AMSTERDAM to BERLIN – new beginnings
Monday – an early start today and out of bed at 6.15am. We have to be at Amsterdam Centraal Station in time to catch the 7.41am train to Schipol and then on to Berlin – city of so much history both good and evil.
It is about a 20 minute walk to the station and we have to allow time to have our Eurail Pass validated. The Eurail Saver Pass lets us travel on trains through Europe for any 10 days over 2 months and was more practical than buying individual tickets.
It is too early to have breakfast at the hotel – they do not start serving until 7am – so we will have to pick up something on the run.
Walking past our hot bread shop from yesterday, it is not open either so we hope that there is something open at the Station.
The streets are practically empty, just the occasional traveller on their way to the next stop – just like us. Finding the ticket section the lady who serves us is a bit grumpy – maybe she hasn’t had her morning coffee? We give her our pass and she asks us why we are going to Schipol and not Hilversum? Our only answer is ‘that is what Rail Europe suggested when we booked.’ Something mumbled in Dutch and then she tells us the best way is to Hilversum as all we have to do is change from one side of the platform to the other not like Schipol where we have to drag our luggage up and down platform stairs. We take her suggestion and thank her. The down side of this is that we would have had plenty of time to have breakfast at the hotel and pick up some of that wonderful bread – but too late to worry about that now.
Our main thought is to find somewhere for breakfast. We spy a place called De Brooodzaak (The Bread Shop) which has the most scrumptious looking sandwiches, rolls and coffee. I feel like saying ‘I’ll have one of those and one of those and one of those’ but then I think I am only travelling for one day not one year! For sustenance on the train I get a brie and salad roll; a ham and cheese roll and an apple and cinnamon turnover. Breakfast is a ham and cheese croissant and some OJ. With provisions in hand we head to our platform 10B to wait for the 8.26am train to Hilversum. Finding some empty seats we start on breakfast and of course we acquire lots of new friends in the form of pigeons all wanting a little treat. They are out of luck except for the few crumbs left in the bags.
Our train arrives and as we have First Class Passes (would you expect anything less?) we are in the First Class carriage. The trip is about 20 minutes and on arrival we cross the platform and I see this sight. All bikes parked in the area – some on top of each other. I wonder if they are privately owned or rental bikes? Arriving at Hilversum – there is a board on the platform with a carriage lay out for our journey to Berlin so we take up our spot where we think our carriage #12 will arrive. While we are waiting and taking photos the platform attendant asks us what carriage we are in and then tells us the carriage orders have been altered and it will be down the other end of the platform. Yep that figures. Isn’t this trip starting well? Can’t wait to see what unfolds over the rest of the month.
Our train arrives, we get into the carriage and find we have a compartment to ourselves. Just like the trains of old at home or the Hogwart’s Express, except that those trains were wooden and this is very modern. Plus we are not wizarding students heading off for lessons in magic. There are six seats so let’s hope that we have it all to ourselves. The seats are nice and comfy and we put our bags in the racks and spread out. When we stop at a few stations people look in our cabin and decide to find other arrangements. There is a small snack area on the train so we get some coffee, sit back and enjoy the ride.
This is one of the stations we pass through. Don’t you just love the name? About 2 stops before Berlin two Aussie women get in the compartment. How could we tell they are Aussies? They have all the typical Aussie Tourist Abroad crap. Scarves, little koalas, stickers all over their belongings plus we know for sure when they open their mouths. They smell as if they had been on a brewery tour and they just plonk their luggage all over the floor. Heaven help us if we need to get out.
Arriving at Berlin HBF – this is one huge station. Lots of people around and now we have to find the first of two stations to get us to our destination for the night. Our first station is downstairs – where we take the S-Train and get off at Friedrichstrasse and then change to the Underground U6 where we get off at Stadmitte. Sounds all very complicated but we find it easy enough as there are a lot of signs around. When we get back on top of the ground it is raining a bit – not a lot but just enough to be a slight annoyance. It is not that far to walk to our accommodation – Berlin City Hostel.
Down the street and around the corner and there it is, looks OK so far. We have booked two rooms and check in goes smoothly. We are given sheets and towels and then we head to the lift. My room is really big and then there’s a knock on the door. It is Kylie to check out my room. Her mouth falls open! Needless to say their room is only half the size of my room so I suggest we change. We pack up our gear, thankfully we have not unloaded much and do the old switcheroo. Ah, that’s better. To be honest, this is the only place where we were concerned. A hostel usually conjures up thoughts of teenage back-packers rumbling around at all hours but – oh well – we will see. It is still raining so we have a bit of a breather and unpack before deciding what to do.
The rain has eased to an occasional sprinkle so we decide to see Checkpoint Charlie as it is not far. Our hotel is situated within walking distance of most of the attractions we want to see over our stay here.
HISTORY LESSON : Shortly after the Berlin Wall was built, President John F. Kennedy ordered the forces to build three checkpoints at different points in the wall through which diplomatic corps and allied forces could enter West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became the most famous. By 1962, this checkpoint was the only place at which foreigners visiting Berlin could cross from West to East and back again. Located in the Friedrichstadt neighborhood in the heart of Berlin, the checkpoint was the subject of many movies and appeared frequently in spy novels penned during the Cold War era.
