Wednesday, April 2, 2014

B is for Berlin


When talking about Berlin, I do not even know where to begin.  For much of my youth, Berlin was divided into East and West.  The stories of escapes from the East would always be of interest.  And then one day, the wall that surrounded all of West Berlin came down and Germany was united.  Now, visiting the city, it is hard to distinguish what was East and what was West.


There are remnants of the wall to be seen.


With interesting artwork:


There are markers in the street:







But it is certainly the buildings that make one stand in awe.  The steeple of the Kaiser Wilhelm Church, left, has been left as it was after the end of World War II.  But we also see the steeple of the Marienkirche in the Alexanderplatz., below.


And the French Cathedral in the Gendarmenmarkt Square in the Mitte section of Berlin is quite incredible.


This is in the square along with the German Cathedral and the Konzerthaus (pictured below).  And it was right across the street from the hotel where I stayed.


Mind you that the Mitte section was in EAST Berlin.  I never would have guessed from all the propaganda I heard in the 60's and 70's.

There are the iconic images we have all seen, such as the Brandenburg Gate


And the Reichstag Building


They have their own White House for their chancellor, too.


I spent days 13 and 14 here, not nearly enough time.  There is so much to see here that Berlin is definitely on my list to revisit.  Perhaps next year.

A and B are also for the Aare River and Berne, Switzerland, which I previously blogged about.  http://msdeniseh553.blogspot.com/2013/10/bern-on-aare-river.html

On my Bucket List:  Brazil

12 comments:

  1. I also grew in an era where there was East and west Berlin, and where we saw movies of great escapes. As a South African, there was a lot of propaganda about Communists then... that they wanted to take over the world... and they would invade South Africa. Ha!

    Berlin in your pics looks like such a beautiful city. It's great to hear that they manage to integrate into one city.
    Damaria from http://foodgardeningsa.blogspot.com

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  2. Lovely buildings and things about Berlin I did not know. The pictures was so petty. Thanks for sharing them and I would like to visit as well.

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  3. Berlin looks so beautiful and so clean. I particularly love the buildings. So much history and character on display here.

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  4. Considering that I was there during a four-day holiday for Reunification Day, it was very clean. The city was absolutely packed with people.

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  5. Been to Germany, never Berlin. It does look beautiful when you think of all the problems it went through after the second world war. I am glad some of the buildings survived in such good condition.

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  6. Berlin is one of the places on my Top 10 To Go list.

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  7. I've never been to Germany but once knew someone who had lived in the GDR (East Germany). Despite all the pre-wall-coming-down propaganda, she loved living there. Of course the wall coming down was a great thing, but it also changed a part of East Berlin that many people loved. Definitely on my 'to visit' list.
    :-)

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  8. Beautiful pictures. I'm in year 4 of retirement and have yet to travel there. It is on my list of places I need to go, but next year my B travel is Belize.

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  9. I spent one day in Berlin as part of a cruise almost fifteen years ago and have been eager to go back. Your pictures are terrific.

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  10. Visiting from A/Z; never been to Berlin, but thanks for sharing it here on your blog; I love the churches; so magnificent looking! Good luck with the rest of the challenge!

    betty

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    1. Thanks for visiting. I hope to get back there soon.

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  11. My mom was born in Wittenberg in 1928 about an hour away from Berlin. So much history and art and architecture there despite the bombings. Love that the symphony kept playing through the bombings and could be heard on the radio. It was said that Marlene Dietrich cried when she saw the ruins of the church because that is where she got married. A great film( but hard to find) is The Man Between. This is about the early years between East and West Berlin

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