Berlin: The walking tour continued...

This is the second part of a multi-entry blog. To read the first part, click here.

I won’t go into detail about every single building and monument we visited, and instead I’ll stick to the highlights. We walked down Unter den Linden – an iconic boulevard - in what used to be East Germany. It is named after the lime trees that run down the boulevard. They were removed during the Second World War, because Hitler felt they interrupted the fluidity of his marches, but were replanted in 1951.

This street is very important, because it is down it that Hitler marched during numerous parades. At one end is the Berlin Cathedral, a gorgeous Gothic structure. At the other end is the Brandenburg Gate. Through the gate is the Tiergarten, and down the street is the tall, impressive Napoleon Memorial. The street is a combination of large, important buildings, shops, restaurants, embassies, and hotels. It’s absolutely magnificent.

Gorgeous St. Hedwig's Cathedral. The famous domes are impossible not to stare at.

We passed St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, the Berlin State Opera, the Neue Wache (National War Monument), and stopped at Bebelplatz, a small cobblestone square off Unter den Linden. This square is significant because it was the site of the Nazi book burnings on May 10, 1933. Over 20,000 books were burned. There is a small plaque that marks the spot, but it is in German. If you walk a little bit further into the square, there is a huge sheet of clear glass built into the ground. Underneath the square, a memorial has been constructed. In a large white room are many empty bookshelves. Enough room to house the 20,000 books that were burned.

Across the street from Bebelplatz is Humboldt University. Some of the most famous students and professors include Albert Einstein, Otto von Bismarck, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx, and Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm. The building is still used as a university today, and I hope the students there appreciate the historic place where they go everyday to learn.

Further down the street, we stopped at the Russian Embassy. There wasn’t really much to look at, but Katie wanted to point out that a hammer and sickle is still chiseled above every window and doorway on the building. Even though the USSR officially fell in January of 1991, there are still reminders of the past communist presence everywhere, because for nearly forty years, the Soviets controlled half of the city.

There also used to be a statue of Lenin in front of the embassy, but it was removed to the interior years ago. We could only observe the building through a very high, very imposing metal fence, but I still was glad to have the opportunity to take a look. Imagine all of the people who have walked inside those walls, and conspired behind the security of locked doors and closed windows.

I quickly want to talk about Hotel Adlon. It is located beside the American Embassy, and is about fifty feet from Brandenburg Gate. This hotel is significant because it is where Michael Jackson held his son out the window while paparazzi snapped photographs. When I was in Berlin it was right after Jackson died, and Katie was unsure if she should tell the story or not. We all convinced her to keep sharing the detail with her tours, because it was a legitimate piece of interesting history.

A photo I snapped of Hotel Adlon. I also zoomed in on the balcony...

TO BE CONTINUED...