Before we reached Berlin we stopped for a few hours in Dresden to take in the sites. I got to see the most impressive porcelin painting on the side of a building. It miraculously survived the war. We walked into the main square and looked at the new church.
Apparently in WW2 it was bombed. Straight after that Dresden fell into Communist hands and the communists didn't believe that religion should have a place. The locals collected up all the rubble and put it into storage. When the communist regime fell the locals pulled out the remains of the church, looked at old photos of what it looked like, and rebuilt it.
We arrived into Berlin in the late afternoon and had a few hours to chill before we were heading out on a surprise visit to the Reichstag, the parliment building. When we eventually headed along, we were told that we needed to bring our passports with us. Jen had to book us in last week because it is a parliament building that had recently had threats. It is free to go and you can no longer go alone. You must go as part of a group tour and you must give details before you go. It was really spectacular. I got to see Berlin by night which was both good and bad. Good because it looks pretty all lit up, bad because it is night and you can only see a quarter of the city. But I am getting a head of myself. When we entered the building we had to go through several checkpoints and scanners before getting into an elevator that took us to the top floor. From there we recieve audio guides and could head out into the dome.
The dome is stunning. It is two paths the run all the way around from the bottom to the top. A bit like our behive in shape but entirely made of class. In the centre of the dome are 360 mirrors and the middle of the floor on the bottom level is made of glass so that you can stare down into the parliament house and watch what is happening. It is supposed to show that Germany has a transparent democracy. They don't ever want to go back to the dictarorshops and communist times so people are actually allowed to sit in on all sessions of parliament if they book a seat, and it is free.
We also got to see the open air museum of the Berlin wall. It has been painted with famous works of art all about peace and love and freedom and oppression. It was quite amazing and is 1km long. I really loved the art and my only wish is to come back and see it during the day time. I imagine the art would be quite stunning by day light.
This piece of art I am standing in front of is supposed to be a paiting of a famous photo of the Soviet and German diplomats sealing the deal on peace just after the berlin wall collapsed. It is how the Europeans do it apparently.
The next day we started off with a walking tour. That took about 3 hours. The tour guide was great and told us lots of stories. I got to stand on top of Hitler's Bunker, though not in it. The German government don't want to immortalise Hitler by opening the bunker to people. They also don't want to attract skin heads and the like who would flock to it. So, where I stood, was on the dirt about it. The ground is pretty gross and the tour guide told us that people walk their dogs on to it to do their business and drunks go out of their way after a night on the town to vomit and piss on that site, and no body blinks an eye. I liked that.
We visited the memorial to the murdered Jews of Germany. That was standing on a site that used to be Nazi garden for the elite. When it was first chosen as the site there was a lot of controvery over it, but they then decided that it was a good idea, becuase, although no Jews died on that site, it is a public road that hundreds of thousands walk down daily, and so it is a constant reminder of the German past. It is not hidden away somewhere obscure, but it is right there for all to see.
We also saw another part of the wall. Ironically, the wall that remains must be protected by another wall, to stop people from chipping away at it. We walked along it, and through the no-mans land between East and West Berlin. We saw the site where the Nazi burnt the books that were deemed to be anti-socialist.
Now stands, beneath the site a huge room full of empty bookshelves to show what they did. I also got to see the balcony where Micheal Jackson hung Blanket off, and Check Point Charlie. The tour guide told us some great stories about Check Point Charlie escapes. There was one man who lived in West Berlin but had a girlfriend in East Berlin. So he bought an Astin Martin (James Bond car) and drove it across the border. He had a special permit to study in East Berlin so could pass in and out once a day. When he go into East Berlin he put his girlfriends mother and her in the tiny boot then as they drove to the check point he put the pedel down. Because the car was so low, when he ducked down, the car went under the road blocks and he dodged around the blockades in No Man's Land. The soldiers and snipers on patrol were too amazed and dumbstruck to do more than watch.
In the afternoon, after the tour, Jodie, Jade, Calum and I went for a walk about. We went to the DDR Museum. It is an interactive museum where you learn about German Communist society and get to play with the stuff their. Really fascinating and learnt just how easy it is to create a fearmongering governement. Doesn't really take much at all, sadly.
We had lunch at a local restaurant that the locals seemed to eat at. I have CurryWurst. It was tasty, if not a slightly scandalous looking sausage covered in tomato sauce and curry powder. At the time it was lovely, a few hours later I was burping up CurryWurst. Not so pretty. We walked around for a wee bit longer, stopped off at a German Chocolate factory and then headed back to the hotel. I was supposed to be going out for an Eye Spy and Pub Crawl but I just couldn't do it. I wasn't sure which way that sausage was going.
Today we have had a very loooong drive from Berlin to Amsterdam. No exciting stops along the way, but what a night it will be tonight! We are booked into see a live sex show, and then for a walk along the red light district, before heading to a coffee house. Should be a laugh. I think pretty much everyone was going tonight. Should be entertaining. I will give you the blow by blow (pun intended) when I next update. Hahaha.
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