Berlin - Hooper And Whistle

Airbnb and a scheduled Segway tour means only one thing….a new city! Berlin, Germany.
Kelly had the unbelievable fortune of visiting this area when she was 15 years old. Mind you, that was when there was still a very active Checkpoint Charlie and East Berlin was NOT an option for visiting. Needless to say, she was very excited and anxious to be back.

We were very excited Roman and Mikayla were able to join us on this journey. Packing light (haha), fur babies taken care of, we set off for our six hour drive. Arriving after dark, which is not hard to do this time of year, our host had sent us a video of how to obtain our keys and enter our room. Super helpful! We found ourselves in another studio style apartment, but spacious and comfortable. Exciting for us, we stayed on the East Berlin side in an old Soviet block building. Berlin is a large city compared to what we have been exploring. We were still within walking distance of most sites to include our Segway tour.

Scheduled for first thing in the morning, we set off on foot for our tour, Roman and Mikayla’s first time on a Segway. As most people have shared, they have the impression that Segways are nerdy and for geeks. Of course, Bart, the mall cop didn’t help with the imagery. We were joined by another couple from the UK and after paperwork and a quick lesson, we were off! Yes, Freddy…..we are still comparing and evaluating. You set a super high bar that has not even come close to being met yet! 😊

The weather was a bit gloomy and chilly, however, we were completely prepared with layers and super warm clothes. In Germany, Segways are considered a vehicle, so we had to have our driver’s license on our person. We found ourselves zooming along the streets with the other cars and buses as well as having the ability to ride on the sidewalks with the pedestrians. Starting out under Berlin’s TV Tower, which was intended to be Europe’s tallest tower standing at 368m, we heard the story of the Pope’s revenge. The tower’s second legend is that although it was intended to demonstrate technological advance it was doomed to an ironic fate. To the embarrassment of GDR authorities – the steel sphere below the antenna produced the reflection of a giant cross. Hence the popular joke, not appreciated by the SED government, that this was the Pope’s revenge on the secular socialist State for having removed crucifixes from churches. Continuing on, we traveled across a city that is large and spread out. Within the first several minutes, Roman and Mikayla discovered Segways were tons of fun.

: One of the buildings in Gendarmenmarkt square, the Konzerthaus Berlin was built as a theatre from 1818 to 1821 under the name Schauspielhaus Berlin. After World War II the name was changed as well as its usage to a concert hall.

: The Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral), located on the Museum Island is the largest, active cathedral in Berlin. This was the house church of the Hohenzollern family (remember our castle visit from last year) and the crypt is the resting place for them going all the way back to 1455.

: Zooming along the streets of Berlin. Ahead is more museums.

: The cars are undersized Trabi’s offered as a tour of Berlin. The lead car has the guide and the following cars are driven by tourist following while listening to the guide through a broadcast in the cars. What a cute fun way to see Berlin.

: Bebelplatz, envisioned by Frederick II after he became the ruler of Prussia in 1740, used to be planted with grass and shrubs, but is now completely paved with cobblestones. The quarter, which was known as Forum Fridericianum (Frederick’s Forum) included an opera house, a cathedral, an academy, a library, and a royal palace.

: Christmas market – many people, many booths, and a pretty cool backdrop.

: The Old Library is the former Royal Prussian Library, originally built between 1775 and 1780. Like all buildings on Bebelplatz the library was destroyed during WWII. It was reconstructed in 1963-1968.

: The State Opera House has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. It was originally opened in 1743 and most recently rebuilt in 1955 in accordance with the original plans. In the foreground you can see a small glass plate in the center of the square reveals a room full of empty bookshelves. It is a monument that commemorate the nationwide burning of more than 20,000 books that conflicted with Nazi ideology.

: The twin churches in Gendarmenmarkt square.

: The French Cathedral, on the north side of the Gendarmenmarkt was built in 1701 with the tower being added in 1785, served the large French Huguenot community.

: The Deutscher Dom (Berlin’s German Church) was built in 1708, under King Frederick I in hopes to turn Berlin into a Royal residence.

: The back of the German church.

