#Berlin a short visit

My friend Jo and I are back from a city break to Berlin. It was our first time in Berlin. Here are some thoughts and observations in no particular order - ha!

First - the disclaimers. Our visit was only 3 nights and it was January - and it was mainly central Berlin. Obviously we only scratched the surface. Also I went thinking I would know quite a lot about Berlin already - from its history and as usual I had done a bit of reading in advance.
On the plane we talked to a Brit who lived and worked in Berlin. She said it was very safe - much safer than London. (Safer than London - I am not sure that is saying much.)
Berlin is flat. (The Berlin Marathon is a favorite with marathon runners looking to set a fast time.)
Obviously much of Berlin was destroyed by bombing and heavy fighting in the second world war. Some of the original buildings have been repaired or recreated. A lot has been built in the 1960's style particularly in the East and of course this is now regarded as pretty grim. However Berlin too has been a hotbed of building in modern architectural styles - cutting edge stuff. (I will come back to this).
In April 1945 2 million Soviet soldiers entered ruined and starving Berlin. The Allies followed not long after.
In The Potsdam Conference that followed Berlin was divided into 4 sectors - one controlled by each of the Russians, Americans, French and British.
In 1949 Germany was divided into 2 separate states The Federal Republic (West Germany) - capitalist ideology - as Britain and USA and the GDR - German Democratic Republic (East Germany) communist ideology controlled by the Russians.
Berlin remained the capital of the GDR as Berlin is in the was in the east of Germany geographically.
The capital of West Germany was moved to Bonn but a corridor was kept through East Germany to provide access to West Berlin which remained under the control of West Germany and the allies.
This was the start of The Cold War. As differences between the rate of improvement and the freedom West Berliners experienced compared to the communist controlled East Berlin meant there was an exodus towards the West.
In 1961 the GDR erected the Berlin Wall to stop the exodus and comparison with the much better performing capitalist west. (tells you much of what you need to know about the evils of communism and its sad junior - socialism).
The wall became a brutal reality. Families were divided. East German guards shot hundreds in their desperate attempts to reach the freedom of western philosophy and lifestyle. The communists became ever more paranoid and extreme.
On the wall - actually there were 2 walls for the most part. The outer border wall and the inner wall with a wide brightly lit and sentried open bare strip which made it so much more dangerous to attempt a crossing.
Checkpoint Charlie was the heavily controlled crossing point between East and West - made famous in the spy movies like Tinker Tailor.
The Berlin Wall fell on 9th November 1989 and the German unification of East and West Germany formally happened on 3rd October 1990.
To this day it is possible to identify East and West Berlin from its appearance and style. East Berlin is generally less smart - less stylish but for all that I felt more real and more interesting. Potsdamer Platz (west) for instance is huge modern and stylish - but in some ways you could be anywhere.
Berlin is not perfect. They have cracked pavements too ! A few observations moving around :- the roads are wide and open. The traffic is orderly and considerate. Everyone stands and waits for green lights at their crossings - even if it is obviously safe to cross. ( this didn't come natural to us.)
Food and drink prices are very fair I would say. Good value.
Traditional Berlin food is not high end - might even be referred to as heavy - but Berliners to their credit are not often obese as people are.here. Sauerkraut is good for the digestion maybe. We really enjoyed trying their food - even the ridiculous Currywurst !
We visited the Reichstag - the German Parliament for a guided tour. The original Reichstag building has a tremendous (dark) history - the Berlin wall was built right behind it leaving it in the west and the Brandenburg gate which is very close by - in the east. The Reichstag has been completely remodeled and modernised. It is a very functional building - but the interior is in no way celebratory or even nation proud in the way other parliament buildings I have been to over the years have been. I guess this is largely because of the national shame of the Third Reich. Our guide emphasised that it is now impossible for the German constitution to be set aside - this was very important to her. She rather sour faced referred to the emergence of the AfD (Alternative for Germany) a right wing eurosceptic anti immigration party. (now the 3rd biggest political party in Germany and growing. This is scaring a lot of people and some advocate the banning of AfD (as seeing history repeating itself ). Watch this space !
Finally - Graffiti ! You choose - street art or vandalism. It is everywhere. All over the remains of the Berlin Wall - Eastside Gallery celebrate it as significant and culturally important. However there is masses of easy graffiti and for us it amounts to no more than vandalism. Not impressed at all.

I could write a lot more but time to stop. We enjoyed Berlin. It is different. There are many elements you would expect in Germany. Things work, things are ordered. What was west Berlin as I have said is of course rebuilt and rebuilt again from 1960's to glitzy modern. A bit heartless for me and I am not interested in "mall" shopping and everything that goes with it. The east remains mainly in 1960's style as a sweeping generalisation. It is often a bit scruffy but the shops etc more real. But of course East or West - there is no wall anymore - it is one city so I recommend to get out there and walk around - ha!

Mob photos :