Berlin

Here we all are in Berlin.

We started the day by visiting the Reichstag which is the Parliament building of Germany. I'm still learning so much history. After WWII, when Germany was divided, the capital of West Germany was Bonn, but after the re-unification in 1990 they decided to move the capital to Berlin. This Reichstag building was almost completely destroyed during the war, but it was rebuilt and the seat of the Lower House of Parliament was moved from Bonn to Berlin in 1999. The building itself is remarkable. You can still see the burn marks and the bullet holes on the outside of the building. We went right to the top where there is a glass dome, and took a heap of photos of views of Berlin.

Our next stop was to see the former Berlin wall - but there's not much left! People were so keen to tear it down that they actually had to fence some off to preserve it. We went to a museum at the place where Check Point Charlie was - where American troops guarded their side of the wall. It was horrifying to see and read about the people who tried to cross and were just shot down. There wa also the story of an 18 year old boy who was caught on the barb wire and was severly bleeding, but the East German Troops wouldn't come out of their hiding place to rescue him, and by the time the rescue team came, he had bled to death. These last few days have really opened my eyes to the horror of war.


Checkpoint Charlie

Next we went to the Brandenburg Gate, which became a symbol of freedom for the German people. It was on the East side of the wall and although it was restored in 1950s it was closed in 1961 when the Berlin Wall was built. When the wall fell in 1989 it became a symbol of freedom to be ablt to walk through the Brandenburg Gate. I walked through it today, just to say that I
had also done this!

The afternoon was a little less confronting! We went out of Berlin about 30 mins to a place called Potsdam which is yet another palace. This one called Cecilienhof was commissioned in early 1900s by Kaiser Wilhelm II and was a residence for Prince Wilhelm and Princess Cecilie. Which is all not very big deal, but its claim to fame was that it was the meeting place of Stalin, Churchill and Truman when they tried to sort things out after the war, including the carve up of Germany, and the boundaries of Poland. We went on yet another guided tour, but they showed us the room where all these negotiations took place, and how each of the leaders had to enter by a separate door, so that no-one could be seen to be first or following anyone else. Imagine the egos of these big honchos!!! They all brought their own entourage, and apparently the Yanks had over 600 people in their party!



Before we went to the actual palace though we had lunch in Potsdam. It was freezing today. Really bitterly cold, And you couldn't pass the day without yet another toilet story. I took a photo of the queue today... It cost 50c (half a Euro). I know you shouldn't be stereotypical, but..... all the Fraus who collect your money are a bit scary. They tell you where to stand and when you may enter the toilet. And some poor soul tried to get in without paying..... you didn't need to understand German to know she didn't have a hope!!!

Toilet queue

Berlin has been an interesting city. I didn't quite know what to expect. I can remember Mum and Dad telling us how grim East Berlin was, but they visited while the Cold War was still going on. It's actually very pretty with lots of gardens and trees. And there is just so much history on every street corner.



This trip has been just so good for me to understand the history of Europe. It is so complex and intertwined. I'm not sure I'll remember it all, but at least I have a far broader notion now of some of the reasons why it is like it is.If you're considering a visit, it's definitely worthwhile.

Now - down to Starbucks for the free Internet access. it's just around the corner. You get good at finding these things after
a while!