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If you are not a political-history student/researcher or an enthusiast, Berlin is a
drab city. There is not much for a general tourist. It lacks glamour vis--vis other
contemporary cities of Europe such as Munich, Stockholm, Frankfurt,
Copenhagen, Zurich etc. This city is for understanding the politics of pre and post
WWII.
My earlier visit to Berlin(1980)
I had the privilege of visiting Berlin
during the Cold war in April 1980,
when the communist Soviet Union
was in occupation of Berlins eastern
sector, with a wall dividing the two.
Then itself I had witnessed the stark
contrast between East and West. In
1980 the tourist operators
were allowed to enter the eastern part
with visa stamping at the border. Our
tour operator took us through the
Check-Point Charlie the border between the American Sector and Soviet
Sector. The WALL was very
much present then.
The Berlin Wall was both the
physical division between West
Berlin and East Germany from
1961 to 1989 and the symbolic
boundary between democracy
and Communism during the Cold
War. The wall constructed on
August 13, 1961 and destroyed
on November 9, 1989, after the
liberalization of Soviet Union.



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Brief History of the Wall
At the end of World War II, the Allied powers divided conquered Germany into
four zones, each occupied by either the United States, Great Britain, France, or
the Soviet Union (as agreed at the Potsdam Conference). The same was done
with Germany's capital city, Berlin.
As the relationship between the Soviet Union and the other three Allied powers
quickly disintegrated, the cooperative atmosphere of the occupation of Germany
turned competitive and aggressive.
In 1949, this new organization of Germany became official when the three zones
occupied by the United States, Great Britain, and France combined to form West
Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany). The zone occupied by the Soviet
Union quickly followed by forming East Germany (the German Democratic
Republic propped by the Communists).
By the late 1950s, many people living in East Germany wanted out. No longer
able to stand the repressive
living conditions of East
Germany, they would pack up
their bags and head to West
Berlin. Although some of
them would be stopped on
their way, hundreds of
thousands of others made it
across the border.
Having already lost 2.5
million people by 1961, East
Germany desperately needed
to stop this mass exodus.
The obvious leak was the easy
access East Germans had to
West Berlin.


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Desperate to keep its citizens, East Germany decided to build a wall to prevent
them from crossing the border. The Wall had suddenly sprung up on the night of
12/13
th
Aug 1961.
The Berlin Wall began as a simple fence but evolved over time into a complex
deterrent system. By the time the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, it consisted of concrete
slabs reaching nearly 3.6m high 1.2m wide plus it had a smooth pipe running
across the top to hinder people from scaling the Wall. As you could see, people
still tried to flee East to West.
Berlins Transport System
Apart from the Metro system (known as U-bahn and S-bahn) this city has a very
good tram and bus system that connects far suburbs of the city. It has wider
roads than any other European city of comparable population.
Unfortunately both Google and local city travel guides tend to give directions with
the help of Metro only and not tram or bus, even though such an alternative
exists. Metro is undoubtedly faster as there can never be traffic lights and other
obstructions that beset the road travel. But for older people going up and down
the stairs, walking long corridors to shift trains is a pain. Being a old metro
system like in Paris and London, there are not
many elevator/lift driven station access. So
one has to climb or walk.
But travelling on tram or bus has no such
struggles. For instance if one has to go to the
garten-der-welt in remote part of Berlin, the
tourist offers a S-bahn to Marzhan station
from there bus no 195. But there is an alternative in the form of M6 tram route
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which takes to the same destination, though it takes a longer time - but a distinct
advantage for old and the infirm.
Berlins tram network is one of the
oldest and most extensive in the
world. It comprises the 9 Metro
lines M1 to M17 and some more
in the suburbs. The tram network
has a length of almost 190 km.
Placed end-to-end, the 22 lines
extend a total of 430 km.
We fell love with the transport system, at every bus stop there is an LED screen
with displaying bus/tram arrivals in real-time. It is common for underground, but
road system, that is unique, even London has this, but not on all stops. This is
extremely advantageous, as the city has a wide network of GPS system.
Just as in other European cities one travel card takes care of all the types of
transport!
Brandenburg gate
The Brandenburg Gate is one of
Berlins most important
monuments a landmark and
symbol all in one with over two
hundred years of history. Like
Check-point-Charlie, Brandenburg
gate was a border check post
between East and West Berlin.

