Day 12: Berlin

This was our final day in Berlin. We started off with a visit to the Hauptbahnhof, since we had not actually been there yet.

This impressive structure was opened in 2006 - the original building had been built in 1871, destroyed in WWII and left abandoned by the DDR. The planning for the current building was started in 1992 and allows the station to accommodate North-South bound trains, as well as East-West bound trains with its multiple levels.






We met up with Trevor Biggs again today and he joined us for most of the day. We started at Alexander Platz with the Fernsehturm (TV tower).

From the top of the tower, you have a 360º view of the city - although it was a rather foggy day today, so that view did not extend very far. It was remarkable to see the clear difference in architecture between the former East and West German sides of the city.
In addition to the East German architecture,we were able to see the top view of the multiple Christmas Markets in the area - some in full swing and some still being set up.

We walked to the edge of the Spree, with the Museum Island on the opposite bank and visited the DDR Museum. This was a very interesting gem of a museum that depicted life for the average citizen in the DDR. You could sit inside a Trabi (Trabant - the East German car), see a closet full of typical East German clothes and sit on a (very uncomfortable) couch in an East German living room. We were able to get a real sense of the simplicity, or blandness, of life in the DDR.

Our next stop was the East Side Gallery. This is a 1.2 kilometer stretch of the Berlin Wall that has been preserved as an outdoor art gallery. In 1990, artists were commissioned to paint a section of the wall. Many of the artists have returned multiple times since then to refresh their paintings. Johnny was particularly disturbed by the huge amount of graffiti on top of the paintings - the gallery is out in the open with no one guarding it, but it still seems that it would be reasonable for people to respect the art displayed here. Another take on it is that the Wall is seen by many as the property of the people and therefore it is seen as their right to add their own graffiti.

Across the street from the end of the East Side Gallery, is O2 World - the ice hockey stadium where the Berlin's professional hockey team, the Eisbären Berlin play.

The Eisbären (polar bears) play in the 1. Bundesliga and have been the Deutsche Meister 6 times since 2006. It was a very fun event - the Germans definitely know how to do sports, including fireworks as the team was introduced! As Nicky said - 'and I thought that the only sport the Germans really cared about was soccer - I guess I was wrong!' Dave was particularly interested in the lack of national anthem to start the game - perhaps a remnant of Germany's continued reluctance to put nationalistic feelings in the limelight.

Tonight is a night of homework and packing, as we prepare to leave Berlin tomorrow morning and head onto our next adventure in Hamburg.