Michael’s 48 Hours in Berlin
My last trip to Berlin was almost 20 years ago as part of a corporate group for the 2006 World Cup, so I’d been looking for an excuse to go back and explore the city on my own terms and in particular, the history of Berlin leading up to and including the Second World War, the subsequent Cold War and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall. The tourist trail in Berlin is heavily focused on these three things, with constant reminders around the city of the pivotal role Berlin played in world events at various points throughout the last century.
Getting There
Travelling from a UK airport to Berlin is simple. Our short, 2-night stay meant we only needed a carry-on bag, so no bag drops on departure and no wait for luggage on arrival. The new Berlin Brandenburg Airport is a modern marvel, run with friendly efficiency, getting passengers through the airport as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
To get into the City Centre, you can take the Airport Express train, leaving every 30 minutes for Berlin Central Station, a regional train, or a taxi, all of which take around 35 minutes. After a quick taxi ride to our hotel and dropping our bags, we headed to Berlin’s best-known and prettiest street, Unter der Linden, both to get our bearings and to see the Brandenberg Gate, Berlin’s most photographed landmark. It’s also close to the 5-Star Adlon Hotel, scene of Michael Jackson’s infamous baby-dangling-off-balcony episode. We headed for a quick bite to eat, then back to the hotel to prepare for what would be two busy and thought-provoking days.
Day 1
Guided Tour
We’d pre-booked a ‘Hitler’s Berlin – the rise and fall’ group guided tour, ably led by a charismatic Scot, who successfully corralled our eclectic group, who came from as far afield as Nebraska, Paris, Korea and even, surprisingly, the Shetland Islands.
We headed for the Reichstag; severely damaged by fire in 1933, then targeted by the Red Army in 1945 during the Battle for Berlin. The Reichstag is now rebuilt and topped by a glass dome with a rooftop terrace. Entry to the Reichstag is free, you only need to pre-book your entry time. From the Reichstag we crossed the road to the Tiergarten, Berlin’s 500-acre public park, where you’ll find the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe, the Victory Column, and the Soviet War Memorial. If you need an animal-based break from history, Berlin Zoo is on the south-west corner of the park.
From the Tiergarten we moved to the site of Hitler’s Bunker, now a shabby car park overlooked, incongruously, by a Bubble Tea shop. Then a short distance away, a moving visit to the Jewish Memorial, a sea of abstract blocks and pillars, with a design deliberately left open to personal thought and interpretation.
Wilhelmstrasse runs south from Unter der Linden and was the site of most of the Nazi offices and headquarters with all but the former Luftwaffe building long since destroyed. Large signs along the street explain which Nazi building stood where, before they were destroyed during the war.
We passed the memorial to George Elser, who attempted to assassinate Hitler in Munich in 1939, then on to where the SS and Gestapo headquarters once stood; now the Topography of Terror exhibition, which charts the rise of the Nazis and their control and persecution of those they saw as enemies. Like many of the exhibitions in Berlin, this was free and took the form of panels with photographs and descriptions, following a timeline of events, with an optional, free, audio guide.
Continuing south down Wilhelmstrasse, we passed a car park disgorging a snake of Trabants off on a driving tour which looked like fun, then a left turn, past gift shops and street vendors selling Soviet and East German souvenirs (fake piece of the Berlin Wall anyone?) before reaching Checkpoint Charlie, a former crossing point between East and West Berlin. It’s worth a visit as a good photo opportunity, but you don’t need to spend a long time here.
It was now late afternoon, so we decided to leave behind history for the day and visit the Mall of Berlin, a huge, modern, multi-story shopping mecca filled with the usual brands, plus numerous coffee shops, and restaurants. If you need some retail therapy, this is by far the best option in central Berlin.
Day 2
House of the Wannsee Conference
We took the train to Wannsee, a pretty lakeside town located around 30km from the centre of Berlin. It was, and is, an exclusive holiday destination for wealthy Germans and Berliners with extravagant villas dotted around the lake. Wannsee is now also inextricably linked with the 1942 Wannsee Conference, where the SS and Nazi Government met to plan their horrific Final Solution. The Italianate mansion where the conference took place is home to an exhibition about the conference, with the opportunity to also explore the mansion’s grounds. 400m away is the villa of renowned German artist, Max Lieberman, also now an exhibition with over 200 of his paintings on display. The visit took around 4 hours in total, including travel. The S-Bahn, S1 or S7 trains link central Berlin to Wannsee then it’s a 114 bus between the Wannsee Conference House and the station.
When we got back to Berlin we walked from the station to the Book Burning Memorial at Bebelplatz, where a glass plate has been set into the cobbles, looking into an underground room, with empty bookshelves.
Then onto the Berlin Story Bunker, located in an original Second World War bunker with its ‘Hitler – how could it happen’ exhibition. This is privately run and costs 14 euros for entry. The bunker’s multiple rooms, over three floors, charted Germany’s economic problems in the 1920’s, the rise of the Nazi Party, Hitler, and the subsequent war. An audio guide and headphones were included in the entry fee.
At this point, blisters were appearing, so our final foray was a bike taxi (a modern rickshaw) through the Tiergarten to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, located by the entrance to Berlin Zoo and the symbolic centre of what was West Berlin. The partially restored church now stands as a peace memorial.
And it was here that our quickfire 48-hour tour of Berlin ended and we headed back to the airport for a late flight back to Edinburgh.
If you have an interest in history, and particularly the more challenging periods of the 20th century, then Berlin is a must-visit destination. The subject matter, photography, and descriptions at many of the exhibitions have an emotional weight, so bear this in mind and take breaks should you feel the need.
To find out more about Michael’s visit to Berlin or if you’re interested in a similar trip,
give the team a call on 0131 243 8098, send us an email or say hello on live chat.
