We visited the old Templehof airport twice. The first time walking around the airfield. The second time on a wonderful Father’s Day, taking a tour around the airport buildings.
Seeing Moderat play live was the initial motivation for this adventure. Despite an agonising wait to get in to the stadium, it was an experience to remember.
Emily and I spent just over a week in Berlin. Plenty of time to explore and see different aspects of the city.
Being my last evening in Berlin I wasn't going to sit around the apartment all evening. I briefly toyed with a crazy plan to go to Berghain, the infamous club and one thing I'm disappointed on missing in Berlin. But the plan was truly crazy and would not have been worth the effort so I will save it for next time. Instead I decided to head to the west of the city again and check out installations for the Festival of Lights over there. I found a few. It was fun and worthwhile doing, but I'm still a bit underwhelmed by the festival. Maybe I'm missing something?
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Today has been my last full day in Berlin. Tomorrow I catch the train to Krakow via Warsaw. I decided to make a last attempt to get to the information centre for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. So I headed out early. The weather was better today. Still overcast but dry, so I walked in. On the way I stumbled across another set of monumental buildings.
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I got to the memorial 20 minutes before opening and secured myself a space near the front of the queue. And it was so worth the effort. The centre is brilliant in both design and content. I took the audio guide and meditated on the horror and futility of what happened. These pictures are from inside. One of the design elements in the information centre is the continuation of the blocks above into the ceiling and other spaces below.
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I spent a long time wandering though the centre, taking it all in.
Afterwards I headed towards another site I had read about. One of the churches that was bombed in the war has been kept in that state as a memorial and reminder. What I now realise is that the church is located in what must have been the hub of west Berlin and all this time I have only really seen what was east Berlin. So there were two things to see.
Unfortunately for me, the church is undergoing maintenance and is shrouded by a scaffolding and covering, all you can see is a little of the steeple poking out of the top. But as soon as I looked around I saw the more conventional western city that was missing from the Berlin I had seen so far. This was the missing piece of the puzzle. It all made sense now. Mind you, I wouldn't say I prefer one over the over. The two sides of Berlin are quite different but both beautiful in their own way.
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An added bonus of visiting this side of Berlin was making it to the Berlin museum which chronicles the history of Berlin. It was another well presented museum, but I think I might be getting museum-ed out. However, the added attraction of this one was that you were taken on a tour of a real nuclear fall out shelter constructed in the early 70s. It was eerie, and if you think about what might have happened, it was quite horrific. The shelter was built to accommodate 3,600 people which is mind blowing in itself, but you have to question whether people really could have survived in these conditions.
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I just remembered another little event from yesterday. When I was on the underground a band of 3 young lads with clarinet and trumpet hopped on at one stop and started to play enthusiastically and loudly. One then proceeded to "work" the carriage for donations. Some people on the carriage appeared to be delighted and others quite annoyed. An older lady was struggling to hear on her mobile as they played and I thought she was going to spit the dummy but she ended up looking enchanted by their performance and gave, as did I. I went to take a photo of the trio but realized I would have also photographed many of the agitated people as well. I've received some odd looks when taking photos here so I thought it best not to. I had a quiet night in last night. Yesterday I bought a book on the origins of language. I don't read books all that often but last night it was lovely to curl up in the chair by the window and read my book, glancing down at the street below every now and then.
Even though I've been on holidays I've tried to be conscious of my health and make good choices. But knowing the European love of chocolate at breakfast I couldn't resist this for my breakfast today ... chocolate muesli!
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Tasted great, and because it's muesli it must be good for me.
Today I'm up early to try to get in to the information centre for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe one last time. Wish me luck.
It rained for quite a while last night. When I got up, all I could see of the TV tower was the mast above the observation dome due to the low cloud. By 9:00 it had started to rain again. Today was a bit of a "mop up" day. I've done all the big ticket items off my to-do list so it was a matter of deciding which of the "lesser" things I felt like. Also, I had been leaving some of the indoor activities until later in case of wet weather, so here was my opportunity.
Walking all the way into the city wasn't going to be an option today so I took the now familiar route to my nearest u-bahn (underground) station. The U2 takes me all the way to Potsdamer Platz which is where I decided to start.
When I visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe I only saw the memorial itself and not the information centre below it. There had been a small line up so I decided to come back. Might have been a bad move as when I returned to try today the queue was 6 times longer and not moving. A couple from NZ arrived in the line behind me so I struck up a conversation. I must say it was therapeutic to have a prolonged, comfortable English conversation. When it was clear the line wasn't going anywhere in a hurry I decided to bail and move on to my next stop instead.
