Berlin: A 360 degree view and the Berlin Wall that once divided a city . . .

I wanted to catch up blogging before I really get behind. I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to cover even a small bit of Berlin in one week. And what was I thinking when I was considering doing a day trip! I'll be lucky if I can get all my "must see's" in during my all too brief stay here. Well, enough of my whining. I consider myself lucky to even be here for a week considering this portion of my trip almost never happened.

First, I decided to take Shannon's advise and I went up the Berliner Fernsehturm for a nice 360 degree view of the City's layout. Thanks so much for your excellent advice Shannon. To the very tip of the tower is 368 meters, to the Observation deck (203 meters) and to the restaurant (207 meters). The fee is only 10.50 euros. During the winter season the tower is open 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.  There is also a revolving restaurant located above the observation deck.

And in only 40 seconds the lift brings us to the observation deck. The elevator is small but the ride is so smooth you barley notice it moving.

Here you have a fabulous 360 degree view of the City.  They also have these guides along the way just below the windows with photos numbering each landmark and a brief historical explanation.  Very cool and informative.

Then you can take photos through the large viewing windows.

 

After my introductory view of the city's layout which I really found helpful, I decided to head to the Eastside Gallery.

The Eastide Gallery is a 1.3 km stretch of the original Berlin Wall.  It is the longest remaining section still left in the City. On the west side the wall is pretty plain, except for some grafitti . . .

But on the East side of the wall is the Eastside Gallery where there are approximately 100 paintings by artists from all over the world.  This was one of those "wow" Travel moments for me.  There's so much history here and images race through my head. All the things I've read about before my trip, all the films that I've seen while growing up, I have to stand here and catch my breath awhile.  I bumped into a nice German couple from Frankfurt.  The wife was telling me that she was here in 1983 with a school group and this was the first time that she has returned.

I walked the entire length of the Gallery taking photos of each painting and then walked back to video tape some sections as well. I stood by it, I touched it and where there were breaks I looked through the gates and I still could not imagine what it was like.

Some of the paintings were very interesting . . .

Some spoke of peace . . . And how lucky for blogging friend and fellow Slow Traveler, Maya, who told me that she was here in Berlin during the time when the wall came down. What an amazing experience that must have been.  Thanks so much for sharing your experience Maya.

And some are quite famous . . .

It's against the law to deface these paintings and yet people still do it which is a shame. 

It was an incredible experience to actually see the former Berlin Wall in person. This will be an experience that I will never forget.

More to come . . .