Berlin Germany

Out of all the countries I have been to in Europe thus far in both my travels during my study abroad period and my travels in the past Germany is my favorite country and Berlin is my new favorite city. The best way I can think to describe Berlin is in reference to the city’s symbol, a bear. The bear is a fitting symbol for Berlin in that the city is gruff, endlessly adaptable, forceful, able to endure times that would spell doom to a lesser species and, at once, loveable and frightening in some of is aspects. Berlin has most definitely had quite the passed from the complete destruction of the city leading to Adolf Hitler’s suicide and the end of the Second World War to the occupation of East Berlin by the Soviet Union and the creation of the Berlin Wall. What I am so impressed by is the German people’s ability to rebuild the city creating what I think is one of the greatest cities in the world. Needless to say we arrived in Berlin at around 4 in the morning after a long bus ride from Prague. Of course I was excited to be there and was ready to go see the sights. However the rest of my crew was not on the same page, some people in fact were not in the best of moods so we had to sit in the bus station until about six. At six I finally convinced every one that we should take the U-bahn to our hostel, clean up, eat some breakfast and go from there. We stayed in the Mitte district of Berlin, which is in the center of the city close to Museum Island. We stayed at St. Christophers Inn, which was the nicest hostel I have stayed in thus far. We traveled around Berlin using the cities subway system which, like Munich, is extremely efficient and will take you any where in Berlin with ease. Since Berlin has such an immense history, I thought it would be cool if we could find a city tour to take and learn a bit about the cities past. I found a free tour that started at the Brandenburg Gate touring all of the major sights in the city. I personally thought the tour was well worth our time and I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did the rest of our group. After touring the city, it was time for dinner and for our last night in Germany we decided to go all out. In Munich we had met a guy, Siegfried, at the Hofbrau Haus who had invited us to come and eat at his restaurant in Berlin where he offered us a couple free drinks and would off set the cost of our meals. The restaurant was a Brazilian steak house and it was one of the best meals we have had in Europe so far. So THANK YOU SIEGFRIED! After dinner, it was time to see what the Berlin nightlife was like so we headed to Oranienburger Tor, a trendy alternative area of Berlin. We spent some time at the Hof. The club was adorned with Graffati and rod iron statues and was created to luck a bit sketchy but it was a lot of fun. I was sad to leave Berlin because I felt as though I had not fully seen the city seeing as how we were only there for a day. Although the city did have and impact on me so if anyone has the desire to travel to Berlin let me know and I will be more than willing to hop on a plane with you to one of the world’s best cities. Berlin is a larger-than-life city with a past, present, and a future along with a creative and youthful vibe that had me shouting Ich bin ein Berliner! Overall Berlin is indeed a bear, but its one that’s learned how to dance and sing and above all else roar!

This sign commemorates those that died in operation Valkyrie, an attempt to kill Adolf Hitler.

The Bendlerblock was initially used by the Nazis but it now is a memorial for the German Resistance Movement during the Second World War. I was interested in visiting this spot after seeing the movie Valkyrie, which is based on a true story. The movie is about an unsuccessful plot to kill Hitler. In the movie this spot where Claus von Stauffenberg and others were shot after their failed attempt to kill Hitler. I would highly recommend seeing this movie! Not only is it informative and profound but it also keeps really close to what actually happened.

This is a war memorial in the Tiergarten. The Tiergarten is the German equivalent of Central Park in New York.

The six of us in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The Brandenburg Gate symbolizes unification to the German people after a long history of suppression. This is the spot where Hitler was annonunced as the Chancellor of Germany and the site where the Berlin Wall was initially constructed during the Cold War.

A human statue in front of the Brandenburg Gate

Me in front of the Brandenburg Gate

The Cement blocks in the road shows where the Berlin Wall seperated East and West Berlin

The Reichstag

The seat of the German Parliament and where current Chancellor Angela Merkel works. On the top of the Reichstag is a glass dome that people can walk up to get a good sight of Berlin. Also within the glass dome is a huge glass piece on the bottom of the dome that allows people to see into the Reichstag chambers where legislation is passed. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to check that out so the next time I go I will be sure to visit this spot.

This is the Memorial to the Murder Jews of Europe.

It consists of rectangular cement blocks that vary in height. The memorial is open for ones own interpretation. Among a few explanations some say it represents coffins others say its train box cars traveling to concentration camps.

Hotel Adlon

The Hotel with the green roof is the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his young child over the window

This very mundane looking parking lot is the exact spot where the Führerbunker was located. The Führerbunker is a subterranean bunker where Hitler stayed at the end of the WWII and the spot where Hitler committed suicide. Although today the bunker has been filled in with cement in attempts to forget the horrors that one man brought upon Europe.

This building is not liked by the Germans since is was once the Nazi Luftwaffe, or air force building, then the Soviet Military Administration building during the Cold War and now the ministry for finance and tax. Our tour guide explained that the German people have never liked this building especially since it is the current place where the Germans have to pay their taxes.

The Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Wall was built to encircle West Berlin. Since Berlin was located in Soviet East Germany The Soviets thought it would be beneficial to build the wall to cut off West Berlin from the Western World and regulate migration between the two sides.

Checkpoint Charlie.

I had to pay 1 Euro to take this picture but it was well worth it! This is the site where people would attempt to cross into democratic West Berlin from the communist Soviet East Berlin.

Gendarmenmarkt

This is square contains some of the oldest buildings in Berlin and was the site where Berlin initially started.

Bebelplatz

The site where the Nazi book burnings took place

Humbolt Universität is the large building across from the square and is the most prestigious university in Germany

Berliner Dom

Berlin's most famous cathedral

The T.V. tower located in Alexanderplatz, one of the main squares in East Berlin

The T.V. tower can be seen from almost anywhere in all of Berlin

The Hof in Oranienburger Tor

This is one of the trendy neighborhoods where we went out.