GermanyBerlin

http://www.backpacker.de e-mail: circus@mind.de


Our plan for Berlin was to do a little tourist activity and hang out until our revalidated Eurail tickets arrived from the US. We exceeded our six month validation period for the Eurail Pass and until they are sent via Fedex to us we are staying in Berlin. We moved out of The Backpacker and checked with the Circus about any last minute openings, None. They did refer us to a private house that takes borders and we would save $10 a night. A short walk around the corner we met with Joshi from India and he welcomed us into his home. Joshi and his wife Lucia have a couple extra rooms and rent them for extra income. Lucia is from Germany and met Joshi on her travels in India. They got married moved to Germany and have a three year old little girl. The entire thing was a little weird at first but we soon felt like welcome guests.

The great thing about our new home was the location in the heart of the Oranienburger district. This section of Berlin was once the home of the wealthy Jewish population. We all know what happened during World War II. The result in Berlin left the entire Oranienburger area deserted. The city of Berlin at the beginning of the war had 25 synagogues and in one night the Germans burned 24 of them to the ground. The only remaining synagogue is appropriately named "The New Synagogue" and is located down the street. After the war the property owned by the Jewish citizens of Germany for obvious reasons went unclaimed. When the wall went up separating East and West Germany, the affluent neighborhood of Oranienburger found itself in a communist country. Today the united Germany has reclaimed all property owned by Jewish citizens during the war and is prepared to return it to the rightful owners or family members. So far they have not had many claims. Joshi and Lucia have been renting from the government and hope in a couple of years if the property goes unclaimed they will try and buy it. The entire neighborhood has this kind of property limbo which makes it the place to be in Berlin with low rent and not a lot of rules. The area has a high number of restaurants and night clubs.

The best way to see Berlin and get an appreciation for the history of the city is on a city walking tour. We took the subway to the Zoo train station for our 9:30 walking tour. The walking tour was a little bit of a free for all and before we knew it forty people were ready to get started. Our guide had his work cut out for him and his first presentation of the origins of the word Berlin told me this guy knew his stuff. It would be a little difficult to rehash the enormous amount of detail that was delivered to us during our five hour walk; yes we walked for five hours. The thirty second recap: The Wall, Death Strip, Victory Column, The Reichstag, United German Parliament, Bebelplatz- book burning, Checkpoint Charlie, Info Box, Gendarmarket, Palace Bridge, Palast Der Republic, TV Tower, Berliner Dom, The Zoo, Royal Library, State Opera, Strasse Des 17 Juni, Pariser Platz, Tiergarten, Unter Den Linden, and Alexander Platz.

When East and West Germany reunited the decision was made to restore Berlin as the new capital. When Berlin was divided by the wall the Western world spent tremendous amounts of money to make Berlin a showcase for capitalism. Not to be outdone Russia and the Eastern block countries spent tremendous amounts of resources to make East Berlin a showcase for communism. Today Germany is spending an incredible amount of money to make Berlin the showcase of Europe and the leader of the European Union. I got the impression from more than one European, including our guide, that even though Germany lost World War II they still ended up winning by becoming the leader of the European Union. According to our guide the rest of the world should keep an eye on the new Germany because it may resemble the past.


As we walked through the city the number of cranes in action was beyond counting. This massive construction has created more than one controversy. The history of Germany and its sins of the past are quickly being replaced by concrete and modern buildings. Only a few small sections of the wall that separated the East and West remain standing. When all the bulldozers get done none of the wall will remain as a reminder of the past. This same attitude is reflected in the atonement of the crimes committed against the Jewish population. At this time not a single memorial is in place commemorating the lives lost under Hitler's reign of terror. The heart of the new Berlin is an area called Pottsdam Platz the largest construction site in Europe. A short walk from the new center of Europe is Hitler's bunker. It is from this location that during the final days of World War II, Hitler and the leadership of the Third Riecht commanded the last remaining troops. It was in these bunkers that Hitler married Eva Braun and then he killed her and then himself. It is reported that the bodies were burned and when the Russian troops invaded the remains were taken back to Russia. Currently, this area is off limits as a construction site and a small observation platform has been put up for tourists. In the far corner of this large empty field a monument to the Jewish lives lost in the war was scheduled to be built. The money has been raised, the monument plans approved, the ground has even been graded but the current Mayor of Berlin stopped the project because he did not think it would be appropriate. It appears the land is more valuable as an office building than a reminder of the crimes of the past. Somebody once said, "If we do not learn from our history we are bound to repeat our mistakes." Germany wants to forget that World War II ever happened and get on with the issues at hand of leading a new unified Europe. I hope the new Germany does not forget what happened and what could happen again.

