An Interloper Joins the Tour

Thursday August 19th
The little kiwis had all had a day in Berlin so they decided to stay back and keep me company on the canal bank today. What a fuss when Mary turned up with a “new friend”. They were not sure that there was room on the back seat for another traveller. But they have got used to the idea and have welcomed Ber Lin into the family. There are bears everywhere in Berlin and Mary had been planning to buy one for days to join all the others on the couch in the passage at home.

Having read all the tourist guides carefully, today we wanted to pick up on the remaining few things we wanted to see on our last day in Berlin. One of these was the 1930s Art Deco Department store. We went in and it was more like an early shopping mall with individual shops but it had real class and was certainly an excellent example of Art Deco. It had sweeping marble staircases with wrought iron and beautiful black and white marble tiles.

We walked on down to Gendarmenmarkt, reputedly Europe’s’ most attractive square with the lovely concert hall, (Konzerthaus), which we were able to view through a glass door but not actually go into. It is the home of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. On either side stand the twin churches of the German and French cathedrals both now used as museums.
We carried on down to Checkpoint Charlie. In the street on large boards, is the whole story of the building of the wall and it traces the Cold War era. It is exceptionally well laid out and displayed and there were people everywhere just standing and reading it. There is a replica booth in the street with actors in uniforms as well. It took us nearly an hour to read all the boards that cover both sides of nearly a block. We decided there was no need to pay money to go into the actual museum as the public display was so extensive. Instead I bought a book and DVD about the wall.

From there we walked on to the Topographie of Terrors which is also a free exhibition in the street but it was all closed off. It looks as if it is brand new and not officially opened as yet. You could see it but you couldn’t get up close to read the writing and look at the photos. It is right alongside the only remaining sections of the wall left in the city. In 1943 the Nazi institutions were based here. After the war they were razed, except for the cellars where the prisoners were tortured. These are still visable from the street.

While looking for lunch we found ourselves back by the memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe. So we grabbed a quick bite off a street seller and went to the information Centre which had been closed on Monday. Underneath the actual field of 2,711 concrete stelae is an extensive exhibition surveying the Nazi’s extermination policy between 1933 and 1945. We bought the audio tour; general admission was free. There are several rooms. The room of dimensions has actual written personal accounts by Jewish people. The room of families was the most interesting. It traces the fates of fifteen Jewish families in different parts of Europe. In the room of names they are constantly playing a tape of names and short biographies of some of the Jews. The room of sites documents the geographic spread of the genocide.

There were large numbers of people visiting this site but it was the one of the quietest places we have been in. It was also one of the best presented exhibitions we have seen. One of the most impressive things about Berlin and the Germans is how they have presented their history in such an unbiased way and tell it as it really was. It has taken a remarkably short time to get the city looking vibrant and tourist friendly. There must be more museums and memorials here than anywhere else in Europe. There is so much around the streets on boards and all in English and German. Even in four days we know we will have missed some of it.

On the way home we took a photo of a huge house right next to the camp. It has enormous grounds all gated and with an electronic keypad at the gate. On the porch in full view of the road is a mannequin of a policeman about to draw his gun. Two dog barks constantly and run at the fence when anyone comes near. There never seems to be actual people around. However over the road is a derelict house that has become a ruin and this is their outlook. We photographed them both, because it just goes to show that you can be as grand as you like but you can’t choose your neighbours!