Berlin Day 4: Sightseeing

7th October 2009

I know I haven't shown any of the sightseeing I've done in Berlin in my previous entries. That is because I really didn't have much time to spare previously. Now with the competition over and no other responsibilities, I was determined to see all the must-see landmarks before I leave this beautiful city.

Important places to go.

On our official full last day here, we walked SO MUCH. Basically, we took the train to a stop and then just walked and walked. I was playing 'follow-the-leader' with Zul and Francoise, but without knowing it, we arrived in Bebelplatz, a public square south of Unter den Linden.

The Bebelplatz is best known as the site of the book burning ceremony held on May 10, 1933 by members of the S.A. and Nazi youth groups. The Nazis burned around 20,000 books, including works by Thomas Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx and many other authors.

I always find book-burning as one of the many sorry acts instigated during the communist rule. They have a monument there called The Night of Shame: empty bookshelves, enough to hold all 20,000 burned books, visible below the pavement.

Surrounding Bebelplatz are the Old Library, the Royal Opera House, St. Hedwig's Cathedral, and across the road, Humboldt University.

From there, we walked down Unter den Linden and came into face with a statue of Frederick II of Prussia.

Behind Frederick II is a tree-lined avenue with benches on the sides that is so typical in pictures of temperate countries.

Next stop, Pariser Platz: a square in the center of Berlin, situated by the Brandenburg Gate at the end of the Unter den Linden, named after the French capital Paris in honour of the Allied occupation of Paris in 1814.

During the last years of World War II, all of the buildings around the square were turned to rubble by air raids and heavy artillery bombardment. The only structure left standing in the ruins of Pariser Platz was the Brandenburg Gate, which was restored by the East Berlin and West Berlin governments. After the war and especially with the construction of the Berlin Wall, the square was laid waste and became part of the death zone dividing the city.

It is amazing that all these actually happened, and it was actually a 'death zone'. because setting foot on Pariser Platz, it doesn't even look like it at all. The area has been completely restored to its former glory, flanked by the American and French embassies, the Adlon Hotel, the Academy of the Arts, and several blocks of apartments and offices.

And finally, Brandenburg Gate! The symbol of Berlin and Germany! Built as a sign of peace in 1791, it is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin.

Brandenburger Tor is a site of many historical events. If you wikipedia it, you can see a series of photos, from a painting of Napoleon's entrance to Berlin, to before, during, and after the infamous Berlin Wall. This was where people gathered in 1989 when the Cold War ended and the Wall came down to reunite East and West Berlin.

I saw part of what's left of the Berlin Wall on the East side the day we were heading to Estrel.

A block from Brandenburg Gate is the Reichstag, where the country's parliament is situated. And across the road, Tiergarten, is a large park in the centre of the city. And here I got a very very rare shot :)

Berlin is a very beautiful city, rich with history and monuments. It would have been great if I had more time there because there is SO MUCH to see! What I saw was just the tip of the iceberg of sights in the city.

I actually do miss that place, and everything else I didn't get to see. Next time ;) And I would really love to go with my parents. I bet Dad is a built-in guide on all things WWII.



Auf Wiedersehen Berlin,