Brandenburg Gate

And so the final chapter in our Berlin trip...its about time, right?

The Brandenburg Gate...here is what I know about it...

1.  Its a well known landmark in Berlin that marks entrance into Berlin.
2.  Its in East Berlin...or was...now its just in "Berlin."  :)

And here is what it looks like...

From the front....

From the back....

My favorite shot of us with the gate.  ha ha ha.....

And the big colums...they were giant.  And yes, thats me geekily peeking out from behind it.  We THOUGHT it would be a cute photo, but now I just see it was pretty dumb.  As penance I'm including it in my blog.  :)

Last, but not least...when I did some research about the Brandenburg Gate I realized that it...like so many other wonderful buildings, monuments, statues, squares, etc. are huge symbols of the East/West...The Iron Curtain...Communism...Liberation....hope....peace....and it really is overwhelming to think I had the chance to go and experience THAT...not just see the gate...not just take a picture of a well known monument.  Makes one stop and say..."Woah."

From Wikipedia...

Vehicles and pedestrians could travel freely through the gate, located in East Berlin, until the Berlin Wall was built, 13 August 1961. Then one of altogether eight Berlin Wall crossings was opened on the eastern side of the gate, usually not open for East Berliners and East Germans, who from then on needed a hard-to-obtain exit visa. On 14 August West Berliners gathered on the western side of the gate to demonstrate against the Berlin Wall, among them West Berlin's governing Mayor Willy Brandt, who had spontaneously returned from a federal election campaigning tour in West Germany earlier on the same day.


Under the pretext that Western demonstrations required it, the East closed the checkpoint at the Brandenburg Gate the same day, 'until further notice', a situation that was to last until 22 December 1989.

The Berlin Wall

Good grief...I've got to catch up or before I know it October will be over and done with and I still won't have even posted our pumpkin patch photos!

So...back to Berlin...and the wall.  Actually...better said as The Wall.  With capitals because when you talk about The Wall people always seem to know what wall you are referring to...

So...I got to touch it.  See it...touch it...kind of experience it...

The most surprising thing about it was how short it was.  Short as in "not tall" as opposed to the length...because that wall went on FOREVER.  When I saw The Wall for the first time it was not intimidating at all...not even a tiny bit.  I imagine way back when there was razor wire and stuff on top maybe?  It might be time for another history lesson.

From Wikipedia...

"The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin.

The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses.

The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period."


Ok...so no razor wire...but the "death strip" sounds and looks pretty daunting from pre-fall of the wall photos.

And now for the big reveal of MY experience at the Berlin wall.  I'm starting with my absolute favorite photo from that day...

And then looking down one side of the wall....

And then the other....

And me touching the wall.  :)
 

 
And then just some interesting other works of art on the wall...
 

 
And in the infamous words of Arnold Schwarzenegger..."I'll be back."

Checkpoint Charlie

Imagine waking up to the announcement that your city was divided in half and during the night 6 foot high barbed wire fences were erected to stop you from going to work or visiting your family or friends...and even more troubling was the fact that it stayed that way for 30 years. 

That is essentially what happened to the people of Berlin on August 13, 1961. 

Its also one of the reasons I really wanted to go to Berlin and see first hand some of the remnants of the cold war era...and the division of the beautiful city of Berlin. 

One of our first stops on our tour was Checkpoint Charlie.  Named "Checkpoint C" - the Charlie came from the phonetic alphabet and it has forever been the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War and the only crossing location for Allied troops.

I was a little surprised at how "insignificant" Checkpoint Charlie looked at first.  I think it was less "impressive" because it was lacking the East Berlin guard tower...the rows of barbed wire and blockades and the heavily armed soldiers...instead I saw this...

That little white thing that looks kind of like a trailer?  Yeah...thats Checkpoint Charlie....and a little closer view...  (can you see John standing there in the front?)

These "soldiers" are actors and you pay them to take a photo with them...

Now interestingly enough...I learned in my research of this place that the original guard shack is located in a museum and is significantly larger than this little replica.  Plus...just for full disclosure...it also didn't have those sand bags in front of it.  It looked more like this...



Photo borrowed from here



Photo rights and permission here

Apparently there was also an eatery there called the "Eagle's Nest" that allowed the allied forces to peer over the wall into the border area of East Berlin.  Now they've since transformed it into this newer more modern restaurant that doesn't feel the need to be secretive about their customers...
 

