DAY 2
When purchasing our ticket, once again we used the Welcome Card which gave us around 50% off, meaning our entrance to this attraction was 9,70€, a huge saving. After waiting for our ticket number to be called (on a busy day you can wait up to an hour, luckily we waited around 25 minutes), we went through security and then into the lift. There are two lifts in the building to keep things moving and they both move at 6m/s- wow! The alternative is the 986 steps you could climb to the top...err I don't think so!
Question: How long did it take for us to reach the top- not the very top, the first floor of the globe at 203m?
The guide/lift operative gave us some facts about the TV Tower (after asking what languages were spoken within the small group and then speaking very quickly in German and English, making it hard to even differentiate between the two), then ding! we were at the top. The views were incredible!
What I noticed the most was the key differences in German architecture. Though I am no expert in the field, the Plattenbauten style buildings (meaning plain concrete slab buildings) throughout Berlin focus on steering clear of gentrification (something London, is having to face on a tremendous scale, but lets not go there ay) which some believe to help maintain the social continuity after the ever so recent demolish of the Eastern Bloc/Berlin Wall.
Once at the Cathedral we paid our Student Entry, at 5€ each (nice price!) and made our way into the beautiful building. We looked around, admiring the fascinating décor... and here I took the chance to light a candle for my mother, who passed away in 2006, as well as the rest of the friends and relatives who join her. We continued up the walkway to the top of the Dome where we could then take in more impressive views in the outdoor viewing gallery. 270 steps later, through narrow, winding and seemingly everlasting stairways we were at the top. It was chilly and in all honesty not as amazing as I had anticipated, however I do recommend still taking the journey up-for the experience!
We then decided to hop on the U-Bahn and head to the East Side Gallery, but first had a stop off at Checkpoint Charlie.
For those of you that are unaware, Checkpoint Charlie was the border crossing used during the Cold War to separate East and West Berlin. This point is noted as a geographical focal point for the Cold War, where the divide between Berlin began and eventually ended. This is not to mention the countless demonstrations that went on, successful and unsuccessful attempts to escape from the Eastern Bloc and where the USA intervened to defend the fundamental rights of the German people.
Checkpoint Charlie itself has clearly changed from what it used to be. The tense unwelcoming sensation that once existed was no longer present and rather a more upbeat vibe that invited visitors into the ground breaking (literally- underground escapes were a real thing!) history that stood before them.
We strolled along the lengthy stretch, past Checkpoint Charlie that then took us out of the East and into the West of Berlin. Before the destruction of the wall in 1990, this area was ran by the USA. Back then it was the place of freedom, and also where many families resided in hope of being reunited one day, with their relatives on the other side of the checkpoint. For us in 2016 the atmosphere of the city had somewhat changed. It was prominent that this area had taken much of the original backlash after the summer of 1990. Rather than the trendy and hip city we had got used to, this area in West Berlin had a more cutting edge, highlighting the poverty and disruption the Eastern Bloc caused, even till today. Filled with heart felt graffiti, this was the moment we realised that Berlin was about much more than we anticipated. The city held a painful and moving past that we were slowly uncovering.
After hopping off the U-Bahn at Schesisches Tor and strolling down to the East Side Gallery, we were confronted with the only remaining section of the Berlin Wall, stretching 1.3km and covered from top to bottom in glorious and aspiration art. This timeless gallery is completely free and displays world famous pieces.
Time passed rather quickly and before we knew it, the sun had set. We caught the bus back to the station (as we were feeling lazy to re-walk the 1.3km) and to our surprise were dropped only a fragment of the distance back, right next to Mercedes Benz World.
The memorial was our final stop located in Potsdamerplatz a short walk from the U-Bahn and S-Bahn. It is a 4.7 acre site that is covered in 2711 concrete slabs, arranged in a grid pattern on sloping ground and ranging in heights from 0.2 to 4.7m. As you can imagine, at first impressions this attraction can be slightly overwhelming but taking the time to submerge yourself into the grounds of the site opens your eyes as well as your heart. The design of the Holocaust Memorial was made to feel regimented and claustrophobic in honour of what millions suffered through less than a century ago.
On our way to the hotel we decided to stop for some drinks at a nice looking bar next to the tram stop (yes last stop, I promise). Carambar is a nightclub, restaurant and bar located in Alexanderplatz. As it was a Sunday it had a great chilled
atmosphere as the nightclub was closed, yet the outdoor seating (and heating), awesome DJ - DJ Seip, and strong drinks kept us there till 1am. A fair few beers and 'Zombie' cocktails later we figured it would be best to head to the hotel for a good nights sleep, in preparation for check out the following morning.
