Berlin trip

✍️ Written on 2024-08-20 in 4023 words.
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Update 2024-08-29: Attached the trip log.

Motivation

I visited Berlin with my girlfriend. A friend of mine hosted us. It was a nice opportunity to do sightseeing and share thoughts with my hosts and girlfriend. Here are some photos.

Pictures

The Austria ÖBB nightjet train in Berlin main station
Figure 1. We took the Austrian ÖBB nightjet train to Berlin and back
glass front window of Berlin main station
Figure 2. Berlin main train station glass front with Deutsche Bahn logo
Two infants in Greek clothing on a statue near Berlin Bundestag
Figure 3. Two discussing infants in Greek clothing on a statue
Entrance to the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe murdered under national socialism
Figure 4. The “memorial to the Sinti and Rom of Europe murdered under national socialism” consists of a glass wall with facts and a pont with a quote
The Brandenburg Gate in the background with tourists in the front square
Figure 5. Brandenburg Gate is the landmark of Berlin
Concrete blocks are aligned left and right towards the focus points
Figure 6. Concrete blocks aligned in a grid resemble the memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe
In the photo the sun is positioned at the corner of one concrete block creating sun glares
Figure 7. Sun glares
A tilted stone showing the word “hope” in various languages on it
Figure 8. “Hope”
Tourists are shown at a square reading from the Berlin wall segments
Figure 9. Six segments of the Berlin wall are presented at Potsdamer Platz with information about the DDR government
Balconies with unique 60° angles are photographed from the streets upwards to the sky
Figure 10. Balconies
A red flyer is shown with two people in the center and the title “Gysi vs. Sonneborn”
Figure 11. “Gysi versus Sonneborn” advertisment for a political discussion round
The river Spree is visible on the left side and many old ships are mounted to the land on the right side of the image
Figure 12. History harbour in Berlin
The bottom screen shows a blue-white boat with tourists on the deck whereas the background shows a grey government building
Figure 13. Tourist boat traverses the river Spree
A statue is shown with a man on a horse
Figure 14. Memorial statue “Heiliger Georg”
A yellow post box is shown with the text “love letters only” on the slid
Figure 15. “Love letters only”
A red brick building is shown with a rigid square architecture and a flag on the top pole
Figure 16. The red city hall of Berlin
On the left side the river Spree is visible and on the right side the entrance to the DDR museum
Figure 17. DDR museum was best curated museum, we visited
Four party leaders are shown as puppets in a box and a handle on the left can be triggered to make them raise their hands to show their support for a decision
Figure 18. Illustration in the DDR museum how every political decision was enforced to be unanimous
The red city hall and Berlin TV tower are shown with the sky in the background
Figure 19. Red city hall and Berlin TV tower
A person is shown bent a bit backward and with hands around the mouth to shout better
Figure 20. Statue “The caller”
Concrete blocks with a horizontal concrete bar on top are shown and one metal soldier is visible in the center wearing war gear
Figure 21. Memorial of the Sowjet Union for fallen soldiers during the Second World War
A modern government building with flags in front is shown
Figure 22. Office of the German president
A white wide building is shown
Figure 23. Castle “Bellevue” is the official residence of the German president
Flowers and bushes are neatly aligned in columns to establish a garden where people and can walk between those columns
Figure 24. English Garden in Tiergarten
Between floor tiles a grid of brass plates can be found commemorating victims of the Holocaust
Figure 25. Stolpersteine is a concept, we already knew from Austria, but was invented by German artist Gunter Demnig
The side of a red brick building is shown
Figure 26. Brick architecture
The left shows a bowl of vegetables like a salad and the right shows peanut sauce soaking rice and vegetables and tofu
Figure 27. Dish of a Vietnamese restaurant, I enjoyed very much
A room with wooden walls and desks and chairs is shown and lanterns are mounted on the ceiling
Figure 28. Room of the Vietnamese restaurant Quê Choa
A tall column is shown with a golden figurine “Victoria the Roman goddess of victory” at the top is shown
Figure 29. “Victory column” refers to three different German wars
A metal illustration of soldiers storming from the left to the enemy on the righthand side
Figure 30. Illustration of the Prussian war in the Second Schleswig War mounted at the column base
Staircases in brown wooden style
Figure 31. KaDeWe staircases
A huge block of appartments is shown
Figure 32. Pallaseum is the former location of Sportpalast where Göbbels instigated the “total war” during World War Two
The side of a house depicts a graffiti with a man with a feather hat and holding a bow and arrow
Figure 33. Graffiti on the side of a private house showing indian symbols
A common apartment block is shown painted white but the windows in red and yellow create a nice picture
Figure 34. Apartments
A house is visible and a huge metal container enters on the first floor where the container covers the train passage
Figure 35. At this location, trains pass through the house
Concrete walls and a concrete ceiling cover a concrete path for pedestrians
Figure 36. Passage at Schöneberger Südgelände
A tall red tower is shown which was used to clean trains with water
Figure 37. Water tower at Schöneberger Südgelände
A few trees growing in the middle between train tracks
Figure 38. Nature took over the train tracks at Schöneberger Südgelände
The focus point of a road ends in green trees but on the left and right side are walls covered in colorful graffiti
Figure 39. Graffiti art at walls at Schöneberger Südgelände
Two lunch boxes are visible with fries covered with a topping and dumplings in a different box
Figure 40. Poutine and other fries-based fast food by frittenwerk
A metal flat ground is visible with text naming how many Jews from which location were deported here
Figure 41. “Gleis 17” memorial at train station Grunewald reminds of the deportation of Jews from this train station
The side of a container with a grafitti is shown and the devil in the graffiti says “Luck had nothing to do with it! I am just great!”
Figure 42. Teufelsberg is a hill made of WW2 debris and rubble and features a former U.S. listening station used by graffiti artist
The graffiti on building sides show a colorful female head as well as a woman in boxing gear
Figure 43. Buildings of Teufelsberg covered in graffiti
