Germany-Berlin My Travel Journal Part-3

While teaching to my students about Europe History;I've always been interested in Berlin's history, I never thought I would Visit Berlin.Berlin may be the most unique destination I’ve visited yet.This trip we went with My daughters friend family and we enjoyed lot. Berlin is a gigantic city. I knew it was big, but until I decided to explore it I never knew just how big. Where the streets have a story to tell in the form of art. 

 

It is the city where the roadside paintings speak louder than the road signs. Alternative travellers and those that like to investigate unknown places around town, including abandoned houses, street art, forgotten cemeteries and silent reminders of the horrors of war and museums artefacts dating back thousands of years.

 

 From the early days of Prussian nationalism to the days of the Nazi regime, the devastation of World War and divided by communism with the Berlin Wall and finally reunited. the division as part of the Cold War, Then there’s the modern vibrant, multicultural culture of street art and global music. Berlin is the perfect place for a crash course in European history. . In Berlin you cannot just see history, you can touch and feel it with every turn.

Spree River

One thing I inspired River-living is great and soothes the soul. As far as Berlin is concerned the river called the River Spree, is the heart of the city. 

 

A truly extraordinary long River that stretches throughout Berlin,on the banks of which there are many beautiful buildings and structures. From any side the view on the river is so beautiful. food,drinks around the grassy meadow chill breeze with Wonderful atmosphere.Berlin is covered with parks, forests, fields, rivers, lakes and canals makes the city most beautiful capitals in the world.

Bradenburg Gate

One of the most popular landmarks in Germany is the Bradenburg Gate, located in the heart of Berlin.  It’s almost always crawling with tourists, but it's also a pretty epic place to watch. On the River Spree, at the Brandenburg Gate, you will see sitting atop the gate, a striking statue of a girl with 4-horse chariot.

 

 The Berlin Quadriga was designed in 1793 and features the Goddess of peace. Napoleon once took the figure to France after the war as a sign of his victory, but it was returned to Berlin in 1814 after the European allies thwarted Napoleon. The Goddess has always faced east, the way into the city of Old Berlin.

Berlin Cathedral Church

 

The magnificent dome of the Cathedral Church (Berliner Dom) is one of the main landmarks in Berlin’s cityscape and marks the spot of the impressive basilica housing the city’s most important Protestant church. 

 

With its elaborate decorative and ornamental designs, the church interior is especially worth seeing.

Berlin TV tower

 

also known as Fernsehturm Berlin, gives the best 360-degree view of Berlin. It can hardly stay unnoticed as it is the highest building in the city!

Checkpoint Charlie

 

 Checkpoint Charlie was the best-known border crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. At the height of the Berlin Crisis in 1961 U.S. and Soviet tanks faced each other here.

East Side Gallery

Berlin is the capital city of Germany, but it is better known for its intense history and it being within the Soviet zone post the World War II. There was once a wall within Berlin that divided the city and separated the East and the West. It was the Berlin Wall. Not much remains of the wall, but the graffiti covered East Side Gallery was once a part of the Berlin Wall. 

 

East Side Gallery Berlin is a 1316-meter long gallery where 105 paintings by artists all over the globe can be found. Walking past the artwork is like reading in a book. An universal book of art with only very few words. 

 

Understood by most who believe in freedom and brotherhood and good wishes for future generations.

 

 It’s the perfect place to take your kids to, to show them how people now and then shared the same hopes and dreams.

Holocaust Memorial.

Another of our stops was to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, or the Holocaust Memorial. Designed by NY architect Peter Eisenman, The memorial has to be experienced by for 6 million people who died a horrible death while walking through. 

 

You’ll find that the paths between the blocks or stele it consists of 2,711 of different sizes and shapes, not two of them alike are very narrow and uneven.T he blocks are made of concrete and coated with anti-graffiti-paint. Some of them are very low, others are taller than a full-grown man. . The memorial is made up of concrete slabs designed to create a feeling o confusion and unease as you wander through them.

Reichstag

Reichstag building in Berlin that is the meeting place of the Bundestag (“Federal Assembly”), the lower house of Germany’s national legislature. One of Berlin’s most famous landmarks, it is situated at the northern end of the Ebertstrasse and near the south bank of the Spree River.

 

 It’s located a short walk away from the Brandenburg Gate and has a vast lawn stretching out in front of it. The Reichstag original dome was damaged during World War II, the modern home of the German parliament: the Reichstag, one of Berlin’s most iconic buildings. Designed by Paul Wallot in 1894, this is where the German parliament, the Bundestag, has been hammering out its policies since 1999.

The Oberbaum bridge, which crosses the Spree River, acted as a border between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

 

 There are many green spaces, boutique shops and a big cafe scene. You’ll also find historical landmarks (including a small piece of the Berlin Wall), pre-war architecture and a wide variety of cuisines.

 

The Aquarium Berlin next to the Zoological Garden is one of the most species-rich aquariums in the world. In addition to fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects live in the historic building.

One of the things that surprised and impressed me the most while wandering around Berlin was cycling infrastructure, Berlin is a true cyclist’s city. 

Cyclists come out at all times of day and night, There is a network of city shared bikes available from Call-a-Bike. these bikes are the ideal way to traverse the city as you take in the sights.

But from what we saw during our trip, we were very impressed. People danced, smoked, drank, painted, played music, rode bikes, and basically just enjoyed life. Wherever you choose to walk in Berlin, you’ll be treated to impressive architecture, colourful street art, and a local’s experience of the city. 

 

And then there’s also the futuristic architecture, the bright street art, the hip boutiques and galleries, the vibrant culture and museums, the eclectic food scene, and of course the exhilarating nightlife.All of which was considered “normal”, and no one batted an eye or seemed to judge one another.This city truly has something for everyone, and an ambience which is unmatched by anywhere else. We can’t wait to return to explore some more.