Today was a big day, we lost count of the number of trains we caught traversing this massive city. It’s not a walking city as everything is so spread out but we still managed to notch up over 20,000 steps and climbed 25 floors on our travels.

Our adventures started early so we could get out before the crowds. After a very nice breakfast at our hotel we headed for the Brandenburg Gate and luckily got there early enough to get photos without other people in them. It’s an impressive monument and while we were there some ‘important’ person was being driven past with his or her entourage of police bikes and other cars. There was also what appeared to be a fire alarm at an adjoining building so there were also several fire trucks there as well. Nearby the Brandenburg Gate is the Holocaust Memorial. Whilst you get a sense of being overwhelmed when exploring the memorial you can’t help but have some fun getting lost and hiding around corners. Across the road of the memorial is the American Embassy, why it is that all American Embassies look like prisons? While I was pondering this we then checked out the Reichstag Building which is the German Parliament House. We didn’t go in and look at the dome as apparently you need to book ahead.

It was while walking around the Brandenburg Gate that we first noticed the paving indicating where the Berlin Wall used to be. As we headed towards Check Point Charlie we came across a memorial for the wall at the Potsdamerplatz. It was here that we learned that ‘wall’ does not describe the full extent of the barrier that split the city in half from 1961 to 1989. The Berlin Wall was actually a wide corridor between two walls. The wall that encircled West Berlin has a total length of 160 kilometres, 45 kilometres separating the west from the east part of the city and a stretch of 115 kilometres cut it off completely from the neighbouring land of Brandenburg. More that 100 sites commemorating the victims and wall related incidents are currently dotted along the route.

At Checkpoint Charlie we first started to learn of the human tragedies that the wall created and the sheer ridiculousness and absurdity that was the wall. It’s hard to think that we are still trying to build walls around ourselves today, be it Trump and his Mexican wall or ourselves and our utter inhumanity in the way we are treating refugees. It seems we just don’t learn or don’t want to learn from history. This a recurring thought I have had on this trip especially when considering the holocaust and the treatment of the Jews across Europe in WWII. How can we as humanity firstly allow this to occur, and continue to occur, how and why are we so inhumane?

Not far from Checkpoint Charlie we saw our first glimpse of a long section of the original wall in Neiderkirchnerstrabe. At this location is the Topography of Terror memorial and a museum which includes a permanent exhibition showing the crimes of Nazism. After visiting the Terror Museum in Budapest we didn’t want to go through that type of experience again so kept moving.

We did however found our way to the Jewish Museum as this was on Amy’s ‘To do’ list. We were a little disappointed by this museum but only because it was under construction so a large portion of it wasn’t able to be visited. It did provide some poignant personal stories of local Jewish people and their experiences during WWII. It’s hard to think that across all of Europe 6 million Jews fell victim to the Nazi genocide. One thing we did enjoy when walking to this museum was the street art and murals that are dotted around the neighbourhood. In fact there seems to be street art and murals all around Berlin which is a great segue to our next adventure at the Eastside Gallery.

By now we had become old hands at negotiating the Berlin trains and we headed over to the Eastside Gallery which is a long stretch of the Berlin Wall covered in street art and graffiti. We really enjoyed this area, I love street art so I was in my element. We took many pictures of the art work and of course I had to take pictures of some of the quotes, here are a few of the them …

”Many small people who in many small places do many small things that can alter the face of the world”

”He who wants the world to remain as it is doesn’t want it to remain at all”

”How’s god, she’s black”

“Say yes to freedom, peace, dignity and respect for all. Say no to terror and repression towards all living beings”

The Eastside Gallery really started a few days after the fall of the wall when artists started painting the east side of the structure. These first paintings were promptly painted over by GDP border guards but shortly afterwards the artist David Monty, with Heike Stephan presented the idea of making the ‘the Wall into the largest gallery in the world’. Following some negotiations it was decided that only the section of the Wall on Muhlenstrasse would be painted. Thus the Eastside Gallery was founded and artists from all over the world were invited to participate. The Gallery was opened in 1990 with the artists creating murals with messages and statements that demonstrate that in the end the desire for freedom and creativity is stronger than sanctions and force. The Eastside Gallery was an uplifting and fun place to visit and was a good positive place to be after thinking of the absurdity of the wall and the sad personal stories of those affected by it.

Following the Eastside Gallery we visited Alexanderplatz which is currently filled with Christmas Markets. We took the opportunity to share some Currywurst and Kartoffelpuffers (potato cakes) with apple sauce for lunch, two more things off our ‘to try’ list. Both were delicious and we may have to sample some more tomorrow.

Located in Alexanderplatz is the Fernsehturm which is a 368 metre tower that was built from 1965 to 1969 by the East German government with the intention of it symbolising communist power. The views from the Fernsehturm were spectacular and provided a great appreciation for the size of this city, it is huge.

We stopped for a drink in a cafe in Alexanderplatz before heading to Gendenmenmarkt which is the location of some Christmas markets that Amy has been wanting to visit since starting to plan this trip. The markets are set between two large churches and a Concert Hall providing a beautiful setting and we had a four piece band play some jazzy traditional type music providing the soundtrack. The markets were awesome and while there we enjoyed some Quarkballchen which were like cheesecake donuts that look like olliebollen, very yummy indeed. It was around 4pm when we were there so it was getting dark and there was also a light rain falling which all just added to the atmosphere. Christmas has been a major theme for our trip and it’s been very special to experience it in Europe. It feels so magical and I don’t think we’d want to travel over here at any other any time of year in the future as it’s been so good.

Tonight we dined at the Gasthaus Krombach which is a German restaurant around the corner from our hotel. Amy had a veal schnitzel and I tried the Konigsberger Klopse which are boiled meatballs served with a creamy caper sauce and potatoes. It was a meal recommended by Rick Stein to try when in Berlin and I loved it. I also tried a German red wine which was also very nice. We shared a delicious apple strudel for dessert. We enjoyed our food and time at the restaurant so much we have booked in to dine there again tomorrow.

So, that was our big day out in Berlin. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring this city and have another big day planned for tomorrow.

Gute Nacht.