“Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.” – Asian proverb
Day Two was luckily another beautiful day, with no rain in sight. We were able to see all the remaining major sites on our list including the Olympic Stadium, the Berlin Wall memorial, the East Side Gallery, the Dome tour of the Reichstag Building, and the Topography of Terror. The Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) opens at 9am, so we decided to get there early. We left around 7:30am from our hotel, and made a quick stop at the Starbucks near the train station (ham and cheese croissants!).
We were able to take the S-Bahn out to the site arriving about 8:40am. It was a bit creepy when we first arrived, because there was no one else there. Everything was really quiet. This worked out in our favor, because we were able to get some great pictures without other tourists there.
The stadium was built for the 1936 Summer Olympics and is most remembered for the 4 gold medals won by USA track star Jesse Owens. When the Nazis came to power in Germany (1933), they used the Olympic Games in 1936 to further spread their propaganda. Today the stadium and its grounds are used for soccer games and concerts. The only English language tours are offered on Saturdays, at 12:30pm. We were there on a Friday, so we toured the grounds on our own. I definitely would not want to get there at 9am and hang out for two hours for a tour. There were also informational plaques throughout the grounds that were written in both German and English. These had extensive information about the history of the site and architectural details.
We walked around, taking pictures and reading the informational plaques for about an hour. Once we were done, groups of German teenage students and tourists began arriving so we were extra glad that we decided to get there early.
Olympiastadion
Inside the Olympiastadion
After leaving the stadium, we hopped back on the S-Bahn, and began making our way to one of the few remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, the north section. This is encapsulated in the Berlin Wall Memorial (Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer).
There is a train station (Berlin Nordbahnhof) right at the beginning of the memorial. We got off the train at a different stop, and ended up walking an extra 20 minutes or so because the station didn’t show up on Google Maps.
The memorial is huge. It was originally designed to be only about a third of the size that it is currently. There is a museum dedicated to the history of the wall, which is kid and adult friendly. This really surprised me, because most of the museums regarding the Berlin Wall or the Holocaust requested that attendees be at least 12-14 years old. Directly across from the museum are all of the original aspects of the wall, with two huge walls perpendicular, creating a box. This is the original section of the memorial. The area belongs to a church and graveyard, so after the wall fell, much of this land returned to the ownership of the church. However, instead of returning the area to its original use, much of the area was repurposed for the memorial, thus expanding the size of the memorial. In the larger open areas, there are dedications to the victims, stepping stones outlining a former secret tunnel, and former section of the church that was trapped inside of the death strip once the wall was erected. This is now called the Chapel of Reconciliation.
This memorial is an absolute must see. The way it lays out the history, as well as providing a memorial for the victims is very well done. We spent at least two hours here, walking the grounds of the memorial, as well as visiting the museum.
Berlin Wall Memorial – Reconstructed Death Strip with Original Guard Tower and Section of Wall
Berlin Wall Memorial
Next we made our way to the East Side Gallery, the longest section of the Wall remaining. First we stopped for lunch at Scheers Schnitzel. I highly recommend this place. The food was amazing and there were lots of interesting drink choices, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Justin and I tried a lemon cola drink. It was a little sweet for me, but Justin was a big fan.
While we were there, the East Side Gallery was being refurbished. Artists from around the world have painted murals on the East Side of the Wall. During the Cold War, the side of the Wall in West Berlin was defaced with graffiti, but this of course was not allowed or possible on the East side of the wall. Therefore, the art project is only on the East side, in defiance to the strict conditions in East Berlin. Unauthorized graffiti ends up on the murals, so it is necessary to refurbish the murals on the East side of the wall periodically.
East Side Gallery
We hopped back on the train after walking along the East Side Gallery and briefly stopped at the Berlin TV Tower to take a few pictures. The TV Tower (Fernsehturm Berlin) can be seen from virtually any place in the city as it is the tallest structure in Germany and is one of the symbols of the city.
Berlin TV Tower
After this we headed to the Topography of Terror which we walked past the day before. This had a different take on the Holocaust than the other museums and memorials, because it focused more on the Nazi party itself. Detailing how they rose to power, and how and why they targeted certain classifications of people, and what their ultimate goals were. The museum was built on the the grounds of the former Gestapo and SS Headquarters and parts of the cellar where many political prisoners were tortured and executed remain intact.
After spending time both inside and outside the museum, we stopped across the street at a cafe for refreshments and a much needed break.
Topography of Terror
Next we visited the museum located underneath the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. This focused as much as possible on the individual victims themselves. It had excerpts from letters, postcards, and diaries. It also showcased families, and detailed what happened to each family member, both during the Nazi rein, and after the War.
We had currywurst and fries from a stand near the Reichstag Building before our Dome tour. Originally we thought going at sunset would be beautiful, and it was. But the tour of the Dome was mostly about the buildings in the surrounding area that were visible from the Dome and the visibility was not great at 7:30pm. Going at night would be gorgeous because of the city lights and the stars, but again, it would be difficult to follow the guided audio tour of the surrounding buildings. There are definitely pros and cons to each timeframe you choose, I would just decide was is most important for you individually.
Dome on Top of the Reichstag Building
View from the Dome Into the Debating Chamber of the German Parliament
After our tour, we decided it would be a great idea to hustle over to the Berlin Victory Column to get some pictures at sunset. Along the way we stumbled across Bellevue Palace which is the home of the German President. We hugely misjudged the time it would take to get to the Victory Column. By the time we made it there, I was collapsed on a bench while Justin took a few pictures. Finally, we made our way back to the hotel, Fitbit 30,000 step badges in hand.
Bellevue Palace
Berlin Victory Column
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