Our European Adventure: Memorial Weekend In Berlin

Berlin

Over Memorial weekend Ryan and I went to Berlin. We left late Friday morning and arrived in Berlin around 4:00. After checking into our hotel we spent the evening at Jewish Museum. Architect Daniel Libeskind who also designed the Denver Art Museum designed the museum. Ryan was very excited to check out this architectural marvel.

Inside Jewish Museum

Kaiser Wilhelm New Memorial Church

Saturday we left our hotel early to check out the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The church was built in the 1890’s and was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained and its ground floor has been made into a memorial hall. Unfortunately, the entire building is being renovated and we were not able to see it. Instead we were able to visit the hexagonal new church. After our visit to the church we went on a four-hour walking tour of Berlin. During our walking tour we learned a lot about the history of the city. Regrettably we spent our entire walking tour in drenching rain, but we were still happy to see the city with the help of a guide.

Checkpoint Charlie

During our tour we witnessed sights such as Hitler’s underground bunker (which is now a parking lot), the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Museum Island, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Cathedral, Checkpoint Charlie, Unter den Linden Boulevard, World War I Memorial, Reichstag (Parliament) building, what remains of the Berlin Wall, and the Nazi Air Ministry. In the afternoon following our walking tour we were tired of being in the rain and opted for an indoor activity. We spent the afternoon in the information museum, which lies under the Holocaust Memorial. The museum is devoted to those who suffered and died during the Holocaust. We found it interesting reading diary entries, letters, and last notes written during the Holocaust.

Pergamon Alter

Sunday morning it was still raining, but not as hard as most of the day Saturday. Not wanting to spend yet another day in the rain we headed over to Museum Island. This is a piece of land that is surrounded by the Spree River. There are multiple museums in this location, hence the name Museum Island. We decided to wander through the Pergamon Museum. This museum building was completed in 1930 and contains the Pergamon Alter, Market Gate of Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. The Roman artifacts and reconstructions housed in this museum were impressive.

The Babylon Gate Reconstruction

The Babylon Gate reconstruction contains some original artifacts and dates back to 6^th century BC. When we left the museum we were pleasantly surprised to find it was not raining. We took the opportunity to head over to the East Side Gallery. This is a 4,000-foot section of the Berlin Wall located near the center of Berlin. The gallery is on the east side of the wall and consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world. We enjoyed looking at the paintings and taking a few creative pictures of our own using the wall as a backdrop.

East Side Gallery

Sony Center

Following our visit to the gallery we concluded our sightseeing for the day at the Topography of Terror Museum. The museum is located on the foundation where the Nazi SS and Gestapo HQ stood. This museum is dedicated to those who died at the hands of the SS and Gestapo. There was lots of information regarding the history, formation, crimes, and photos of the unspeakable acts these two groups committed during and before WWII. After we were finished at the museum we walked over to the Sony Center. This building was completed in 2000 and was built on what originally was the bustling city center in the early 20^th century. Most of the buildings were destroyed during WWII and from 1961 on became part of the “No Man’s Land” of the Berlin Wall. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the square became part of a redevelopment effort for the area. After taking in the building and grabbing a bite to eat at an Australian restaurant we decided to see a movie. We can’t often say we saw a movie in Berlin.

Original Section of Berlin Wall

Holocaust Memorial

Monday morning we were elated to wake up and find the sun shining in our windows. Since it was Memorial Day we took time to visit the Holocaust Memorial again. We spent time enjoying the sunshine and walking around Berlin and its parks. We walked around Tiergarten Park, which was once the Royal Hunting Grounds. In the park we walked around a Soviet War Memorial. This memorial was built to commemorate the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who fell during the Battle of Berlin in 1945. Several of these soldiers are buried in the park. After the division of the city following WWII this communist memorial ended up in West Germany. The monument was under constant guard by Soviet soldiers until 1993. Even though the weather was not idea we enjoyed our weekend in Berlin. We were able to see so many things and learn about the history of the city during WWII and the Cold War Era’s. This is a city we would like to make a return visit.