Trip Report, Part 2: Berlin
Jun 14th, 2008, 08:42 AM
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Trip Report, Part 2: Berlin
OK, on to Berlin for 3 days! We flew from Munich on a Lufthansa shuttle. I had booked this prior to the trip via the Web. The taxes cost more than the actual flight! Round trip for two was $377 and took about an hour. Upon arrival, the baggage claim is literally right outside the jetway in the waiting area - we almost walked past it thinking we needed to go to a centralized baggage claim! We saw people milling around it from our flight, so we caught on pretty quickly that the layout was different than our usual expectation. From Tegel airport we took a taxi to the Grand Hyatt near Potsdamer Platz (18 euro), which took about 25 minutes. I used Hyatt points to get our three night stay on the Club Level. If you have the points, this is the way to go! The room was incredible (Aveda amenities, great bed and towels, marble bath). And the club itself had a nice breakfast buffet, afternoon cookies/cakes, dinner with light entrees and salad, and desserts that were works of art. They also had free Internet access at a single computer in the lounge that was always available.
Activities in Berlin: It was a 5 minute walk from our hotel to the Sony Center (mostly food) and Potsdamer Platz. There, we saw remnants of the Berlin Wall, and the two-brick width track embedded in the sidewalk and street to mark its former location. We walked a fair bit of this to get a sense of where the wall stood. We also saw numerous opportunities to buy "authentic" pieces of the Berlin wall.
The next day, we walked to the Reichstag Building (which had been discussed on our Munich Third Reich Tour) and climbed into the Dome for city views. Again, best to do this early in the day to avoid the crowds and heat. We arrived before 9am and there were about 50 people ahead of us. (You have to clear security like at the airport in order to enter, which slows things down before taking the elevator up).
We stopped at the Memorial to Murdered Jews along the way (2,711 stone slabs - the number doesn't signify anything as it was just the amount that would fit in the available space). It is striking and sobering. We also visited the Brandenburg Gate and alternated our steps between the east and west sides of the wall since the two-brick path goes right in front. There is still a lot of construction along the Unter den Linden street but we walked it anyway, stopping at Bebelplatz to find the glass window embedded in the plaza that shows the empty bookcases memorializing the Nazi book burning that took place there.
We also walked to Checkpoint Charlie (busy with tourists) and went through the jumbled museum there. No A/C in this building! The museum cost 12,50 euro each to enter, and holds way too much material for the space. But it was fasincating nonetheless. We also stopped by the Topography of Terror but it was close to 90 degrees and this outdoor exhibit isn't shaded, so we didn't stay long.
Day 3 on Sunday, we figured out the subway system to visit Alexanderplatz, and then over to the Kaiser-Wilhem building bombed out remains. We tried to buy the "all day" ticket at a machine with our credit cards, but they didn't work. Fortunately we had cash. A note to anyone planning to shop on Sunday - the stores (including grocery) are closed! And silly me, I assumed the KaDeWe department store would surely be open, but no. We were leaving early on Monday, so I didn't get to see it. Maybe a good thing with the poor exchange rate right now! The K-W remains were good to see and we could put it in context with everything else we'd seen.
The Museums are open on Sunday, so we did get to visit the Pergamon Museum (amazing installation of the Altar, and beautiful Islamic art). The Mshatta palace stones, Ishtar blue tile gate, and Syrian Aleppo room were highlights. We purchased the museum card that saved us money on multiple museum entrance fees (12 euro for the pass, versus 8 euro individual admissions), so we also went to see the Altes Museum. The Egyptian artifacts, including Nefertiti's bust, are temporarily housed here. Impressive Greek antiquities here as well. The Berliner Dom is in the same Museum Island location so easy to see as well.
We took the subway north up to the Old Wall Monument. There is an enclosed staircase that provides a good view of the standing original wall and the death strip beyond it. Again, a sobering site we felt was worth the trek.
Food in Berlin: We picked up lunch goodies in the food hall of Galeries Lafayette and enjoyed lunch in the Tiergarten. We also had good Italian at Vapiano at Potsdamer Platz (you get a card when you walk in and then visit different stations to pick up food - no table service. The cost is added to your card and you pay when you are finished by presenting the card with the accumulated total of all items you picked up at the stations).
We returned back to Munich the next morning, and picked up a rental car from Avis for the next part of our journey. I'll post info on this part on my next post.
Activities in Berlin: It was a 5 minute walk from our hotel to the Sony Center (mostly food) and Potsdamer Platz. There, we saw remnants of the Berlin Wall, and the two-brick width track embedded in the sidewalk and street to mark its former location. We walked a fair bit of this to get a sense of where the wall stood. We also saw numerous opportunities to buy "authentic" pieces of the Berlin wall.
The next day, we walked to the Reichstag Building (which had been discussed on our Munich Third Reich Tour) and climbed into the Dome for city views. Again, best to do this early in the day to avoid the crowds and heat. We arrived before 9am and there were about 50 people ahead of us. (You have to clear security like at the airport in order to enter, which slows things down before taking the elevator up).
We stopped at the Memorial to Murdered Jews along the way (2,711 stone slabs - the number doesn't signify anything as it was just the amount that would fit in the available space). It is striking and sobering. We also visited the Brandenburg Gate and alternated our steps between the east and west sides of the wall since the two-brick path goes right in front. There is still a lot of construction along the Unter den Linden street but we walked it anyway, stopping at Bebelplatz to find the glass window embedded in the plaza that shows the empty bookcases memorializing the Nazi book burning that took place there.
