Brrrrlin!
Trip dates: January 23, 2017 - January 25, 2017
We started our Eurail pass and took our first train from Copenhagen to Berlin, with a connection in Hamburg. The trains were really nice and clean, and the seats were pretty comfy, especially our first train. They didn't seem to be as fast as JapanRail but they were pretty nice. The scenery from Copenhagen to Hamburg was also really pretty, especially in Denmark, as we were crossing lots of bridges from island to island. At one point, we all got off the train on to a ferry, as we couldn't be on the train on the ferry. I didn't even know there were ferries big enough for trains! Pretty cool stuff.
The two trains in total took about 7hrs but it was pretty comfortable and a nice way to travel when you're not in a hurry. We eventually got into Berlin in the early evening. A little later than planned because we got off a stop too early initially, at Berlin Spandau instead of Berlin Hbf. We didn't check the station name when we got off, just that it was about the time we should have arrived - what a bunch of noobs. Good thing we had our Eurail pass so we just hopped on the next regional train heading into the city and it was all good!
When we got off the train in Berlin, we realized that it is effing cold there! After being in Norway and Denmark, you'd think we'd have been better prepared, but no, Berlin was way colder than further up north. It wasn't too windy (thank goodness) but it was a humid cold where it just seeps into your bones. At one point, I felt like I was having a brain freeze minus the slushy, it was that cold!
Anyways, enough whining. Here are pictures from the whirlwind of historic sites that we explored in our day in Berlin.
Checkpoint Charlie: this is the famous crossing point between the Eastern and Western powers during the Cold War (we learned about it mostly from watching Bridge of Spies).
There are people in US outfits at the checkpoint that will take pictures of you for a small tip. Kind of lame though, what if I don't want a picture with you random stranger? Anyways, there's a small museum right next to it called BlackBox Kalter Krieg which provides a ton of information about the lead-up and aftermath of the Cold War. We ended up rushing through it a bit, but it's definitely worth a visit and one of the most informative museums we visited. Highly recommend checking it out if you want to learn more about the Cold War.
Topography of Terror: This museum is built on the site of the Gestapo and SS Headquarters during WWII. It provides a lot of information and insight into the workings of Third Reich, from the rise of Hitler to the Nuremberg Trials and after. There are a lot of artifacts in the exhibition, documenting communications of orders, work schedules, staged propaganda photos, etc; more than you can imagine on the inner workings of the Third Reich. It also provided a lot of detail on the Nazi's persecution of all those they judged inferior, including the Jewish, eastern Slavics (gypsies), homosexuals, and the mentally-ill.
The temporary exhibit while we were there was especially moving, focusing on the mass shootings that destroyed whole villages and the psychology behind how "normal" Germans could have so easily converted into mass murderers. It was troubling to read about how there was so much public approval for Hitler, how so many people turned a blind eye, and especially eerie to see some of those messages and thoughts that resonate today.
Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag building: we were going to go up to the dome in the Reichstag but then realized we had put the wrong date in for our reservation, so we couldn't go in. Whoops, oh well
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe: Holocaust Memorial consisting of rows of concrete blocks in varying sizes. There's a Holocaust Exhibition underneath but there was a really long line and it was cold outside so we didn't end up visiting.
Berlin Wall - East Side Gallery: We saw bits and parts of the wall throughout Berlin as we visited the other sites, all of them in West Berlin. The East Side Gallery is a portion of the Berlin wall that remains on the east side (duh) that has been painted by various artists, an open-air gallery. There are some sections and paintings that have been covered with graffiti, but some have been preserved or restored and somewhat protected with fencing. It's pretty interesting to just walk along all or a portion of the stretch and see the art that has been drawn and gain a sense of what people felt during this time. The gallery is a random selection of paintings that called out to us.
Some other sites in Berlin:
And, of course, the food that we had. Not too big of a fan of German food, at least not what we ate in Berlin.
There are a ton of historical sites and museums in Berlin, not surprising considering what the city has been through with WWII and the Cold War. We didn't visit nearly all of the sights but felt like we got the bare minimum insights. Overall, we didn't like Berlin very much. It felt very cold, both in terms of the weather but also in terms of the culture and the people. It also felt like a city that was a bit stuck or held back by its history. It was actually really interesting going to the east side and being able to feel a palpable difference between East Berlin and West Berlin. Even though there's no wall anymore, it seems that there is still a division between the two. The western part of the city is much more modern, where most of the museums and tourist sites are, and generally feels cleaner and safer. The eastern side feels a lot more industrial, more behind the times, and more impoverished.
Thanks for the history lessons Berlin - it seems poignant now more than ever that we remember what we've all been through not so long ago.
