Tours and talks

On Monday I had arranged to meet Debbie to do the open top bus tour before the conference started in the afternoon. Her colleague Frank, from Denmark, came along too. He had been in Slovenia with Debbie. Unfortunately time was tight so I knew I did not have time to get off the bus but just had to sit and go round. It was supposed to be 2 and a half hours but it actually took over 3 so we were quite pushed for time to get back. It was also quite difficult taking pictures on a moving bus so often I took them at traffic lights and so many of the photos have the traffic light in the picture as well. We had to stay seated and so most pictures are taken through the windows as only the top was open.

The bus picked us up from the hotel and we went to Alexanderplatz.

The Mariankirche

As I had walked down the Unter den Linden I resisted taking photos again! The headphone set gave an interesting commentary. The Brandenburg gate had been in "no man's land" as it was part of the boundary of the former Soviet sector.

The street above had been divided - West on the right, East on the left with the wall transecting the whole street. We passed the Reichstag and I tried to get a better photo but the trees obscured it. However, I did manage to take a photo of the pregnant oyster that I missed on the boat the day before.

We drove to the Siegessuale (Victory Column) which was built to commemorate victory in the Prusso-Danish was of 1864. The gilded figure of Victory - the Goldelse was added. The monument originally stood in front of the Reichstag but was moved by the Nazi geovernment in 1938.

It is actually straight!

The next stop was the Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of the German Federal President. It was restored after the bomb damage.

We passed the Charlottenburg gate again and I discovered that it had two parts - Friedrich on the left and Charlotte on the right

Friedrich part

Charlotte (plus the bus!)

Next was the Charlottenburg palace or Schloss. This was built for King Friedrich Willhelm IV.

Schloss Charlotenhof (with lamp post!)

The commentary also gave some interesting information about Berlin. It is thought it was first settled in about 1237. In 1920's it was seen as equal to Paris and London. It has three main centres as it is an amalgamation of these very separate areas - the historical with the Unter den Linden, the shopping area of Kurfurstendamm and Potsdam. The tiergarten was originally a hunting ground for the Prussians. Over 70% of Berlin was destroyed during the second world war. When East and West Germany were reunited it became the capital city again.

We then drove to the Kurfurstendamm area. This was a major centre in the 19th centry with many fine buildings but there are only 4 of these left now due to heavy bomb damage. During the cold war it was in East Berlin but now has become the major shopping area and is a very vibrant part of the city.

Typical East German architecture

More Western design

One of the original four buildings

We passed the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis-Kirche. It was only when I looked in the guidebook later that I realiased this was one of the buildings I remembered from my stay in Berlin well over 30 years ago during the time when the wall was still there. From the bus it was not possible to see the old church that has been presereved, only the new octagonal church.

The octagonal tower on the right

The fountain and Europa centre

We passed the clock of flowing time and the sculpture Berlin which symbolises the former divided Berlin.

Flowing time

Berlin

Next was the KaDeWe or Kaufhaus des Westens - the largest department store in Europe and the underground station - Witenburgplatz.

Next was the cultural area  - Kulturforum, by St Matthaus Kirche and the Philharmonic.

Our tour then took us towards Potsdamer Platz. This is an independent city bordering Berlin. It was very badly damaged by bombing particularly during 14 and 15 April 1945. After the war the square was left with all the rubble and became a no-man's land beside the wall. It has been almost completely rebuilt now by business developments and now has large businesses there - Sony and DaimlerChrysler. I would have liked to have visited the Sony building as apparently its centre is designed as a volcano and it is quite spectacular at night.

Potsdamer Platz

It is now Monday 18th June so I am trying to finish my blog over the next two days. I was absolutely exhausted and have spent the weekend recovering. Consequently it is more difficult to recall what happened a week ago (hence the photo below left!).

Could be state library!

Mauerreste - wall remains

We passed this stretch of the Berlin wall. There are now protected areas to preserve what little remains of the wall now in Berlin. There is still a different feel in terms of some of the architecture in some of the areas that were in the Russian sector and so formed part of east Berlin. 

Close up of the wall fragment

Next stop was by the former Checkpoint Charlie and the museum that is there now. I would also liked to have explored this and the Jewish Museum but I did not have the time.

The infamous Checkpoint Charlie

Charlie was the letter 'C' in the NATO or international phonetic alphabet. This was the only crossing point for foreigners between East and West Berlin. It was very different from the last time I visited and went through this point. Then there had been armed soldiers, searching under our coach with mirrors, checking our passports and everyone had been warned to be very serious and not draw attention to themselves. Now it is a tourist attraction of the past. Even the booth is a replica with its sandbags and warning sign that "You are leaving the American Sector". 

We drove up the Charlotenstrasse past the German and French cathedrals.

The Konzerthaus on the left, the French cathedral  centre

The German cathedral

This area is known as the Gendarmenmarkt. It was created at the end of the 17th century as a market square. It was named after the Regiment Gens d'Armes who had their stables here. In 1950 it was renamed Platz der Akademie but was changed back to its former name after the reunification. The two churches have similar front towers. The French cathedral, the Franzosischer Dom, was built for the Huguenots after they were expelled from France. They settled in Berlin as it too was Protestant. The Huguenots played a significant part in the development of Berlin as a centre for science, craft and commerce. Several French words still survive in the Berlin dialect from this time. The Deutscher Dom, or German Cathedral, was a Protestant -Reformed church which had the dome added in 1745. It was completely burned down in 1945 and rebuilt in 1993.

Our route then took us along the banks of the Spree and we passed the O2 building again and the section of the Berlin wall preserved there. However, this time I was on the side that had been painted. It is known as the East Side Gallery and has a huge collection of so-called "graffiti" on display from the work of 118 commissioned artists from 21 countries.

Unfortunately by now we were running very late. There had been many roadworks and building works that had held us up and it was now nearly 1 o'clock. We were due back at the hotel for the participants meeting at 2. Debbie had left the bus so Franck and I waited on the bus for it to return back to the Alexanderplatz. It did not even follow the route it should have done - trying to find a quicker way back. Thankfully I remembered the way back and we found the tram and were soon back at the hotel. I found Dian and explained that I needed to get my things and then buy some lunch and then we would meet.

We met up and reviewed our presentation and the others joined us. We had a couple of hours and then had to hand it in. We accepted that the piano playing for Chariots of Fire was not going to happen and concentrated on the rest of it. Overall we were very pleased with it and handed it in quite happily. Steve and I had a quick meeting with the other English participants and then we went to a bar to watch one of the Euro 2012 matches - France England. One of the French participants joined us briefly but decided to leave. I think Steve was rather too vociferous in his support for England! Even thought it was 1-1 and not a very inspiring game the general feeling was that was satisfactory. We then had a welcome reception at the hotel and got ready for the opening day of the conference.

Watching England!

Just realised I forgot to put the pictures of the match and the Welcome dinner so here they are!

Lorraine, Dian, Cesar, Lars and Steve