Lee’s World
Berlin
Whilst I had changed
planes in Germany frequently, I hadn't visited a German city properly for
over 25 years. So in August 2008, I paid my first, and long overdue, visit
to Berlin.
Berlin proved to be an
interesting city, with no real centre to it given it's divided history. The
landmark which most people come to see, of course, no longer exists to any
extent, but traces of the Wall can still be found. Equally, can be found
memorials to those who died trying to escape East Berlin.
Berlin does not try to forget it's past - it was not only divided in the 1960s for three decades, but was also the base of Hitler's government in the 1930s and 40s. I found particularly moving a visit to the Wall Documentation Centre and Memorial on BernauerStrasse, and to Topography of Terrors site reminding visitors of Hitler's rise to power and the horrors perpetuated by the Nazis.
There are so many modern
buildings in the city - many of which are built on the former "death strip"
by the Wall. Some of it works well, and some not quite so
well.
Potsdamer Platz is all a bit of a mixture despite having well known
architects designing it - the view from the Daimler Chrysler Building's
viewing gallery is worth taking in though. The government buildings around
the Reichstag work better. Sadly I couldn't get into the Reichstag given the
queues - it's top of my list for my next visit. And Frank Gehry's interior
for the DZ Bank headquarters is just fabulous.
Other buildings that
stood out for me were Mies van der Rohe's Neue
Nationalgalerie at the Kulturforum, Walter Gropius' Bauhaus-Archiv (and its
collection of mid-century modern), and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
Sadly the weather wasn't great when I was there and I didn't get done all that I'd hoped. But then that's a good enough reason to return.
For the trip I stayed at the Esplanade Grand Hotel - a great hotel opposite the Bauhaus-Archiv. Also found Cafe Einstein which served wonderful Wiener Schnitzel.