Exploring Berlin - Part One
I’ve been learning German now for more than three years. I’d always wanted to learn a second language but after a misfire with French at school it was something I’d put off for quite a long time. Despite now spending so much time learning, and thoroughly enjoying the experience, the pandemic had blown a hole in my travel plans and I had still never even set foot in a German speaking country. I finally had the chance to go in the Autumn of 2022 and, whilst I had more ambitious plans to travel to the south of the country (which I may do this year), I thought I’d keep it simple and start with the capital city – Berlin. Famed for its deep and divided history and being very easy to get to it made an ideal place to begin exploring the country.
Touching down in Berlin it quickly becomes obvious that this is a city very different from London. The latter has an almost claustrophobic nature with its tight roads and narrow alleys but Berlin is very much a European city. Wide streets that sit on a grid system give it a more open feel and there’s a lot more space for things as simple as car parking which is almost completely absent in central London. There’s certainly a sense of modernity here but don’t be fooled by that completely as there’s plenty to signify its robust history. Not long after I first hopped off the S-Bahn overground trains and was making my way to the East Side Gallery, I was greeted by the mighty and very Prussian Oberbaum Bridge. Berlin was of course originally the capital of Prussia, historically the most dominant force in the German Empire, and their calling cards are littered all over the city. Though of course much has also been lost during the destruction of WW2 and some poor Soviet attempts at re-development in the east of the city.
Given where I was and that there was only so much I could see, I made the decision to focus on the cold war history of the city. What life was like as an East German behind the infamous Berlin Wall, that conflict’s most enduring symbol. Walking through places like Checkpoint Charlie and Potzdamer Platz, it really was hard to comprehend that had I been standing on that very same spot some thirty five years before, I would be in what would have resembled a war zone. And also have been shot dead on the spot. This all happened a few years before I was born, but it isn’t hard to see why this was one of the world events people of my parent’s generation remember most vividly.
For those more curious about life behind the wall I recommend a visit to the fantastic DDR Museum which, though not large, has a wide array of items visitors can touch and interact with to get a better understanding of the subject. In fact I would say this is the most interactive museum I have ever visited, it even has a Trabant simulator (which was sadly broken) and a lift from an East German apartment block that pretends to break down before it opens its doors to austere communist accommodation. There’s even a section about the very popular FKK movement or naturism (or nudism) as we call it in English. I imagine it would cause quite a scandal back home to have a family friendly museum display video reels of naked people on the beach. However, I’m not sure who that says more about, the us or the Germans? Few things get between a Brit and his written letter of complaint.
To top off the experience there is also a separate East German motorbike museum, which houses all the various models that members of the public and government officials would have used during that period. Owning a Trabant was the dream for many East Germans, but that car had a waiting list that could be up to fifteen years, so instead many opted to ride low-powered motorbikes instead. This alongside the common ownership of allotments and the FKK movement gave people a small sense of freedom and rebellion in a country where everyday life was heavily restricted.
A more poignant reminder of life in Berlin during the Cold War was a walk down Bernauer Straße along to the Mauer Museum. This street sat on the dividing line between East and West and was a place that many people made their escapes in the early days of the wall. Markers show where the wall once stood and the trail has many information points detailing the escapes and how life here evolved as the wall grew in size. As with many other places along the dividing line it is almost impossible to tell that a wall once stood here, such is the huge amount of re-development these areas have undergone since re-unification.
The Mauer Museum itself gave you a chance to not just hear more stories of a city divided but to see with your own eyes what a section of the wall would have looked like with its rigorous security. Once upon a time West Germans and foreign visitors would have stood on platforms just like this take a glimpse of a peculiar life on the other side. Thankfully these days it’s all for show and of course to educate.
My time in Berlin was divided into two sections with a short weekend visit to Poland in the middle. Check back next week for part two of my time in Berlin and the week following for my adventures through the Polish cities of Wroclaw and Krakow. If you’ve not made your own visit to Berlin yet then I do highly recommend it, especially if you too have a keen interest in history.
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