted. After the fall of the wall, life came back to this area.
The main ones were of course the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie and after the tour we decided we had time to spare before dinner so we decided to walk over to that area. We started out at Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie was one of the best known border-crossings of the Cold War days. The sign which became a symbol of the division of Cold War Berlin and read like a dire warning to those about to venture beyond the Wall - YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE AMERICAN SECTOR - in English, Russian, French and German - stood here. "It is today an iconic marker of territorial boundary and political division. Until the fall of the Wall on November 9, 1989, it signified the border between West and East, Capitalism and Communism, freedom and confinement. " Checkpoint Charlie derived its name from the three checkpoints controlled by the US. The names were derived from the alphabet and were named A, B, And C. (Alpha, Bravo and Charlie). Checkpoint Charlie was mainly used by foreigners, diplomats, the Allied Forces and their relatives. Germans from West Germany and West Berlin mainly used the checkpoint at the railroad staion Friedrichstrasse.
Actors pose as US Army soldiers and for 10 Euro you can have your picture taken with them. We were too cheap. Actually we didn't know it but we were saving our money for coffee. Keep reading.
This is a segment of the wall of the fourth generation and, at the same time of the first wall in world history to be mass produced around an entire city and nearly around an entire country, also called the "Eighth wonder of the World".
Parts of the wall are seen all around the area.
The Graffiti was found on the 'West'side of the wall.This is "The Black box" which is an area close to the checkpoint which informs the public on the history of the most famous border crossing point. The external design of the pavilion refers to the two Great Powers of those days, the Soiet Union and the United States. The black color of the external facade stands for the Black Box - the recorder of events for posterity. The red color of the columns signifies the Soviet Union and the Blue Windows the USA. In 2015, it is intended to establish the Cold War Museum on this site.
There was a lot to see at the Checkpoint so we didn't get over to the Brandenburg Gate. We headed back to the hotel and had just a few minutes before heading out to a lovely Italien Restaurant not far the hotel. After dinner we relaxed in the Hotel Lounge and checked our emails, etc. No free Wifi in this hotel except in the lobby. So we had a glass of wine, while we checked "stuff" on our iPads and called it a night.
The next day we headed out once again to do a continuation of the bus tour - this was the purple route . Yesterday's was yellow. This one would include Alexanderpatz, Hauptbahnhof Central Station, Berlin Wall Memorial, Judisches Museun, etc.
We saw a few sites and than got off at the Berlin Wall Memorial.
The Wall split the city from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989. West Berlin became a walled-in-island surrounded by the German Democratic Republic. In 1949, a new political and economic system was set up. The start of the dictatorship resulted in mass migration to the west. From 1949 to 1961 East Germany had lost a sixth of its population. To stop the migration the GDR decided to close the last loop hole of the border with the Berlin Wall.The first version of the wall was set up in one day. It had a height of around 2 meters and the top was covered with barbwire. Over the years the GDR added a system of barriers in front, like a signal fence , a gap for cars, carpets of steel spikes, tank traps and another fence or a second wall. At regular intervals of approximately 250 meters observations towers stood for the border troops to monitor the border area. This area of barriers was known as the death strip. The wall you see in these pictures is the latest version from the 1970's. The height was raised to 12 feet.
In the next two picture notice the top of the wall. The wall was rounded at the top to prevent people from being able to grab onto the top of the wall and boost themselves over.
At this particular site the Reconciliation Church was walled in after the wall was built in 1961. It stood on the border strip since the mid-sixties , and unti it was blown up in 1985 it was surrounded on all sides by border fortifications. Because of it's name, and the fact that the tower seemed to reach to the heavens behind the Wall almost accusigly, it became a symbol of Berlins division. Well into the eighties it was commemorated in the media as an icon of the divided city.
At least 136 people died at the Berlin Wall between 1961 and 1989. Some were shot or fatally injured while trying to escape. Others took their own lifes when they realized their escape had failed. Still others were mistakenly identiified as fugitives and shot. In some cases people entered the border territory from West Berlin and died there.
Of the people who died there, 98 were fugitives fleeing to the West. Eight people from the GDR and East Berlin who were not trying to flee also died as a consequence of the border regime and 22 people from West Berlin lost their lives at the Wall. The victims at the Wall include 42 children and teenagers.
Eight border soldiers died while on duty. Several hundred people died ay the inner German border outside Berlin and on the outer border of the Eastern Bloc. The exact number of deaths caused by the GDR border regime has yet to be determined.
Walls and borders barriers were not sufficient to deter people from fleeing. Hence the wall had to be guarded by armed soldiers who were given orders to shoot at fugitives if the escaape could not otherwise be hindered.
A replica of one of the towers.
A double wall of cobblestones thoughout the city mark where the wall once stood. On certain spots along the "wall" are information boards and pillars with audio sequences.
