Berlin: A City no Longer Divided

When growing up television filled my mind with images of a divided Berlin with wall, Hitler, Nazi’s. When visiting Berlin, I had expected to encounter people dressed as they do in TV and movies now. In my favorite episode of Alias, Sydney walks through a club in Berlin filled with people in punk clothing. During my time in Berlin I only encountered one such person dressed this way. In clubs people were dressed in regular clothing and on the street people were very friendly and helpful.

What I encountered when exploring Berlin was a city filled with culture and a mixture of old and new. When walking through Berlin you can find modern supermarkets, new shops, and the Parliament building with its new mirrored dome. On other streets you can see the remnants of a Church with its roof bombed off decades ago or see remnants of the Berlin wall.

Quick Tips:

Get the Museum pass which costs 15 euros for three days. It is the best value for the money since it allows entry to many Berlin museums over three days. The museums are clustered in the Museum-Sinsel (Museum Island) in the East and the Kulturforum area in the West.

Though many people do speak English, try to learn at least some words to help you get around. If you are willing to try to speak a few words people would be more than willing to help you out.

There are some good clubs, bars, and restaurants in Berlin. Hackesche Hofe is an area that shouldn’t be missed because of its nightlife. Also, try going to the Mitte where there are galleries and theaters. On the Mitte, Friedrichshain, and Oranienburger Straße, there are numerous bars to crawl your way through in east Berlin. In the west, the nightlife is more spread out. Although I only learned of this when I left the city, people who were on the trip suggested picking up a magazine like Zitty or Prinz to find out what is going on in the city. One thing to note is during the Oktoberfest time various beer tents pop up in the city. It is nice to hear some traditional music and beer songs when in these tents and mingle with regular German people.

Best Way To Get Around:

To get a feel of the city, ride the train. They are pretty clean and on time. Remember to buy a ticket and validate it because you may be fined 40 euros if you do not. My roomie in Berlin almost found this out the hard way. He bought a ticket but he did not validate it. A cop pulled him and several people over to check their tickets. It was a good thing he had a ticket, he was able to get off with just a warning. Other people who were on the train without a ticket had to pay a fine. Tickets in 2006 cost 22 euros for three days and 16 euros for a two day Welcome card. One day tickets are available if you plan to use the train more than two times in the day. The card is also good on the bus system, where you can travel and have good views of the city.

There are some good clubs, bars, and restaurants in Berlin. On our first night my roommate wanted to see the Reichstag at night but I passed. Some girls on our tour said they had a list of bars they wanted to check out. This sounded like a better way to spend time in Berlin. The area the girls said the bars were at was Hackesche Hofe. Indeed, when we got there we saw many bars and restaurants to choose from. We first sat at a restaurant for some light food and drinks. We sat outdoors and it was a good choice, until it started to rain. We made the decision to go to a club to get out of the rain. At first we were going to go to the Matrix club but our waiter said the club was not good since it had a lot of drugs. He instead told us to walk a few blocks down and turn left. We did this but the area looked deserted and felt that we may have taken a wrong turn since we were drinking. However, moments later we heard some music and followed it to the club. Here, there was an outdoor area to dance and some indoor areas to dance. We walked around, dance, drank, and had a good time. I have no idea what the name of the restaurant or the club is now. However, I do know in the club we had our photos taken and they said it would be on the clubs website. If someone sees my picture there, can you let me know what club I was at!

Our second night in Berlin, I paid the tour company to do a pub crawl. I felt they would know the spots to take us since they were doing this tour for so many years. Boy, was I wrong the bars they took us to sucked. People on our tour were commenting how the bars looked like someone’s grandfathers basement. However, we were given free shots in each bar. These shots together with the regular drinks we were having made the third bar seem better that the rest. In the morning, I found out the third bar was just as bad as the rest. To top it off it seemed like our tour filled up the bar, there were no other people entering these bars. However, all was not lost we were taken to the Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg. This was the site of a former brewery. Now it holds a number of bars, clubs, and live music areas. There was a lot to choose from just check out their website at www.kulturbrauerei-berlin.de.

