In March 2024, I went on my first trip from the US to Europe, and the crown jewel of the three cities I visited during this time was Berlin. This is where I spent the most time at on a 16-day trip compared to the other cities Prague and Krakow. It’s also the one me and my buddy went back to for several days after Krakow was done, so we stayed a few extra days. That’s because the original plan was a fourth city, Budapest, but it turns out a four-city itinerary on 16 days was a bit too ambitious so we had to cancel that (I have to get Budapest later though).
Anyways, Berlin was magical when I first got out of the airport (though it took a while because bureaucracy was slow for non-EU citizens and I was just dying to get out already). We took the Uber to our hotel, which was in the former East Berlin, at the Park Inn Alexanderplatz which I chose because I thought it’d be neat to stay in a former GDR era hotel (and it was easy to spot). One of the funny things that immediately stood out to me is seeing socialist architecture from the GDR era be converted into hosting private businesses from restaurants to mini marts and specialty shops, complete with colorful logos. I feel like Erich Honecker is rolling in his grave.
The next day, I woke up in the morning and was practically at awe of my amazing view of former East Berlin. After that I went to the TV Tower, which felt like going up the Seattle Space Needle but in a European city… and with communist origins. Got some neat views from it too. I also went to the nearby mall, and let me just say that I LOVE the fact that shopping malls are still a big thing in Europe after they’ve died out in the US. It was practically magical.
The next day I went to the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park. It was harder to find than I expected (I just assumed you’d show up and it’d be there), but it was a trek to get through the park which had multiple sections, and I was worried we wouldn’t find it until I saw a sign that said “Sowjetisches Ehrenmal” which only took a second to translate in my head without knowing German. It was huge, wide and magnificent, and you can tell they were trying to make a statement. Fun fact: The moment we got there, I saw a jogger just go around the whole park and circle the statue. That’s one way to make use of a charged historical site.
After getting some lunch, we took the train over to the DDR Museum, and got a pretty neat exhibition on East Germany with a lot of cool historical artifacts, including a major piece of the Wall. My friend wasn’t nearly as knowledgeable about Cold War history as I was, and I found myself explaining some things to her. She was also shocked to find that Bruce Springsteen played there in 1988, as one of the few western acts to play in East Germany, fun fact.
The next day, we went to the mall again and a different mall at that (did I mention I love the malls? Lol). We tried going to the Reichstag building afterwards, but we didn’t realize we had to book to enter inside (yeah, noob mistake I know) so we scheduled that for when we’d return later. I did geek out a bit just seeing it, and in fact I was like “Oh damn, I think I see the part of the Reichstag where the Soviets raised the flag over it!” (though I can’t be 100% sure).
Speaking of Soviets, I stumbled across the Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarten totally by accident while we were there. That was cool. Other than that, we saw some neat statues (including one with a damaged Hercules from the Battle of Berlin), and the Holocaust memorial. Berlin has so much history you can practically trip over it.
The day after, we went to Checkpoint Charlie and saw even more cool Cold War related things at the Wall Museum. It really did feel like standing in the ghosts of our past. After returning to Berlin from our departures to Prague and Krakow, we took a guided tour of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag Building from a local named Pierre (name aside, he was actually from Bavaria, not France). He was pretty cool, though he was kind of caught off guard with how much I already knew while explaining to my friend who didn’t know was easier.
As you could probably tell, I treated this vacation as a sort of edutainment excursion. Outside of the fun Cold War stuff, I had a blast just going to the malls, exploring the city, trying out different food (and as a pizza lover, I enjoyed eating at pizza restaurants by Italian immigrants… though was caught off hard to learn ranch wasn’t a thing outside of America), and seeing all the sights and feeling alive. I actually want to go again in the near future because I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of it.
Here’s the pics! AMA if you’d like, I’ll answer the best I can!
Pictures:
View of former East Berlin from my hotel room
My hotel, the Park Inn Alexanderplatz
View of Berlin from the TV Tower
Random statues of Marx and Engels I found nearby, East German era
Soviet War Memorial, Treptower Park
Close up of the Soviet statue in Treptower
Berlin Cathedral
8-10. DDR Museum
Zionskirche
Holocaust Memorial
1700s Prussian statue of Hercules with damage from the Battle of Berlin
Soviet War Memorial, Tiergarten
15-17. Checkpoint Charlie
19-20. Interior of the Reichstag Building.