Berlin is over 775 years old and over the years it has sustained much damage. Most of the buildings have been rebuilt according to original plans.
Checkpoint Charlie, is now a tourist spot, not the heart pounding, breath stealing spot it was for Kelly in the mid 80s.
Now it is just a tiny island in the middle of the street. No real deciphering between the east side and the west side.
The Berlin Wall is still standing in places, and in others it is represented by either poles that follow the path or bricks in line on the streets.
There are a couple of squares with prominent buildings which give details in the descriptions of the photos. With it being Christmastime, some of the squares also had a Christmas market. There were over 60 markets within the Berlin and outlying areas…and no, we didn’t visit them all.
Brandenburg Gate is still standing proudly with Quadriga atop. Originally built between 1788 and 1791 by Prussian King William Fredrick II. Even though it is winter, cold and dreary, the crowds were thicker than we expected. Snapping clean photos was impossible. Nearby is also the place where President Reagan, in 1987, stood, calling for Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”. The history the gate has witnessed is more that imaginable, way more than can be written here.
Berlin is more city than can be covered in a couple days. We knew this before arriving, but it is still an opportunity we could not pass up. We enjoyed our Segway tour, we would not have seen all the sites on foot. Freddy…you are still the king! 😊
The rest of the short amount of time we had we revisited the spots we wanted to see more of and of course the Christmas markets. Some of the travel by foot and other by car. Parking was a bit easier, but pricey. We are still in shock and awe not only over the ability to visit the ‘ole east side’, but the sheer fact we are blessed with a trip of a lifetime with two of our kids!

: Seriously….the Berlin Wall…from the EAST side!!! Roman bundled for the day. 🙂

: The parts of the Berlin wall that is still standing. In places there are poles representing where the wall was located.

: More poles representing the wall. In some areas there are boards with photos and history.

: Group shot with the Wall ….on the EAST. Never did we believe we would ever step foot on this side when we were growing up.

: The Brandenburg Gate survived World War II, but with serious damage. The site was reconstructed and the lone remaining horses head from the statue was preserved in Märkisches Museum.

: The Prussian army reclaimed it in 1814 with their victory over the French.

: Brandenburg Gate was built between 1788 and 1791 by Prussian King Frederick William II as a key entry point to the city of Berlin.

: Another Christmas tree photo. This one is infront of the Brandenburg Gate.

: Building ad art….pretty large and impressive.

: Grant is the photographer. Snapping shots as he rolls along. So is this for the colorful buildings or the car…??

: The Reichstag was built in 1894, but for the majority of the time since then it has not been used. Over the years it has been damaged and rebuilt especially after Germany was reunified and the politicians voted to move back to Berlin.

: Altes Museum, located on Museum Island was completed in 1830. An important building of the Neoclassical era, housing a vast range of ancient artefacts from the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan eras, resembles the Pantheon in Rome.

: Checkpoint Charlie from the East side. Definitely NOT what is was back when Kelly saw it for the first time!!

: Getting our passports stamped. Not required…now just a touristy thing to do.

: Now just a tourist spot, Checkpoint Charlie. It was interesting and a bit of mixed emotions seeing the Germans dressed in Army uniforms representing US soldiers.

: Checkpoint Charlie from the West side. Definitely more of a calm experience than when Kelly first saw it while on a bus with several other scared teens and the chapperones.

: The bricks represent where the wall used to stand.

: Zoominng along the streets. Notice the bricks on the left side of the street. That is where the wall stood.

: A Mustang in Berlin?!?!

: Christmas lights selfie 🙂

: Love the cute little gondola cars of the ferris wheel.

: Love the holiday brights!

: We found a cool little Mexican (sorta) restaurant that was proud of its cigar bar and music. However, apparently due to the holidays, it wasn’t open. The owner was a doll and opened the upstairs cigar bar for us. 🙂

: The Soviet War Memorial (Tiergarten) sits between Brandenburg Gate and Victory Tower is a memorial for the Soviet soldiers that were killed in the Battle of Berlin.

: The memorial entrance is symmetrically laid out, flanked on the left and right by two Soviet T-34 tanks that were the first to reach Berlin.

: There are 2711 concrete slabs of different heights on 19,000 square metres.

: Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

: The dirt is where Hitler’s barracks used to stand. This is the location of his final days where he ended up committing suicide. They did not leave any remenents so there could be no patronage to the Nazi.

: On June 12, 1987, Ronald Regan issued his stern command to his cold war adversary admonishing him with the words: “Mr. Gorbachov – tear down this wall!”

: The monument is crowned with the sculpture of the Quadriga, a four-horsed chariot driven by Victoria, the winged goddess of victory.

: In the Napoleonic Wars in 1806, after the French forces defeated the Prussian army, Napoleon’s troops took the sculpture of the Quadriga to Paris as a war trophy.

: The Siegesäule or Victory Column is another famous landmark. It was built in the 19th century to commemorate Prussian victories over Denmark, Austria, and France. In 1938-1939 Hitler moved the column to its current location as part of his plans to remodel Berlin into the ‘world capital’.

: Another Christmas market, another selfie. What an awesome time we had with the kids in Berlin!