After our walking tour we went for food and Internet activity at the Kaufhof/Galleria Mall in Alexander Platz. This is a seven story building/mall that has everything you can imagine. It even had an Internet Cafe that was doing a brisk business with all thirty of it's computers occupied. You can even go the seventh floor cafeteria and have a huge buffet. The pricing is unique because they charge by the kilogram. When the food is expensive and you pay by weight it changes your attitude on cleaning your plate.

Our package did not arrive on Friday and keeping with European work schedules they do not deliver on weekends, so we will be spending the weekend in Berlin. This meant more time to explore the night life of Berlin. Karen put together an excellent game plan and we set out for a little night life. Our first stop was the Check Point Charlie museum which is a private museum dedicated to those who tried to gain freedom from the East Berlin to West Berlin. The city of Berlin was divided into four areas controlled by the Russians, French, British and the US. Russia which fought against Germany in World War II was granted a large portion of Berlin and the West was given small portions of the city of Berlin. This was originally intended to allow all interested parties to be involved with the rebuilding of Germany. It however, quickly became a dividing line between East and West creating the cold war. In the beginning of a divided Berlin the citizens of the East and West could move freely around the city. In actuality the Western controlled portion of Berlin was surrounded by the Eastern block and communism. You still had normal border crossings in the city from East to West but business was allowed to be conducted. As things in the East began to deteriorate the freedom of the West could be found on a small free island in the western controlled Berlin. Up to 20,000 East Germans a month were defecting to West Berlin and this presented a problem. The solution was to erect a 128 km wall encircling West Berlin. The wall and series of fences and guard post was literally erected overnight.

The city of West Berlin was cut off from the outside world and the only way in or out was by plane. All food and supplies had to be airlifted in to feed a cutoff city. The cold war had begun. The Checkpoint Charlie Museum tells an amazing story of man's determination to be free. You have the construction of Hot Air balloons by amateur hobbyists. The construction of numerous tunnels under the death strip. The creation of underwater scuba-gear made from welding equipment and an underwater motor that propelled the swimmer against a strong current. The museum is worth a trip to Berlin just to be in awe of the ingenuity of man.

We took our tourist hats off and decided it was time to find out what Berlin night life has to offer. After three hours of exploring we found out that our little neighborhood had the best night life in town. This consisted of numerous cafes, art studios and a collection of relaxed clubs in old abandon buildings. Culture clubs seem to be unique to Berlin, they are a collection of art studios, theaters, music venues etc. all in one locale. Every night there is a different activity, definitely worth seeking these out for night life. It was fairly low key and we found ourselves returning home early after a very long day.

Our Eurail passes arrived on Monday which meant it was time to leave Berlin and head to Amsterdam for a couple of days of exploration. We had been in Berlin for 5 nights and had a chance to see the dynamic city at a leisurely pace. A little after noon we went to lunch at the amazing Ka De We department store, which is one of the grand dames as far as department stores go. We were going to the sixth floor at the urging of our friends Kathye and Simon. We were not disappointed, food lovers fantasy land. Moved on to our final destination, Info Box. This is a viewpoint and museum for the largest construction site in Europe, Pottsdam Platz.

If you are interested in a brief but revealing account of the bathrooms in Germany then go on to the next story.