We went to the Alte Kantine club which played some rock and different types of music. I have to say I had a great time here drinking and dancing. There were people from all over. One of the funniest things that happened was when an older German grandfather type started dancing. My roommate started dancing and the older guy and my roommate started imitating each others moves. It was funny to watch the two. I am not sure how we made it back to the hotel but we did. I could not get up in the morning and missed part of the tour that was scheduled but that night was worth it.

The third night several of us from our tour went on a mission to do our own pub crawl and find better bars than we were taken to on our paid pub crawl. We succeeded in finding some in the Schöneberg area. We found two bars which were good. Slumberland is located at Goltzstrasse 24. When you are inside you feel like you are at a beach in the Caribbean. The walls are painted pink and paste colors and there is roots reggae music playing. To top it off the floors are covered in sand. It was a pretty laid back nice bar for us to sit and talk. After leaving, another bar caught our eye since it was all red inside. This bar was the Nachbar located on Maaßenstraße 12. We at first did not want to go in since it seemed like it was going to be expensive. However, our curiosity got to us and we decided to go in to have a drink. It was a pretty cool bar with the walls and furniture red in color. There are TV screens making announcements. In the back, there is a closet size room with a disco ball. We wondered what that room was for. We joked that maybe there was a hidden room or club there somewhere. Anyway, we had two more drinks, talked, and then headed back since we had an early morning. All in all it was a pretty nice night. We found a website for the Nachbar at www.nachbar-berlin.com.

There are many other places to try in Berlin. On the Mitte there are many galleries and theaters. On the Mitte, Friedrichshain and Oranienburger Straße, there are numerous bars to crawl your way through in east Berlin. In the west, the nightlife is more spread out. Although I only learned of this when I left the city, people who were on the trip suggested picking up a magazine like Zitty or Prinz to find out what is going on in the city. One thing to note is during the Oktoberfest time various beer tents pop up in the city. It is nice to hear some traditional music and beer songs when in these tents and mingle with regular German people.

The museum is worth a visit and costs about 10 euros. There are a few problems with the museum which you may encounter. The museum is not very well laid out and is not in chronological order. In addition, several displays and pictures are repeated in different parts of the museum for no apparent reason. In addition, the grammar on some of the English translations leaves something to be desired. However, at least there an attempt of translating the museum for different groups of people. This is a plus since most museums in the US only have English translations.

The museum has several levels. It explains the formation of the socialist unity party and how it was put in place even though 85% of people in West Berlin voted against it. It details the soviet blockades, how the socialist unity part took control of the parliament and how the Berlin Wall was erected. The most interesting aspect of the museum are the exhibits about the methods people used to escape from East Berlin. There are suitcases that were specially made for small people to fit inside. On display are shovels and other tools people used to make tunnel to escape under the Berlin Wall. Two escape methods I found cool were a hot air balloon and another of a car with a hidden compartment which helped people escape.

Upstairs there are numerous photos of nations rejoicing when the Berlin wall was finally brought down. In addition in a separate room, there are various paintings done by kids celebrating Berlin. Hours are 9am to 10pm daily and the cost is 7 euros, at least in 2006. www.mauer-museum.com.

The Brandenburger Tor was designed by Karl Langhans and erected from 1778-1791. He modeled it after the entrance of the Acropolis in Athens. Over the years the gate has symbolize a variety of ideas. The gate was originally used to symbolize peace. During the Nazi times it was the site of Nazi celebrations in 1933 and was used to symbolize Hitler’s rise to power. The gate during the cold war became a symbol of the division of East and West Berlin. When the wall fell the gate became a symbol for reunification. Location-wise it is near the Reichstag, the War Memorial, and the Tiegarten. Today, the area around the gate called Pariser Platz has undergone redevelopment and revitalization. The area is very lively with many businesses. However, one business stirred up a lot of controversy when it first opened up. Right next to the gate is a Starbucks. In my option I would agree with other people who complain that it detracts from the history of the place and obstructs the view.

