Berlin (July 1-4) - Euro Adventure 2024
- Stephanie
- Jul 4, 2024
- 5 min read
This was my third visit to Berlin - first visit as a high school student in 1982 when East and West were divided by the Berlin Wall. Second visit with Gesine and her kids, plus my daughter, Alexandra. (See SIDE NOTE in Seeking the Sun ... Euro Adventure - 2024). This visit was for Chris to also experience Berlin, but I continue to find it an incredible place with such history, beauty and culture.
We arrived in Berlin, via train from Hamburg, on July 1. I'm so impressed with the train systems in Germany. It makes traveling so easy and carefree. We stayed in our first Kindred home (not swapped, but based on accruing credits), a six-floor walk-up with great views and easy access to the city.
The city was overtaken by the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) EURO 2024 Tournament. Two years ago we arrived in Copenhagen near the end of June, as the city prepared to kick off Tour de France. Last year, our October visit to Paris was in the midst of the World Rugby Cup. Apparently we have a knack for visiting cities selected to host international sporting events!
While we had on-and-off-again rain and clouds, we enjoyed a fascinating tour of Germany's historic legislative government building, the well-known landmark known as the Reichstag. Built in 1884, today it is the meeting place of the Bundestag (the lower house of Germany's national legislature). It's a beautiful Neo-Renaissance building that was used as the government seat during the German Empire (1871-1918) and the Weimar Republic (1919-33). Just as Hitler assumed the chancellorship, fire rendered the building unusable and it sustained additional damage during WWII. By the 1970s, it was a museum of German history, having undergone partial restoration. After Germany's reunification in 1990 more extensive renovation occurred, including restoring the glass dome.
The Reichstag sits near a bend in the Spree River, across from the Library of the German Bundestag and the Marie-Elisabeth-Luders-Haus, all easily accessed by the Bundestag subway station. It's near the Brandenburger Gate, and the start of Unter den Linden, a notable street stretching east toward the Berlin Cathedral and lined with museums, landmarks and a university.
Half-way between Reichstag and the Berlin Cathedral is Volkswagen's Corporate Showroom, including DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum where we viewed a cool free exhibit of timeless examples of ICONIC culture and society. We loved the Porsche and VW Bug on display.
Among the stunning architectural treasures along Unter den Linden, we saw a statue of King Frederick II of Prussia, on his horse. Just past is the main building for Humboldt University, and across the street, more Humboldt buildings on Bebelplatz. One of Berlin's most beautiful squares, its also the site of the infamous 1933 Nazi book burning ceremonies. After WWI the square was renamed after August Bebel, a founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in the 19th century. Across from Bebelplatz is a moving memorial to the victims of war, and a block north is the Maxim Gorki Theater.
Finally, the Berlin Palace (one of the city's largest buildings), adjacent to the Cathedral, was used as the primary residence of leaders, kings and emperors through the early 20th century. After the monarchy was abolished in 1918 and following damage during WWII, the East German government demolished the Palace in 1950. Following German reunification in 1990, most of the Palace's exterior was reconstructed to house the Humboldt Forum museum.
Moving in the opposite direction, west from the Brandenburger Gate, lies the Tiergarten, a large city park that contains the Berlin Zoo, Aquarium and multiple famous statues, fountains and memorials nestled among wooded paths, trees and manicured lawns.
The next day, thanks to a friend's recommendation, we took the train to Ostbahn Station to stroll the East Side Gallery at the Berlin Wall Memorial. We were so glad we did!
As the largest open air gallery in the world, located on the banks of the Spree River, it is the longest continuous section of what remains from the Berlin Wall. Following the opening of the Wall in early 1990, more than 100 artists from 20+ countries expressed their interpretation of the changing politics by decorating a section of wall, once facing East Berlin with paintings and murals. Due to urban redevelopment, only replicas exist today. The gallery has since been designated a protected landmark.
From there we traveled via subway to Alexanderplatz, exploring the opposite end of Unter den Linden and admiring sights near and around the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) on Museum Island, and the neighboring Innenstadt area. The Cathedral, also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Protestant church and dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern)*, which began as a chapel for the Berlin Palace (see yesterday's comments). While it is a collegiate church (parish church and member of Evangelical Church organization), it is technically, not a true cathedral, having never served as the seat of a bishop.
The Cathedral's history starts in 1451, when the first Renaissance building was constructed as a Catholic chapel. In 1454, Frederick II returned from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and elevated the chapel to a parish church when he gifted it with relics. He ordered the local bishop to consecrate the chapel to St. Elmo (Erasmus of Formiae). Pope Paul II assigned a canon-law college, dedicated to a number of saints, to Erasmus Chapel, endowing it with revenues and earning power.
In 1539, a year after two towers and a new facade were built in Brick Gothic style, Joachim II Hector converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism, so too did the collegiate church. When John Sigismund ascended the throne in 1608, he dissolved the college and renamed the church the Supreme Parish Church of the Holy Trinity, making it Berlin's first and only Calvinist church. Little revenue went to support the Calvinist church, and the dilapidated structure was torn down in 1747 to allow for the extension of the Berlin Palace.
In 1750, a new Baroque Calvinist Supreme Parish Church was dedicated north of the Palace, on the site occupied today. Under the reign of Frederick William III, the church joined the umbrella organization named Evangelical Church, united under the Prussian Union denomination. The church was remodeled in the Neoclassical style in 1830, and demolished in 1893.
Wilhelm II paid to build a much larger Neo-Renaissance building, a Protestant nod to St. Peter's (Catholic) Basilica in Vatican City, in 1905. Allied bombing destroyed part of the church during WWII, and the East German government destroyed the north wing (named Memorial Church, compared to Medici Chapel, in honor of the Hohenzollern dynasty) in 1975. The baptistry and wedding church reopened in 1980 and the nave restoration began in 1984. Chancellor Helmut Kohl rededicated the church in 1993 after removing damage caused in WWII.
Berliner Dom backs against the Spree River to the east and opens onto the Lustgarten (public park) to the west, with a center fountain. Across the street is the Humboldt Forum, previously mentioned, and to the north edge of the garden sits the Altes Museum, Berlin's first museum built between 1823 and 1830.
From there, we backtracked by the Neptune Fountain, depicting the Roman god of water surrounded by four women representing Prussia's main rivers. Continuing back toward Alexanderplatz, we passed St. Mary's. A redbrick Gothic Protestant church, and Berlin's oldest dating from around 1250, is home to the famous Dance of Death fresco from 1484. The painting, depicting dancing dead, likely commemorates the death of many that year from a plague epidemic.
Our final stop was walking around the Berlin TV Tower, built in 1969, with a viewing gallery and revolving restaurant. The base of which, normally surrounded by open space and gardens, was filled with Euro mania events, souvenirs and crowds.
There is so much more to see and experience, so much history; Berlin definitely requires another visit with more time!
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