We were able to get a decent night of sleep. I got up early to do some work at the hotel lobby breakfast area. It was quiet and without much of a crowd at around 6:30 am. However, when rest of the travel party came down close to 9:00 am, the breakfast area was in full swing. It was packed.
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| MM filling her tank up |
Our hotel (H2 Hotel Alexanderplatz) is located at the former East Berlin area of Alexanderplatz, a major landmark and transit hub. Our plan today was to explore some of the main sites in former East Berlin including Brandenburg Gate, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Hitler's Bunker, Topography of Terror, Check Point Charlie, The Empty Library, East Side Gallery, Oberbaum Bridge and hopefully end up in Kreuzberg for dinner. There are many sites and areas that we could not cover such as the Museum Island and Prenzlauer Berg area. Maybe next time.
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| MM ready for the U-Bahn |
We picked up the 24-Hour Group Ticket for all means of public transportation at the Alexanderplatz station. The cost of the group ticket was $26.50 for 24 hour in zones A, B, and C (C is where the airport is located). We as a family of four could travel unlimited amount in zone A, B, and C for the next 24 hours when we validate our first ride for just $26.50 total!. We thought this was a great value since this essentially included our return ticket to the airport the following day. One great thing about Berlin is that the public transportation is of incredible value. With less than $7 euro per person per day, we could travel the entire city zones.
There are no turnstiles in Berlin metro. The entire metro is based on an honor system. We would have to make sure that we validate our ticket at the yellow machine at the platform before getting on the Bahn but no one ever checked us while we were there.
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| Goodmorning Berlin |
After just a few stops on the brown U5 Bahn we arrived at the major metro stop of Brandenburger Tor for our fist site of the day - Brandenburg Gate or Brandenburger Tor in German.
This iconic landmark of Berlin was commissioned by Fredrick William II of Prussia, the nephew of Fredrick II a.k.a Fredrick the Great of Prussia. It was completed in 1791 in neoclassical style (Greek revival style) and was meant to represent a symbol of peace/victory after the Prussian King sent in troops to the Netherlands to quell the Dutch Populist Revolt (it just so happened that William the V of the "Orangist" of the Netherlands was very conveniently married to the sister of the Prussia King, Wilhelmina of Prussia. It never hurts to be well connected when your throne is in crisis.). The Gate predates the inauguration of Arc de Triomphe by 45 years and it has seen its share of history over the last 231 years. It is amazing that we are able to enjoy the Gate as a tourist site in 2022 when just 77 years ago the city stood in ruin after the WWII.
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| Arrived at the historic Brandenburg Gate |
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| A nice snowy day at the Brandenburg Gate |
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| The Gate in 1933 when the Nazi Third Reich regime came to power |
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| The Gate in 1940, victory parade after Nazi Germany conquered Poland |
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| The Gate in 1945, after the Red Army captured Berlin |
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| The Gate in 1961, during the peak of the Cold War |
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| The Gate in 1987 when U.S President Ronald Reagan gave the famous "Mr. Gobachev, tear down this wall" speech |
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| The Gate in November 2022, after the arrival of the crazy tourists |
After visiting the iconic landmark, we cross the Gate and made a left turn on Ebertstrasse to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
This Memorial landmark was inaugurated in 2005 and commissioned by the German parliament to honor the 6 Million Jewish lives lost during the Holocaust. Designed by American architect Peter Eisenmen, the memorial consists of 2,711 concrete stelae with various height. It is located very close to the former Reich Chancellory and Hitler's Bunker. It serves to remind the German and the people around the world to never let such atrocities happen again. We hope that all leaders around the world have learned this lesson.
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| MM walking through the concrete stelae |
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| No marking, just concrete blocks |
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| We reached the eastern side of the Memorial |
A few hundred yards from the Memorial is the Hitler's Bunker. The actual Bunker is still underground but the above ground area is just a parking lot for an apartment building. It is hard to imagine in June 1945 Hitler lived out his last days right here.
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| Hitler's Bunker, now just a parking lot |
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| Map shows the underground layout |
Just a short walk away from Hitler's Bunker is a big mall - the Mall of Berlin. However, the mall is closed on Sunday in Berlin! We cannot understand how a mall can be closed on Sunday but that's how things are done in Berlin.
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| No shopping action today |
After exploring the city for about couple of hours on foot in sub-freezing temperature, we were ready for a coffee break. We had located a nearby coffee shop - The
Steel Vintage Bikes Cafe to take our first break.
The Steel Vintage Bikes Cafe is a bike shop which got turned into cafe house. We ordered artisan coffee and a few brunch items. Everything was great and we needed to take a break in a warm indoors area.
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| View from the Bikes Cafe |
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| Where do we begin? |
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| Vitamin C and caffeine |
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| GG enjoying the matcha latte |
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| Unique and great tasking pancakes |
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| Honey glazed pancake with bacon |
After warming up in the cafe for about an hour, we were moving on to our next stop whether we were ready or not. Our next stop was Check Point Charlie. We moved south along Wilhelmstrasse and back towards the East Berlin area where Check Point Charlie is located. At this point, the temperature seems to have dropped and the snow was coming down harder.
At the corner of Wilhelmstrasse and Leipzigerstrasse is the "Bundesministerium Der Finanzen" or Ministry of Finance. This incredibly large concrete building was a Nazi regime remnant. This building was commissioned by no other than top Nazi echelon Hermann Goring, the head of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) at that time. The building boasts 2,800 rooms, 7 km of corridors, and over 4,000 windows.
When Berlin was divided during the Cold War period, this building was used as a government ministry building by the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the East Germany Government. In 1952, an enormous mural was commissioned by the GDR to portray the peaceful life under GDR rule. It is now one of the most well known socialist artwork in the city of Berlin.
