Got to our apartment rental in what was formerly East Berlin. We hurried off to the grocery store as the next day was Sunday and the stores are closed. The apartment was on the 3rd floor or if you’re American, it’s the 4th floor. European’s like to start on floor 0 and then up 1 level is the first floor. It was a spacious 1 bedroom apartment, however, the bedroom was barely big enough for the bed and required some acrobatics on Will’s part to make it to his side. The location worked well for us as it was a short walk to the underground station and a 15 minute walk to the Alexanderplatz.
There are a couple of tourist passes available in Berlin. We got the Berlin Pass and I’m still on the fence as to whether or not it was a good deal for us. We did get our money’s worth out of it, but we did a couple of activities just because. But we also did a couple of things that we may not have done that we really enjoyed, like the Fat Tire Bike Tour.
We first went to the DDR Museum. This museum has exhibits relating to life in East Berlin. There was a Trabant, that’s one of those 2 cylinder cars that would take an East German 15 years to save up for. There were mock ups of the modern high rises that had been built during the communist rule.
We walked on to the Brandenburg gate. The Berlin Wall shut off access to the gate for both East and West Germans.
We went to the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. This is a relatively new memorial opened to the public in 2005. This memorial is meant to be walked through and contemplated as to what the memorial means to you. There is also a free museum there that contains the stories of the lives and fates of many Jewish family affected by the Holocaust.
We then headed over to Check Point Charlie. This check point gained notoriety because of a stand-off between an American and a Soviet tank in 1961. 16 hours later both backed down and therefore avoided what may have been WWIII. The Mauermuseum is the museum of Check Point Charlie. They have many exhibits about how people escaped from East Berlin to West Berlin. There were hot air balloons, tunnels, smuggled out in cars and other creative ways. Some succeeded and some failed. Anyway, the museum was much more interesting than having your picture taken with the non-American border “guards” at the check point. Went from there to the Topography of Terror. This contains the longest section of the outer Berlin wall. This museum has numerous documents on the Third Reich and the SS.
Being tired of walking all over creation, we opted for the Fat Tire Bike Tour the next day. We got there a little early, which gave me time to take a ride up the Berliner Fernsehturm or the Berlin TV Tower. With the spire the tower is 368m; the observation deck is 203m high. The tower was built by the communists as a way to show the West their greatness and was completed in 1969. We also learned about the “Pope’s Revenge”. The sun produces a cross on the tower. The communists being an atheist state, tried different ways in which to fix this “problem”, but never succeeded.
It was then time for our bike tour and we got our bikes and headed out with our guide Jeff. Will volunteered to be the “Assman”, or the guy that brings up the rear helping to ensure no one get lost. This was a very relaxed tour and was a great way to see the city. Berlin is flat which makes biking around quite easy. We took the city tour which took us to some of the sites we had explored on our own, but it was nice to hear explanations from the guide. The tour also made a stop for lunch at a beer garden. Lunch was on our own dime, but it was nice to sit and get to know some of the other members of our group. Nudism was also quite a big thing during the Soviet occupation. Apparently, people tried to figure out a way to make a stand against the government and bring some freedom of expression into their lives. Nudism is still a thing in Germany, especially in Berlin. As we were biking through the Tiergarten (city park) in Berlin we saw a group of nudists first hand.
On our final full day in Berlin we got out early to tour the Olympic Stadium. They were in the process of getting ready for an event, so they were only allowing people in on guided tours. We didn’t feel like waiting 1 1/2 hours for the tour, so we took some pictures of the outside and headed on for the hop on/ hop off bus tour. I didn’t feel like we got too much from this tour, although it did take us around to parts of the city that we probably would not have seen.
Got off the bus just in time to jump on the boat tour along the Spree river. They also serve food on the boat, which was great as we didn’t have to stop somewhere else for lunch.
The Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) was next on the agenda. The cathedral is beautiful and you can also climb the dome. The climb wasn’t bad at all especially after having climbed the dome in Florence, this one was a piece of cake.
We then headed to the Pergamon museum. I had gotten online a few days before to get us a timed entry into this museum. So, we breezed right through in the VIP line while the other line had a 2 hour wait. So, yes do yourself a favor, get a timed entry. It doesn’t cost you anything extra. This museum has the Market Gate from Miletus and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon as well as other Middle Eastern and Islamic Art. I really liked this museum, Will not so much. To me it was very impressive.
Had a little time left in our day and so, we headed to Sea Life. An aquarium that was better than we expected, but still nothing special.
We had to be out of the apartment by 10am the next morning, but our train wasn’t leaving until the early afternoon. Time enough for us to visit another museum. We dropped our luggage in a train station locker and took off to visit the Neues (New) Museum. They have many exhibits of many early cultures and the Paleolithic period. Will and I found it interesting that a number of the exhibits had some disclaimer about how part of the collection was stolen by the Soviets and was not returned in violation of international law. Throughout history many collections have been stolen by the various parties who happened to be in power at that time. So, I am sure the museum is in possession of items that also have a questionable lineage.
Our flight home was long and tiring, but we are always ready for our next adventure.