On our second day we meandered down Unter der Linden on foot to Alexanderplatz to get our bikes from Fat Tire Bikes Berlin. We spent a lot of time wandering around on those bikes. With the exception of scratching the itch of wanting to see the awesomeness of the Soviet War Memorial a lot of time today was spent taking in Berlin Wall and East/West memories. It was good for Sharon to get a good feel for how shitty life was in the DDR and why her Dad wanted to leave when he did in the 50s.
We then capped off the day with a tour of the Reichstag and wandered back through century old streets and memorials back to our hotel
We’re not into old museums so all I have from Museum Island is Mythical naked dude straddling this lion with the Berlin Cathedral in the background
OK now we’ve got bikes again. Kind of crazy street corner here with five streets criss-crossing tramlines and the inner S-Bahn ring road. But it’s so unlike North American cities.
Take the right turn lanes. If I’m in a bike lane and I’ve got a green light I still look around to my left when crossing the street so Mr Lifted F150 doesn’t mow me down and I’m soooo grateful when I’m allowed to live and not get run over. Here and in Muenchen and in Leipzig, Mr Black Audi trying to turn right waits patiently away from the bike lane and only goes after I’m clear and looks surprised when I look pathetically grateful and wave thanks to them for not killing us! Could get used to this
Berlin Wall Museum at Maurer Park. Surreal being at a place where the wall was laid down splitting neighbourhoods. First escapees literally jumped out of the apartments in the east into a street on the west. Then a 10 – 25m death strip with trip wires, machine gun posts and towers was built. The poles mark the main wall. This is on BernauerStrasse
The building is refurbished and renovated but was part of the inner wall. The poles were the main wall. The strip in between was the death strip
Riding the wall
Old Ossi apartment block on the wall with Heinrich (my bike)
Death strip is now green space and a bike path
Guard dogs used to hang out on the death strip. Now just have to watch out for peds and cyclists
Back at 5 point confusing street intersection near Rosenthaler Ubahn
Die Hackeshen Hoefe is 5 courtyards of shopping. We took a dump at the Starbucks here and left
More antiquity museums as we deke through tourists to get to Tiergarten park
Friedriechstrasse Station was the Tranepalast (Palace of Tears) since it was one of the main places Wessies could meet Ossies. It was where families, friends and lovers were split apart again and again
Friedriechstrasse Station was the Tranepalast (Palace of Tears) since it was one of the main places Wessies could meet Ossies. It was where families, friends and lovers were split apart again and again
Palace of Tears is this originally preserved DDR dumpster next to the Fried. Bahnhof
To what I really wanted to see at Tiergarten – the Soviet War Memorial – to the 2,000 soldiers buried there and the more who died in the Battle of Berlin. The memorial was built in fall 1945 while Berlin appropriately lay in ruins around it
Two of the original T-34s which were the first to get into the city borders
Tiergarten and the surrounding area looked like this after the war. Pretty much flattened ruins
T-34s are surprising small but cool. The welds are totally about function. Lots of shrapnel, blast wounds and Russian looking workmanship
T-34 view towards the Brandenburg gate
The dedication statue
Inside the Reichstag on our evening’s tour. Only the facade remains of the original Structure built in the late 1871
View of the german flag on one of the corners of the Reich Building
Bundestag interior – the modern building just north of the Reichstag
View west to Alexanderplatz from the Reichstag dome and the ubiquitious TV tower
The Russian soldiers were just kids so grateful they made it through the Battle of Berlin alive
Stark shrapnelled walls were revealed after being hidden for years. They were uncovered and left as is in the mid 90s
These Russian soldiers were from Moscow and Stalingrad
Riding through the Brandenburg Gate is not verboten!
Part of the wall at Potsdamer Platz. This was empty in 1998 as it was part of no mans land, is now a bustling commercial center
Berlin Wall exhibit at what used to be no-mans land – Potsdam Platz. This is just our evening commute back to the hotel