Day three of Berlin was a lot more “organised”, but this meant we were able to tick off many of the “must see”s off our lists. We started out with a Segway tour, which lasted a mammoth 4 hours!
The Segways were very cool, and pretty easy to drive. We started off with a quick introductory lesson which started with many wobbles but soon smoothed out into zooming around the platz in preparation for hitting the streets. Navigating the streets wasn’t as tricky as it sounds, as long as there are enough of you to make up a lane of traffic – it was a bit scary being followed by a bus!
First stop was Museum Island – aptly named because of the many museums on it! Our guide, Rob, pointed out many of the restored buildings and museums – apparently Berlin alone has 170 museums for various things (including a museum for the not-so-humble Currywurst, Berlin’s traditional foodstuff!)
Next stop was Bebelplatz, the square where the famous bookburning took place, right outside the library of Humbolt University. It was very humbling.
Checkpoint Charlie was the next break stop, which started off with hot chocolates to help us defrost slightly! The wind-chill factor riding a Segway is huge, especially when it’s drizzling, as it was. Checkpoint Charlie has a lot of new displays and information exhibits, as well as the ubiquitous people asking for money for various “causes”. The weirdest thing was some of the souvenirs though – gas mask hats and possibly lamps???
It was here that we had our first experience with the Wall. I didn’t realise that there were so many different incarnations, from the initial barbed wire to an exhaustive system of walls, trenches, spikes, dogs etc etc.
The former Luftwaffe ministry was suitably sombre-looking, and Rob told us an amazing story about a high-ranking minister escaping over the Wall by zip-lining across from the top of the Luftwaffe building. Needless to say, it only happened once!
We also visited one of the few remaining watchtowers near where the Wall stood. It’d be quite intimidating having lots of them around! Around the corner was where Hitler’s bunker had once stood, which was just a parking lot for blocks of flats now. Apparently they don’t make a lot of it because of the possibility of extremists doing extremist things there.
Suitably chastened by this story, our next sight was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This is an amazing, powerful memorial. Pictures really don’t do this place any justice. The stark, leaden blocks of concrete seemed to communicate powerlessness, pain and loss in a way that no statue or plaque ever could. The weather certainly helped in this aspect, as the anti-graffiti coating on the blocks made the rainwater bead and drip like tears.
The final two stops on the tour were the Reichstag (Parliament) and the Brandenburg Gate. The Reichstag was a suitably large and imposing monument, although I liked the idea of the glass dome being added more recently to reflect transparency in government! This stop also gave us an opportunity to do a bit of four-wheel-driving on our Segways – or as four-wheel the two wheels can get! The grass was pretty bumpy!
Brandenburg Gate was obviously one of the main tourist attractions in Berlin, as demonstrated not just by the crowds, but by the numbers of people dressed in strange attire to have photos taken with them! The “soldiers” and the Berlin Bears I could understand, but Darth Vader? Hmm…
Even though the Segway does all of the work, actually driving one of these is pretty tiring on the muscles. Lots of subtle movement, and a lot of arm and shoulder work hanging on to the handlebars (especially when you let it get away from you at top speed of 26km/h or so, and are almost climbing over the handlebars to keep from falling off!) so I was pretty tired by the time we got back to the our offices! Time for lunch!
We decided to try one of the Christmas Markt restaurants (Partyhaus!) in Alexanderplatz for something “traditional” – I had a goose leg on mounds of red and green cabbage, and D had the local equivalent of a ploughman’s lunch – bread, cheese, ham, gherkin and lettuce, with fried eggs on top. Yum! We topped this off with a cup of Gluhwein, spiced warm wine. Certainly goes straight to the head!
We stumbled back to the hotel to freshen up, before heading out on a mission: to find a Trippen Shoes shop so D could indulge. These shoes are pretty awesome, gorgeous soft leather in seductive colours… with a price tag to match, unfortunately! D found a saucy orange pair and a silver pair, but I think I’ll wait until we get back to Berlin and find the factory outlet!
We also wandered through the markt at Hackescher Markt. Just like every market the world over, they had pashminas and knockoff jackets and fresh orange juice… and pomegranate juice! I thought we were back in Istanbul for a moment, except for the cold!
After the excitement of the shoes, we thought we’d try our luck at the Berliner Fernsehturm – the TV tower that we could see from our hotel window. Like Brandenburg Tor, this is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Berlin, and has the queues to match. Unlike when we went past in the morning, there wasn’t more than 20 people waiting, so we bought our 12E tickets and waited until our block of numbers were called to the elevator queue!
200m into the sky we hopped out of the crowded elevator (was no one else worried about cramming so many people into the lift when we were going so high up? I certainly hope they maintain that lift rigorously!!!!) and into the bulbous bit of the tower, which houses the viewing corridor, bar and restaurant. My fear of heights had a bit of a workout here, as you look down through the bottom part of the bulb out to the city below. Amazing views, but I’m not too crash hot on looking down! Luckily the bar was handy, and after a sparkling wine and a 360 Degrees cocktail, I wash fiiiiiine. D also tried out her first taste of the Currywurst, which she quite enjoyed.
Phew! What a day!
Two Weeks Away 