Checkpoint
Charlie was the most famous border crossing point during the cold war
era. The original guard house (the one pictured below is a
reconstruction) can be seen in the 'Mauer Museum' (Wall museum) next door, along with a
comprehensive chronicle of Berlin's political and historical events
during the years of the division.
It's
presentation of the many different ways people escaped from the East to
the West makes the museum an interesting place to visit with children
too. Among the many original escape tools and implements are cars with
modified petrol tanks allowing a person to hide within, self made
chair-lifts, a miniature submarine, hot air balloons and many more.
Mauer Museum/Wall museum (open daily from 9am to 10pm)
Friedrichstraße 43-45,
10969 Berlin-Kreuzberg
Tel: +49 (0) 30 253 725 0
www.mauermuseum.de
Berlin tip #14 -East Side Gallery
In
the city center, the course of the former wall is marked with double
rows of cobblestones, and in some parts it has been left standing. The
longest remaining stretch runs for 1.3 km along
the river Spree near Mühlenstrasse. In 1990, more than a hundred
artists from across the world were invited to cover it with their
paintings, transforming it into a huge open air gallery.
One
of the East Side Gallery's most iconic artworks, the famous 'fraternal kiss' between Brezhnev and
Honnecker in 1979
The other side of the wall is covered in huge photographs, showing borders across the world which divide nations, religions, and political systems to this day.
Capsule pieces: white jeans and tank top, black long cascade wrap
Shoes: sand espadrille wedges
Accessories:
Hermès 'La Femme aux Semelles de Vent' 90 Carré worn as belt, clic H enamel bracelet in marron glacé and a 35 Kelly in
etoupe
Scarf tying method: Fold the scarf in the basic bias fold
and tie it around the waistband of your jeans.
A 'Trabi' car driving through the wall into freedom (the number plate marks the date the wall came down)
Mühlenstraße (near Oberbaumbrücke)
10243
Berlin
www.eastsidegallery.comBerlin tip #15 -Hotel de Rome
The
'Hotel de Rome' has Berlin's most beautiful rooftop terrace, which
makes it a perfect place to come for a drink on a summer evening. The
views over the city are breathtaking and the lounge breezy and modern.
The
downstairs bar and the Paroli restaurant are equally worth a visit, the
food and service are excellent, and the decor is beautiful.
Outdoor dining at the Paroli
pink flower arrangements on Wednesday night
The bar and velvet room
Capsule pieces: white jeans and printed silk tunic
Shoes: Oran sandals
Accessories:
Hermès clic H enamel bracelet in marron glacé, Lift pendant in horn and a 35 Kelly in
etoupe
white flower arrangements on Friday night
Dinner at Paroli Restaurant
Hotel de Rome
Behrenstraße 37
10117 Berlin (Mitte)
Tel: +40 (0) 30 460 60 90
www.hotelderome.com
Paroli Restaurant at the Hotel de Rome
www.hotelderomedining.com
End of the travelogue ~ Auf Wiedersehen Berlin!
sagenhaft !
ReplyDelete;-) Catherine
It truly was.. <3
DeleteThe Berlin posts were fabulous and you showed a lovely variety f spots to see! Especially love the pic of you looking so chic on your bike around concrete and still manages to accessorise accordingly with the etoupe Kelly :) x
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, dear CSW! Getting bikes was the best decision of the trip, we saw so much, and without torturing our feet ;-) It would have been a challenge to walk the length of the wall in the heat, and would have taken forever.. on two wheels it was a breeze!
DeleteIf that Wall could talk !! Interesting little foray into contemporary German history. And you look so stylish, cycling by in black-cream. Great pics, thanks, Madame Maitai.
ReplyDeleteCheers to you, Mandy
Many thanks, dear Mandy, so glad you enjoyed the pics. And yes, if only the wall could talk! You'd enjoy the Mauer Museum, it gives the wall a voice, and brings it all very close. A truly fascinating place. Hope you'll have a most wonderful week ahead!
DeleteOh dear MT i try many times to write comments but wifi in Greece is very capricious!
ReplyDeleteI try again. I was saying that we do not have only same tastes for the visits, museums etc etc
But we had a drink at your Hilton and were leaving at the hotel de Rome. You are superb rolling in front of B&H and you deserve a present from Hetmes you are the best advertising never seen.
I try to send once more otherwise I found you back in Gva soon.
Monica
Hope Greece has been wonderful, my dear Monica! How fun we’ve been to the same places, but then we always seem to be ;-) Thank you for the lovely comment, and see you back very soon! Amitiés
DeleteHi Maitai!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful travelogue! Someone mentionned, in the Venice travelogue . comments, that she associated that city with the movie "don't look now". The movies I had in mind when visiting Berlin the whole time were "Wings of Desire" and its sequel "far away, So Close". When gazing at the Siegessäule, I had to make sure Bruno Ganz as Cassiel wasn't actually sitting down atop the tower contemplating humanity to the sounds of U2's "far Away, So Close". Movies well Worth watching. Have you seen "Das Leben der Anderen"?
