Holiday Pics (1) - Berlin

Just for the record, some pictures of Berlin and comments to go with them.

Charlottenschloss, Queen Charlotte's palace. The Berlin answer to the Palace of Versailles, or so I have been told.

Having arrived at this location after circumnavigating the city I decided I wasn't really in the mood to tramp through historic buildings, so I basically took this pic then wandered off :)



At the Brandenberg Gate. Once upon a time in no-man's land between East and West. Today a pedestrianised area between the Reichstag and the cultural precint of Unter den Linden.

Outside the gate are some incredibly moving historical pictures of gate over the years, from the Napoleonic Wars, through to the Second World War, partition and finally re-uinification.

There is also a gift shop to the right of the camera selling similar items.


In the centre of the main shopping street of former West Berlin (a name something like Kurfurstendamm). The bomb-damaged old church in the distance (and the aesthetically damaged modern addition) is retained as a monument to peace.

To the left of the camera is the large KaDeWe department store and to the right of the Church in the distance is Zoologische Garten station. Once the commercial heart of West Berlin but now rather tacky.

To the right of the photographer is also a small supermarket that was selling the most amazing variety of fresh fruit (berries, plums, peaches, apples, bananas...) all incredibly cheaply.

Not the greatest photograph, but this picture of Fredrichstrasse in the East shows a remarkable comparision. This shot was taken only a few hundred metres north of the famous 'Checkpoint Charlie'. Once upon a time this was deep into Russian territory. Now, the booming nature of this part of town can be seen, with lots of new expensive shops, as highlighed by the Paris-based Galeries Lafayette to the right. Note also the street-centre entrance to the underground railway in the middle of the picture.

This picture is quite different. It shows the neighbourhood centre of Mexicoplatz, in the southeastern suburbs of Berlin. I got off a train here (the station is located diagonally opposite to the white car to the right of the photographer) just because it was so pretty.

There are a range of shops including small supermarkets, newsagents, hairdressers etc in the ground floor of the buildings. There was also a small bakery where I bought a sandwich and a coffee. I asked for a 'Milschkaffee', which I what I was usually drinking in such places, and the shop assistant was confused and went off to ask the manager how to make one. She then came back and pushed the button labelled 'Cafe au lait' on the coffee machine.

This sculpture had me singing "Emannuel Kant was a real piss-ant" for hours...

It is located in the Unter Den Linden area and is part of a series hightlighting German 'ideas' through the ages. Other sculptures I saw included a running shoe and a giant asprin.


Transport

You knew it was going to happen evenually, didn't you?

I'm just a tad annoyed at the light pole with the poster because it mucks up this otherwise good picture of a double decker bus. Buses are the main mode of road-based public transport in the western parts of Berlin. Both single and double decker buses are used. Services are frequent and just about all stops feature timetables and route maps for the area. A single fare system for all modes is in use: the system is zonal with (from memory) 1+2, 2+3 or 1+2+3 tickets available. Most intelligently, the buses supplement rail systems rather than competing with them. Oh yes, once validated there is no need to revalidate tickets.

In the east there is still a tram network. This picture was taken about one block from the Alexanderplatz station, one of the main stations in the east. You can see how remarkably narrow the trams are. Also noticeable is the delightful nature of the East Berlin post-war architecture.

This picture of a pretty S-bahn station was taken in the south eastern suburbs. It is hard to tell from this picture, but barely a decade ago the S-bahn system was run-down, using pre-war wooden rolling stock and running almost a ghost service. After partition, the S-Bahn was run by the (eastern) DR and was practically boycotted by residents of the west. Today it is quick, convenient and (mostly) modern.

That's it for the moment. Next time: The UK.