My next stop was the Deutsche Kinematik, a museum of German film located in the Sony Centre in Potsdamer Platz. The first part of the museum was an introductory space that masterfully used mirrors to create infinite reflections in just about every direction! It was pretty amazing. Unfortunately my snaps don't do it justice, and just after the second shot I was politely told that photography was not allowed ... oops.
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The museum was really interesting and chronicled the German film industry from when it was quite ground breaking to the present time. I spent about an hour and a half wandering through. One of my favourite parts was information about Metropolis, which I saw at the Adelaide film festival a few years back. Fritz Lang employed 3,600 extras through the course of filming!
After that museum I wanted to head to the Deutsches Historiches Museum which is a German history museum. On the way I checked the queue back at the memorial and it was just as long if not longer. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
I also wanted to drop into one of the shops that exclusively sell merchandise modeled on Berlin's version of the "walk" sign - Ampelmännchen. He's not the almost androgynous version we have in Australia. He has a very distinct appearance and swagger. Apparently he was an East German invention and has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. There's a good Wikipedia article if you're interested. Unfortunately the stores didn't sell anything I really wanted so I left empty handed.
The German history museum was to the east of the city near the other museums. I got there about 1:45 thinking I'd spend a couple of hours. It was really well laid out taking you right from the beginning to present time. I know quite a lot about 20th century Germany so I was most interested in learning about the beginnings from the time of the Roman Empire and later how Germany finally formed. When I finished, I checked my phone thinking it would be about 3:00. It was 5:15! How time flies.
From there it was just back to the apartment. So, not many photos today. I'm not big for taking photos in museums and art galleries and there wasn't anything else today that I haven't already shared ... other than the rain. I'd thought about going out to check some of the other Festival of Light installations tonight but it's still too wet. Tomorrow's forecast is for dryer conditions so I might try then.
I awake to the feint sounds of chairs and tables being scraped into position outside the cafe below. It's too early for customers but the appearance of the seating and the lights inside tell me that the proprietors are busy preparing for the day. Looking down at the street I notice another level of fallen leaves. I swear the trees have changed colour again overnight.
Now I can hear the distant ringing of church bells. That must have been the cue because the cafe door opens and it's ready for business.
A little later the first of the baby brigade appears. Mothers, sometimes fathers, pushing their babies in every conceivable shape and size of pram. On route to the shops, or the bakery down the road. It's only a trickle now but soon it will be a steady stream.
And the cafe has it's first customer of the day. Sitting inside where it would be warm.
Another mother walks by with pram. Judging by the packaging in her hands it looks like it was an early morning trip to the bakery. The intersection is punctuated by cyclists, walkers and the very occasional car.
The last brigade of the morning will come a little later as parents take their children to the school around the corner, often in seats on the backs of their bikes.
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Tonight was the opening of the festival of lights which runs for 12 days. Here's a link to the promotional video. I decided to go back to Potsdamer Platz where the official count down would occur. So I jumped back on the U2 line which actually takes me straight there. I was there early so had plenty of time to get a spot and practice getting my camera settings right to capture the light images. I must admit I had a few "pinch me" moments when I realized I was across the other side of the world at such an event.
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The count down came and the show began. After staying at the start for a while I followed the massive crowd as we wandered east across the city. Luckily all the walking I've been doing held me in good stead and I actually recognized where we were going.
There are lots of illuminations across the city and I only saw a few tonight. Unfortunately, what I saw underwhelmed me a little. It was still good and a great event to be part of. Here's the best of what I managed to capture. I thought the lights on the Brandenburg Gate were the best.
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The only thing I don't like about cold weather is that it makes my eyes water. So for the first part of the day I constantly appeared as if I was crying as I walked towards the city centre. When I got there I visited two monuments and this time I was crying for real. Quite an emotional morning. But I'll back track and start from the beginning. Today's plan was to head toward Potsdamer Platz and then later in the day visit the Reichstag. I walked a different way and it was nice to take in the shops along the way. All the time I was walking I was drying my eyes from the cold air which became quite annoying.
One place that Em may have been interested in was this museum of surreal industrial objects. Unfortunately it was closed at the time.
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Nearby was some more street art. One of my purchases has been a book of Berlin street art as that's something that has really resonated with me.
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I hadn't planned to visit today but I found myself at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. I've read about it and seen pictures but neither had prepared me. On approach it just appears like a sea of stone blocks.
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What you don't realize is that once you start walking into it, the ground "sinks" and before you know you disappear beneath the tops of the blocks. You get a feeling of being overwhelmed and of drowning in this sea of humanity. I don't know if that was the intention but that was how I felt.
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It was an extremely emotional experience to wander and meditate on the tragedy. I think it is a fitting memorial.