Take care,
Béatrice, Switzerland
Hello dear Béatrice! I’ve been thinking about the exact same movies! The sky has been incredibly blue during our entire stay, so I could not get the german title ‘Himmel über Berlin’ (Skies over Berlin) out of my head, humming U2 tunes while biking.. Das Leben der Anderen was really excellent too. Looking forward to re-watch all in upcoming cosy autumn evenings!
DeleteDear MT,
ReplyDeleteHow many days do you think would be required to see Berlin properly? Did you spend the whole two weeks there? Happy Retour à l'école for your DS and for you too! Thank you, beautiful Mai Tai!
The length of a visit so much depends what you like to do, your budget and how much stamina and time you have. Four nights already give you the chance to explore a lot, but you can easily fill twice the number of days and still find there is much left to see and discover. We stayed eight nights, which was perfect, especially since we travelled with our DS. I’m already looking forward to going back one day, and explore the things we missed this time!
DeleteDearest MaiTai
ReplyDeleteThis was a wonderful journey through Berlin! Thank you so much for sharing your experience, photographs and joie de vivre.
You look very beautiful with your pretty silk tunic, a perfect match to the enmamel bracelet in marron glacé and the Kelly in etoupe <3
Love the picture of you riding the bike in front of the huge photographs. Warm hugs, M xx
So happy you enjoyed the journey, my dearest Manuela, thank you for coming along! It was great fun to ride the bike along the wall... I shuddered slightly when thinking how long it would have taken to walk along it, back and forth. Have a wonderful remaining week <3
DeleteThanks for taking us to the Berlin tour! Renting the bike when long walks needed - oh, why nobody told it earlier to me?! Thanks for the idea, I walked many and long, almost never-ending distances without a real need, just a whisper with the right idea was needed to save my feet.
ReplyDeleteYou look beautiful as always in your combinations and it is to envy you that you had a chance to wear clothing with long sleeves in Berlin - during that time, weather in my region was resembling a boiling pot!
We are waiting for your further "tunic arrangements", I am sure it will look fabulous.
Love, Lea
Biking in Berlin was particularly fun, as it felt very safe.. it really was a huge success. DS loved it of course, and never complained of feeling tired or having had enough. ’Bike-a-bility’ has definitely become an important criteria for choosing a city destination, especially for trips ‘en familie’. Many cities also have bike stations, which is great too and very easy x
DeleteEinfach grandios!
ReplyDeleteIch hatte schon ein paarmal die Gelegenheit, in Berlin zu sein, aber das traumhafte Hotel de Rome und die wirklich witzigen Trabbi Touren kannte ich noch nicht!
Ein Grund, mal wieder dorthin zu fahren:-)
Und deine formidable Kelly in action zu sehen - ein weiteres highlight!
Danke und liebe Grüße
Barbara
Es freut mich sehr, dass Dir die Berlin Serie gefallen hat, liebe Barbara! Das Hotel de Rome gibt es erst seit 2006, ich kannte es vorher auch nicht.. Mit Kind war das Hilton ideal, aber für einen romantischen Kurztrip habe ich mir bereits das Rome vorgemerkt.. Die Trabi Tour war wirklich lustig, die Führungen sind mit einer guten Portion trockenen Humor gepfeffert! Liebe Grüsse
DeleteDear MaiTai,
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting for me - as a native Berlin citizen - to read what you were visiting in Berlin. Thanks for the Restaurant at the Reichstag, I have not been there and will sure try it since I wanted to visit the Reichstag for ages...My daugther went there with her school but I never did.
I have a tip for you as well, maybe for your next Berlin visit.
Do go and see the Max Liebermann Villa at Lake Wannsee.
It is a magical place where Max Liebermann spent most of his summers and where many of his beautiful pictures came to life. He had the villa and the garden build in the early 20th century.
For many years it had been the home of a diving school but now it is owned by the Max Liebermann Gesellschaft. House and garden have been renovated carefully and put back into the original pre-war condition.
When you stand at the shore of Lake Wannsee in bright sunshine in the late afternoon and look through the garden at the house you can have a
glance at many of Liebermanns original subjects.
The villa and the garden is an old Berlin place and every time I go there it feels like going back in time. I can only say it again, it is a magical place.
http://www.liebermann-villa.de/start.html
Have a nice week,
and greetings from Berlin,
Vivian
PS: Where did you learn such good German?
Dear Vivian, many thanks for sharing the wonderful tip about the Villa Liebermann! The Wannsee was actually one of the places on my list (particularely since the weather was so beautiful), but now I am glad we missed it... it would have been too sad to have been there, but not seen the Villa Liebermann! Love his paintings too, and look forward to seeing them in these beautiful surroundings one day. Re your question, ich bin halb Deutsche :-) Herzlichst, MT
Delete