Following on from Coleshed’s last post (Christo & Jean-Claude, ermine moths and Lady Chatterley) which featured the Reichstag building, it seemed a good opportunity to revisit Berlin from photos taken on a trip a few years ago.
This was pre-pandemic. Just a quick trip with a couple of hours of hasty sightseeing thrown in. So, little more than a taster, but what a city! … so much vivid history and so much vivid culture.
A great deal has been written about Berlin, and most is more eloquent than this post….but hopefully a few words and photos will inspire a little…..
Much of the place has been re-born and rebuilt following the war and more recently, following the reunification after the falling of the wall.
This post (part 1) shares a few big historical sights. Part 2, to follow, looks at some newer sights (and sites).
Part 1
First stop
Near Potsdamer Platz. The holocaust memorial (The Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe).
The memorial covers a large area right in the centre of Berlin. It comprises 2711 large concrete blocks (stelae) all identical in footprint, but varying in height.
Initially, it was not clear what to make of this large area, covered by these ‘simple’ blocks of concrete… however more time spent and further investigation reveals more.
As you walk further into the centre, the ground dips away and the blocks are taller, towering above you. This creates a very different experience. It becomes darker, more intense and more oppressive. It’s very powerful.
Much to reflect on. Essential.
Second stop
Potsdamer Platz: pieces of the old Berlin Wall.
I don’t suppose many of us ever stopped to think about how the Berlin wall was made. I think I had always imagined it to be like a prison wall, huge and 10 meters tall. It’s actually not like that at all.
Now dismantled, the wall was made of pre-fabricated concrete sections. It’s much smaller than I had expected, but then again, you would have needed a ladder to get over it, and you’d have had to cross no-mans land to get there. Frightening stuff. And in such recent history.
Now of course sections of the wall have become a tourist attraction.
A local guy dresses up in a Russian (?) uniform to pose for photos (for money – though there was no budget allocated to this post for tipping him on this occasion)
Tourists also stick their chewing gum to sections.
I’ve seen this before. Its a bit like animals scent marking.
Strange when you think about it, but the cumulative effect becomes something like a piece of art!
Third stop
The Brandenberg Gate
This photo is taken from the ‘East German’ side.
Fourth Stop
The Reichstag building
I particularly like the meeting of old and new architecture. The original building had been severely damaged by fire in 1933, and was only partially restored in the 1960’s.
The full restoration was undertaken after German reunification. This restoration, including the glass done, was led by sir Norman Foster and completed in 1999.
The building now houses the German federal parliament the Bundestag.
Part 2 to follow…
Auf wiedersehen for now
coleshed 