When it comes to European cities,which we would like to visit, we cannot help but remember Berlin. This is the third most popular city after Paris and London, where people from all over the world willingly go. And no wonder! Berlin has a special aura inherent only to it. The first impression of it is a gothic, gray city, with leaden clouds that visually add gloom. But as soon as the sun peeks out from behind the clouds, Berlin is transformed before our eyes from a gloomy metropolis into a bright, stylish and incredibly attractive city! Let's try to figure out what its secret is, and at the same time get our bearings on what to see in Berlin.
East Berlin
The main and most beautifulBerlin's landmark is the luxurious Tiergarten Park (Tiergarten - from the German "zoo"), located in the very center of Berlin. Its area is 210 hectares, and hares run around the well-groomed and clean meadows and proud birds strut importantly. Berliners love to jog and ride bicycles in the park. In general, Berlin will give any European city a run for its money in terms of the number of cyclists; this is the most popular means of transportation among local residents. There are very few cars even during rush hour, so no one ever waits for the green light if there are no cars nearby, and everyone crosses the street on a red light.
Several large parks pass through the Tiergartenhighways, walking along one of which - "Street of June 17" (German: Straße des 17. Juni) - you can reach the Brandenburg Gate, the main symbol of Germany. On the way you will come across a memorial dedicated to the Russian soldiers who died in the battles for Berlin. In May, when lilacs bloom all over the city and a delightful aroma spreads in the air, this place is especially heartbreaking... Not far from the Brandenburg Gate is the Reichstag, where the federal government of Germany - the Bundestag - has been sitting since 1999. On May 1, 1945, the Soviet flag was hoisted over the Reichstag. Every tourist who comes to Berlin is sure to visit this historical place. Just a few meters from the Reichstag is one of the branches of the famous Madame Tussauds museum, which presents about eighty exhibits in eight thematic halls. The exhibition is done with great taste, and you will have the opportunity to take a photo with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, play the drums with Bono and feel David Beckham's abs! The entrance fee is 20 euros; a bit pricey, of course, but it's worth it!
From the museum the road will take you to the famousAlexanderplatz square (German: Alexanderplatz), in the middle of which rises the beautiful TV tower. Having climbed to its observation deck, you will admire Berlin from a bird's eye view, you will be able to see the difference between the democratic eastern part of the city and the more bourgeois western part. Even the color of the houses is very different. On the famous Unter den Linden street (German: Unter den Linden - "street under the linden trees"), which is probably the main street of Berlin, you can take a break in one of the many cafes. It owes its name to the numerous linden trees that were planted along the entire street back in the seventeenth century. Here are fashionable shops and large banks, and the eye is struck by a completely unique mixture of the classical style of old mansions and buildings made of glass and concrete. At the beginning of the street there is a slightly pompous building of the Russian embassy, a little further - the State Opera building and the oldest Humboldt University in Germany, where Hegel once studied and 27 Nobel Prize winners taught. Berlin amazes with its academicism, and at the same time it is very modern! You can satisfy your intellectual hunger on Museum Island (German: Museumsinsel), which includes a whole constellation of famous Berlin museums and which attracts tourists and art lovers from all over the world. The pearls of this place are the Old and New Museums, which opened at the end of the nineteenth century. In addition to them, there are three more museums on Museum Island: the Old National Gallery, the Bode Museum and the Pergamon Museum building. You can buy a single subscription for visiting all the museums and leisurely enjoy the great works of art. The Berlin Cathedral (German: Berliner Dom) stands out with its green roof - the largest Protestant church in Germany and one of the most impressive buildings in the center of Berlin.
And right next door there is a trendy place calledThe so-called Hackesche Höfe is a complex of small closed courtyards. Diving into a small arch, you suddenly find yourself in a place where the spirit of creativity and fun is concentrated! Numerous cozy coffee shops have become a haven for creative youth; the variety of fashionable, but rather expensive designer clothes makes your eyes run wide in small, cozy shops. Here everyone feels easy and somehow especially joyful! Another highlight of Berlin is, of course, Tacheles. Having entered this sacred place from Friedrichstrasse, you are enveloped in a brutal atmosphere of iron and Rammstein-style music heard from everywhere. In a rather small space there are many workshops, the main characters of which are muscular, stern blacksmiths, loudly knocking on the anvil with a hammer and making another marginal masterpiece. The Jewish Museum, located in the Lindenstrasse area, attracts a huge number of visitors, and after visiting it, people leave extremely sad and thoughtful. The museum is designed in such a way that you instantly get lost not only in space, but also in time. The exhibition is dedicated to the history of life and suffering of the Jewish people, and strange clanging sounds coming from somewhere add to the oppressive mood. Coming closer, the origin of the strange sounds becomes clear: the floor of a huge gloomy corridor is paved with round iron disks that make this eerie sound if you walk on them. And looking closely, you realize that these disks symbolize ... human faces. Very strong feelings! If you are interested in the question of what else you can see in Berlin, go to Potsdamer Platz. There is the Film Museum, which annually hosts the Berlin Film Festival. This grand exhibition makes an indelible impression in that all the rooms are made of mirrors, and it seems that you are walking on air. Throughout the halls you are greeted by huge screens showing a retrospective of famous black-and-white films, and, of course, a special place is given to the film diva of those years – Marlene Dietrich.
West Berlin
The most famous landmark of the westernpart of Berlin is the Charlottenburg Castle (German: Charlottenburg), which was the residence of the wife of King Friedrich I, Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, in the seventeenth century. This luxurious castle is often called the German Versailles, although it has nothing of the French sophistication. On the territory there is a luxurious park, in which it is so wonderful to walk and reflect on the eternal. As is known, in 1945, as a result of the assault by Soviet troops, Berlin was divided into four occupation zones. The eastern part of Berlin became the capital of the GDR, and the other three were divided between the authorities of the USA, Great Britain and France. In August 1961, the GDR authorities began to build a wall that separated West Berlin from the GDR, and which later became a symbol of the Cold War. In November 1989, the wall was broken down, and only a small part of it, one and a half kilometers long, reminds of that time. Since then, the remaining part of the Berlin Wall has been covered with graffiti by artists from all over the world, which many creative people come to see and get inspiration from. And of course, when in Berlin, it is impossible not to visit the world-famous Berlin Zoo! Various representatives of the fauna are comfortably located on a large and well-kept territory, where Berliners come with great pleasure with their children. This is what the city of Berlin is like! Striking at first sight and giving an unforgettable experience. In a word - different. We hope that you liked this story from the series "what to see in Berlin: tips for tourists" and we will continue to introduce you to other countries and cities. But this will be a little later! We advise you to read:
