easter eastern europe - Berlin

Took the opportunity of the long Easter weekend to literally head eastwards, specifically to Berlin and Krakow.

Berlin is the capital of Germany and it is difficult to think of another city with as much history as it in just the past century: Both World Wars and the Cold War. I reached Berlin in the early afternoon and although the days are longer now, I was only able to visit the remnants of the Berlin Wall due to troubles with getting my Deutsch Bahn night train ticket to Krakow the day after, and also due to rain.

Probably only second in fame to China's Great Wall, the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 by Soviet controlled East Berlin to reassert control over its allocated territory after WW2. Although not as majestic as its Chinese counterpart, the 160km wall did serve its purpose: To stem the flow of East Berliners going over to Allied controlled West Berlin, where life was more cushy. The wall was finally torn down in 1990, but not after causing much pain and suffering for Berliners on both sides of the wall for 28 years.

beginning of the wall from the eastern side

my mark on the wall

funky art

1961 - 1989

Roanna with one of the many currywursts which we ate during our stay

Pratergarten, the oldest beer hall in Berlin

Our second day was better. Roanna, who had been to Berlin before, gave me her version of the Free Walking Tours which are so popular there. The huge number of cultural and historical sites makes it quite impossible to list all the places which I visited, but the notable ones are the Reichstag (German Parliament building), the Brandenburg gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and of course, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Europe. Most of these sites are concerned with the relatively recent history and it was much more interesting and easier to relate to as compared to the ancient castles/ruins/villages which are mostly found all over Western Europe. However, the recentness of it all only serves as a reminder that it was not so long ago that numerous atrocities were committed at these places.

the Reichstag

Brandenburg gate

checkpoint charlie

guard duty

memorial to the murdered Jews in Europe

puddle of water above the bunker where Hitler committed suicide

hotel Adlon, where Michael Jackson dangled his baby from a balcony

jumping for Olympic glory

the Berlin radio tower at dusk

From 1000 in the morning, we really walked for the entire day sans arrête, only stopping at night to grab a dinner of pork knuckle before catching our train to Poland. Hot fatty food + cold beer after a day of walking in the cold = Heaven!

=P

More pictures of my Berlin trip here.

pork knuckleduster