Berlin

[Gromit]

I've been very fortunate to have done quite a bit of travelling over the years (with my previous job, mostly) but one city I always love returning to is Berlin. A place which is so full of history - much of it which can be remembered by people still alive today. It's also a great city to photograph.

An old one - a view which is very much different now. This is the Brandenburg Gate, taken in 1988, from the East German side. Had to hide the camera for this!

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And now in 2013...

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[dave1100s]

One city I have never been to, although we are planning a few days in Berlin next year on our 'turning 50' tour!! Hopefully taking in some of the old Cold War sites, Checkpoint Charlie etc.............any recommendations welcome?
Great photos as always

[dave the german]

Only been once not long after unification - fascinating. Also the location of one my favourite (albeit very dark) films and books - Christianne F or Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo. There's a good book about the escape attempts etc from the East called Es geschah an der Mauer in multiple languages. It highlights how desperate the East Germans were to escape to the West. I think there's another German trip coming up next year!

[Gromit]

I'll admit that we (Mrs Gromit & I) have become huge fans of Berlin - it's clean, safe, everything works, you don't get ripped off, and as a centre for those with an interest in 20th Century history there really is no better place imho.

The City Walks are well worth it - we'd recommend these guys. The 3rd Reich Tour is particularly good (I have real fascination for this period of German history). The Checkpoint Charlie Museum is good, but really needs a make-over as it's somewhat chaotic in its presentation, and is nearly always heaving with people which makes reading stuff rather difficult.

The Deutsches Historisches Museum is superb but you'll need a full day to get round.

And no motorcyclist's visit to Berlin is complete without seeing the DDR Motorcycle Museum

[dave1100s]

Some great links there, thanks Gromit for the info, Dave.

[Gromit]

You're very welcome Dave - I could chat (bore?) about Berlin for ages.

Oh - forgot to say, it's worth a trip up the Ku'damm to visit Ka De We. It's a bit like Harrods but much, much better (and not full of tourists).

Oh - forgot to say (Pt 2) if you can get hold of it, it's worth watching the BBC DVD 'Berlin' presented by Matt Frei. 3 x 1 hour programmes which chart the history of the city, its character and why it is like it is.

[PBBoxer]

Served in Berlin from early 1990 to 92. We even picked up the original checkpoint charlie on a lorry and took it to Gatow. Worked at Tuelfelsberg, had a blast. Great place indeed, despite the huge changes

[Gromit]

Worked at Tuelfelsberg, had a blast.

Cool! The Devil's Mountain.

Fascinating place - built on a man-made hill from rubble taken from the bombed-out remains of the city after WW2.

[dave1100s]

So far, the Berlin Walks 3rd Reich and Cold War tours look really good. Usually I like to do my own exploring, but with such little time, a guided tour might be the way to go so nothing is missed.
I'll do a bit of a search and see if I can get hold of a copy of the BBC documentary, so thanks again Gromit for the valuable help

[PBBoxer]

Yes, really cool place t be back then.

Berlin really has a lot to offer.

Saxenhousen is a daunting place too if you have time... and Potsdam well worth a trip

[Gromit]

Dave - the guided walking tours are well worthwhile, and if you are slightly short of time they're a great way of packing a huge amount of info into a few hours. The tour guides tend to be either American or British and usually Berlin University post-grads. As an example, the last guy we did did the 3rd Reich Tour with was an Irish chap doing a PhD in German History - talk about a mine of information!

Tours start just outside Zoo Station.

The more I go to Berlin, the more I realise how much I still have to learn about the place. It's absolutely fascinating - not necessarily the most beautiful city in Europe I'll admit but give me Berlin over Paris any day of the week.

[McBoxer]

Only visited once - and that was for an afternoon meeting. Flew in from Munich in the morning, got driven to the meeting and flew out again that afternoon

Did manage to see the Brandenburg Gate on the drive back, and the Templehof airport building on the way there. If you're into buildings, or engineering marvels then take a look at that. Its absolutely massive - it must have taken us 10 minutes to drive past - and we weren't going slow!

Those Nazis knew how to build impressive stuff. That's not a slur on Germans - I think the building was designed by Hitlers architect whose name escapes me for the time being. I'd google it but dinner is almost ready and I'm fooking starving!!

[Gromit]

Al - that'll be Albert Speer.

Dave - Berlin by Matt Frei.

[McBoxer]

Al - that'll be Albert Speer.

That's the fella!

[dave1100s]

Al - that'll be Albert Speer.

Dave - Berlin by Matt Frei.

Gromit, thanks for the Amazon link, I'll get a copy ordered, cheers again, Dave