Reed, Bowie, Warhol, Pop and Me
Trip Start
Feb 05, 2008
1
67
70
Trip End
Ongoing
Berlin,
Germany
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
I think pretty much every European city has at least one company that offers 'free' walking tours. I'd seen some here and there along the way, starting in Istanbul but because I don't really like the organized tour thing or being confined to a schedule I had never been inclined to try one. These free tours work on a tipping system. You like, you tip. (I learned the guide pays the company a nominal fee, usually a couple of bucks, for each head on the tour and keeps the over and above-some people actually don't tip, it's 'free', so they loose.) Joe, the fellow I met at my hostel in Krakow suggested I do one in Berlin soon after I arrived
Outside my hostel
. So I took the afternoon tour on the day I arrived. What a great way to get oriented to a city! The tour takes you to the major attractions in the core area and the guide gives you some interesting background delivered in a casual and funny style and if you like, you can go back to the stuff that really interested you later. They also provide you with ideas on where to eat cheaply and where not to go. Jeez, I wish I'd have done these in every city. Typical tips are in the five to 10 dollar range, well worth it when you consider most of tours of this sort are 15 bucks or more and in most cases are not quite as long. It's an opportunity to meet other budget travelers as well. Berlin is like no other city in I'd been to in Europe. It has had to rebuild itself almost entirely since WWII and has undergone a tremendous transformation since the wall came down. I'm told the changes over the last 10 years are extraordinary. Berlin offers almost everything that other major cosmopolitan international cities have except at about half the price. The people are brilliant. The sites are spectacular. There's a great music and art scene, perhaps one of the best in all of Europe. And there are loads of great eating and drinking spots.
Here's what to see, in no particular order
Terry Brewer pointing out bullet holes
. Checkpoint Charlie, the main crossing point from east to west Berlin. Today it is a replica of the original with out-of-work actors playing the part of the guards so it comes off as kinda cheesy. You can even get an authentic passport stamp if you like, although Theo, our guide had heard a rumour that it is possible the stamp would void your passport. The best part is the excellent photo display with a chronology of events on the fences that line the two vacant lots on the corners to the east. Nearby is the Topography of Terror which is another historic photo gallery situated next to a section of the wall that had been preserved and covers much of the history involving the SS and its operations in the area. Kitty corner to it is the Trabant Safari shop where you can see several of these fine East German automobiles and even drive them in a convoy through town.
There was something like 190 km's of wall and only a few chunks remain, including both the Wall Memorial which is worth a quick look and the East Side Gallery, a definite must see. Some time not long after the wall came down, the city commissioned many local artists, prominent or otherwise to paint sections of a 2 km section of the wall that remained in the east side of the city, just across from the relatively new and magnificent O2 Centre, which is in itself a site worth seeing
Theo telling bad jokes
. The art along with the graffiti on and around this piece of the wall is something to behold. There's Museum island, featuring some of the world's best museums. Nearby is Humbolt University where Einstein went to school, among others. Across from it is the book burning square and its memorial, a glass window at the centre of the square that looks down on an underground library containing no books. Near the memorial, embedded in the square is a plaque with a quote from Heinrich Heine (in English): "Where they burn books, they will also burn humans in the end". The eerie thing is that he said this in 1834, almost 100 years before the Nazis took power and...
Not far from here is the magnificent building that is home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra flanked by the lookalike Freidrichstadtkirche on either side of Gendarmenmarkt.
Then there is the interesting and curious Jewish Memorial occupying a city block located adjacent to the area that housed Hitler's bunker. Around the corner is the glorious (I'm trying to use words other than 'beautiful.') Brandenburg Gate and Unter de Linden, the street that extends to the east and is home to the embassies of the allies
Me standing directly over Hitler's bunker
. (Canada's is actually located on the posh and newly constructed Potsdam Square next to the stunning Sony Centre.) One must also see Germany's parliament building, Reichstag, with its signature glass dome that provides stunning 360 degree views of Berlin. Go early, cues are long. Just to the west of Reichstag is the massive Tiergarten which offers a fresh-smelling respite from the pace of the city.
Further to the west is at the other end of Tiergarten is 'Zoo' Station, a central area in West Berlin known as much for its bad American 50's/60's architecture and the church with the bombed out dome that was left as such as a memorial. Over there I took in the excellent Helmut Newton exhibit at the Museum of Photography. West Berlin is decidedly not as impressive as East Berlin on many levels, apart from maybe hip Kruezberg, an area saturated with neat coffee shops and restos and interesting shops, like Core Tex, the music store.
One day, founder of Brewers Tours, Brit Terry Brewer, a former member of the Royal Navy who came to love Berlin when stationed here in the 60's, was having breakfast in my hostel. He had nothing to do that day and asked me and John, an auzie who is even older than me, if we'd like to see some sites and then join him at this local pub deep in East Berlin later that evening
Inside the Jewish Memorial
. All it would cost us was a couple of beers and maybe lunch. We jumped at the opportunity. He took us way out west to the fabulous, massive and storied Olympic Stadium. Later it was over to the lovely little suburb of Spandau with a stop at the allied cemetery along the way. Terry is 73 and a wealth of information and funny as hell. We had a blast. Later we hung out at his pub with his Eastern Berlin buddies, few of whom knew any English at all. A few shots of a finer version of Jagermeister hit the table a couple of times that night. I took in a movie at the Cine Max in the stellar Sony Centre. The theatre there is known for showing the 'original version' of films, i.e. English soundtrack. When I checked the website however, it was entirely in German. When I inquired at the front desk of my hostel, explaining that I couldn't determine if the film I wanted to see was in English because the site was entirely in German, the thin blonde guy who was a character right out of a Bourne Identity movie says, 'Vell vee awr in cherminy'.
Berlin is safe, mature and confident. Partiers do so with an air of sophistication and maturity. Although much beer gets consumed and drinking on the streets or in public is permitted, I saw no signs of binge drinking and rowdy behavior. I took in decent gigs at the renowned 'White Trash Fast Food Café' and the 'Bang Bang Club'. I would have done more if I had had a buddy.
My quick search on kayak.com proved fruitful. I was able to get a flight from Berlin to Amsterdam for $118 CDN, all in. Last time I checked, a train would cost 69 Euro or about $105. A no brainer. And I booked it only a few days before departure.
