Berlin from 15 Years Ago | Experiences | Old Stories | Things to do | Places to see

Here is a list of lesser-known as well as well-known places of interest in Berlin. These Berlin attractions remain in the list of ‘must see places in Berlin’ for most of the tourists and travelers. The following list of best places to see in Berlin has attractions from all the corners such as historical attractions, nature, wildlife, world war attractions, modern attractions, attractions from science etc. So, let’s a look at each of these attractions.

Brandenburg Tor or Gate

Brandenburg Tor is one of the very famous monuments to see in Berlin. If you go there, you will hear a lot of interesting stories about this place from the guides. Try to go there in the evening. It looks golden and there is a lot of happening around the place. Near to Brandenburg tor, there are other famous places also like Tiergarten, Reichstag building, Embassies of the different countries and some of the very famous hotels.

The Brandenburg Gate, also known as Brandenburg Tor, is a must see tourist places in Berlin. Brandenburg gate has played a major role in the history of Berlin and Germany. When the Berlin was divided among four nations after the second world war, Brandenburg gate was then situated near the Berlin wall and it was a gate to cross from East Berlin to the west Berlin.

Best time to visit Brandenburg Gate:

You can visit Brandenburg gate during any time of the day. But if you go there in the evening or the night. There is a carnival kind of feeling you get there. There will be professional photographers who would want you to talk your pictures. Also, there will be couples roaming around and eating street foods. The best part to see in the Brandenburg gate is the yellow flood light which makes the gate almost shine in the night. There is no entry fee there. There is also a metro station nearby, you can get down there and walk to the Brandenburg gate.

Brandenburg Images:

Tiergarten Biergarten, Berlin

Tiergarten is one of the largest parks in Europe within a capital. This sprawling garden is spread over 520 acres and within the garden, it has many varieties of flowers and gardens. Spring will be the best season to visit this place when people spend time in the park and do grilling and barbecue. There is also a Biergarten inside the Tiergarten where you can go for boating and beer.

When we entered cycling through the Tiergarten, it was hard for me believe that such a big garden, or lets call that a forest, could exist in the heart of a metropolitan city like Berlin. Mo told me that Teirgarten was second largest urban public park of Germany. Englishcer garten of Munich was the largest one.

History of Tiergarten, Berlin:

Initially Tiergarten when founded was not a part of the city. It was situated on the edge of Berlin. King used Tiergarten as a hunting area for hunting deer and other wild animals. Over the time, later kings build many structures inside the tiergarten and also connected tiergarten with the main city of Berlin. A few decades later, Tiergarten was converted into Lustgarten or also called as “Pleasure Garden” for the general public of Berlin.

In 18th century when art and cultural values were more significant, ornamental water pools, water basins, ponds, flowerbeds and even sculptures were added to the garden to add more cultural values. With time, Tiergarten turned into a private place where people could discuss intellectual and artistic talks.

Tiergarten under Nazis:

Like all the important structures of Berlin, Tiergarten also suffered a lot of devastations during the second world war. People started cutting trees in lack of cooking fuels. Many sculptures and statues were destroyed, water turned turned murky and flower beds were destroyed. However, after the second world war, tiergarten was restored and today it looks beautiful.

Tiergarten today:

Over the time, the city of Berlin grew and there are housing all around the tiergarten separated by a peripheral street/ road running around it. Moreover, ti has also got the strategic position of lying the center of the heart of Berlin, it is easily accessible from all the parts of Berlin. Tiergarten is popular among local people for jogging, cycling, sports, grilling on Sunday, photography, picnic and even skating on frozen lakes in winters.

Tiergarten cruising:

Near the restaurant cafeamneuensee, I also saw some people doing boating, I remember they rented boat there for kayaking. Since we already had a kayaking plan in upcoming weekends in Spreewald and charges also seemed little higher, we decided to skip that plan.

Holocaust Memorial to Murdered Jews, Berlin

I had never seen such a big cemetery with uncountable number of solid and concrete graves in middle of the city in memorial of war victims. Each such grave is called a stela. I search for the meaning of this archaeological term over google and it says “an upright stone slab or column typically bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design, often serving as a gravestone”.

That was so true for this graveyard memorial. Those hundreds of stones were made in remembrance to the murdered Jews of Europe during world war. One thing I noticed was every grave in form of a stela or concrete block was equal in base area but were different in height. So when you take a look from an end towards this innumerable number of stela, you will feel confusing. And that will really scare you a lot. Scarier part is when you start walking along the aisle in between the grave yard rows. Though that would not scary much but still gives a kind of sad feeling to walk amid the graveyard of war victims who were brutally and purposefully murdered.

