Berlin: fascinating and freezing

The Brandenburg Gate

The Reichstag

We arrived in Berlin in thick snow on the 11th December.  We had found a parking lot to stay in over night that was not pretty but had good access into the city centre.  We later found out that this spot was originally part of the Berlin Wall and we would have just been inside East Berlin   Due to the weather conditions (snowy and -4 falling to -7) at 4.00pm we found ourselves walking the 2km into the City.  Our first stop was at the Reichstag (the German parliament) where we booked ourselves in for a free visit the following day. It was all very well organised as you would expect and we were pleased we had brought in the necessary ID. I was quite taken aback by the beautiful modern buildings that surrounded the parliament.  These looked even more wonderful when we returned the following day in the morning.  I found out that these were the offices were the politicians met for their meetings and the other beautiful building with its large circular windows was the parliamentary library.  I don't know whether the light conditions with the sunshine and  snow were perfect for showing  these buildings off but they did look really good.  However going back to our first evening.  After we had made our reservation we wandered around Berlin.  

Library with white crosses marking
where people had been shot
 for attempting to cross Berlin wall

Parliamentary library

We visited the Brandeburg Gate and just before that a lovely peaceful water memorial to all the 'gypsies' who had been murdered by the Nazis.  It was very dark when we arrived here.  The water in the pond which is the focus of this memorial was still and jet black and was surrounded by dark trees.  Haunting and yet peaceful music echoed from speakers which had been placed high in the trees.  It was a lovely tribute.  We quietly walked towards the Brandenburg Gate which then led onto Unter den Linden.  This is a very fashionable route and has been throughout the years.  One thing I loved about Berlin was the amount of signage so that you could read about the history of everything you saw without having to delve into books.  With temperatures of minus 7 that night that was a huge advantage as you could leave your gloves on.

parliamentary offices

  We walked all along this road down to the Alexander Platz where the icoinc TV tower is located.  En route and under the tower we passed two Christmas markets. Neither was as good as others we had visited but we were entertained by two black jazz singers.  Mike was looking really cold by now.  Minus conditions for over  4 hours is not something he can tolerate well.  We walked back home, ate a welcoming chilli and went to bed.

Inside the cupola

The cupola

Inside the cupola

Our first stop the next day was  for our appointment at the Reichstag.  We turned up at time with our passports and went through security.  They confiscated temporarily my bungee clip - what harm was I supposed to be able to do with that?  At least it made for an amusing conversation as I discussed with the female security guard what 'bungee' translated into.  The highlight of visiting this building is being given access to the glass cupola designed by Norman Foster.  It is possible to walk right around the inside of this cupola via a walkway with an audio guide giving a very interesting commentary.

View from cupola

Unfortunately snow that lay on the glass did obscure some of the skyline views but it was still an amazing experience and one I would recommend to all.  The only downside is that the top of the cupola is open to the elements so by the time we had walked all around we were both freezing and if I was cold Mike could only be extremely cold.  We decided to have an expensive cup of coffee and hot chocolate in the cafe at the bottom of the cupola before setting off again.  I think the cost was justified as it probably prevented frostbite!

We walked to the back of the building and looked again at the wonderful parliamentary buildings.  These had been built right up to the waters edge which had formed part of the Berlin wall.  White crosses marked where people had lost their lives when they had tried to cross this border.  We collected our bikes and cycled back towards the Brandeburg Gate.  The huge 'Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe' lay just the other side.  This memorial consists of  2,700 huge slabs arranged at differing levels.  I think we lost some of this visual perspective due to the covering of snow.  Again we quietly, reverently, walked through this monument.  Time and time again on our travels we had been reminded of the Holocaust.

Leaving this area we cycled to where Hitler's bunker had been.  This was blown up at the end of the war, past the SS headquarters, now hosting an exhibition known as 'typography of terrors' and onto Check Point Charlie.  This area has the usual tourist trappings but was also filled again with huge information boards giving a very clear understanding of the history leading up to the creation of the Berlin Wall.  It brought all my GCSE history to life - perhaps this is how it should be taught.   As we had our bikes we were able to continue cycling through this amazing city, we stopped for some food and a warm drink and visited some shopping areas.  We were both absolutely frozen to the bone as we had been out for over 6 hours in freezing conditions. We had one last stop to pick up some milk and cycled back to get warm in our snug van.