Visiting what’s left of the Berlin Wall. Without the barbed wire, attack dogs, and guards with an easy trigger finger . . . .

The famous “Checkpoint Charlie”. Is anybody else bothered by the fact that German’s are dressing up like American servicemen and posing for photos?

What a way to start the day – with a tour of a WW2 civilian bomb shelter.  Berliner Unterwelten (run by the Berlin Underworld Association), offers tours of this often forgotten part of Berlin’s past.  We took tour #1, “Dark Worlds” and were led by our cute Israeli guide Ca’nan, through a maze of underground rooms, walls of phosphorescent paint, and displays of artifacts and weaponry from the era.

Eighty percent of central Berlin was destroyed during the war and 40% of the entire city. The wall went up in 1966, and we happened to be there on “Unification Day” when they celebrate East and West Berlin being back together. Because it was a major holiday, stores were closed and there were massive street fairs as well as smaller celebrations.

Because the Underworld tour was at a subway station, cabs were plentiful when we were finished.  Of course you could take the subway, but it was too beautiful a day to spend any more time underground.

We had the cab drop us at Adenauer Platz and walked down Kurfurstendamm, with its closed high-end stores, and enjoyed a nice lunch at the outdoor café, Redeksheimer.

Then we walked until we reached a stop for the Hop-On bus, which we took to Checkpoint Charlie for what used to be the entrance to the American part of Berlin.  Now a sort of seedy looking area.

No visit to Berlin would feel complete if we didn’t see and touch a part of the original Berlin Wall, and that was next up on our agenda. We had been tipped off by our Berlin Underground guide about the Legend of Hitler’s Bunker and its central location. A sign/exhibit titled “Mythos und Geschichtszeugis Fuhrerbunker” is all that remains to explain the history of Hilter’s final resting place in his specially built bunker with walls almost 13’ thick. Today, the area is a parking lot. Once again, kudos to the Berlin Underground group for doing the research and placing the marker of this significant historical location.

We then made our way towards the Holocaust Memorial, just one block south of the Brandenburg Gate and near the US Embassy. Even though this sobering memorial covers 4.7 acres, visitors might pass right by without noticing it or understanding what it symbolizes.  Designed by an American architect, it features 2,711 gray concrete slabs (stelae), all the same casket-like size, but varying in height from 8” to 15’.  The site also has an undulating base and much symbolism; the effect is disturbing on many levels. What disturbed me most, however, was the lack of appropriate signage and the hundreds of laughing people swarming over the area as an extension of the local Unification celebrations. BTW – the official name is “A Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe”.  No mention of the Holocaust or Germany’s role in those murders; there has been much controversy.

After a pretty exhausting day, we stuck close to home for another typical German beer and dinner (Bavarian, this time) at Augstiner am Gendarmenmarkt.

Important Info: The Berlin Underworld tours are daily, but are not offered as often in English.  There is generally an 11AM tour, and some days more tours are scheduled. You can check their website for details, although it is a bit confusing.  I’ve included a map with the photos to help clarify the location.  Other tours include: one of Hitler’s fortresses built to protect the city; “Subways and Bunkers of the Cold War”; “Under the Berlin Wall”, stories of those who tunneled to freedom.  http://berliner-unterwelten.de

Pointing the way to the ticket office.

Subway entrance for the start of the “Dark Worlds” bunker tour with Berliner Unterwelten. Down the hall and then some stairs and through a large, bolted metal doorway it’s a different world. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, so my description above will have to suffice.

Map of Berliner Unterwelten tours. This place can be hard to find and you have to get your tickets in person, cash only. It’s about a 20 minute taxi ride from the center of town (or you could take the subway). The experience is worth the effort.