If I had to explanation that from an author’s perspective, I would write:
Imagine an innocent soul of an angel like girl lost amid thousands of such big graves of a cemetery. Imagine her running and trying to find a path to come outside. All path look the same and all path look long. The same had been the condition of the murdered Jews. Running and trying to find a haven to save their souls in that cruel world. Surely, I could not stay there for long. Except for taking some pictures, I could not find anything interesting to do there. Obviously, that’s not a fun place so we returned after some time.

This place is situated just nearer to the Brandenburg Tor. It is a mass graveyard for the jews who were killed during the second world war by Nazis. This holocaust memorial is a cemetery with hundreds of cubical and rectangular structures which depict the pain of the Jews.

Potsdamer Platz Berlin

Potsdamer Platz is one of largest town squares in Berlin. It lies in Mitte district of Berlin where Mitte means center. Thus, being situated almost in the center of Berlin, Potsdamer platz gets a lot of visitors. Other reasons why Potsdamer platz is one of the most crowded public square is because it also gets a lot of traffic from all side of Berlin. Apart from the above reasons, there are many tourists places of Berlin which are situated around Potsdamer platz for example cinema halls, theaters, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls which attract a lot of tourists.

Other tourist place of Berlin which are situated in proximity of Potsdamer platz are: brandenburg Gate, Reichstag building- the German Parliament Building, Tiergarten, berlin zoo also called as Zoologischer Garten Berlin

Explore the Berlin Flea Markets

In this world of globalization, new fashion kicking in everyday and good brands not coming at affordable prices, I found second hand shop at Berlin, the most convenient place to buy some clothings at affordable prices. Not for long for a winter or so. Being an Indian, not to be denied that it is in my gene that I would compare prices (I know it’s a foolishness to do it in Europe but I could not stop my mind from starting thinking). I found almost everything very costly except at some stores like Primark or H&M on discounts.

I don’t know where did I get the penchant for having a olive green jacket. May be, I saw Sam, my brother like room-mate in Germany, wearing a same kind of jacket. We tried at many shops but finding that jacket was really tough and then we thought of cycling to Second-hand shops or flea shops to try finding a same kind of jacket.

Moritz, my another friend took me to the flea market. Well, I was little scared but in my wild imagination, I imagined flea market more like a chor-bazaar in India. The flea shop was little secluded from the main town in Old Berlin beside river spree. The whole shop was more like a big Garage shop with a big front iron doors. They sell almost everything from Gramophone to sofa to antique horse saddle to old table lamps to world war military jackets. Later I realized why flea market was a special thing in itself to go to. because people will find some antique things at cheaper price.

What to expect in a flea market?

• Old military jackets, bicycles, antiques, table lamps, old music items etc. at cheaper rate
• Expect a lot of of bargaining (some are even fixed cost as well)
• Here you can get to know more about Flea markets in Berlin : http://www.berlin.de/en/shopping/markets-and-flea-markets/
• The biggest, as said by one of my friends, flea market in Berlin is: https://www.berlin.de/en/shopping/markets-and-flea-markets/1998222-2983302-flea-market-at-mauerpark.en.html

Colorful Berlin in evening from Berlin Cathedral Church dome

From the top of the Berlin Cathedral church also called as Berliner Dom, Berlin has a remarkable panoramic view.

On one side, you see the museum island and river spree flowing beside it. On another side, you see the TV tower of the Berlin called Fernsehturm and high rising buildings of berlin, ships and small boats floating in the river, clean and wide roads and people walking all around.

You can even walk all around the dome. I happened to go to the top of the dome thrice. And I was lucky that I went at the different timings. The best view that I had been in the evening from the dome of the Berliner dom. Watching the sunset in the winter was a nice experience.

Cold wind pierces through the ears and jacket, sky starts turning its colors from blue to orange to dark blue.

City lights starts coming up and after an hour everywhere its the city its full of lighting and Berlin looks so beautiful after that.

Different kinds of lighting fill the berlin and makes it more colourful.

Though there are a lot of options to enjoy the sunset of Berlin from the high buildings but one of the most beautiful places to enjoy the sunset in Berlin will be Berlin Cathedral church. The UNESCO world heritage site museums are also nearby Berlin cathedral church and other places to see around this place are;

• Berlin five islands museum
• LustGarten
• river spree
• Berlin cathedral dom etc.

