Why God's revenge? The tour guide explained it was because communists are typically atheists so the TV tower was like a mockery to them during the communist era. Everyday, the cross shines over Berlin but communists couldn’t do anything about it since they can’t just put down the TV tower.
We passed by the TV tower several times that day but we witnessed this cross reflection only after around lunchtime. :)
Below is The House of World Cultures, a gift from the US in the 1950s. JFK spoke here in the 1960s when he visited West Berlin. Today, it’s the national centre for contemporary non-European art and presents art exhibitions, theater and dance performances, concerts, author readings, films and academic conferences.
Next is Reichstag, the seat of the German Parliament. It was built in the late 19th century where a competition was held for its design. Out of 180+ submissions, this neo-renaissance structure design was selected.
We also passed by Einstein’s university – the Humboldt University (formerly known as the University of Berlin). It was established in 1810, making it Berlin's oldest University. Other than Einstein, this is also where Karl Marx, nuclear scientist Otto Hahn and 28 other Nobel Prize winners went to school. Whoa…
After going around the city, we visited the Charlottenburg Palace, the largest surviving royal palace in Berlin, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte.
Around the 17th century, evening balls were held in the palace's main hall. There are 2 fireplaces at the 2 ends of the hall and on top of each fireplace are big mirrors. Our tour guide explained that the mirrors were meant to illuminate the light coming from the fire. That was how illumination at night was done during the pre-electricity era, he said.
The tour guide also shared that though the ladies then looked so beautiful in their gowns, it was such a torture to actually attend a ball. Imagine, they wore thick layers of fabric and had to endure the warmth of fire and the stuffy air inside the hall. Yikes.
During winter, when the royalty cannot enjoy the outdoors, they would ask the servants to bring plants inside the palace and not just small potted plants. Haha…
Anyway, you will find a lot of interesting rooms, artifacts, crown jewels and paintings inside the Charlottenburg palace. I regret not having been able to secure a photo pass at the entrance so I wasn’t able to take photos inside. :(
The highlight of a tour to Berlin - at least for me:) - is visiting what is left of the Berlin Wall which was brought down in 1989. Here was my first glimpse of the Berlin wall.
Just to revisit history, what separated East and West Berlin were - (1) a concrete wall that stood 4 meters high and spread to 107 km long; (2) a portion that was made of metal grate fence which stretched to 65 km; and (3) some sections that had both types of constructions.
At first look, you would think that the wall isn’t that high but during the communist era, it wasn’t just a matter of climbing a wall. There were also 300 watch towers, 22 bunkers and 256 dog pens! There were about 80 recorded deaths of people who attempted to cross over the wall to West Berlin. Heartbreaking…
One of the most popular murals is called the “Bruderkiss” painted by a Russian artist named Dmitrji Vrubel in time for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 2009. The painting shows Russian president Breshnev kissing Honecker, the East German Central Committee secretary for security matters, responsible for the building of the Berlin Wall. Here’s the painting.
While in East Berlin, I took photos of the monochromatic communist buildings. Here are some -
You can see the blaring contrast of buildings and houses found in West Berlin.
Going back to East Berlin, we also went to visit the popular landmark – the Brandenburg gate – which has played different political roles in German history including the Fall of the Wall.
Just a few meters away from Brandenburg Gate stands the famous Hotel Adlon. This is where the royalty, Hollywood stars (Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich, etc.) and politicians stay when in Berlin. And yep, this is the same hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his son, Blanket, from his room window at the 3rd floor in 2002.
According to our tour guide, the presidential suite of the Hotel Adlon costs 12,000 euros per night (about Php700,000)! Whoa….
Here's the other side of the Brandenburg gate from the West side.
Look at the right pillar below closely - see the marks on the surface? Those are real bullet holes according to our tour guide.
We also visited a church but can't remember what the name of the church is but here are some photos I took -
The only clue about the church is it's near this coffee place because I remember we bought some drinks from this store. Haha...
Some last few random shots around Berlin -
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Last Few Tips when visiting Berlin, Germany: Local currency: Euros
- Electrical Plug: 2 pin (round type)
- Cost of meals: 10 euros in fastfood centers and about 30 euros in restaurants.
- Cost of bottled water: 1.50 to 3 euros for 500ml when you buy in vending machines and restaurants. But it you buy in convenience stores or grocery stores, 1 liter only costs 1 euro. Also carbonated water is very common so just tell the counter if you want water “with gas” or “no gas”.
- Toilets are called WC (Water closet).
- If you have interconnecting flights with different airlines, make sure to tell the check-in counter in Manila to check-through your luggage to your final destination.
- Luggage weight allowance is only up to 20 kilos for check-in and up to 7 kilos for handcarry (translation - very minimal shopping since a medium-sized luggage with clothes already weigh about 18 kilos).
This trip is part of a 12-day European package tour covering Austria, Poland, Czech Republic and Germany. Tour cost is approximately USD3,700 per pax including airfare, accommodations, land transfers, breakfast and dinner, Schengen visa fee, travel taxes and travel insurance.