A former symbol of the divided city, it drew visitors who used to climb an
observation platform in order to get a glimpse of the world behind the Iron
Curtain, on the other side of the barren death-strip which separated east from
west Berlin, geographically and politically.
Brandenburg gate is now a national symbol of unified Germany


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East side Gallery
The East Side Gallery is a 1.3 km-
long painted stretch of the former
Berlin Wall along the Mhlenstrasse
in former East Berlin.
This wall remained as such without
breaking-up is because there is a
river adjoining the eastern sector
which does not impact the traffic
between the two sectors.
It is the largest open-air gallery in
the world with over one hundred
original mural paintings. Galvanised
by the extraordinary events which
were changing the world, artists
from all around the globe rushed to
Berlin after the fall of the Wall,
leaving a visual testimony of the joy
and spirit of liberation which erupted at the time. Wall murals had previously
been a highlight for visitors and a Berlin attraction for years but were only to be
found on the western side of the Wall. The artists transformed the grey concrete
rearticulating this into a lasting expression of freedom and reconciliation.
SansSocci
The Sanssouci Palace (German:
Schloss Sanssouci) is the former
summer palace of Frederick the
Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam,
near Berlin. This was in the Soviet
occupied territory and got open to
public only for the past 19years or
so.
Nearly all 19th century German
historians made Frederick into a romantic model of a glorified warrior, praising
his leadership, administrative efficiency, devotion to duty and success in building
up Prussia to a leading role in Europe. Even today he is revered as the father of
modern Germany. He reformed the judicial system and made it possible for men
not of noble stock to become judges and senior bureaucrats.
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Sans Souci (French for "no worries"
or "carefree"), has a huge history.
Some of the photos of the summer
palace are presented here.
Among his many accomplishments
Frederick the Great also happened to
introduce potatoes to Germany. He
thought they were a great idea, and
made a big production out of eating
potatoes and smacking his lips
enthusiastically at state dinners.
Sometimes, when not fighting
Austrians, he would visit towns and
pass out potatoes. His endorsement
worked, and potatoes became a
staple crop in the nation.
He is known as father of potatoes
which he brought from Argentina to be
farmed in Germany. That is why
potatoes are placed on his grave at
Sans souci. Bury me in Sanssouci at
the level of the terraces in a tomb
which I have had prepared for myself
so said the King.
But his nephew and successor Frederick
William II did not obey these instructions
and ordered him to be buried in the
Potsdam garrison church (destroyed in
1945) next to his father, the soldier-king
Frederick William I.
After the reunification of Germany the final
wish of Frederick the Great was fulfilled on
the August 17, 1991, the 205th anniversary of
his death. The burial took place in the tomb
Frederick had planned for the purpose since
1744 on the terrace of vineyards. "Quand je
serai l, je serai sans souci" (Once I am
there, I shall be carefree) Frederick the Great
said in 1744.
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Potsdam
Okay, so Potsdam is basically the Windsor of Germany. Its just outside of Berlin,
and became a romping ground for the royal family. Hence its covered with
palaces, including two which Frederick the
Great had constructed for himself.
The Cecilienhof Palace was the scene of
the Potsdam Conference from 17 July, to 2
August 1945, at which the victorious Allied
leaders (Harry S. Truman; Winston
Churchill and his successor, Clement
Attlee; and Joseph Stalin) met to decide
the future of Germany and postwar
Europe in general. Interestingly
France was not represented at the
conference!
The conference ended with the
Potsdam Agreement and the Potsdam Declaration. Though the war ended the
cold war continued as is evident from the Berlin wall.
The walling off of West
Berlin not only isolated
Potsdam from West
Berlin, but also doubled
commuting times to East
Berlin. The Glienicke
Bridge (shown here)
across the Havel
connected the city to
West Berlin and was the
scene of some Cold War
exchanges of spies.
As Potsdam, south-west of Berlin, lay just outside West Berlin after the
construction of the Berlin Wall, it was not accessible to general public for the last
25years.
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Alexander Platz
Alexanderplatz in Berlin is a modern transit junction and shopping area. It came
about during the second half of the 19th century with developments such as the
construction of the S-Bahn, Berlins surface rail network in 1882 and the
underground railway from 1913. Devastated during the war the square gradually
developed into the pedestrian zone during the 1960s becoming a popular if
rather amorphous urban area.
Practically every train network
crosses through this promenade. It is
a location for the discount Stores
Primark and other shopping plazas of
Kaufhof and C & A - the German
symbols of super stores.
Everyone who comes to this place has a
bag of Primark in their hands showing
how popular this discount shop is!
In here lies the 365m TV tower
(Fernsehturm), which gives a 3600 view of the city of Berlin.
Fernsehturm (TV tower)
Berlin TV tower is one of the most popular attractions
for tourists in Berlin. Google available virtual view
cannot compare with the live-experience at the TV
tower! The pictures presented here are some of the
views taken by my not-so-state-of-the-art camera.