Soviet War Memorial: Treptower Park, Berlin

Treptower park is a war memorial made by Soviet union in the hear of Berlin after the second world war was over. This park memorial also serves as a military cemetary for the Soviet union soldier. This war memorial reminds of the sacrifice and deaths of the Russian soldiers who died in the battle of Berlin. Below are the description of the treptower park along with the pictures.

Treptower park has a wide entrance. However, beyond a certain point no one is allowed to ride bicycle. So one has to park the bicycle almost at the main entrance and from there one has to walk to the war memorial. A series of trees and long grass lawns awaits at the entrance.

Granite rock blocks and concrete roads have been laid from the entrance to the park. The park is magnificent in itself.

There also are some legends about the statues of the Russian soldiers raised in the park. At the heart of the treptower park, there is a big black marble statue of a Russian soldier holding a baby in one hand and holding a sword in another. This statue is a famous statue from the fire once errupted during the war of Berlin during second world war. The soldier jumped into the fire to save the baby girl.

Apart from the main war memorial statues, one can also see a lot of cemetary monument of soldiers all the along the perimeter of the park. The main purpose of having so many cemetary memorial was to commemorate the Russian soldeiers who died in the second world war in battle of Berlin.

In the above picture you can see the soldier holding the sword in right hand and a baby in the left.

It was still winter when we visited the park. So I am dressed up fully covered.

Here are my German friends in the picture who offered us a visit to the treptower park. And we rode bikes until there before locking them making secure.

This picture shows a Russian soldier paying respect to the war heroes. You can notice his head down, eyes closed, gun kept on the ground upside down, helmet on his lap and he is also kneeling before. This is a sign of paying tribute to the war heroes who were killed at the battle of Berlin.

Walk of Fame (Boulevard der Stars)

Walk of fame also called as Boulevard der stars in German is a memorial for film stars including actors, actress, producer, directors. The walk of fame is based on the model of walk of fame in los angeles.

It is made up of red asphalt and is laid in between two roads near Potsdamer platz, almost heart of the city of Berlin.

On regular days, it will be mostly uncrowded. You can take a walk, read out the names of the actors printed on the stars made over the red asphalt which replicates the walk of fame of los angeles. Walk of fame also called as Boulevard der stars in German is a memorial for film stars including actors, actress, producer, directors. The walk of fame is based on the model of the walk of fame in Los Angeles. The walk of fame in Berlin looks like a red carpet because the street itself is red colored.

Inside Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral church)

After I arrived in Berlin, I was always fascinated by the European architecture because in India we get to see those architectures very rare. On top of that, after watching some movies like Angels and Demons, I was wanted to explore the secrets or at least see a part of them by myself. Over the internet when I read that Berlin was annihilated after the second world war and most the monuments and architectures were eating dust on the ground and Germany rebuilded them, my interested grew up more.

Berliner dom or Berlin cathedral church was one of my fascinations including the UNESCO world heritage site museum islands situated just beside the Berlin cathedral church. I could not get enough of this church and over my total stay of Berlin of six months, I went to this church thrice.

My experience inside the church

From outside, the church looks like old even though it was rebuilt almost completely after the second world war. A big wooden door awaits you. I always love those doors, I don’t know why. That reminds me of the big wooden door of Bamberg Cathedral church as well. I think most of the cathedral church would have a big wooden door.

As soon as you push the door and step inside, a broad red carpet awaits your foot steps. That, more or less, feels like an entrance of a big and costly hotel. Then you go at the ticket counter. There are different ticketing systems for the different kind of tourists. Since I was a student at freie university berlin, I had a student id card with me and I was given a ticket of visit at discounted rate. International tourists have to pay the most almost double of the price that I paid and local tourists have to pay little lesser i guess.

There is also a radio guide available at the counter and apart from that they give away a leaflet as a written guide to the church for free. In that leaflet, few of the important parts of the church are marked with some numbers and explained accordingly. So, that’s more like you have a map, a route guide and you explore the church one after another.

Dome of Berlin Cathederal Church from Inside:

Anyway, personally I was impressed by the dome of the Berliner dom. It’s very big and round in shape. If you walk in the center of the church and look up you will see the tomb just aligned above your head. The dom has some paintings of the historian and many people will tell many stories behind, or at least guess, after looking at the beautiful paintings. I did the same. Those paintings are actually called frescoes. These paintings are done on the lime stone and there is a particular technique behind it.