Charlie is really only a Kodak moment stop as after finding out that this is not the ORIGINAL Charlie a photo is all that it is worth. The original Charlie site is now in an Allied Museum and this one is apparently now owned by a lady of rather dubious mental characteristics. The soldier standing waiting for the tourists is rather shabbily dressed as a US Marine and the tourists who want to have their photo taken with him must pay 2 euro for the privilege. We take photos from afar for free. He rotates his time with a soldier dressed in Soviet uniform.
There is a group of people standing to one side and this seems to be a free tour so we listen to the guy chatting away.
He is most knowledgeable about the Berlin Wall which is just around the corner so we decide to visit that today as well. The rain starts to fall a little heavier but undaunted we press on and reach the wall and take some great photos, also realising that this barrier was used to keep families and friends apart for such a long time.
It was in use from 1961 – 1989 until such time that is was demolished and both sides of Berlin could come together again. It is hard to imagine what it would have been like for those people kept apart to now be able to walk freely across their city.
Underneath this part of the wall we find the museum of ‘Between Propaganda and Terror’ – Germany 1933 – 1945. It contains a lot of demolished buildings with references to each section. When I was a high school student my studies included both WWI and WWII. It was during the study time of Hitler’s Germany I began to discover that in those times power seemed to be the ultimate goal. Now that I am older I cannot understand how human beings can act that way toward each other. Even in today’s society power seems to be the magic word. Some people will fight to gain it and then not give it up even if it is for the good of their country and their people.
The photo on the left is the external basement walls of the corner house at Wilhelmstrasse 98. For several months at the beginning of 1936 the house was the headquarters of the ‘Inspectorate of Concentration Camps’. Later various departments of the Gestapo were located here.
On the right – demolished and abandoned piers from the main driveway to Gestapo headquarters which were left after the clearing of the site 1957 – 1963 with remnants of the metal fixings. All transports of prisoners to the Gestapo ‘house prison’ passed through this ‘east gate’.
We spend quite a bit of time down here – there are lots of people – but it is silent. Maybe everyone is trying to comprehend just what went on during those times. The rain has eased and the weather seems to be clearing so we decide to walk to the Brandenburg Gate.
On our way we find this Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It is located near the Reichstag and the underground bunker where Hitler committed suicide.
The designer has said, “I want it to be a part of ordinary, daily life. People who have walked by say it’s very unassuming… I like to think that people will use it for shortcuts, as an everyday experience, not as a holy place.”
HISTORY LESSON : The memorial consists of about 2,700 concrete slabs (“steles”) arranged in a grid pattern covering 19,000 square meters. The steles are 2.38m long, 0.95m wide and vary in height from 0.2m to 4.8m. The ground slopes unevenly. Visitors are encouraged to walk between the steles; the memorial can be entered from all sides and offers no prescribed path.
Our next stop is to head to the Brandenburg Tor (Gate). It is late afternoon by now and we were hoping to see a magnificent sunset – but alas it is not to be. There are tourists everywhere which is to be expected so like everybody else we commence taking photos from every spot available.
The Brandenburg Gate is one of the first landmarks that comes to mind when thinking of Germany. HISTORY LESSON : It is the national symbol of the country, and German history was made here – many different times. It became infamous in the Cold War, when it was the sad symbol for the division of Berlin and Germany: The Gate stood between East and West Germany, becoming part of the impenetrable Berlin Wall. It was here, where Ronald Reagan said his moving words: “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
It is a most magnificent gate, crowned with the sculpture of the Quadriga, a four-horsed chariot driven by Victoria, the winged goddess of victory.
The sun is starting to set so we head around the corner to the infamous Reichstag. The stone is as grey as grey but when we go to the other side of the building – well you can see in the photo below – it is a golden bronze with the sunset. HISTORY LESSON : The building was constructed between 1884 and 1894, mainly funded with wartime reparation money from France, a result of Prussia’s defeat of France in 1871. The famous inscription ‘Dem Deutschen Volke’ (To the German People) was added later, in 1916, by emperor Wilhelm II. The bronze letters were cast from seized French cannons.
In 1933 fire broke out in the building, destroying much of the Reichstag. It is to date still unclear who started the fire, but the Communists were blamed. It gave a boost to Hitler’s Party, the NSDAP, who would soon come to power. The building was damaged even more at the end of the war, when the Soviets entered Berlin. The picture of a Red Army Soldier raising the Soviet flag on the Reichstag is one of the most famous 20th century images and symbolized Germany’s defeat.
Walking around the building to the park side my breath is taken by the absolute gloriousness (is there such a word?) of the place. The sun is setting, lighting the windows and giving the stonework a most magnificent glow.
I have brought with me a new star point filter and am keen to try it out. So pleased with the result. We decide that this is a place for some night photography as it is not much good bringing tripods all this way and not use them. I can hardly wait.
Night is coming quickly and it has been a full day. We are a bit hungry – although I am still recovering from my feast of rolls on the train, but there doesn’t seem to be many restaurant type places open so we go into a supermarket where I get some fresh pineapple and strawberries. K&T get some pizza and salads and we sit outside the pizza bar and eat. 
I cannot help myself so out comes the camera for a bit more fiddling with the star lens. I think maybe I am getting just a bit carried away with my new found friend. We head back to the hotel and I am glad to get into the shower and then use some of my peppermint foot massage cream on my tootsies.
Highlight of the day : The Reichstag at sunset