Saturday, 24 June 2006
The train pulled into the Berlin Hauptbahnhof (an impressive, elegant station, reputedly the largest in the entire Europe) at about 15:05. I came to Berlin without its metro map. A really bad idea. I ended up standing in front of a metro network map for about 20 minutes, first figuring out where I was, then trying to make sense of the myriad of U-Bahn (metros), S-Bahn (suburban trains), trams, buses, etc. After some effort, I managed to get to the Baxpax Hostel. After checking in, I acquired a better street map of Berlin, as well as a metro network map. Armed with these, I set out, heading towards the Brandenburg Gate, probably one of the most important landmarks in Berlin.
My efforts were frustrated as the metro I was taking rolled past the Unter den Linden station without stopping! I got off at Potsdamerplatz. Fine with that, I would just walk an additional 800 metres to the gate. But as I headed north, I soon came across a roadblock-- not even the pedestrians were admitted! I followed the crowd onto the Lennestr., into Western Berlin. But soon I found out that I was not going anywhere near the Brandenburg Gate, so I walked back. At the roadblock, I asked the police whether or not I could be let in if the only thing I wanted to see was the Brandenburg Gate (and not the football match). They let me in, and soon on my left side a sea of bleak blocks of concrete of different sizes appeared, serving as a Jewish memorial. Past that, I came upon another roadblock. This time I was body-searched, and they more or less dissected my backpack (they almost thought that the bottle of vitamin C I was carrying was some drug).
By that time I was not in a good mood, so I was deliberately taking my time repacking what they had asked me to open while they were asking me to open the next compartment in my backpack. Finally I think they had had enough, and they let me in.
Soon I came upon a HUGE crowd (later I learnt that the figure was probably around 250,000). A very large screen was set up, broadcasting the football game of Germany against Sweden in Munich (I think). I shall not attempt to describe this crowd now, but will just show some pictures. Ok, I accidentally entered the WM fan park (I hadn't meant to), but where now was the Brandenburg Gate? I asked a policeman and got the reply "Das Brandenburger Tor ist hier" (The Brandenburg Gate is here). That just confused me further.
I walked a few steps; something dawned on me. I turned, and gasped. Standing right in front of me was indeed the majestic Branderburg Gate! The huge screen in the fan park was set against it, and on the other side there was a large football. In the midst of the chaos, I had passed under the Branderburg Gate without realising that fact!!
Anyways, that was that. I walked down the Unter den Linden, and soon it became clear to me why the metro had ignored that stop--it was within the roadblock. I had a much easier time exiting the roadblocks, and walked eastwards along the Unter den Linden in Mitte.
Soon I came across the square Bebelplatz, with a gigantic pile of gloden books standing in front. This marked the place of the Nazi book-burning. In the square, arranged in a large circle, were many plastic bears, each coloured and styled differently. It turned out that these bears were sent from different countries, including Canada, the U.S., England, China, France, Paraguay, etc. I briefly entered the lobby of the Zeughaus museum 5 minutes before it closed at 18:00. Onwards, I came to the Museum Quarter of Berlin--with the Bode, Pergamon, Neues, and Altes Museums (the latter two were under renovation). All classical, all great, all closed. Across was the Dom, also closed.
Having crossed a canal, I veered south to visit the Nikolaiviertel, an attempt to reconstruct a community in the style of Berlin architecture before the WWII destruction. At this point, the Fernsehturm, the TV tower, got closer. I bought a ticket and took an elevator about 200 metres up, and was able to see what Germans would call "Berlin auf einen Blick" (Berlin at a glance).
Coming down, hungry (it was about 19:00), I walked with haste to Prenzlauer Berg, where many cheap fares were known. I dined at EndDorn--spaghetti and all for six Euros. Then, it was time to get back to the hostel.
