Day 8 Berlin

Up early to travel to Berlin. We arrived at 11 am and our local guide met us at the Berlin Cathedral, which was an impressive building surrounded by huge museums and the Berlin Palace. The area was full of history and while the buildings all looked very old, most were reconstructions or restorations following the wars and the palace had actually only been completed last year. It was the same at the next square we came too which had huge embassy buildings and the impressive Brandenburger Gates. At this point we were given an hour for lunch. Surprisingly it was very hard to find a cafe or a toilet, both which we needed. Finally located one within a museum. We headed off in the bus a short distance to the Holocaust Memorial. In 1999, after lengthy debates, the German parliament decided to establish a central memorial site, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The competition to design it was won by the New York architect Peter Eisenman. The memorial was ceremonially opened in 2005.
On a site covering 19,000 square metres, Eisenman placed 2711 concrete slabs of different heights. The area is open day and night and from all four sides you can fully immerse yourself in the fully accessible spatial structure. The memorial is on a slight slope and its wave-like form is different wherever you stand. The uneven concrete floor gives many visitors a moment of giddiness or even uncertainty. Its openness and abstractness give you space to confront the topic in your own personal way. The sheer size of the installation and its lack of a central point of remembrance call into question the conventional concept of a memorial. It was amazing- not just for its size but the feeling there was reverent and eery as you walked up and down each isle. We then moved to the most famous carpark in Berlin! Actually it was the site of Hitlers bunker where he died. Very interesting history and there is not one thing to say what was significant about this spot as it’s a way of saying we must never celebrate anything he did. Our next stop was the German Resistance Memorial where a lone man stands waiting to be shot. Moving on we came to the only bit of the Berlin wall still standing. It was actually very very cool with artists having added their work to each section. We loved it. Finally we were at Checkpoint Charlie. It was a hugely busy intersection of road with many sounvenur shops.
Back on the bus we arrived at the hotel very cold and tired. We rested up with a lovely drink in the bar before heading off for a drive around Berlin to see the lights and then dinner in a local restaurant. It was packed and ended up being a very enjoyable night with lots of laughing, singing and dancing. We have one more day in Berlin which takes us to the top of the TV tower - bracing myself for the lift ride as not loving the lifts!Read more