First Port of Call: Warnemunde (Berlin), Part 4

Overall our time in Berlin was only about six hours. We packed a lot into those six hours. Our New Years Eve 1990 trip was not much longer, but it did include an overnight stay in a hotel. What I remember most about that trip is getting an all-day bus pass and hopping on the first bus we saw, which happened to be Bus 1. Bus 1 took us past all of the famous tourist sites in East Berlin and West Berlin, including many we saw on this trip. We also ate lunch in a restaurant called The Berliner Ratskeller, mostly remembered because its name was the same as the bar/restaurant at Trenton State College. Had we been left on our own this day, we would have done much the same and enjoyed it at a slower pace. We would not have learned as much, but that is okay, too. Unlike St. Petersburg (our third port of call), Berlin is a place I could see us visiting again someday.

We left the Spree River area with the Berlin Cathedral and Museums (none of which we had time to enter) and drove deep into the former-East Berlin. Here the roads are narrower. In 1990 all of the buildings were in the Soviet concrete-block style, or a shell. Today there is a blend of old with new. 

We saw Alexanderplatz, called "Alex" by the locals. In the 19th century it was a military parade route. It was destroyed in World War II. In the 1960's the Soviets rebuilt it. Today is is the largest pedestrian square in Berlin with shopping and cinemas and is the heart and soul of East Berlin.

The Spree River has always been important to Berlin. It is the path to the Habel River, Elba River, the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea. That is why Berlin became such a hub during the Prussian Empire.

Jim, our tour guide, gave us a quick summary about the differences between East Germany and West Germany. Still today the five states that made up the former East Germany have the highest unemployment rate -- 12.5% versus 4.6% overall in Germany. There is a mandatory reunification tax of up to 1.5% of income to fix the problems, but many (especially in the "West") wonder why they still have to pay it.

Onto another highlight for us: Checkpoint Charlie. 

During the Cold War there were eight entrance points between the east and the west using the Foxtrot Alphabet: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc. Checkpoint Charlie was the third one. For a while after the division, people could get a pass and easily travel from their house to work and back again through the border crossings. West Berliners could take a train or a car to go between the two. East Berliners had their pass. Who you were and why you needed to cross determined which checkpoint you used -- not necessarily the most convenient or closest one. Checkpoint Charlie was the one for non-Germans (foreigners). The Allies used this crossing. 

Between 1945 and 1990 the chief power was the military. Near Checkpoint Charlie there was a large American presence. Everything we saw on this trip was a replica, a "Hollywood set" if you will. I have a pretty bad picture of what we saw in 1990. It looked a lot different.

Yes, that is a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant near Checkpoint Charlie.

This was another moment when my eyes popped out of my head. The first was at Brandenburg Gate earlier in the day. The spookily quiet spot has grown into the most Americanized spot in all of Berlin, and likely all of Germany.

In this section is the Checkpoint Charlie Museum -- a highlight of our 1990 visit. It is a chilling example of the efforts people will make to be free. Of course we did not have enough time to go inside it on this trip.

A question I have wondered was how did the Allies allow a wall to be built on the border between the two sides. The answer is instead of building the 100-mile wall exactly on the border, the Soviets built it in a few feet -- clearly on their side of the property, thus giving a little bit to the Allies. They could do what they wanted on their land. Technically people were on East German property when they touched the wall.

At this point Don sees a Trabi car -- the most common car in East Germany during the Cold War. His eyes light up in excitement. The tour guide is less excited. A block away is a shop where you can rent one of these. During the Cold War there was a 15-year wait list to own a new one, the ultimate status symbol of its day. It is a 2-cylinder car that makes my former 3-cylinder Geo Metro seem powerful. Even in 2018 these Trebis still break down a lot.

We walked a block to The Wall. In 1990 Don and I stood by the Brandenburg gate and asked about The Wall. The tongue-in-cheek response from a guard was "Wall, what wall?" My photos show we did see a couple of pieces of The Wall, but not a long, intact stretch.

Turns out there is a stretch of wall that has been preserved in its original location only a couple of blocks away from Checkpoint Charlie.

Doing a little bit of quick research thanks to Google, this area known as the Topography of Terror did not exist in this form in 1990, though this stretch of wall was likely standing at that time. It was designed in 1993. Construction was begun in 1997 and halted in 1999 because of costs. 

The history of this East Berlin site dates back to 1987 when there was an East Berlin. In honor of the 750th anniversary of Germany, a temporary exhibit was built on this site called "Topography of Terror. Gestapo, SS, and Reich Security Main Office on the Prinz-Albrecht-Terrain." It was so popular it outlasted its original plan. In February 1989 (a few months before The Wall came down when it seemed nothing would ever change) the Berlin Senate approved a plan to preserve this history.

There is a free museum we did not visit due to time. Instead we stood in awe of the blank wall. What I didn't realize until we were leaving was of course this side was blank -- this was the East German side. The other side (the one facing the street) would have been painted. The painting is not very exciting, but it does exist. Again, I need to figure out how to use our new scanner and include pictures from 1990.

In the end, I am glad we had the guided tour. It did help us to maximize the crazy day, plus it eliminated the stress of "what if" we ran late. As is, we arrived an hour after we planned to (but before the ship was going to sail). No one needs that extra stress on vacation.

All too quickly we were back on the bus and driving three hours to Berlin. For us the six hours of driving for six hours of sightseeing was totally worth it. If we were to do another Baltic Sea Cruise (which I highly doubt) we would stay closer to the boat and explore that area at leisure. It had taken us 28 years to return to Berlin. That is what made this trip special to me.