Wind pipe organ, a musical instrument at Berliner dom:

The second most impressive thing to see at Berlin cathedral church was the organ, I call that pipe organ. The organ is a kind of music instrument which I mostly found inside the church. A pipe organ consists of many wind pipes and it produces a nice music. The music is produced by a keyboard and a pedal board which are used to play the music tunes.

Once, I was lucky to listen to that music inside the Berliner dom. After the music or I think before the music, the priest will come and recite some verse from the bible. And people will say “Amen!” I liked that par very much. Hundreds of people in suit-boot sitting inside a big church, pipe organ instrument plays and at the end everyone says Amen. There are many marble statues also forget not to take a look at them. Those are beautiful sculptures of the Berliner dom.

Berlin cathedral church also known as Berliner dom was completely destroyed during the second world war. And it was again built from the scratches. This church is known for its wall frescos, paintings, a magnificent dome, wind pipe organ and much more.

Please to see nearby Berlin cathedral church:

• DDR museum
• Museum islands
• Pleasure garden
• Aquadom and sea life Berlin
• Berlin Tv tower

Hohenzollern Crypt & coffins, Berlin cathedral church

Hohenzollern Crypt is the name of the basement underneath the Berlin cathedral church. These basements have a particular name and are called “Crypt”. Most of the European churches will have a crypt underneath the church. A crypt will mostly look like a stone chamber with lot of pillars. I think these pillars are used to support to the church from beneath.

These crypts are a scary places to me personally because they are used to store the coffins and other religious relics. In the crypt of Berlin cathedral church, there are a lot of coffins of different sizes and style. Some coffins are very beautiful and looks magnificent from outside. I think when someone with higher authority died they were given a bigger coffin. because those coffins would also have a lot of ornamental arts above them. These bigger coffins also occupy a special place inside the crypt. These bigger coffins, I think, belonged to the royal family or pope or bigger father. Smaller coffins belonged to the smaller priests.

All the coffins will be marked with the name, designation and life period of the person. However, the lighting there would not be so bright. It would mostly be dull red or little dark color. I think this lighting system is so because it can match the ambience of sad demise of someone from higher authority.

Berlin TV Tower (Berliner Fernsehturm)

Berlin TV tower situated at Alexanderplatz is the tallest structure of Germany and fourth largest of Europe. It is also known by different names as berlin fernsehturm or tv turm or alex tower because it is situated in Alexanderplatz of Berlin.

There is a revolving restaurant in middle of the sphere of the tv tower. This restaurant revolves twice every hour. There is always a long queue to go the top and enjoy some food in the restaurant. So it is advisable that one should so advance reservation at the Berlin fernsehturm for dining. Best advisable time to enjoy meal is during sunset until night falls.

The view is simply breathtaking from there. Watching the sun setting down at the horizon and behind Berlin city to lights warming up the whole city is teaser to the eyes and heavenly for one hour. Advance tickets are called premium tickets and can be purchased online from here: http://www.tv-turm.de/

More on Alexanderplats near berlin fernsehturm:

• There are nice restaurants around Alexanderplatz at Berlin tv tower.
• One can also enjoy touring on old and slow tram.
• There are open rickshaw available near to the entrance of the berlin tv tower. They have fixed charges. One can also spend sometime in the rickshaw.
• On big ocassions like footballs world cup or festival of light, berlin fernsehturm is decorated with different lights with new looks.

Victory Column Berlin

Tobi always loved to express things in details covering almost every detail of the topic. That day was Sunday. We had come out for cycling around Berlin from Karl-Marx strasse where Dine lived, a part of East Berlin. I don’t remember all the routes those we followed. We cycled through some small parks and big gardens, I think Tiergarten before stopping at the Berlin victory column. Moritz explained me that it was built because of Prussia’s victory in the German-Danish war in 1864. Later Germany defeated Austria in 1866 and France in 1870-1871.

Anyone can go to the top of the victory column but one has to climb around 285 steps to reach to the top and see
Berlin from there. Since we were tired, so we decided to sit outside and talk. I was also told that the whole statue was situated somewhere else in Berlin. Nazis brought that Statue to its current place. And this statue is also facing towards East that means towards Austria. Nazis also raised the statue by some feet more. There is a big circle around the statue and many roads come from different direction there. It’s very nice to be there and enjoy the places.