We also walked to Checkpoint Charlie (busy with tourists) and went through the jumbled museum there. No A/C in this building! The museum cost 12,50 euro each to enter, and holds way too much material for the space. But it was fasincating nonetheless. We also stopped by the Topography of Terror but it was close to 90 degrees and this outdoor exhibit isn't shaded, so we didn't stay long.
Day 3 on Sunday, we figured out the subway system to visit Alexanderplatz, and then over to the Kaiser-Wilhem building bombed out remains. We tried to buy the "all day" ticket at a machine with our credit cards, but they didn't work. Fortunately we had cash. A note to anyone planning to shop on Sunday - the stores (including grocery) are closed! And silly me, I assumed the KaDeWe department store would surely be open, but no. We were leaving early on Monday, so I didn't get to see it. Maybe a good thing with the poor exchange rate right now! The K-W remains were good to see and we could put it in context with everything else we'd seen.
The Museums are open on Sunday, so we did get to visit the Pergamon Museum (amazing installation of the Altar, and beautiful Islamic art). The Mshatta palace stones, Ishtar blue tile gate, and Syrian Aleppo room were highlights. We purchased the museum card that saved us money on multiple museum entrance fees (12 euro for the pass, versus 8 euro individual admissions), so we also went to see the Altes Museum. The Egyptian artifacts, including Nefertiti's bust, are temporarily housed here. Impressive Greek antiquities here as well. The Berliner Dom is in the same Museum Island location so easy to see as well.
We took the subway north up to the Old Wall Monument. There is an enclosed staircase that provides a good view of the standing original wall and the death strip beyond it. Again, a sobering site we felt was worth the trek.
Food in Berlin: We picked up lunch goodies in the food hall of Galeries Lafayette and enjoyed lunch in the Tiergarten. We also had good Italian at Vapiano at Potsdamer Platz (you get a card when you walk in and then visit different stations to pick up food - no table service. The cost is added to your card and you pay when you are finished by presenting the card with the accumulated total of all items you picked up at the stations).
We returned back to Munich the next morning, and picked up a rental car from Avis for the next part of our journey. I'll post info on this part on my next post.
Jun 26th, 2008, 01:18 AM
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About a 10 minute walk from Potsdamer Platz you can find a site named "Topgraphy of Terror".
http://www.topographie.de/en/ort.htm
Here you will find a long portion of the wall still intact. It is about 300 or 400' long.
Larry J
http://www.topographie.de/en/ort.htm
Here you will find a long portion of the wall still intact. It is about 300 or 400' long.
Larry J
Jun 26th, 2008, 02:39 AM
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Berlin is the only big city I have visited that I did not enjoy. Most of it was bombed so that little of any historical consequence is left.I really like ancient buildings like you find all over Italy or Britain for example and to me Berlin was like Disney or Las Vegas as so much of it was new.Also I just could not get out of my head what a terrible history it had in the not so distant past.
Jun 26th, 2008, 10:32 AM
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Comparing Berlin to Las Vegas or Disney World is DAFT! That is like comparing the Guggenheim to an Orlando strip mall. (It is equally daft to compare a city, Berlin, to two nations, Italy and GB.)
There are plenty of old buildings in Berlin; I don't know how you missed them. Did you visit East Berlin?
And what about Bauhaus architecture of Berlin? Do you know anything about Walter Griopus or Mies van der Rohe?
There is also some glorious post-modern architecture going up all over East Berlin.
The glass dome on the Reichstag Building is SPECTACULAR!
Thingorjus
There are plenty of old buildings in Berlin; I don't know how you missed them. Did you visit East Berlin?
And what about Bauhaus architecture of Berlin? Do you know anything about Walter Griopus or Mies van der Rohe?
There is also some glorious post-modern architecture going up all over East Berlin.
The glass dome on the Reichstag Building is SPECTACULAR!
Thingorjus
Jun 26th, 2008, 11:31 AM
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CleoB--Thanks for your trip report, I was in Berlin in early May and I have to say reading your report brought me back to mine!
I LOVED Berlin!! To me the city felt smaller than what it really is. Maybe this is because there is more room to walk about and it's not cramped like London or Rome (the streets i mean).
The area around Brandenburg Gate is beautiful. There is so much history there and throughout the city, it still amazes me.
I would highly recommend Berlin to anyone. The city is full of past and more recent history.
I LOVED Berlin!! To me the city felt smaller than what it really is. Maybe this is because there is more room to walk about and it's not cramped like London or Rome (the streets i mean).
The area around Brandenburg Gate is beautiful. There is so much history there and throughout the city, it still amazes me.
I would highly recommend Berlin to anyone. The city is full of past and more recent history.
Jul 1st, 2008, 07:25 PM
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I do find it interesting how people react differently to places they visit. I had a friend visit Venice before I had a chance to go a few years ago, and she returned to say it was the worst city she'd ever seen in Europe. When I went to Italy, I almost didn't go but decided I had to see for myself. Wow - I stayed three days and fell in love with it! So you never know until you experience it personally. Now, if EVERYONE said a place was not worth seeing, I would take that into consideration 
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