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Axel Springer Strasse : our hotel LebensQuelle
Visionary journalist and unswerving proponent of German reunification, Axel
Springer was also a staunch member of the conservative social order, a class
enemy of the East German government and an object of scorn from the left.
Indeed, he was many things, and therefore difficult to encapsulate. Even during
his lifetime, the countless anecdotes of his enigmatic personality had morphed
into a pretty impressive narrative. Claims like the fact that DDR (German
Democratic Republic) was always written in quotation marks in his newspapers
were widely held as true, or that he would crawl around on his hands and knees
in his Hamburg apartment with glue and scissors working on a new kind of
newspaper. Today his publishing empire is big.
In 1958, Springer traveled to Moscow to visit Nikita Krushchev with a five-phase
plan in his briefcase designed to convince the Kremlin of the benefits of
reunification. Is it a coincidence that the sign on his 19-story publishing house
building from the 1960s faced defiantly to the east over the Russian sector
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border in Berlin? Open the gates, read the headline in Bild, which, as the most
widely read newspaper in Europe
during the chilling era of the Cold
War, became an effective voice of
anti-communism.
The publisher Axel Springler
erected a sculpture A Balancing
Act in 1959 directly on the border
of the Soviet occupied sector of
Berlin, the later course of the
Berlin wall.
The street in which our hotel LebensQuelle situated is named after this great
publisher. This hotel is just three stations away from Alexander Platz, the
happening place of the city. For 60 per day, this hotel is quite comfortable,
though one finds it hot during summers, as the Europeans dont provide fans
during summers.
Garten der Welt
One of these green places in Berlin one must visit is the "Gardens of the World"
with traditional theme gardens from Asia, Europe and the Orient. This can be
approached by M6 tram from Alexander Platz to S-Marzhan and then take 195
bus to the garden it is over an
hours journey from the centre of
the town. But worth the effort.
Visitors can run a maze and a
labyrinth floor, and the garden
with its year-round flowering
plants to stay.
Around
21
acres
the "Gardens of the World" offer not only
perfect garden art, but also recovery in one
of the most beautiful green lungs of Berlin.
Some of the pictures presented here bear
witness to the above. It has gardens
representing some countries such as
China, Korea, Japan and the Orient.
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What we missed
Partly because of shortage of time and partly because of poor planning and
mainly because of lack of stamina, we missed a few things in Berlin. Another visit
is a must for me at least. I planned to do that next time I come to England, that is
for sure.
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Bernauer Strasse: When Berlin was a divided city, the Berlin Wall erected in
1961 ran along this street. Bernauer Strasse became famous for escapes from
windows of apartment blocks in the eastern part of the city, down to the street,
which was in the West. Several people died here when the border was first
enforced. After the Wall came down, Bernauer Strasse was the location of one of
the longer preserved sections. In 1999, part of it was turned into a memorial park,
with a recreation of actual border fortifications. This is one of the greatest war
memorial which is a must for any visitor to Berlin, who is interested in WWII
history.
Hitlers bunker: The Fhrer-bunker was an air-raid shelter located near the Reich
Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of an underground bunker complex
constructed in two phases which were completed in 1936 and 1944. It was the
last of the Fhrer Headquarters used by Adolf Hitler.
Hitler took up residence in the Fhrer-bunker on 16 January 1945 and it became
the centre of the Nazi regime until the last week of World War II in Europe. Hitler
married Eva Braun here during the last week of April 1945, shortly before they
committed suicide.
The site was bombed badly in the War, but this was recreated for the sake of
history, and is a must visit for the tourist, I am told.
The Jewish Museum: The Jewish Museum Berlin (Jdisches Museum Berlin) is
one of the largest Jewish Museums in Europe. In three buildings, two of which
are new additions specifically built for the museum, two millennia of German-
Jewish history are on display in the permanent exhibition as well as in various
changing exhibitions.
It encompasses the history of the holocaust. This museum was just one stop
away from our hotel!
Museums: There are five museums in the Museum island in Berlin- all within
walking distance. One can spend the whole day may be more- in going through
these museums.
Neues Museum: the Egyptian Museum of Berlin and its Papyrus Collection, they
say is a must.

---------------------------------------------The End---------------------------------------------------