Berlin is a history buff’s greatest treasure — the epicenter of world events throughout the 20th century and a city that has undergone unimaginable change since the fall of the Wall in 1989. In parts, the city feels imposing, especially while learning about Nazi rule on the site of Hitler’s former bunker on a foggy, cold day in December. In others, it is representative of big-city Europe and the force for stability in a fiscally turbulent Euro Zone — and just so characteristically German in every way.
We spent our first day in East Berlin on a tour that would have been impossible just 24 years ago. Beginning at Brandenburg Gate (the iconic symbol of Berlin, appearing on Euro cent coins) and Hotel Adlon (where Michael Jackson famously dangled his baby over a railing), we spent 2.5 hours with a fantastic free tour (company: New Berlin) and the most informative, funny, and respectful tour guide we could have asked for. Moving from Pariserplatz (housing many of the Allies’ embassies) to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, I was struck by Gemany’s intense focus on learning from the Holocaust — building a memorial in the middle of the city to the individuals who they murdered, and hammering the lessons home into students at school. Aside from the Topography of Terror, every museum or memorial focuses on the victims rather than the perpetrators, dealing with history respectfully and objectively while never hiding the past. In fact, our tour guide speculated that there may be increasing backlash from the current generation of schoolchildren who are continuously taught about a guilt for which they themselves were not responsible. Nevertheless, walking through the Memorial is a moving experience, and it is directly in view of the Reichstag (German Parliament) such that current and future leaders will never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Our tour also stopped at Humboldt University and Babelplatz, site of the 1933 Nazi book burning and an underground memorial “library” with enough empty white shelves to house the 20,000 books set on fire that fateful evening. A nearby plaque quotes a German poet from 1820 in terrifyingly prophetic prose: “Where they burn books, at the end they also burn people.” Further WWII sites include the imposing former Nazi Air Defense building (now the Tax Ministry — locals joke this is even scarier), which is the epitome of architecture with the power to intimidate. The entire building is composed of stone with massive iron doors, with door handles placed so high that they come up to eye-level, making you feel small and insignificant in comparison. Finally, we also stopped at the site of Hitler’s former underground bunker where he and Eva Braun committed suicide on April 30, 1945. The site is currently surrounded by apartments and a single sign marks the spot — refusing to hide history while being sure to avoid neo-Nazi activity at the site. We stood where Hitler was burned by his guards, and it was powerful to think of all the history literally beneath our feet.
On a brighter note, our next stop was Gendarmenmarkt, the site of a beautiful and lively Christmas market set between twin churches on the most impressive square in the city. The German and French Cathedrals were beautiful to photograph (especially later at night), and the Christmas tree and mulled wine stalls in the center made the square extra special. We also passed by Checkpoint Charlie, the former army checkpoint between East and West Berlin famous for a face-to-face tank standoff between the U.S. and Soviet Union, and now a kitschy tourist stop where actors dress in army uniforms and pose for pricey pictures. The more interesting piece of Cold War history was a surviving segment of the Berlin Wall — present in a few places around the city and constant reminder of Berlin’s role as a lightning rod for the tension between communism and democracy in the latter half of the 20th century.
After lunch, we spent a few hours in the impressive German History museum on Unter den Linden, an interesting exhibit on Deutschland’s history from early times through the Cold War. This cemented much of the history we had experienced while touring the city, and was like reading a great textbook alongside fascinating treasures from almost all eras of German history. Walking back outside, you realize that Berlin is a constantly changing, ever more rapidly since the fall of the Wall. As our tour guide quoted, “Paris will always be Paris, but Berlin is becoming Berlin.”
On the walk back to our hostel, we strolled through Alexanderplatz and saw the famous TV tower before having dinner at a Vietnamese/pan-Asian restaurant with delicious food but a horrible wait time (as in, 30 minutes before table water arrived). We all collapsed back in the hostel, and began again the following morning at the Reichstag.
Our tour of the German Parliament dome began at 10:30am, and turned out to be one of the trip highlights. The glass dome is striking — towering 75 meters with a circular ramp leading to the top, offering commanding views over Berlin along the way. Led by a fantastic audio guide, we looked out over the Brandenburg Gate, Gendarmenmarkt, and many of the sites we had seen the day before. The entire dome is glass, and floor’s center is also glass, allowing you to look straight into the Parliament chamber, located beneath a tower of mirrors designed to reflect sunlight into the hall.
Ducking the rain, we then headed for sites on Museum Island — most notably, the Pergamon Museum (home to the ancient Pergamon Altar with an impressive frieze depicting Greek gods battling snake-men monsters) and Neues Museum (housing a famous collection of Egyptian art, including a bust of Queen Nefertiti that is over 3,000 years old). In the afternoon, we saw a full surviving section of the Berlin Wall from a sixth-story overlook point, as well as a nearby memorial to those who lost their lives while attempting to cross from East to West.
We were quite tired by this point, but we decided to push on towards the highly rated Topography of Terror museum near Potsdamerplatz. When we stepped out of the metro, however, we found a colorful snow slide in the middle of the square and immediately ditched our plans for a depressing museum in favor of some cheap thrills. Erin and I slid down together and Leah took some great photos, then we headed to a nearby Starbucks for some caffeine and took a look at Brandenburg Gate at night (which was far more spectacular than during the day). We planned out the evening’s dinner at a Mexican restaurant recommended by the hostel and tripadvisor, which was delicious aside from Erin and Kat’s exceedingly spicy enchiladas. It was in a hipster part of town that we never would have explored otherwise, and it was fun to see different areas of the city off the beaten tourist path.
This rounds out our trip! I should also mention our one-night stay in Nuremberg, famous for its Christmas market and quaint sights in the old town, where we stayed the night before heading to Berlin. Mulled wine, roasted nuts, bratwurst, puzzle lady, and the squeaky clean hostel were the highlights here, but Berlin remained the most memorable. Germany is a fun country to visit, and the trip was a phenomenal end to an equally exciting Michaelmas term at Cambridge.