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Berlin's Wurst Tourist Traps: Brandenburg Gate and The Wall

Where: Berlin, Germany
May 27, 2009 at 10:57 AM | by | Comment (1)

Jaunted's assistant editor Cynthia is currently kicking it in Berlin and all this week she'll be telling us what to do and not do in town. Any suggestions or questions? Let us know.

Dash across the street, in between the double decker tour buses and the school groups more interested in their souvenir purchases than what they are about to see, and you arrive at the Berlin Wall. Rather, you're standing in front of four sections of it, placed just so in Potsdamer Platz where the tourists can best photograph it surrounded by the glass buildings of a modern European capital.

The Berlin Wall, which once divided this city between the allied section and the Soviet quarter for thirty years, remains a huge tourist draw. In fact, it seems as though everyone and their moms can boast of owning a piece of the thing.

These days, visitors take their picture in front of the Brandenburg Gate, follow the bricked path in the street nearby which marks the wall's former location, and try to chisel more off of the portions in Potsdamer Platz. Thankfully, we figured out a way to experience the history of the wall free from the bus tour crush and the temptation of further chipping away at the thing.

After taking the obligatory Brandenburg gate photo, make your way east straight down the street Unter den Linden. You can look up at the facade of the Hotel Adlon, where Michael Jackson once dangled his baby out of the window, and pass by the American and British embassies. Take a right onto Wilhelmstrasse, and walk several blocks south until suddenly the wall itself appears on your right.

This block-long portion of the wall, located on Niederkirchnerstrasse between Wilhelmstrasse and Stresemannstrasse near the site of the old Gestapo headquarters, has been gated off from grabby fingers and sits free of souvenir stands. While the street is a popular one for tour buses, they have no choice but to drive by while you enjoy an interlude with history.

When you can't get President Reagan's famous line of "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" out of your head, that's when you can thank us. Go at night to really experience the gravitas of the barrier; where is a violin playing a sad song when you most need one?

Related Stories:
· Berlin's Wurst Tourist Traps: Checkpoint Charlie [Jaunted]
· Berlin Field Trip Coverage [Jaunted]

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Berlin

Wow very nice article. Museums of berlin are very attractive. Museum Berlin-Karlshorst displays photos of two world wars.Judisches Museum has nice architecture. The razing down of the Berlin Wall signified the conclusion of the East and West partition.You can see 15,000 animals in berlin zoo. You can see beautiful aquarium in zoo. For more details refer Berlin
monalisa on July 23, 2009 at 7:20 AM #Permalink

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