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| Passing by the Finance Ministry Building as the snow was coming down |
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| A plaque in front of the building tells the passerby a bit of history |
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| MM in front of the enormous socialist mural |
As we continued to move south on Wilhelmstrasse, we would reach the
Topography of Terror at the corner of Wilhelmstrasse and Niederkirchnerstrasse. The Topography of Terror is a museum that is dedicated to document the crime of the Nazi regime. It is located at the former headquarter of the Gestapo and SS. The original building has been completely bombed out and leveled by the ally forces. The outdoor display and indoors library will help serve as reminder of the terror caused by the Nazi regime. A major section of the Berlin Wall also still stands along Niederkirchnerstrasse which reminds the citizens of the freedom comes with a high price.
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| A section of Berlin Wall still stands along Niederkirchnerstrasse |
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| Passing the Berlin Wall is the Topography of Terror Museum |
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| Peeking through the Berlin Wall remnant |
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| The outdoors display at the Topography of Terror Museum |
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| Remnant of the former SS HQ building |
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| Nazi architecture style headed by Albert Speer |
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| Gestapo Building remnant |
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| A divided world |
Due to the cold and the limited time, we did not spend too much time at the Topography of Terror. We quickly browsed through the outdoors display and moved to our next stop - Check Point Charlie. We moved east along Zimmerstrasse which is the same strasse as Niederkirchnerstrasse. Maybe the wall divided the city and the same strasse was named differently depends on which side of the wall you are on. As we get closer to Check Point Charlie, we could see more tourists hanging on the street taking pictures. Check Point Charlie was a famous "Check Point" at the crossing of the Berlin Wall between east and west. It is now a major tourist attraction. We took pictures at the Check Point where the pictures of the Soviet and the American soldier were facing the opposing direction. We also toured the
Mauermuseum which is a curated museum about the history of this Check Point.
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| Finally reached the Check Point on foot |
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| You are now entering American controlled territory, McDonald's is in sight |
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| Facing the GDR controlled territory |
We could not take pictures inside the Mauermuseum at most of the exhibits. The museum showcased life under GDR rule and how people were being creative in escaping the iron curtain. There was also a special exhibit about the War in Ukraine. A bombed out car in Bucha was on display. It is incredible that destruction of humanity in a mass scale is still taking place even in 2022. It brought tears to my eyes.
Unter den Linden or Under the Linden Tree is a major thoroughfare in the Mitte area of Berlin. The broad avenue is lined with Linden Trees on the sides. Many of the major institutes in Berlin are located here including Deutsche Bank, State Opera House, and a major University - Humboldt-University Berlin.
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| The U-Bahn will take us to our next stop |
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| Unter den Linden |
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| The Equestrian Statue of Frederick the Great has been re-positioned at Under den Linden since 1980 |
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| The facade of Humboldt-University Berlin, it was once a palace built for the brother of Frederick the Great |
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| In 2022, the Ukrainian flag flies high at the University |
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| Looking down at the front gate, names of Holocaust victims were inscribed on the plaques. These plaques or "stumbling stones" can be found in a number of places in Berlin and across Europe |
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Here Lived
Ernst Grunspach
Born 1911 Holland Imprisoned in Westerbork
Deported Sept 6, 1944 to Theresienstadt Auschwitz Murdered Nov 2, 1944 |
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| Across the broad avenue of Unter den Linden and the University is Babelplatz, where we hope to locate the Empty Library. A major Christmas Market is being set up here |
Babelplatz is a large square and at the time of our visit was being set up for a major Christmas market. We the crazy tourists were looking for the Empty Library in the midst of a Christmas Market. After talking to a few workers at the site, one of the head guys let us into the market and we got to see the Empty Library.
In 1933, university students burned about 25,000 volume of "un-German" books at Babelplatz. This event was portrayed in the Third installment of the Indiana Jones movie - The Last Crusade. The film depicted Indiana Jones in Babelplatz in 1938 which is incorrect.
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| Event portrayed in the "Last Crusde" |
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| Indiana Jones meets Hitler at Babelplatz |
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| Christmas market being set up at Babelplatz |
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| The State Opera House |
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| The Empty Library, it is meant to never let people forget this terrible event in 1933 |
After visiting Babelplatz, we were onto our next stop - The East Side Gallery.
The East Side Gallery is a 1.3 km remnant of the Berlin Wall along the river Spree. It is located in the former east Berlin neighborhood of Friedrichshain. It is now a hip neighborhood and one of the best places to get Doner Kebab. The former Berlin Wall had been painted over by many artists as murals. One of the most famous mural was "The Kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker" by Dmitri Vrubel. We took bus 100 to get to the East Side Gallery from Babelplatz. The bus was packed and we got off on the western side of the Gallery. We walked nearly the entire 1.3 km and found the Kiss near the eastern end of the wall.
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| Waiting fort bus 100 to take us to East Side Gallery. The ride was completely packed |
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| Admiring the broad Avenue and classic architecture of Unter den Linden before getting on the packed bus |
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| One of countless murals on the East Side Gallery |
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| After walking for nearly 1 km, we found The Kiss |
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| Continue our walk along the outdoors Gallery |
It is now shortly pass 3:00 pm, the traveling party's tank is getting empty again. Our plan is to cross the River Spree via the Oberbaum Bridge, another major landmark, to the neighborhood of Kreuzberg to get some afternoon snack at a food hall - Markthalle Neun.
It is about almost another km walk to the food hall from the Oberbaum Bridge. By the time we got to the Market in the snow shower, we realized that the Market is not open. It is not open on Sunday contrary to what Google said.
We decided to hop on an Uber ride to one of the dinners spots that we had marked -
Doyum Restaurant. Kreuzberg has a large number of Turkish immigrants and Turkish feast was what we were going for tonight.
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