Lustgarten/ Pleasure garden, Berlin

What would you think of when you would hear a name of this kind? A big beautiful garden where angels fly; waterfall plays a mellifluous music; sun always shines warm; beautiful butterflies fly around and trees are always laden with fruits. Well, I had similar imaginary thoughts when I heard of Lustgarten for the first time.

The name “Lustgarten” is little raunchy when pronunced but it’s english name “Pleasure garden” is not so provocative. But I thought that’s not possible in 21st century unless it’s a exclusive garden with relics from medieval time showing couples carved in sculptures something like I saw in the Berlin Unesco World heritage site museum. Anyway, Lustgarten is just a very big grass lawn on museum island of Berlin. There are no trees around still it’s so beautiful geometrically and aesthetically.

History of Lustgarten/ Pleasure garden:

Well, It was developed as a kitchen garden for Berlin city palace. With time, this garden saw a lot of changes. Sometimes, it was a mass rally ground, sometimes it was a parade ground. This was all because it was so big in area and that too in heart of the city. It also saw many changes during world war times since Germany was always in the center of the war. It was devasted heavily during second world war by military bombing however, later lime trees were planted to give it more of a common park/ garden look.

Lustgarten of Berlin Today:

Today, Lustgarten signifies its english name of being a pleasure garden. You will see people sitting in park; chit chatting; taking photographs; playing music; lying carelessly on the big grass lawns amid heart of Berlin. Fountain, Berlin cathederal church to its left, river spree flowing near by, musuem island just a walking distance away attaracts a lot of tourists and visitors to lustgarten.

I think people probably love to take leisure break after visiting all the major tourists attractions around. If you really want to get a magnificent view of the lustgarten, go to the dom of berliner tor and take a look at the city around including pleasure garden. You will love it. If you get tired visiting the museum island and all the museums, you can take a break here and enjoy the sun in the winter and flowers in the spring.

Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, Berlin

Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great is one of those sculptures in Berlin which is more a kind of motivation for me than having a historical significance behind it. I could relate myself with sculpture and the message behind the Equestrian statue of Frederick of Prussia.

First is that the horse riding statue of king Frederick is in military uniform with full military decoration wearing a three-cornered hat. The king is holding a rein in his left hand and has a walking stick in his right hand. I am a big fan of medieval European history as well as the ancient history. Seeing the statue of the king Frederick riding a horse in full military suit was like watching a part of middle age European leader of a cavalry. Moreover, having been studied at Military school, full army jacket decorated with ranks and all is always a source of fantasy for me.

Horse, on top of that, represents agility and bravery in the battlefield. In fact, subconsciously I could imagine middle age war movies like Gladiator. Hat, specially if that be a leather hat, is so appealing to me. I go for hiking and trekking in South Indian terrain and have always longed for a good leather hat over my head. Unfortunately, I have not found one of my choice. May be, I will, someday.

While I was taking the Berlin city ride on hop on hop off bus, the bus crossed this structure. The radio guide announced that the king Frederick love the streets of Berlin so much that he seldom got down from the horse. That’s why it was decided that his Equestrian statue will be made riding a horse.

Molecule Man Statue

Berlin has got many fascinating scultupres and each scupture has a story behind them. For example: berlin sculpture of Four cylinderical steel spaghetti showed the then situation of division of east and west Berlin. Lady atop the Victory tower signifies the victory of Germany over other countries. Same way Molecule man shows that even though we humans might appear solid from outside we should not forget that we are made up of molecules.

This status cum scultpure in erected in middle of the river spree. I saw this when I was cycling around Berlin and following some route along the river spree. I remember I was coming from East Berlin and cycling towards West Berlin. Even though this sculpture looks ordinary it has got an extra-ordinary message behind it.

Four spaghettis in Steel columns

During my stay in Berlin, I saw a lot of sculptures. To my amazement, there is a sculpture which is named after Berlin itself. It has four steel columns in form of spaghetti trying to mingle into each other but they do not though touch each other. I got to know about the different notions of the people about the reason behind spaghetti being four in number. My friend Shayan explained to me that four spaghetti signifies the four countries which once had four power agreement on Berlin during Cold war namely: United states of America, Soviet Union, France and England.

Later, I also came to know that two spaghetti out of four spaghetti, which are tilted towards each other depicted the then current situation of the Berlin during cold wars. Those two face towards east and west Berlin respectively and showed the difference between the East and west Berlin. Since they also do not touch each other shows how much east and west Berlin were so close yet so apart.