This sculpture , by Josefina de Vasconcellos ,was originally named Reunion and was presented to University of Bradford as a memorial to the University's first Vice-Chancellor Professor Ted Edwards.
de Vasconcellos said" The sculpture was originally conceived in the aftermath of the War. Europe was in shock, people were stunned. I read in a newspaper about a woman who crossed Europe on foot to find her husband , and I was so moved that I made the sculpture. Then I thought that it wasn't only the reunion of two people but hopefully a reunion of nations which had been fighting."
Later it was taken for repairs and renamed Reconciliation upon the request of the Peace Studies Department of the University. It was unveiled the second time under the new name on de Vasconcellos' 90 birthday in 1994.
In 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII bonze casts of the sculpture were placed in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral and in the Hiroshima Peace Park in Japan. An additional cast can be found on the grounds of Stormont Castle in Belfast. To mark the opening of the rebuilt Reichstag in 1999 another cast was placed as part of the Berlin Wall memorial.
We left the site in silence and went to the bus stop to catch our "on and off" bus. We had just miss the bus when we went to the visitor's center so we had another 30 minutes before the bus would pick us up. Well, 30 minutes passed and another 30 minutes and than shortly after that the bus showed up. I don't know about these on and off buses. Seems to me we're wasting too much time waiting for the bus if we happen to get off. Berlin has great public transportation and getting cards to use it is very easy and inexpensive. Next time!
Some of the sights we saw on our way back to our starting point.
The Reichstag.
This is the overhead train bridge. All the transporation unifying the city had to be redone. One of the consequences created by the wall was that the underground transit lines were cut into many pieces. One of the stations was a ghost station for 28 years since it was located in the border strip.
Interestingly, during the almost three decades that the wall was in place, the line continued its service but stopped just in those stations with stops in West Berlin.
The House of World Cultures.
Called the Pregnant Oyster by by locals.
Called the Pregnant Oyster by by locals.
The Outdoor East Side Gallery which is a 1.3 km- long section of the wall near the center of Berlin. Approximately 106 paintings by artists from all over the world covers this memorial for freedom and make it the largest open air gallery in the world.
The Jewish Museum.
It opened in 2001 and exhibits the social, political and cultural history of the Jews in Germany from the 4th century to the present.
It opened in 2001 and exhibits the social, political and cultural history of the Jews in Germany from the 4th century to the present.
The Holocast Memorial. The site is covered with 2,711 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. The slabs or "stelae" are all 7'10" long, 3'1" wide and vary in height from 7.9" to 15'9". According to the architect and designer Peter Eisenman, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that lost touch with human reason.Observers have noted the memorial's resemblance to a cemetary. An attached underground "Place of Information" holds the names of al known Jewish Holocaust victims, obtained from the Israeli museum, Yad Vashem.
Alexanderplatz is a large transportation hub, square, shopping center in Central Berlin. Most of the buildings surrounding the square were destroyed by bombs duirng WWII.
We still had some time left so decided to head to the Brandenburg Gate since we didn't get over there the first day.
The Brandenburg Gate serves as the representative entrance to the historical part of Berlin. The gate was constructed out of sandstone between 1788-1791. The gate was then crowned in 1794 by the sculpture quadriga and the goddess of victory.
When the German Republic set up the wall in 1961, the Brandenburg Gate was just a few meters behind it. For 28 years the gate was in plain view from both sides of the wall but not reachable from the No Man's Land in the east. It was in 1987 that President Regan, while giving a speech in front of the gate implored Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev to remove the barrier " open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev teat down this wall."
The Gate suffered considerable damage during WWII and was fully restored in 2000 to 2002.
On the top you see the four horses pulling a chariot with the goddess of peace. Napoleon took this statue and placed it in the Louvre in Paris. When the Prussians finally got it back they renamed her the goddess of victory and it has remained since.
Another interesting piece of history. This Gate marked the entrance to Unter den Linden, the large street lined with linden trees leading to the Prussian Palace. When Adolph HItler was in power he removed all the trees and replaced them with Nazi flags, which were later replaced once again with trees once enough people objected,
We finished our tour of the Gate and walked around the area. Sharon had mentioned that The Hotel Adlon which we could see in the distance was once a very famous hotel. We decided to walk over and have a look. It was opened in 1907 and was largely destroyed in 1945 in the closing days of World War II though a small wing continued operating until 1984. The current hotel was opened in 1997 and the old building was an inspiration for the new.
After we wandered around we deicded to join the chic people having coffee and drinks outside. We ordered our coffees and a bottle of water and just relaxed and rested . Well, remember that money we didn't spend to have our picture taken with the actors at Check point Charlie? We needed it to pay our bill of 28 Eros, around $36.00. To be honest we had ordered a big bottle of water!
This has gotten really long so I'm going to go ahead and post this and finish up with a much shorter one.
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