Sunday, 25 June 2006
I woke up at 5:00 (thinking it was 6:00). They locked the kitchen door for the night (and thus locked my breakfast away). Instead I decided to take a six-o'clock stroll. Walking out of the hostel along the metro line after 15 minutes or so, I crossed an apparently historic bridge with great views (for the Cold War period), and, as I learnt from chatting with two fellow hostellers yesterday, a stretch of preserved Berlin Wall appeared. The wall ran parallel to the river, approximately from the nearby Warschauer Str. to the Ostbahnhof. On it were different paintings, some interesting, as well as markings made by obnoxious visitors (one of them seemed to have visited the same place three times-- in 1990, 1995, and 1997). The wall ended at Strasse der Pariser-Kommune, so I went into the Ostbahnhof, bought my breakfast (of Berlin kuchen), and headed back to the hostel via suburban train.
I woke up at 5:00 (thinking it was 6:00). They locked the kitchen door for the night (and thus locked my breakfast away). Instead I decided to take a six-o'clock stroll. Walking out of the hostel along the metro line after 15 minutes or so, I crossed an apparently historic bridge (for the Cold War period), and, as I learnt from chatting with two fellow hostellers yesterday, a stretch of preserved Berlin wall appeared. The wall ran parallel to the river, approximately from the nearby Warschauer Str. to the Ostbahnhof. On it were different paintings, some interesting, as well as markings made by obnoxious visitors (one of them seemed to have visited the same place three times-- in 1990, 1995, and 1997). The wall ended at Strasse der Pariser-Kommune, so I went into the Ostbahnhof, bought my breakfast (of Berlin kuchen), and headed back to the hostel via suburban train. It was 7:15.
I checked out at 8:00 and took the metro to the Kurfürstendamm (a.k.a. Ku'damm), a boulevard lined with shops and known for its pickpockets. But on a Sunday morning, the place was pretty much deserted. Heading west, nearby was the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche, a worn, abandoned church. I skirted the Zoologischer Garten and walked beside the Landwehrkanal, until I hit a jogging trail running through a forest. The zoo was to my right (and I glimpsed an ostrich). Finally, after about 20 minutes, emerging from the woods, I was at the Siegessäule, a golden monument.
Then I headed south and west along the Tiergartenstr. By this time, 3 kilograms of water and other burdens I was carrying was too much for me, so I hopped on a bus, and got off in one station at the Philharmonie. This was another cluster of museums and gallaries, but, Sunday morning, enough said.
Then I ended up in Lennestr. where I had been yesterday, and, passing through the roadblocks this time without difficulty, came to the Brandenburg Gate once again. This time, with the place filled with tourists and no fans, I managed to have a better look at the gate (but the Str. des 17 Juni to the west of it was still closed off). To the north was the Bundestag, the Parliament, which surprised me by its modern feel. I joined a line-up and after some typical security check was admitted. The elevator carried visitors to the top floor (third, I think). There was a dom, with a walkway spiralling upwards. At the highest point, I had a look again at Berlin (though less commanding than the one at Fernsehturm yesterday evening). I saw some things I had visited, would visit, and would not have time to visit.
Coming down, I walked to the Friedrichstr. station, had a brief lunch, and rode south to Checkpoint Charlie. Beside the museum (which I didn't enter), there was nothing much to the place--simply a post in the middle of the road, and two entrepreneurs (a Stasi and a CIA agent) who would take a picture with you with some monetary incentives.
East of here was the Topographie des Terrors, a gallery exhibiting the Nazis and the Nürnburg trials. The gallery had a feeling of sinking into the earth. Above the gallery was another stretch of the Berlin Wall, more dilapidated, but explained with more detail.
From Potsdamerplatz, I took the metro/suburban train to the Charlottenburg Castle. Once again, the building was under renovation, so I just walked around the huge garden behind it, but was not interested enough to see another Belvedere.
Coming back to central Berlin, I made my last stop at the Pergamon Museum, which housed some very interesting Greek, Roman, Babylonian, and other classical works. It reminded me of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, especially rooms with a forest of Greek statues.
My train departed from Berlin at around 14:50. It was running late for 10 minutes, and as a result I missed my connection at Nürnburg. Fortunately, the original late train also stopped at Munich, so the next best alternative for me was simply to stay on the train. The trip back took about 6.5 hours (while I was reading Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale), and I was back in Munich by about 21:30, tired.