A bit of Berlin

Scott writes:
Day 50

It was a very busy day. As usual it started by waking up with Emma's face a good 6 inches from mine, asking if she can go on the i-pad.

We are staying in the area of Mitte, which is pretty handy to most things. It is in the old East German part of Berlin. We first went to visit Checkpoint Charlie and get some photos by the US checkpoint. We spent a long time in the Checkpoint Charlie museum, which was actually set up shortly after the wall was erected in 1961. It has lots of boards in both German and English and explains the history very well, from the end of WWII through to the demolition of the wall in 1989 and beyond. There were numerous escape stories as well as some tragic ones about split families and those in the east being sent to prison for years simply for applying to go to the west. There were some cars with incredibly small hiding places, including one with a fake petrol tank into which a person would crush themselves. At the end was a movie set around the events of 1989 which the children enjoyed.

We headed towards Potsdam Platz stopping at the Topography of Terror. It has a large section of the Berlin wall maintained there and is sitting on the site of the old Gestapo headquarters. It was a series of boards that explained the start of the Nazis from the Weimar republic through to Hitler's rise to power in 1933, the establishment of the Gestapo and the atrocities committed against gypsies, jews, homosexuals, political dissidents, cripples and intellectually disabled people and anyone else they did not like. While we were there the heavens opened and it thundered down for about 30 minutes, including thunder and lightning. The place was open air with a roof, so everyone crowded at the back to avoid the splashes.

Lunch at Potsdam Platz was followed by a walk around the square. We hadn't gone far before we stumbled across the Spy Museum. James thought this sounded pretty good so in we went. It isn't really on any tourist guide so we didn't even know it was there. But it was a great display of the history of spying. Even the children were reading the boards and loving the minature cameras and radios hidden in shoes - very Maxwell Smart. Berlin was the perfect location for a lot of spy activity throughout the cold war. There were also some interactive displays including one where you had to work your way through security lasers without triggering the alarm. Emma was the best. There was a big display on James Bond too, for a bit of light relief.

We dropped back at the apartment to get jumpers (but still enjoying a cool 22 degrees after the extreme heat and humidity of Rome) and headed for the Brandenburg gate. One the way we stopped at the Jewish Memorial, a giant artwork dedictaed to the 6 million Jews who lost their lives in WWII. Apparently it is not the done thing for the children to stand on the works and jump from one to another because the edges are sharp.

We are still getting used to the German manner. In NZ we would call them rude but the German way is just abrupt. We have noticed angry honking on horns when people don't follow the rules in their cars. One cyclist hissed at us because we were sat down on a garden but in the cycle lane (we thought it was the footpath).  We were clearly tourists, laden down with bags and children but no niceties here - just hissing or bell ringing.  They don't mean to be rude, just efficient using the minimum effort to get their message across... Jimmy didnt miss a beat and hissed back.

The Brandenburg gate was impressive.  Holly James and Emma joined in a flashmob dance with a group. We then headed through the park (and a quick look at the small memorial to the gypsies killed by the Nazis) down to a large tower built in honour of the victories that brought about the German state. We climbed the stairs to the top for great views of Berlin. What would a day be in Western Europe be without climbing a few hundred stairs?

A quick beer and icecreams (to hastily undo all the good work from our climb) and we caught a bus to Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe), the largest department store in Europe. Time to lock away the credit card, although I might have purchased a polo shirt or two. We went to the sixth floor which, if you are a foodie, will be your idea of heaven. It is massive, has just about every nice and high end food and drink imaginable, including the most massive array of cheeses and meats, little champagne bars, a seafood area - you can pick your own fish from the tank, and a huge sweet shop.

Amongst all this high end food they also have about 20 mini restaurants, seating 20-30 people selling just one thing, ie a steak bar, the next one is seafood bar, the next chicken and chips and then a salad bar etc.  We sampled some ox tongue (which James was keen to try) and some chocolates and then went all German and had sausages and beer for dinner (kids had water). We tried all manner of sausages and just had bites of each together with a side of sauerkraut.

We took the Uban (underground train) back to our apartment. There is a supermarket next door so the children went in there and purchased some sweets.

All in all a busy day, but a very good one. Berlin just seems so easy to be a tourist in and we are enjoying little things like signs that actually lead to the thing you are looking for, relatively uncrowded attractions, and beautiful green open spaces.