Column of Victory
Center of Construction
Alexanderplatz - downtown of what use to East Berlin
On the S-Bahn
PETA ad (there are vegetarians here)
Column of Victory
Center of Construction
Alexanderplatz - downtown of what use to East Berlin
On the S-Bahn
PETA ad (there are vegetarians here)
There is an incredible amount to do and see given the city's history and day to day activities as a growing metropolis. As I had been warned there is plenty of construction going on - some to existing structures but most to he new city center that lies between east and west Berlin. It was really neat to see the amount of money being pent to build everything and it is obvious that Berlin will be one of the great metropoliton cities of Europe and will be very interesting to visit about 10 years from now.
Of course at the top of the sightseeing list was "The Wall", what Berlin is probably best known for. Here's my short synopsis about the wall:
After the war, west Berlin was divided amongst the Allies - Russians, Americans, French and British. During the years following the war West Berlin had steadily been rebuilding itself, while East Berlin lagged way behind. Before the wall went up East Berliners were crossing the border to work in the west and thousands of people were leaving East Germany. Due to the outflux of labor and obvious political differences the wall was erected. The wall was erected within 24 hours sometime in 1969 by East Berlin then controlled by the Russians. The wall lasted throughout the Cold War and finally came down in 1989. The wall was "built", more like added onto over the first few years, while it was up 80 people died trying to escape and probably thousands escaped but of course there's no recorded number. Most of the wall is gone now but here and there in the city you can see a few remaining pieces, seeing the wall and understanding its' history is a tourist must.
Checkpoint Charlie
