Visiting Berlin, Germany: Part 1

​Berlin was amazing, let's just start with that. Despite having five days in the city, by the end I wished I'd stayed longer. On my first day there though, I had the complete opposite feeling. I flew in from Frankfurt, which should have been a quick flight. But because it was delayed by more than an hour, I didn't get into Berlin until the late afternoon, so that by the end of the day I really didn't have the opportunity to see much. I stayed in East Berlin by Alexaderplatz, where many of the buildings are reminiscent of soviet architecture, practical and ugly, many of which are abandoned. However, because I took the bus from the airport, we had passed through Museum Island, and I got my first glimpse of the Berliner Dom.

Berliner Dom

Not being a super religious person, churches are not something I typically seek out when traveling. However, I had a number of them on my list to see around Europe. Berliner Dom was certainly one of them, and I imagine that it'll remain my favorite one. Most of it was destroyed in WWII, but it has been rebuilt to look even better than it did before.

But I'll get back to it. My first night in Berlin I walked around Alexanderplatz, one of the many open squares that hold markets and act as meeting places for the locals. That weekend there was a big African Pride festival happening, so lots of music, food, and people around. So I just hung out there for a few hours enjoying the scene. Not to mention that the square is one of the main subway hubs, so it's surrounded by stores and malls. It was where I got my first taste of Galeria Kaufhof, and am now obsessed with.

Alexanderplatz

Berliner Dom

On my first full day, the first thing I did was check out the Berliner Dom. I'd gotten out pretty early, so I just walked around, complete with selfie stick, and snapped a few photos from the outside.

Me and the Berliner Dom at 7:30AM  

​Next to the Berliner Dom is the Altes Museum, and behind that the Neues Museum. So I just walked around, staring with an open mouth at all the amazing architecture.

Altes Museum

Neues Museum

At 9AM, the Berliner Dom opened, and I went inside. It is even more grand inside than I expected.

I'd bought an audio guide for a self guided tour inside, so I went to every corner of the cathedral. There was also an organ player there, so at one point I just sat down and listened to it.

What I had really wanted to do too was climb to the top of the dome. After climbing the bell tower in Frankfurt, I figured this one would be ok. It was actually far easier. The main issue in Frankfurt is that you climb 28 floors by going in a circle in the dark. So not only do you end up exhausted, but you're also extremely dizzy by the end. The Berliner Dom was very different. The first 5 floors housed artifacts of the church, so that with each new floor you climbed, you would stop and look at what was around.

Then there was a big stretch, which was circular but far more spread out, on marble floors and plenty of light. This section would lead to internal windows overlooking the inside of the cathedral.

At the end, there were only about 10 floors to climb to the top, which was again in a small spiral, but not too bad. Once you get up and outside though, just like Frankfurt, it's definitely worth the climb.

Third Reich Tour

After coming down from the Berliner Dom, I was off on my first free walking tour: The Third Reich. It would be impossible to try and record all the information our tour guide passed on to us. It was incredibly enlightening and informative, many points which I did not know. However, the story of the Holocaust and WWII has been widely studied, and I am far from knowledgeable enough to write about it. Instead, I can share the photos I took of many of the locations that she took us to and some of the points which have stuck with me from the tour.

Stones on a memorial

Engraved brass tiles with the names of Jewish victims  

Bullet holes from the final Berlin Battle can still be seen on some buildings around the city  

1) Many people leave flowers at a grave. However, the Jewish custom is to leave a stone on top of it. The idea is to keep someone's soul in place, rather than have it float away aimlessly. Flowers also wilt and die, whereas a stone will lie there forever.

2) As part of the WWI agreement, Germany was not allowed to have a military. However, the Nazi party managed to build a Ministry of Aviation in secret, a building so large and unique in its shape that it was never bombed by the Allied countries, as it was used by pilots as a guide. The building was one of the few finished during the Nazi regime, and gives us an incredible chance to see how the Nazi party had used architecture to influence and intimidate its citizens. Taking up a whole block, seven floors of concrete would certainly intimidate anyone, especially as it used to fly Nazi flags from all sides. After the war, the majority of Nazi symbols were removed, but many of the stones along the side and entrance of the building had swastikas carved into it. These stones were ripped out and turned inside out, so that the swastikas are now glued to the inside. Today, this huge building houses the Ministry of Finance.

3) All concentration camps in Germany were work camps. While deaths did occur, the Nazi party had ensured that all death camps were outside the borders of Germany so that a regular citizen would not find out about it.

4) Hitler's bunker has been turned into a parking lot. In order to not build a tribute to him or allow a site of pilgrimage, the German government purposefully built a parking lot over it, after it had been drilled into and filled with dirt. During the World Cup of 2006, a sign was placed outside the parking lot as many tourists were asking about its location. However, the goal is to have people walk by it without knowing it was ever there. On the same note, Hitler's ashes were thrown into the Biederitz river so that he would never have a final resting place.

5) Since WWII, the German government has worked to remove any remaining Nazi and Soviet symbols. However, one has remained: the Ampelmann. Installed in East Germany, the Ampelmann depicts a law-abiding citizen wearing its worker's hat on its way to work, in the most cheery mood possible. After the reunification of Berlin, the government began to replace the Ampelmann with standard crossing figurines, which was received with multiple protests. As it understandably had many more issues to tackle, the government decided to leave behind the Amplemann, as Berliners had clearly grown attached to it.

Ampelmann 

Bundestag Visit

After the Third Reich tour, I had booked a visit to the Bundestag, the parliament building. Apparently, the Bundestag is the building while Reichstag is the name for parliament. As the government wanted to emphasize transparency in its doings, the opposite of the Nazi era, anyone is allowed to visit the building and sit in on a parliament discussion. There are also numerous memorials inside the building, small and large. The first one can be seen on the walls. The building was heavily destroyed during the war, and during its reconstruction, the decision was made to show its history. As the Red Army moved in to the city, many soldiers left messages on the walls of the fallen building. Today, many of these messages can be seen along the hallways, a constant reminder to visitors, but especially the people who work there, of its country's history.

Red Army graffiti on the walls of the Bundestag  

There is also an art installation in the basement dedicated to the members of parliament. For all members elected between 1919 and 1999, there is a metal box with their name. During the Nazi regime, those who refused to join the Nazi party or stood in its way, were killed, represented by a black stripe below his or her name. There are also no boxes for 1933 to 1945, as no one was democratically elected.

After the tour of the inside of the building, we are allowed to go up to the dome. Beautifully designed, it also provides one of the best views of the city.

After having walked numerous miles during the morning and afternoon, I made my way back to the hostel through one of the main streets, Unter den Linden, passing by the Brandenburg Bridge.

Brandenburg Bridge

Because I spent so much time in Berlin and enjoyed it so much, I have too many photos to share in just one post. So I'll break down each day in a separate post so that I can add as much detail and as many photos as possible. More to come!