The foreground shows graffiti on buildings again but the back shows a building with a round white structure on top
Figure 44. The listening station had many satellites behind round metal structures covered by fabric but they got ripped over time
A graffiti shows a person lying on its side and internal organs are visualized and colors remind of a computer game like SuperMario
Figure 45. Graffiti at Teufelsberg
A graffiti with a black tank in front of red color inside a circle and text is wrapped around the circle
Figure 46. Graffiti “Kyiv / Київ 2023”
Two heads of Vladimir Putin are kissing each other are shown
Figure 47. Graffiti “ONE LOVE”
A colorful graffiti with two large visages are visible together with doves and a pen and a dog
Figure 48. Additional walls have been raised to provide more space for graffiti
Stereotypical drawing of Pink Panther where pink panther writes the text “Fuck the police” on a wall
Figure 49. Stereotypical drawing of Pink Panther titled “The Punk Panther”
A room in an industrial complex is shown and in the middle of the room additional walls are placed
Figure 50. Room of a building at Teufelsberg - illustrates that additional walls have been erected
A graffiti in red and blue colors is shown and a large bird with long feathers is drawn in red
Figure 51. Phoenix-themed graffiti
A tower with a ripped-apart outer fabric layer is shown and the ground floor shows a graffiti with a happy woman
Figure 52. Close-up photo of a tower at Teufelsberg
The sides of multiple buildings are shown and several graffiti are visible like a moneky and a boy with a slingshot
Figure 53. Teufelsberg graffiti art
A playground for children is shown with houses reminding of old German tales like Hänsel & Gretel
Figure 54. Playground with cool wood-themed elements
An old church is shown in the center and half of the conic tower is cut off in a tilted manner
Figure 55. The old bell tower (near Zoologischer Garten, center of the image) is called “lipstick” by Berlinians - you know why
The entrance to the square is visible and in between walls some poles are placed in regular distance
Figure 56. Poles prevent entrance to the square for trucks as security measure
A garage-like room is shown with various letterings on the floor in various sizes exceeding 50cm but with ways between so visitors can still walk along
Figure 57. Buchstabenmuseum is a club and museum collecting various neon lettering of former shopping centers
A screenshot of a video is photographed with Vladimir standing in front of canvases showing his works
Figure 58. Boxer Vladimir Klitschko dipped his box fists in blue colors and then boxed the shapes of alphabet letters
An open book is photographed which shows text on the right side and letters with contours on the left
Figure 59. Books about lettering and typography can be bought at the museum
A post on the pavement with a black background and “Buchstabenmuseum” in green letters
Figure 60. A post promoting the Buchstabenmuseum
A paper tray with fries and curry wurst
Figure 61. Berlin is famous for its Currywurst
Photo during the dark night with bright flames in a campfire
Figure 62. Campfire with our host family
A building (with at least 15 stories) with slabs
Figure 63. Buildings made with precast concrete slabs are also common in Berlin
Blue large market halls are shown next to each other with cars in front
Figure 64. Dong Xuang Center is also called “Little Vietnam” and features many small crowded shops inside market halls
The photo shows the outermost layer of a prison with garage-like units with barbed fences on top
Figure 65. Berlin has a Stasi-Museum, but we visited the former Stasi prison Hohenschönhausen
A prison cell is shown with a wooden surface in the back and a bucket in front
Figure 66. Inside a prison cell. The wood is a bed for up to 12 people and the bucket was used for faeces.
A lit hallway is shown and left and right are 5 metal prison cell doors each
Figure 67. Hallway between prison cells. Stasi was knowingly applying unlawful psychological torture but hid it in the best possible manner
A desk with old phone equipment is visible in the front whereas the background shows TV monitors
Figure 68. Control center of the Stasi prison Hohenschönhausen
Another hallway but the prison cells are connected by cables and furthermore food can be passed through a horizontal small window
Figure 69. Hallway of the more modern prison part. For example above each cell, a light bulb can be found which was turned on and off to keep inmates awake for torture
A room with several cupboards and a wooden desk is shown
Figure 70. A Stasi interrogation room. Stasi, for example, faked confession statements of relatives to make people confess to crimes
A staircase where people have to pass through metal bars to proceed
Figure 71. Prison atmosphere
A photo outside the buildings of museum with a tiny garden in the middle
Figure 72. Stasi prison Hohenschönhausen
A white 5 metre tall metal fence is pictured
Figure 73. Entrance to the Stasi prison Hohenschönhausen
A kitchen with old-style equipment and many tabletops is shown
Figure 74. They just reconstructed the kitchen and opened it as exhibition
Manhole with text “fat depositor”
Figure 75. Manhole with text “fat depositor”
On the left many green metal containers are stacked and the left shows sinks for cooking activities
Figure 76. Many metal containers have been used to prepare and store food for inmates
The TV tower is shown in the middle which is obviously a long tall building and has a sphere almost at the top which used to have TV signal equipment and has an observation deck
Figure 77. On our final day we visited the TV tower at Alexanderplatz to get a finishing overview over Berlin
A view from the tower is shown where buildings and roads and cars are understandingly tiny
Figure 78. TV tower view towards east
Another view from the tower but this time the shadow of the tower is visible on the ground
Figure 79. TV tower shadow
Buildings of Berlin and train tracks go between the buildings
Figure 80. Berlin architecture
The TV tower Berlin is visible in the center in between brick walls
Figure 81. TV tower Berlin
Post cards are visible on a desk
Figure 82. Post cards, we sent from Berlin
Brick walls are visible underneath the blue sky and one layer of bricks has grass on top
Figure 83. Side of “Klosterruine Berlin” (ruin of a church) with grass in sun appearing like flames
A pan and bread is visible and the pan is filled with vegetables like salad and beans
Figure 84. Delicious lunch with many fresh vegetables
The dome of the Bundestag is visible which redirects light along a mirror structure inside the building
Figure 85. Bundestag dome (publicly accessible, registration required)
The side of a building is shown and the dropped shadow shows three standing people
Figure 86. Our shadows

