Map and flag of Germany
As I mentioned earlier, Lisa and I have already been to Germany. However, we only saw the lower part such as Bavaria and Munich. We always wanted to see Berlin and we got our chance on this trip. As Berlin is a long way in the country from the coast, our cruise ship docked in Warnemunde and we had to take a 2 1/2 hour train ride to Berlin.
Here we are with our traveling companions riding the train to Berlin
This is the TV tower built by the East Germans while under Soviet control. It was purposely built tall and large to show the West how good they were doing under communism. It was built in 1969. If you look closely at the ball, you will see a reflection of a cross. This is called the "Pope's Revenge" since religion was discouraged in East Berlin. There was even some talk of pulling the tower down for this reason, but they obviously decided to let it stand.
Our train dropped us off on the former Eastern side of Berlin. Prior to this trip, I still heard there was a very obvious differentiation between the East and West in Berlin. We explored with this mentality in mind, however, we did not find this to be true. From what we saw of East Berlin, they seem to be doing very well. It became clear that Germany is dumping a lot of money into growth and rebuilding. Other than one or two bullet holes in a few buildings yet to be restored, we did not see any obvious repression in the East versus the West.
Our guide did state there is some mental differences still around. He figured the current generation will have to move on before this mentality goes away. He grew up during the division and said the Germans viewed the Americans and allies as saviors for rebuilding their freedom while the Soviets were viewed as repressors and occupiers.
While our tour started in East Berlin and worked our way to the West, I will probably jump around in these next couple pages.
You probably recognize this place from the huge reunification party. There is a famous photo where the Germans are all over this gate while fireworks are going off around the city (3 Oct 1990). This monument is the Brandenburg Gate. When it was built in 1791, it was originally called the Gate of Peace.
There are these double-rowed cobble stones all over Berlin. Where the wall was removed, they put these bricks down to show where the wall once stood. As you can see from this photo, the wall stood from 1961-1989. This particular photo was taken at the famous Checkpoint Charlie where the Americans and Soviets faced off using their tanks! Luckily that died down on it's own!
This was the Central Intelligence Agency facility during those years. Checkpoint Charlie is just to the left in this photo.
Exactly on the opposite corner from the CIA facility and Checkpoint Charlie was the KGB facility (white building with the large advertisement).
And last, but not least -- Checkpoint Charlie
The original is in some museum so this is a re-creation. On one side was the former Soviet side. You can see the large photo of a Soviet soldier. There is also a sign saying you are leaving Soviet occupied territory. On the other side is a sign saying you are leaving the American zone. As you can tell I am guessing at the wording. On the American side is a large picture of an American soldier.
Continue on with Berlin