My first day in Berlin started off with a free walking tour through New Europe company. If you plan on touring some of Europe's most famous cities I HIGHLY suggest taking the free walking tours through New Europe. The guide's work strictly off of tips so are always on top of their game, are extremely knowledgeable, and always super young. The know the best restaurants or bars to go to as well so it's always nice to have some local advice after the tour. Our first stop on the tour was the Brandenburg Gate which has become the symbol of Berlin. Unfortunately we were met with cold wind and rain for the majority of our time in Berlin, however, the city is filled with history and great donor kebabs so we got through it. At the Brandenburg Gate I ran into Darth Vader... clearly Darth and the Brandenburg Gate go together... like Peanut Butter and Jelly, Pooh and Tigger, Jessie and Adam Levine. But seriously, I get you have to make a living somehow but Star Wars and the gate are two completely unrelated things. This confused me. Before moving on we saw the famous window where Michael Jackson hung his child over the balcony as a creepy publicity stunt.
The next stop on our tour was the Holocaust Memorial which quickly became the most interestingly constructed memorial in the world, in my opinion. The memorial consists of a large maze of grey columns of various sizes. As you walk through you can get easily lost through it's dark passageways. The importance of the memorial is to present an interpretation of how the Jews may have felt during deportation and throughout the entire Holocaust. While walking through the memorial you are unable to hide, there is an extreme tension because you are constantly seeing glimpses of peoples faces which quickly disappear, there is a sense of isolation. These grey "tomb like" structures are also seen as nameless headstones which symbolize the millions of Holocaust victims... they were numbers, not names.
Afterwards, we stood over the bunker where Hitler was married and later killed himself along with his wife and dog, Blondie. He body was later burned and poured into a hole to avoid a spectacle by the public of his corpse. For over 40 years people were not 100% certain is Hitler had in fact died... there were Tupac like rumors that he was living on some isolated island somewhere. Russians did, however, find his teeth in the hole and publicly declared his demise. The most interesting part about the ground above the bunker is that many Germans take their dogs to that section of the city to poop over it as a sign of their hatred towards Hitler.
We then walked towards an original section of the Berlin wall and were taught about the death strip which was a few yards of space between the walls of East and West Berlin which acted as a literal "Death Strip" to those who tried to escape. Sharp Shooters would receive a bonus based on how many Germans they could kill in the death strip. The sand in this strip was also lined with metal spikes making it impossible to run on. Because of these difficulties many Berliners resorted to overnight projects such as the construction of hot air balloons or pole vaulting. Our guide told us the story of a couple separated by the construction of the wall which I have included for your enjoyment below:
One morning a man woke up in West Berlin and realized that his life had just completely changed. The love of his life awoke in East Berlin and realized the same thing... a wall had come between their love and there was nothing they could do to see each other. Instead of panicking the man thought long and hard about possible plans, however, it was not until he was walking down the street on a typical German day that he struck gold. This love-struck hombre sees a dime piece who resembles his lost love walking on the other side of the road and he wastes no time... he runs across the street, sweeps her off her feet with his witty humor and dangerously good looks and before we know it, the two are "going steady". One morning this man has a surprise for his new girlfriend... a trip to East Berlin! "Just be sure to bring your visa and passport to get over to the other side", he assured her. This was her opportunity to see old friends and family whom she had not seen in such a long time. His motives, however, were quite different. When the couple arrived in East Berlin he drives down a deserted road towards "the residence in which they will be staying" and without a second thought, he opened the door of the car, pushed his lady friend out, and continues to drive off with her passport and visa. This Einstein that he is has already discussed a time and meeting place for his lost love. He picks her up, and brings her back across the Berlin Wall border with the passport of the "girlfriend" who is left stranded and alone in communist territory. Long story short, the man ends up in prison for this act for 5 years and when he is released his love is waiting for him practically wearing her wedding veil. They, of course, lived happily ever after. I guess you could say they found love in a hopeless place..
Original Piece of the Berlin Wall
We then went to the square where the famous burning of the books took place. 20,000 books were burned in this square during the dark times in Berlin and there is a memorial underground which shows a plethora of empty bookshelves. Perhaps one of the best quotes that describes this event is, "This is just the beginning... for where they start by burning books, they end by burning people". Accurate.
We also learned that a glorious man by the name of Gunter Schabowski brought about the end of the Berlin Wall... unknowingly. Extremely long story short... the man was completely unprepared for a press conference and out of nervousness he told the entire world that the Berlin Wall would be coming down... that day... at that moment (which was, of course, news to all government officials). The Celebration shortly after consisted of thousands of Germans running to the wall in a frantic excitement unable to be controlled by officials... that is how, my friends, the Berlin wall came down.
After the tour was over we went to a bar called "The Pub" which they have in many Eastern European capital cities (we went in Prague too!)... in this bar you have a table for your group with four taps. Each person has a number which they punch in before pouring the keeps track of how much beer you have consumed. Your table competes against all other tables in the bar and results are continually displayed on a large projection screen. In addition, you are competing against "The Pubs" in other European cities. The concept is really cool and would make a KILLING in a college city like Boston but because the US government is comprised of a bunch of pansies who fear drinking games or all other activities that encourage binge drinking, it would never fly.
On our way back to PLUS Berlin hostel (the nicest hostel I have ever stayed in), we bought some curry worst (yum!) and a twelve pack of Dunkin Donuts... before getting lost in a station called Alexanderplatz of course. When we finally made it back we enjoyed the sauna and pool. The day was topped off by the best discovery in all of Europe, a chill bar that had MARACUYA JUICE. While in Ecuador I lived for this juice... it is absolutely amazing and the instant touch of it's sweet goodness to my lips brought back memories of yesteryear.
Curry Wurst
The next day we saw a memorial called "Trains to Life, Trains to Death" showing how some Jewish children were taken in by families around Europe during the Holocaust (Trains to a new life), and how others were forced onto trains towards their inevitable demise (Trains to Death). It was apparent that Berlin is crawling with monuments, statues, museums, etc dedicated to the Holocaust. They carry a heavy sense of guilt regarding their past and the way they are viewed in society and it's completely understandable. When someone says Germany... the first thing that about 95% of the world population probably thinks of is Nazi or Holocaust or Hitler. In truth, they are defined by such a small era in their history and people forget about how much the Germans have contributed to the world in the fields of technology, science, and music. I personally thought of a frightening screaming man who lacks the ability to smile or the Holocaust when I thought of Germany but now... I think of the awesome time I had in Berlin!
The East Side Gallery Berlin Wall
During the afternoon of the second day we checked out the more artsy culture of Berlin from the graffiti to the art houses to the famous East Side Gallery, paintings on the Berlin Wall! That night we returned to the Brandenburg Gate where I experienced, by far, my favorite Berlin moment. We were lucky enough to go while WWF was hosting Earth Day so they were lighting hundreds of candles in the shape of the world. It made for a beautiful scene and the perfect ending to a great trip!
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