 
Just kidding...but it did make John and I laugh when we saw the name of this restaurant.
 
Back to more important things....This sign is also a replica of the original.  I guess they wanted to make sure everyone knew that there was no friendly American faces once they crossed over... 
 

 
And while walking around I got to see and touch pieces of the Berlin Wall.  I found these absolutely fascinating...
 

 
But...I'm just putting these here as a little teaser...I've got a bunch more to say about the Berlin wall.  Meanwhile...stop and think what you'd want your family to know if you couldnt see or talk to them for the next 30 years and maybe make a phone call or write an email today...?  Just thinking outloud here...

Berlin

This weekend I took an MWR (Morale, Welfare, Recreation) trip to Berlin.  I took the MWR bus for two reasons. 

1.  Someone else got to drive the 5 hours to Berlin.
2.  There was a tour of the major sightseeing spots.

We left at 3AM from Rose Barracks one one of those plush seat buses...here is what they don't tell you about those buses...they are WORSE than airplanes.  The seating, I mean.  The lady in front of me put her seat back...because the lady in front of her put her seat back and so I had to put my seat back because there was less than a hand span between the seat and me if I didn't. 

Lets just say it was pretty uncomfortable for the 5 hours of driving...but luckily leaving at 3AM means I got to sleep through most of it.

Anyhow...

Berlin...giant town.  I was glad we had the initial bus tour even though we got way too little time at each of the major parts of the town.  I consider this trip my "Berlin primer." 

I'm going to blog seperately about the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate...all the rest of my Berlin experience will go here.  Are you on the edge of your seat yet?  If not...let me entice you with this list of 10 things we saw other than the major sights I just listed...in no particular order...

I call this the "drive by" photography.  Remember I was in a bus looking through the window so please forgive the quality of photo...just enjoy the sentiment behind them...

10.  The existence of the 3rd Reich.  It wasn't super obvious...but little pieces like this were all over the city.  I found them extremely disturbing and interesting at the same time.  This little gem was on the side of the original Berlin Airport.  Located directly in the city center it was supposed to be the largest building in the city and from the sky shaped like an eagle with outspread wings.  The construction was never completely finished...but there is still a massive building completely shut down right in the center of Berlin. 

9.  The artwork...from buildings to statues...

I fell in love with this old lady face statue.  I totally want it in MY garden.  Seriously.

And then some nameless statue that we found significant at the time...but I can't, for the life of me...remember who it is.  I suppose someone is very disappointed in me.  Either way...now you get to share this completely insignificant moment with me.

Plus we were excited to find some "punk" for which Berlin is famous for....this is about as close as we got to finding it...

8.  Sex shops.  Yep...they are on ever corner...kind of like Starbucks or McDonalds.  I was pretty amazed at how...errrr....busy? they were.  People coming in and out of these stores nonstop. 

And if that isn't enough...my dear Nacho Libre had to pose on the steps to the World of Sex.  The stairs kept listing exactly how much further until you reached their nirvana.  Its a little disturbing... 

7.  Men's Pissoir.  This made me laugh.  That is a bathroom....unfortunately...women were not given the same consideration way back when the iron curtain was up.  I guess we were expected to go before we left home...?

6.  The difference between buildings in the west and east parts of the city.  Buildings in West Berlin are ornate...decorated...flowing with flowers on the balconies...

Buildings in East Berlin are stiff steel construction with no imagination.  Build like a cubicle...considered efficient and ugly.

5.  American influence.  Quite a few of the memorial sites or significant buildings were designed by American architects, scultptures, etc.  This is the holocaust memorial.  We tried to run back to get better photos, but alas...our tour guide was on a schedule and it didn't allow for John and I to run all the way back to this in time to get something other than the drive by shot...

And, of course...always know where your embassy is...

And your PX...

4.  The palace(s)...Their queen Charlotte had her regular palace and a summer home palace all located within Berlin city limits.  I suppose if you've got the money why NOT have a winter/summer palace....

3.  Dunkin' Donuts.  We couldn't resist this little taste of home.

2.  Little Safari cars...because you know its a jungle out there. 

1.  Spending time with my honey bunny at Captain Shillows where I ate the best perch EVER...on a boat. 

I'll bet thats the side of Berlin you never thought you'd see...  :)