Berlin Highlights

Berlin is one of my favourite European cities. Teeming with history, modern history, art, architecture and natural beauty, it’s trendy, gritty, modern, quirky and ultra-cool.

I spent 5 days exploring Berlin’s 8 central neighbourhoods, and more. It was a jam-packed, non-stop few days. These are a few highlights from my trip.

Brandenburg Gate By Day

The Brandenburg Gate was one of my first stops in Berlin, and definitely one of my highlights. Once, the main gateway between a divided city, the site has so much historical significance it’s unreal. This is the place where Ronald Reagan famously told Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!” Now it’s one of Germany’s most well-known and iconic landmarks. It’s also one of Berlin’s major tourist attractions.

My favourite thing to do at the Gate was people watch. While I was there, a wedding party posed for photographs, a bagpiper set up stage in the middle of Pariser Square and played his pipes for delighted onlookers (including me!) and Greek tourists danced the Zorba.

Brandenburgh Gate At Night

Not satisfied with seeing the Brandenburg Gate during the day, I was compelled to go back (more than once) at night. This is why…

Tiergarten

Tiergarten, for me, is Berlin’s answer to Central Park. It’s a massive green space in the heart of bustling Berlin. It spans 2.5 square kilometres of stunning park land, paths, lakes and memorials. A lovely place to while away a couple of hours, especially on a sunny day.

Holocaust Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial is situated on the road between Potsdamer Platz and The Brandenburg Gate, adjacent to the East side of Tiergarten.

Perhaps it’s odd to say that a memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe was one of the highlights of my trip. But it’s such a simple yet thought provoking and powerful memorial that it really does merit its place on this list.

I contemplated what the Memorial represented as I wandered slowly and silently through the labyrinth of around 200 different sized stone pillars, each representing thousands of murdered Jews. It felt eerie, disorientating and oppressive and I felt a great sense of entrapment, sorrow, loss and loneliness – which I think is perhaps the point.

 

Gedenkstatte Berliner Mauer

This was the surprise highlight for me.  My plan was to visit MountMitte, an outdoor adventure park and obstacle course in Scheunenviertel.

First, I’d spend half an hour at Gedenkstatte Berliner Mauer, an open-air memorial on Bernauer Strasse, a street made famous for the many escape attempts both over and under the Berlin Wall. The Memorial is nearly 1.5 km long and commemorates those who were killed during their attempts to escape East Berlin, as well as telling stories of those who succeeded.

I didn’t know that the Berlin Wall was actually two walls. Between the two concrete walls was an area known as the ‘death strip’. The death strip was a ‘no man’s land’, up to 150 metres wide in places.  It contained watchtowers patrolled by armed guards, barbed wire, electric fences, trip wire machine guns and vicious guard dogs. Many of those who attempted to cross the wall were shot or left to bleed to death on barbed wire fences.

For me, the highlight of Gedenkstatte Berliner Mauer were the stories and photos of the people of Bernauer Strasse who escaped East Berlin by sliding down ropes, or jumping from their apartments into rescue nets held by the West Berlin Fire Department.  Sadly, there were also heartbreaking stories of families separated by the wall. Photos showed wedding celebrations taking place on one side of the wall with family members perched precariously on ladders on the other side to get a glimpse of sons, daughters, siblings or other friends or relatives. You could see the desperation and heartbreak on each of their faces.

So compelled was I to walk the length of the Gedenkstate Berliner Mauer, I didn’t have time to go to MountMitte in the end.

East Side Gallery

The East Side Gallery is a 1.3 km section of the Berlin Wall situated in Friedrichshain on the banks of the River Spree. It’s an international memorial to freedom and the world’s largest open air mural collection with more than 100 paintings by artists from all over the world.

Everyone has seen pictures of the famous painting ‘The Kiss’ by Dimitri Vrubel but there are so many more.

Museum Island

Across the Palace Bridge at the East side of Unter Den Linden, Museum Island is itself a work of art. UNESCO recognised, Museum Island is a repository of five of the world’s most celebrated museums situated on an island in the middle of the River Spree.

Mauerpark

Mauerpark, a public park in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin, embraces the unconventional. Interestingly, Mauerpark translates to ‘wall park’ a reference to its historical status as part of the Berlin Wall’s death strip. Today, Mauerpark is a cool place to hang out, socialise and enjoy the great outdoors and free entertainment.

Sunday afternoons at Mauerpark are the best. Budding street artists add their mark to remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, locals and tourists gather in Mauerpark’s ampitheatre to watch or take part in the now famous outdoor ‘Bearpit Karaoke Show’, street entertainers wow large crowds with music, comedy, escapism, acrobatics, street-dancing and more.

It’s simple, good old fashioned entertainment and best of all it’s free.

Strandbad Wannsee

A beach, just 45 minutes by direct train from Central Berlin.

A 10 minute walk from S Bahnhof Nikolassee station, through a paved section of forest, Strandbad Wannsee is surrounded by nature and feels a million miles away from the bustling centre of Berlin. There’s an entry fee of €5.50 (student and other discounts apply) but once inside, it’s clear to see why. It’s immaculate. A long beach lines Wannsee Lake with cute wicker beach chairs dotted around the sand. There are also changing and shower facilities and a few food outlets. Strandbad Wannsee was a great find, and a beautiful way to spend a few hours in Berlin.