I grabbed a super tasty Halloumi kebab, covered in garlic sauce and with all the salad from the kebab shop across the road and we waited for the tram to whisk us off to bed... totally not ready for our flight the following day!
Peace&Love
Willow
This link will take you to a short account I found online, from a man who travelled into the Eastern Bloc during the communist ruling. It is well worth a read!
https://www.quora.com/What-was-it-like-to-live-in-West-Berlin-during-the-Cold-War
The guide/lift operative gave us some facts about the TV Tower (after asking what languages were spoken within the small group and then speaking very quickly in German and English, making it hard to even differentiate between the two), then ding! we were at the top. The views were incredible!
What I noticed the most was the key differences in German architecture. Though I am no expert in the field, the Plattenbauten style buildings (meaning plain concrete slab buildings) throughout Berlin focus on steering clear of gentrification (something London, is having to face on a tremendous scale, but lets not go there ay) which some believe to help maintain the social continuity after the ever so recent demolish of the Eastern Bloc/Berlin Wall.
Once at the Cathedral we paid our Student Entry, at 5€ each (nice price!) and made our way into the beautiful building. We looked around, admiring the fascinating décor... and here I took the chance to light a candle for my mother, who passed away in 2006, as well as the rest of the friends and relatives who join her. We continued up the walkway to the top of the Dome where we could then take in more impressive views in the outdoor viewing gallery. 270 steps later, through narrow, winding and seemingly everlasting stairways we were at the top. It was chilly and in all honesty not as amazing as I had anticipated, however I do recommend still taking the journey up-for the experience!
We then decided to hop on the U-Bahn and head to the East Side Gallery, but first had a stop off at Checkpoint Charlie.
For those of you that are unaware, Checkpoint Charlie was the border crossing used during the Cold War to separate East and West Berlin. This point is noted as a geographical focal point for the Cold War, where the divide between Berlin began and eventually ended. This is not to mention the countless demonstrations that went on, successful and unsuccessful attempts to escape from the Eastern Bloc and where the USA intervened to defend the fundamental rights of the German people.
We strolled along the lengthy stretch, past Checkpoint Charlie that then took us out of the East and into the West of Berlin. Before the destruction of the wall in 1990, this area was ran by the USA. Back then it was the place of freedom, and also where many families resided in hope of being reunited one day, with their relatives on the other side of the checkpoint. For us in 2016 the atmosphere of the city had somewhat changed. It was prominent that this area had taken much of the original backlash after the summer of 1990. Rather than the trendy and hip city we had got used to, this area in West Berlin had a more cutting edge, highlighting the poverty and disruption the Eastern Bloc caused, even till today. Filled with heart felt graffiti, this was the moment we realised that Berlin was about much more than we anticipated. The city held a painful and moving past that we were slowly uncovering.
After hopping off the U-Bahn at Schesisches Tor and strolling down to the East Side Gallery, we were confronted with the only remaining section of the Berlin Wall, stretching 1.3km and covered from top to bottom in glorious and aspiration art. This timeless gallery is completely free and displays world famous pieces.
Time passed rather quickly and before we knew it, the sun had set. We caught the bus back to the station (as we were feeling lazy to re-walk the 1.3km) and to our surprise were dropped only a fragment of the distance back, right next to Mercedes Benz World.
The memorial was our final stop located in Potsdamerplatz a short walk from the U-Bahn and S-Bahn. It is a 4.7 acre site that is covered in 2711 concrete slabs, arranged in a grid pattern on sloping ground and ranging in heights from 0.2 to 4.7m. As you can imagine, at first impressions this attraction can be slightly overwhelming but taking the time to submerge yourself into the grounds of the site opens your eyes as well as your heart. The design of the Holocaust Memorial was made to feel regimented and claustrophobic in honour of what millions suffered through less than a century ago.
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On our way to the hotel we decided to stop for some drinks at a nice looking bar next to the tram stop (yes last stop, I promise). Carambar is a nightclub, restaurant and bar located in Alexanderplatz. As it was a Sunday it had a great chilled atmosphere as the nightclub was closed, yet the outdoor seating (and heating), awesome DJ - DJ Seip, and strong drinks kept us there till 1am. A fair few beers and 'Zombie' cocktails later we figured it would be best to head to the hotel for a good nights sleep, in preparation for check out the following morning.
I grabbed a super tasty Halloumi kebab, covered in garlic sauce and with all the salad from the kebab shop across the road and we waited for the tram to whisk us off to bed... totally not ready for our flight the following day!
Peace&Love
Willow
This link will take you to a short account I found online, from a man who travelled into the Eastern Bloc during the communist ruling. It is well worth a read!
https://www.quora.com/What-was-it-like-to-live-in-West-Berlin-during-the-Cold-War
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