Berlin Ringbahn Metro Ride

I remember it was friday. I had not spent much time in Berlin by then, winter had just arrived. I got a proposal from my friend Tobias to drink beer and see the city of Berlin at night on RIng bahn metros. Well, Ringbahn is the name of a particuar metro trains which runs through berlin almost in a circle. They are more like circle line of London Underground but the difference is they run mostly above the ground. There are two types of these S41 and S42. One of them runs in clockwise circle and other one complements the first one and runs in anti-clock wise circle

So, what’s so interesting about the ring-bahn metro train in Berlin?

They cover most of the parts of berlin. So, if you decide to sit by the window and see berlin, you would almost more than half of the berlin within an hour and half. Getting a seat in German/ Berlin metro also called as Bahn is never a problem. People are very courteous and except for the office hours and weekends, trains run almost empty. I was wondering if had that been a case in Delhi metro then Half of the time would have gone in standing and holding the iron bars of the metro trains.

Anyway, to make it more interesting one can also take a ride in the night or evening to see Berlin at night. Mega cities like Berlin surely looks beautiful at night. However, during day, you will miss the burning berlin at night but you will have chance to see some of the greenest part of Berlin the ringbahn passes through.

If you really want to have ultimate fun then grab a few bottles of beer and sit comfortably beside a window and drink on the run. That’s the idea, Tobias had suggested me. lthough our plan changed next moment and we went somewhere else but I took the ride ringbahn during daytime on a sunday and believe me the ringbahn ride was awesome. One should also try that.

Neukölln Festival of Arts

Neukolln is a name of an area in Berlin. It hosts a festival of arts and it is known as Neukolln 48 hours. It is said that this fair never sleeps for 48 hours and I was once there as well. In this festival, you can taste a variety of wines, modern arts, photography etc. If you love nightlife and exploring a city in the night, this festival is the one for you to explore more of things of Berlin.

Eastside Gallery

Eastside gallery is basically a long wall on which many paintings are there. This wall is a part of the Berlin wall. Upon Berlin unification, many famous painters and amateurs made many interesting wall paintings using paint and sprays. You can still feel the then political situation through these paintings. One of the famous paintings is two leader kissing each other.

Berlin Wall

Every tourist or traveler who goes to Berlin wants to see the Berlin wall. The Berlin wall has a lot of interesting history behind it. The remnants of Berlin wall can still be seen around Berlin. One of the best examples would be the east side gallery as mentioned above. Besides, you can still see the Berlin wall mark on the road near Brandenburg gate as well.

People who are interested in world war two, Nazi and Hitler often ask following questions:

• Why Berlin wall was built?
• What are facts about Berlin wall?
• What is the history behind the Berlin wall?
• How is the Berlin wall related to the second world war, Nazi, Hitler etc.?
• What was the time period for which the Berlin wall stood erected?
• Why Berlin wall fell finally?

And many more questions come into the scene. Well, it is evident that history and theories behind the historical facts have books, papers and documentaries trying to explain them. But, I will try to explain the reason behind all these in terms of a common man who has the basic knowledge of second world war, Nazism, Hitler, Germany’s role in second world war and it’s consequences. So, let’s start with these questions one by one. But before I start I will give little preface about the world wars.

Hitler, second world war and Germany losing the war:

Hitler was a soldier in world war one. He has a simple motive of taking Germany to another height after it’s defeat in first world war. You might ask me then if Hitler was a bad guy then why people supported him. Well to that I would ask you to imagine the economical, social and also, mental condition of citizens of a country which fought a world war.

To be noticed, I wrote world war so you understand that it was not just a war between two countries but rather that was a war “among the countries” where Germany was leading it’s side. Now. Once you lead your side, you surely need financials to support the war irrespective of the reason you are fighting the war.

Because in those scenarios, a mere war turns more into a war of pride and also the leaders see the geo-political and financial profits that they harness at the end of the war. To support its war, a country would start harnessing its most of the economical and natural resources which would lead a country into bankruptcy, poverty and no-rules at all.

Coming to the why Hitler got so famous. People in distress who were looking out for some hope found their hopes in the strong words and leadership of Hitler. Well, not everyone could foresee the result and impact of the world war on Germany. Thus, Hitler got a massive support from German and He, soon, took the control in his hands. He led his forces in the war and also lost the second world war.