Trip

Day 1 (Brandenburg Gate)

  • Arrival by ÖBB nightjet in the morning

  • Spreebogen park

  • Bundestag governmental building

  • Paul-Löbe-Haus governmental building

  • Weiße-Kreuze memorial

  • Memorial for Roma-Sinti victims in national socialism

  • Brandenburg Gate

  • Memorial for murdered jews of Europe

  • Berlin wall guard tower at Erna-Berger street

  • "Mohrenstraße" station with tiny park between older buildings

  • Gendarmenmarkt

  • Restaurant Spitteleck

  • Historic harbor of berlin

  • Nikolai Church

  • DDR museum

Day 2 (Bellevue Castle)

  • Bundeskanzleramt governmental building

  • House of Cultures of the World

  • Bellevue Castle

  • Otto-von-Bismarck statue

  • Victory column

  • English Garden (inside Tiergarten), including the Teahouse

  • Hansaplatz

  • Restaurant Quê Choa

  • Straße der Erinnerung ({Helmut Kohl, Albert Einstein, Konrad Zuse, …} statues)

  • Bellevue Castle park

  • Victory column

Day 3 (KaDeWe and no Buchstabenmuseum)

  • KaDeWe shopping centre

  • St. Matthias Church

  • Restaurant Ixthys (Korean restaurant)

  • Pallaseum (former location of “Sportpalast” during Nazi period)

  • Eating ice cream at restaurant Vannini

  • Lutherchurch

  • Nelly-Sachs park

  • Dennewitzstraße 2 (subway traverses inside a building)

  • Westpark at Gleisdreieck

  • Buchstabenmuseum just closed and we missed it

  • Walk with our host at Schöneberger Südgelände

  • Bodemuseum (we did not enter)

  • Monbijoupark

  • Hackescher Markt

  • Restaurant frittenwerk at Alexanderplatz

Day 4 (Wannsee)

  • Westkreuz (Marzipantaler)

  • AVUS Autobahn (formerly racing track)

  • Eichkamp/Grunewald

  • Memorial for deportation during the Nazi regime

  • Teufelsberg (formerly spionage station)

  • Am Postfenn (bus station)

  • S Wannsee → Alt Kladow; by ferry

  • Kladower harbor ramp for Berliner Airlift

  • Alt Kladow → Alt Moabit; by bus

  • shopping centre My BIKINI with a window directed at Berlin’s zoo

  • Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Berlinians casually call it “broken lipstick”)

  • Neue Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche

Day 5 (sewing machine and Buchstabenmuseum)

  • At our host’s house

    • Try out an old sewing machine

    • Finishing a puzzle

  • Buchstabenmuseum

  • Eating currywurst

  • Eating Marzipantaler

  • At our host’s house

    • We cook Marillenknödel

    • We play instruments

    • We sit at a campfire

Day 6 (Stasi prison)

  • Dong-Xuan centre

  • Gedenkstätte/prison Berlin-Hohenschönhausen

  • We play instruments again at our host’s house

Day 7 (Alexanderplatz)

  • Locking luggage at main train station

  • Berlin TV tower observation deck

  • Restaurant Spreegold

  • Writing post cards to send home

  • Bundestag dome visit

  • Fetch luggage and travel home by ÖBB nightjet in the evening

Conclusion

A nice trip. I especially liked Teufelsberg, a former spionage installation, full of graffiti art.