When we were there, a variety of street performers where performing around the gate. It was cool to see some German break dancers dancing. If you are planning a visit to Berlin stop by the tourist center at the Gate which opens from 10am to 6pm. The tourist bus 100 stops near the gate. One interesting tidbit is that opposite the gate is the hotel Hotel Adlon. It was here that Michael Jackson dangled his baby over a balcony. You should have heard the jokes everyone told when seeing that hotel. The most popular was: Why did Michael Jackson dangle his baby over a balcony? A: Because his wife asked him to drop the children off somewhere.

The construction of the Berlin wall began on August 1961, by East German troops. When completed it served to separate East and West Berlin. In order to prevent people from crossing from east to west, various landmines, barbwire fences, dogs, and other barriers were places near the wall. East German solders would shoot at people who attempted to defect from east to west. The wall caused the splitting of many families and many citizens were cut off from their jobs. During the cold war there were about 5000 escapes and about 192 people were killed. The wall fell when the East German minister of propaganda who had been on vacation misread a note during a conference. He was asked when East Berliners would be allowed to cross the border to the west. He replied” As far as I know effective immediately, right now.” East Berliners heard this on live TV and thousands of people demanded to enter West Berlin. The overwhelmed guards let the people through on Nov 9, 1989. In the coming weeks, people were breaking of pieces of the wall. Then in June 1990 it was dismantled except for a few pieces which were left standing as a memorial. When we went to see the wall, we could see much of it was covered by '80s style graffiti. You could see that the wall had different components. There was an outer wall with the graffiti and an inner wall. The wall surprisingly did not seem that high. It is a wonder to think that in my life time Berlin was separated and then reunited.

The Reichstag houses the German Parliament and is one of the most historical landmarks in Berlin. It is now the new capitol building where the German government (Brundestag) hold its meetings. It was designed by Paul Wallot in the Neo-Renaissance style between 1889-1894. The famous ”Dem Deutschen Volke”, to the German people saying was added to the building in 1916. A fire said to be started by communists destroyed much of the building in 1933. The building was reconstructed from 1995-1999. In the latest reconstruction, a beautiful mirrored glass dome was added to the building. You can walk all the way to the top of the dome from 8am until midnight for free. It affords excellent view of Berlin from the top. Security is very tight here. If you make a dining reservation with Kafer Dachgarten you may be able to bypass some long lines.

The Memorial was dedicated to commemorate the 6 million Jews who died at the hands of Hitler and the Nazi regime. It was designed in 1988 by Peter Eisenman. It is close to the Brandenburger Gate and what is said to be Hitler’s bunker. The memorial utilizes 205,000 square feet of space. There are 2711 unmarked gray stone slabs of different size and shapes placed in a wavelike pattern. No doubt, these stone slabs reminded me of unmarked graves. The architect wanted to create a sense of disorientation and to me, he succeeded. When you first go in you can see all over. However, when you walk a short distance you become lost in a type of maze in which you can walk in any direction. This serves as a warning for people. It shows how fast people can lose sight of what is really going on around them if they do not question what is right and wrong.

Additionally, in the middle you get a closed in or trapped feeling. Adults seemed to get a sense of what the monument was trying to convey. However, young adult may lose sight of the message. In fact, when we were there a few little kid were playing hide and seek in it. At the base of the memorial is an information center which offers different people stories of the Holocaust. The memorial can be visited any time day or night. However, the information center is open during regular business hours. www.holocaust-mahnmal.de

The Berliner Dom is a Baroque style cathedral built on what is now known as Museum Island. It was constructed between 1894-1905 by order of Emperor Willem II. He demolished a previous smaller cathedral to make room for the current larger and grander cathedral. This was a Protestant reaction to the Basilica of St Peter’s in Rome. The Cathedral was hit by a fire bomb in the second World War and it was severely damaged. It was not until 1975 when reconstruction started. Then in 1984, restoration of the interior began and in 1993 the church was reopened. When going into the cathedral, tour guides point out that the reconstruction is more simplified than the original form. The interior is very ornate and beautifully decorated. Pay attention to the Sauer’s Organ and the main altar that was saved from the previous cathedral. For me, the stain glass windows designed by Anton von Werner were a marvel to see. You can visit the Berliner Dom most days of the weeks. www.berliner-dom.de