Nearby is a Memorial to the Homosexuals Persecuted Under the Nazi Regime. While not as striking in appearance this memorial and the stories behind it also moved me, for obvious reasons, and I have to admit it pushed me over the edge.
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I needed some time to pull myself together before I wanted to be seen in public again.
After a little break I made my way to Potsdamer Platz. It's incredible to think that this area was more or less a wasteland divided by the wall just over 20 years ago. The Sony centre is amazing.
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From there I decided to go walking in the outskirts of the city again. This time to the south west. On my way I stumbled across the Bauhaus Museum so I went in and had a look. There was an incredible porcelain exhibition, but we weren't allowed to take photos.
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I needed to be back to the Reichstag by 3:00 for my booking to go up to the dome. Security was very tight but it was well worth the effort. A truly magnificent piece of architecture to top off such a historic building.
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I caught the underground U2 back to the station nearest mine. I'm starting to get the hang of the lines and stations.
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After being overcast and threatening all day blue sky finally poked through for the first time since I've been here.
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I had some dinner to re-group before the opening of the festival of lights (coming in part 2).
Today I had booked to go to the viewing platform of the TV tower I saw the other day.
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It was a little overcast but the view was still spectacular. The big park in the following picture is where I spent so much of yesterday.
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The church spire in the middle of the following picture is the church at the end of the street where I am staying.
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From there I walked to the DDR museum. It's a very interactive museum of what life was like in East Germany. Really interesting and fun. Next to it were these impressive buildings that form part of museum island ... a concentration of museums on the river.
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All around Berlin at the moment is an exhibition called Diversity Destroyed which commemorates the decline in diversity and culture at the hands of the nazi regime.
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Nearby was this memorial to all those who have died in war. I thought it odd that people were so focused on the sculpture. As good as it was, the space around it moved me more.
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From there I decided to just wander. It wasn't long before I found something for lunch and then this gallery dedicated to the documentation of the atrocities of the nazis ... Topographie Des Terrors. By it was another stretch of the wall.
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From there I decided to keep walking and check out some of the outer areas of Berlin. Autumn is definitely here.
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The walk brought me back to the river which is wider at this point.
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My last stop for the day was the East Side Gallery which is another stretch of the wall that artists have been allowed to use as their canvas.
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And on the other side is currently a photo exhibition (rendered onto the wall) depicting other walls around the world that divide their communities. You don't realize how many there are.
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So once again my feet are sore. I've been walking so much that I've started to get leg cramps. Went to the "chemist" to get some magnesium which should help. Ah, doing everything in a foreign country is interesting. The people are always very nice and usually speak English but I am starting to get sick of being the foreigner.
Today is the approximate half way point in my adventure. On one hand it feels like I've reached half way in no time at all. On the other hand I have done so much that it feels like far longer than two weeks since I left home. This morning I woke up feeling good. I got up reasonably early and booked tickets for some of the sights I want to see. Late morning I headed to the Berlin Wall memorial which was only about 15 minute walk away. On the way I paused to take more pictures of the church at the end of my street.
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When I got to the wall I found it very emotional. The whole area has been set up exceptionally well with lots of information that moved me more than I had expected. What tipped me over the edge were the stories of families separated by the wall. All they could do was arrange to meet on opposite sides and wave to each other. All that heartache to what end?
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I spent quite some time there reading the stories. From there I had decided to go to the central station (Hauptbahnhof) because I needed to reserve my seat for Warsaw to Krakow and I thought that might be the easiest place to do it. I decided to give the Berlin underground a try out to get there.
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I managed to head in the right direction and soon made it to the central station. This is where I arrived on Saturday and will leave next Saturday. It's massive and very new and shiny. My kind of place.
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I got my reservation sorted and decided to head into the centre of the city. I hadn't planned to do that until later in the week but when you're on holidays plans are only suggestions. I took the underground to the Brandenburg Gate. An iconic location. When I arrived it was fenced off but later in the day when I returned it was all open. I savored my walk through it.
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Next to the gate is the Reichstag, the parliament house. I have a ticket to go inside later in the week so today I just walked by.
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Next to the Reichstag is the equally impressive and modern Bundestag.
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Both these landmarks are on the edge of a massive park in the centre of Berlin. As I started walking I noticed the onset of autumn.
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I walked a while to reach the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, a modern gallery on the edge of the park with an amazing roof.
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Nearby there was a bell tower that rang out the time. I'm not sure of the name, if it had one.
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In the distance I could see another memorial so I decided to walk through the park to reach it, not quite realizing how far it was. But it was a beautiful walk.
