Wundervoll: Exploring Berlin in the Spring

I just returned from Berlin this morning and wanted to share a few pictures and recommendations for those on the blog who may want to visit this extraordinary city. This is a city that has something for everyone from food to music to art to history.

Speaking at the World Forum on free speech was hardly an inviting prospect. As expected, many of the leading anti-free speech figures, including Hillary Clinton, gathered with their European allies in Berlin. I heard other Americans fueling the common narrative that democracy is dying in the United States and that we are now an autocracy. However, I had one key ally here, my friend and great civil libertarian Nadine Strossen. We both spoke on the need for Europe to increase protections for free speech:

Former President Bill Clinton received the top award at the World Forum. Ironically, at the dinner, I was seated virtually next to the Clintons at the adjoining table. It was a curious spot since I testified in favor of his impeachment and have been arguably the most vocal critic of Hillary Clinton over her pronounced anti-free speech views. Surrounding by world leaders who praised his record as president, Clinton gave a short but very personal speech in accepting the award.

Once the business end of the trip was satisfied, I was able to explore this extraordinary and vibrant city. I have found Germans to be unfailingly friendly and helpful. It is also easy to be an American tourist in Berlin. Many Germans speak English, and you will find it easy to navigate. If there was one disappointing aspect, it was the level of graffiti throughout the city. No site or surface seems spared anywhere in the city.

One of the highlights was visiting the Berlin Cathedral on the famed Museum Island. Initially built in 1894 by order of Emperor William II, the cathedral was heavily damaged in World War II but lovingly restored. It is magnificent.

The pipe organ, built by Wilhelm Sauer, towers above the space with its massive dome.

It also contains the dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern).

I then ventured to the top of the dome. This may be a challenge for many of our viewers and you should not start if you have doubts (they emphasize that you can only go forward on the hundreds of steps on the narrowing series of stone and wooden steps:

However, if you can manage it, the payoff is considerable with a panoramic view of this lovely city:

That view is a great start to any exploration of the city. What you find is a city with large parks, public art, and beautiful buildings along its gentle rivers:

One nice thing about Berlin is that you always have a reference point in the Fernsehturm  next to the Alexanderplatz. The tallest structure in the city, the television tower offers an instant locational point:

As you walk through the city, you will see an abundance of pubs and restaurants, including many cafes. The food in Berlin is wonderful from the traditional goulash (like the deer goulash below) to the Schnitzel. However, it is the beer that is a particular joy. Every restaurant has different beers, and you cannot go wrong. While I am a bit wimpy in preferring the lighter beer, it was fun to try a range of options.

You can visit World War II and Cold War sites. One popular start is the iconic Checkpoint Charlie, the crossing point between East and West Berlin featured in every spy movie of the period. I am afraid that the visit may prove underwhelming. All that remains is the famous guard house, though an assortment of American fast-food restaurants now guards the checkpoint:

A visit to the Berlin Wall Memorial is more substantive and memorable. A display shows the hundreds of those killed trying to escape communism, including jumping from windows to land in West Berlin. You can ascend a nearby tower to oversee the wall area. Portions of the wall are preserved as is a guard tower:

Some of these victims jumped from homes that bordered the line. These homes were largely in East Berlin, but they extended a few feet into West Berlin. Before the East Germans tore down the homes, they were an irresistible temptation. Indeed, the first victim was an older woman who followed the practice of attaching a note to a rock and dropping it out the window. The idea was for the local firefighters to wait below to catch you, but on this occasion, an actual fire had to be put out.

As the police came knocking as part of the sweep of the area on her apartment building at Bernauer Strasse 48 , nurse Ida Siekmann decided that there was no turning back. She threw a mattress out the window and tried to land on it. She suffered broken bones and died on the way to the Lazarus Hospital. 

This exhibit shows how these buildings extended beyond the wall line (shown by the rectangular sign):

One can also visit World War II sites including the Soviet monument to the thousands of Soviet soldiers who died in the battle for Berlin. Ironically, Stalin’s obsession with capturing Berlin led to a vastly increased number of casualties. Indeed, some historians believe that the Soviets killed more of their own soldiers than did the collapsing Wehrmacht. For many Berliners, the memorial must have brought painful memories, particularly in light of the systemic raping of German women by Soviet troops as retaliation for the German atrocities committed in Russia.

The memorial is guarded by T-32 tanks and the famed Russian  ML-20 152mm gun-howitzer artillery pieces:

Of course, the iconic image of Berlin remains the 18th Century Brandenburg Gate.

In day or dusk or night, it is an inspiring sight:

Berlin is a truly unique city and well worth an extended visit. Berlin’s history is inextricably linked to our own from the defeat of the Nazis to the Berlin airlift to the Cold War to fall of the Berlin Wall.

From the people to the food to the history, Berlin is wundervoll.