East Berlin

Brandenburg Gate-ey Goodness

If I had to make one recommendation for your travels to Berlin, it would be to stay in East Berlin.

After World War II, the city was essentially divided in half, with the Western Nations taking West Berlin, and the Soviets taking the East (thus that whole Berlin Wall kerfuffle).  Anywho, twenty years after the wall has come down and the country has been reunified, East Berlin has retained some of its cold war feel – the buildings have a certain Soviet Charm.  Berlin, like Rotterdam, was of course heavily bombed during the War, meaning that both sides developed very different feels when the city was split, and both to this day retain those differences.

This interesting mix of Soviet style architecture and design overlaid with the infiltrated Capitalist economy in the East has created a counter-culture all of its own.  The stores, the bars and restaurants are funky, eclectic and busy and have been discovered by a whole new generation both of Berliners and expats (one might argue the term hipster might apply).  It’s a haven for international travellers, as this is area retains a lot of history and the prices are a godsend to young backpackers – Nick and I haven’t paid more than €12 for a meal since we arrived, including drinks.

Yesterday we took a walking tour of the city – this is a great way to get an oversight of the city, including seeing some sights that you wouldn’t expect.  Although it really was just a taster, it was a great way to start to explore and acclimatise to the new city’s layout, plus a friendly guide to help explain the context and history behind some of the sights.  Worth mentioning are:

• The Brandenburg Gate and its relationship to France
• Where Hitler’s final bunker was discovered – now a rather sombre apartment complex
• The remaining Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie
• Museum Island
• The Book Burning memorial
• The Jewish Holocaust Memorial

I’d highly recommend checking this tour out – New Berlin Tours, leaving from the Brandenburg Gate.   Google it, very well worth the investment.

After that we took in the New Museum – primarily ancient Greek and Egyptian artefacts, including Queen Nefertiti’s bust

Today, we viewed the Pergamon Museum, which has a reconstructed Greek Temple built inside it, plus a very impressive gate.  Then off to the German History Museum.  Once again, a very sombre experience especially those years between the two wars.

This is what’s interesting about Berlin, it has such a dark history – the Death Camps, persecution of Jews and other minorities.  In the past, it’s tried to gloss over this and just concentrate on the Soviet denazification, but now it accepts and examines this past in an open but respectful way.  In some ways, it’s an interesting example of how being selective of its history has been used by those in power to gain political advantage – perhaps not any more but illustrating the differences between the 1950’s to today can be quite interesting.

Portions of the Berlin Wall

Tomorrow, we’re off to stay in West Berlin for five days – will report from there when we get the chance.