Situations after Germany lost the war:

So, Germany lost the second world war. Looking at the massive destruction that Germany had caused to herself and to the world, Berlin- capital of Germany was being controlled by western allies: US, Britain, Soviet Union and France. So that, Germany doesn’t take such steps ahead. There were many sanctions were put on Germany. In short, from her capital Berlin, western allies were making sure the Germany does not disturb the world peace.

Cold war after second world war to Divison of Germany:

After the second world war was over, two major world powers emerged, US and Soviet Union. Since there can be only one lion in a jungle. If there are two, there would be a hostile condition prevailing. Such hostile and tensed situation between US and Soviet Union- the world powers, existed after the second world war. Since both the world powers were also a part of control and sanction over Germany, it lead to the division of Berlin and Germany.

Division of Germany and Berlin wall:

So, two major powers decided that the Germany should be divided among them and also the Berlin. So Germany was divided and also the city of Berlin was divided and a Berlin wall was built. Western half of Germany went under the control of US and Eastern Half of the Germany went under the control of Soviet Union. Since Berlin lied in the Western half of the Germany to the capital was also divided into two halves by building a wall called as Berlin wall. East Berlin belonged to the Soviet Union and West Berlin belonged to the US. Berlin wall was built in the city in 1961 when cold war between US and Soviet union was at peak.

I hope the above explanations answer the following three questions:

• Why Berlin wall was built?
• What is the history behind the Berlin wall?
• How is the Berlin wall related to the second world war, Nazi, Hitler etc.?

Interesting facts about Berlin wall and events that led to the collision of Berlin wall:

• When the Berlin wall was built. There were two walls which were built. There was also a no man’s land in between the walls called the “Death Strip”. The name itself describes a lot about the no man’s land area.To ensure that no human or vehicle can cross from east Berlin to west berlin and vice versa. There were watch towers, beds of nails, runs for watch dogs, flood lights, wire trench and even machine gun.
• There are many such incidents that couples, family, friends got separated for years. Around 5000 people tried to cross over the wall but none could make it. There was a shoot-at-sight order and around 150 lost their lives instantly while trying to escape the wall.
• There were crossing points set to facilitate people from crossing one side to another. Even visa stamps were issued to a person crossing from one to another side of Berlin. Such points were checkpoint charlie, brandenburg gate etc.
• However, East Germans were clever and bold enough to use hot balloons, sports car to ram against the wall, use sewer holes to cross across the berlin wall.
• In 1989, a lot of radical and political changes started happening in the East Berlin. There was lot of unrest among the people. People started gathering near to wall in masses. Crowds started climbing and crossing the wall.
• On 3rd October, 1990, this paved the way for the German reunification.
• By 1992, most of the wall was demolished.

 Museum Island

The museum island hosts five UNESCO world heritage site museums in Berlin. Keep aside a day to visit these museums. Different museums are based on different themes from different times like medieval times, modern times etc.

Chances are very high that you will see some part of the history of your own country as well. I am from India and I saw a lot of Indian and Egyptian historical things. You also get an Audio guide which narrates the importance of each artifact and you can really feel the history. I, even, saw the roman houses, Mohenjodaro coins, Mummy etc. They are even themed in the same ambiance.

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie was one of the famous points to cross the border when Berlin was divided into East and the West Berlin. Many famous movies have mentioned this location. The recent movie which mentioned checkpoint Charlie was the Bridge of Spies.You can still see the soldiers standing there and you can get a stamp from that time on your passport and a photo with them for a few dollars.

Topography of Terror

The Topography of terror is a place in Berlin which perfectly depicts the terror of the World war and the truth behind it. You can read about the history of the concentration camps in pictorial forms there. The current topography of terror was the SS headquarter once but now it houses a museum which reminds us of the terror that people had to go through during the world war.

Boat ride in River Spree

A visit to Berlin is incomplete without a boat ride in river spree and seeing around Berlin. There are different places from where you can catch a boat to see around Berlin. A boat ride in Berlin covers most of the berlin attractions. If planning for a ride, then also forget not to spend a night in the boat or at least having a dinner on the boat. There are other options for short boat rides, night stay etc as well.

Charlottenburg Palace

Charlottenburg palace is situated near Charlottenburg in Berlin. They also give you an audio guide for the tour. Some parts of the palace have been reconstructed after the second world war and also, open for the tourists. There is also a big park behind the palace where you can spend time with your friends and love. There are also color-themed rooms inside the palace like green, pink. You can still see the crockery and dressing room, meeting room, dance room, music, guest room for the king and the queen.

