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My first trip to Berlin was in 1990, it was summer and the ‘Wall’ had just come down the winter before. I remember peeking through the wall between the pieces of rebar and cement and I even brought home a few pieces.
I grabbed a postcard with a colorful guy that had a purple Mohawk; he was standing under a street sign with the wall behind him. I found that same street sign and took a picture of me standing under the same sign, but in my picture the wall was broken and only pieces of it could be seen. I remember thinking I was lucky to be there at such an historic time.
Of course we also saw the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdam and another vivid memory is the Pergamon Museum on Museum Island where they have a 2nd century BC altar from Greece as well as the Ishtar Gate from Babylon among other gigantic ruins from Asia Minor. I was overwhelmed with the sheer size of them and to this day remember it with awe. Today Museum Island is a World heritage Site.
As an agent at Totem Travel I returned to Berlin as part of an escorted tour with Trafalgar and so much has changed. That street sign I have a picture of me under, now has a through street with no wall behind it at all. A little further away is the Check Point Charlie Museum and the left over sign saying “You are now leaving the American Sector” in English, French, German and Russian. The museum is a must see and a bit chilling when you realize the extent to which people will go to better their lives when oppressed.
Each time I am back in Berlin I also visit Kurfurstendamm, or better know as ‘Kudamm’, which is Berlin’s liveliest shopping street. At one ends stands the Kaiser-Wilhelm church, it was almost completely destroyed in a bomb during the War but a new belfry and church were erected around the shell of the old tower as a reminder.
Along Kudamm are shops and galleries as well as parks and squares to stop and shop or eat or simply watch people. At the other end or Kudamm you find the Tiergarten park which leads you onto the Brandenburg Gate that today is free to walk through. The avenue of Linden trees leading away on either side is stunning and the Soviet War Memorial is also nearby.
Berlinhas many parks and green space too. It’s a young city that is re-inventing itself and is always changing so you can go back again and again and always have a new experience. If you’d like help planning your time in Berlin, call Jennefer our expert in Europe group tours at (800) 321-7907or email her at jennefer@totemtravel.com.