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I reached the memorial. Because of the cloud cover my pictures are dark so you can't see it all that well.
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I could see detail on the side and I assumed that would be the end of it.
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Only then did I realise you could climb to the top. Lots of steps later (Em, I didn't count them) I was greeted by this view.
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Spectacular! And then there was the climb down and the walk back to the centre of Berlin. I caught the train the last bit home. I have a strong feeling my legs will let me know how much they hate me tomorrow.
After dinner I curl up in one of the chairs by the window with my glass of wine to watch the world go by. I become a voyeur, but only to the degree that my subjects have allowed me. Across the road on the first floor a woman is busily tidying up. Moving things from one room to another. Clearing a space on the table and cleaning it. Constantly in motion. A man momentarily comes into the room with a plate but quickly turns around and leaves again. The motion continues until she finally pauses at the table setting out plates as he returns with a pot and what looks like the same plate as before. To this point they've both been busy bees working independently. She strikes a match to light a candle. They lean in and slowly kiss before beginning their meal together.
Two floors up there is an incessant flashing. A photographer is working in his studio. He appears to be alone. At one point he jumps up as the flash goes off before hurrying across to check the camera. Experimenting? I saw photographers working downstairs by the entrance when I got back tonight. Maybe it's the same person?
Across the street there is a little cafe that looks as if it just happened one day. There is a constant stream of visitors popping in and out or sitting outside. One last coffee on the way home or drinks with friends. There are always people around. I hear the muffled speech and occasional laugh. Friends catching up, lovers spending time together. Clearly a treasured space by those who know.
I wasn't feeling 100% again when I got up this morning so I pottered around, planning until I felt up to going out. Near where I am staying there is a park called Mauerpark and each Sunday they hold a big flea market there that is apparently popular. It only took 10 minutes to walk there and it was both big and popular.
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This is the view along one side of the outside and it was at least 6 rows across. I've never seen a market this big.
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In the market was everything you'd expect and most of it really good. I bought a couple of things and had something to eat. I probably spent nearly and hour and a half constantly walking. I bumped into Eric and Sue from Toronto who were the couple I met at Hanover station as we were trying to find our ways to Berlin. It was nice to be able to chat a little more with them.
Along the side of the market there were various excellent performers entertaining the crowds.
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Though the course of the day I've noticed some very derelict buildings nestled in between the normal apartment blocks. I guess they're waiting their turn to be renovated (or knocked down).
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I loved the art on these buildings.
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Walking back to the apartment I navigated the undulating footpaths. They are often paved with this random material.
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After a re-group back at the apartment I headed out to see how close I was to the centre of the city. Turns out I'm about the same walking distance as I was in London. Awesome! Having said that, I've purchased my 5 day "welcome to Berlin" card which gives me free public transport anyway.
One of the sights I wanted to see was the TV tower. I can see it clearly from my apartment. It's a very imposing sight.
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The queue to get to the observation deck was crazy so I decided to wait. I think I'm able to book tickets online which should be easier. Near the tower is Alexander Platz which had a German folk thing happening. I don't know if it's permanent or not but it seemed a bit too touristy for me. I didn't look around too much.
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My next destination was Karl-Marx Allee which was the massive boulevard built by the east Berliners in epic communist style. Along the way I encountered some amazing mosaic facades.
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Karl-Marx Allee appears to be a shadow of its former self. Still wide and grand but not much is happening along it. But you can imagine how it would have been used in the cold war era for displays of power.
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The view back to "west" Berlin was interesting.
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Oh, and I nearly forgot. By the TV tower is a tall hotel where they offer base jumping as an activity. Here's one brave soul on the way down.
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Well, that was a big day of walking and my feet hurt. I think I might relax in a bath tonight. Tomorrow's plan will depend on the weather.
After yesterday's challenges I made it to the apartment only a couple of hours later than planned. When I first saw the area I must admit it looked a bit run down and I was a little concerned. It was nothing like the areas I'd stayed in London or Amsterdam.
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But on closer inspection I noticed the streets were teeming with young people and families, some cool shops and great little restaurants. The area is Prenzlauer Berg and it was on the east side of the wall. I think I'm going to like it here.
Last night the streets were busy with people. Europeans love keeping their curtains open though.
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The apartment itself is pretty much as advertised. I love how much light there is and it's not noisy like London was. And there's a lift! I'm on the fourth floor.
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Here are some pictures from my balcony. You can just make out the misty weather which is starting to clear now.
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I'm just taking time to have my breakfast and roughly plan for the week. I've booked my visit time to the Reichtag and I've been checking weather reports to gauge which days will be best for outdoor walking. I will post today's adventures in part 2.