Kristin Lucas

I see very little on this message board about Berlin. Does anyone go there? I would like to visit Berlin this summer for at least a couple of days. What are the sites you would NOT miss? Are people avoiding it because it is under construction? Have people taken the tours which show the former Nazi sites or is this pretty unexciting (or depressing)?

Emma

Kristen - it has been a six years since I went to Berlin, so things have probably changed a lot since then. I thought you might get replies from people with more recent experience, but it seems not. I quite enjoyed Berlin when I was there, however was only there for about 2 days! My memory is very hazy so please forgive me for being vague on details, but hopefully I will give you some ideas of what to do. Berlin itself has quite a good shopping centre. In the middle of the city is a church which was bombed during WWII and the steeple was destroyed. The church was never repaired and left as a memorial and reminder of the war. I cannot remember the name in German but it is called the "Broken Tooth', as that is what it looks like. A new church was built next door - a very modern church which looks ugly on the outside, but inside is beautiful with blue stained glass windows. When I was there, we walked from the West side to the East and the contrast was quite remarkable between the conditions on both sides. That was six years ago, and I'm sure the East has caught up a lot, but still worth checking out. Checkpoint Charlie, the infamous border point has been made into a museum, dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives trying to escape from the East. Very sobering but interesting. Visit the Brandenburg Gate, which for years was in No Man's Land. I remember visiting a very good museum - but cannot remember the name! Great help, arn't I! I think it was on the East side. All I can remember is that I enjoyed it! Will have to go home and read my guidebooks again and see if I can pick out which one it was. Also visited an island on the outskirts of Berlin which was very nice. It was in a foresty area which for years was the only area where West Berliners could go for recreation. There is a little island on a lake there, I think the island is called something like Peacock Island, except the German word for Peacock is starts with Pf..... It is a nice walk through the forest to the island. On the Island is a little palace/castle/manison (whatever you would like to call it!) that you can take tours through. Well - I hope I've given you somewhere to start from! Sorry about the vague details. Hope you have a wonderful time.

yvonne

We were in Berlin last year, and I think the construction made it all the more interesting. Just getting there was a bit of an adventure as we travel by train from Rothenburg; last leg or so was on the ICE train. Stayed for only 3 days, you could easily spend a week. We saw the church the previous post mentioned (Kaiser Wilhelm), actually stayed right next door, did a multi-lingual on and off tour where you can ride all day and get off at various stops including Brandenburg Tor, Checkpoint Charlie etc. As it is so international and commercial, it reminded me a bit of NYC --all the international shops are there --Eddie Bauer, Warner Bros, right along with KaDeWe, the famous German department store. We also went to the Berlin Zoo (we had 2 children with us). We missed seeing the inside of Charlottenburg Palace and some of the museums that are supposed to be so nice. I think you will find it worth your while.

Linda

I was in Berlin in November. For history, Berlin is hard to beat. The Kurfurstendam(sp) is a great street with lots of shops. I especially enjoyed the Checkpoint Charley Museum. It is definitely worth the trip. You just have to choose which era of history, shopping, beautiful homes, etc., you want to concentrate your time. The Reichstag is being redone. You can see it but can't get too close.

Arizona

Berlin is a work in progress. You probably have never seen so many construction projects all going on at once, on both sides of the old wall. Be sure to see Museum Insel (or Museum Island), especially the breathtaking Pergamon Museum with its treasures from ancient Turkey and Babylon. The government is supposed to relocate from Bonn to Berlin, thus a lot of the construction will accomodate members of the German burocracy. Go out to Potsdam, site of the 1945 conference and to see the Sans Souci Palace, home of Frederick the Great. When I last saw Berlin, I thought it would be a remarkable place to visit in 10 years because so much will change. The old East Berlin suffers from decades of filth and neglect -- much work needs to be done. In fact, you can still see many scars left from the war -- pockmarked buildings, weed-choked empty lots, rundown facilities. The western portion of the city has a temporary feeling -- as if things were thrown up in a hurry. Much of the parks and woodlands are once again regrown to their pre-war loveliness. It's a strange city, and it will be interesting to see what the now-united Germany will make of it.

Lana

I also highly recommend the Kaethe Kollwitz museum. She lived during both world wars, and her art is very moving.

Arizona

You asked about seeing places from the Nazi era. Little remains. Hitler's chancellery and bunker are an open field near the Brandenburg Gate, at least they were two years ago. The big stadium built to host the 1936 Olympic Games are a big civic question now. The stadium is crumbling, and it very well might cost more to rehab it than to tear it down and rebuild. Designed by Albert Speer, it was put up in a hurry and with cheap materials. Much like the great stadium in Nuremberg, it has had almost no maintenance and looks it. The former Gestapo HQ in Berlin was obliterated; there is a question now whether a museum to the Nazi horrors should be erected on this site. Almost all of the Berlin Wall is gone; only a small section remains, covered with graffiti and preserved as a memento of bad days past. The Reichstag Building is undergoing renovation in preparation for the return of the German parliament in the near future. The mansion where the infamous Wannsee Conference (where the Final Solution was proposed) was held still stands, out in a lovely parkland and lakeside setting. One interesting new building is the New Synagogue, near the center of the city. Very little will remain of the Old Berlin once this vast reconstruction program concludes in the next 10 years.

Paul

Be sure to step out of your role as a tourist and do as the Berliners do... take a long, leisurely stroll around a lake in the Grunewald. Pack a lunch and enjoy a picnic. No powerwalking, just relax and absorb. They take their strolls seriously.