Berlin Zoological Garden

The Berlin Zoological Garden is the oldest and the best-known zoo in Germany. It was opened in 1844 and it is spread over an area of around 86 acres. Berlin Zoological garden is a part of the Berlin’s Tiergarten. With about 1,500 different species and almost 20,500 animals, the zoo presents the most comprehensive collection of species in the world.

Berlin Zoological Garden is not just a normal zoo but it has much more than it. For example, you can download the app of the zoo and decide which part of the zoo you want to visit. Besides, you can also see the animal feeding shows and also see the animal from close if you are there at the right time.

Some of the famous animals that you can see inside:

• Knut
• Giant Panda
• Llama
• Ostrich
• Seal
• Vulture King
• Penguins
• Kangaroo
• Brown bear

Berlin Aquarium

Berlin aquarium is a part of the Berlin Zoological Garden. Berlin Aquarium is more like a cylindrical glass through which you will have to pass and you can see the marine life above and around you.

Ticket Systems for Zoological Garden & Aquarium:

You can either book the ticket online or you can get the ticket at the counter. If you are a student in Berlin or if your age is below 26 years, you will also get some discount in the ticket price. Tickets are available for the individual persons, groups etc. You can also get an entry into the Garden and Aquarium if you have Berlin pass with you. But the Berlin pass must cover these places of interests in Berlin. Online ticket to the Garden and the aquarium can be booked at https://ticket-at-home.de/Home.aspx?shopid=30&ac=1

Visiting Hours to Berlin Zoological Garden & Berlin Aquarium:

Duration	Zoo Opening time	Ticket Buying Time
1. January – 26. February	9:00 am – 4:30 pm	9:00 am – 3:30 pm
27. February – 26. March	9:00 am – 6:00 pm	9:00 am – 5:00 pm
27. March – 24. September	9:00 am – 6:30 pm	9:00 am – 5:00 pm
25. September – 29. October	9:00 am – 6:00 pm	9:00 am – 5:00 pm
30. October – 31. December	9:00 am – 4:30 pm	9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Aqua Dom

Aqua Dom is a cylindrical shaped aquarium which is located in the middle of Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin. There is also a lift in the middle of the aquarium from where visitors can see inside the aquarium. The lift takes around 5 minutes to go up and then the same time to come down to facilitate visitors to see the marine life in Berlin. There are around 1500 fishes inside the aquarium and it holds 1 million liters of water. The aquarium is 25-meter height and is 12 meters in diameter.

Grunewald

Grunewald translates to the green forest in German. Grunewald is one of the posh areas of the Berlin. You can go there sit in nature. In the spring and summer, people go over there and swim in the lake. You can also do so.

Take a Hop On – Hop Off Bus Tour

Vinit had just arrived from Stuttgart and we were looking forwards to go to Prague but we had one day surplus in our hands. So we thought, why not try hop on- hop off berlin tour. Hop on hop off is a city tour in which, within a day, you can board any bus from the same travelers for city travels, Get down any where, catch the next bus and see the city. These buses from same companies follow timings and next bus arrives after an interval of around an hour.

Most of these hop on hop off buses also have roof . Something like a bus with an open roof top or double-decker bus. So at the top deck, you can sit and see the city without sitting under a bus roof or sitting beside a glass window. They keep on announcing about the nest destination in German and English at regular intervals with small speakers kept in the corners.

It was winter and Berlin was freezing with cold. We checked for the weather. Anyway, we had decided to take a tour and we were not gonna stop in any case. However, weather was also in our favour. Day was not windy nor so cold. So, I and vinit decided to sit at the open roof deck. It was really nice to see road running behind. cars following us and bus taking turns through many alleys and broad roads. I always wondered of these kinds of buses when I saw them in a Bollywood songs specially. And Now I was traveling in them.

The bus was empty except for a couple sitting at the front and I was hopping from here to there like a kid on the red seats of the bus. It was really nice to see 360 degree panoramic view of the whole city. Lemon trees were going wear lime green leaves, old buildings, black roads, snow lying beside the road and cold wind combing through our hair. Everything was so beautiful.

Important things to take care of on Hop on Hop off Buses:

• Cost: 10 Euros
• Chose a side seat and try to find a place in the top deck. The city looks wider and more beautiful with proper photography opportunities.
• Do listen to the announcements. They share informative knowledges.
• Throughout that 4-5 Hours ride, I covered around 20-22 beautiful places of Berlin like churches, library, art houses, Universities, Statues etc.