Berlin Day 2: German History Lesson

Norman:

We started off the day taking part in a tour of the Berlin Underground. Our guided tour consisted of exploring an old World War 2 bunker that sheltered the German population during the bombings. The entrance to the bunker was basically a nondescript green door at the Gesundbrunnen subway station. There was a lot of interesting history there - walls were painted a (semi-dangerous) paint which glowed in the dark for when electricity was cut off. Though that particular shelter was meant to hold around 6000 people, often 3 to 4 times that many people were housed at time of the bombings. Because of such density, the biggest danger was lack of oxygen as many of the bunker rooms did not have ventilation in order to prevent poisonous gas from entering the bunker. Exploring the bunker felt like walking through a labyrinth, one we could easily get lost venturing through. There were also a lot of cool artifacts such as old bombs, weapons, World War II memorabilia and propaganda items. Unfortunately, we could not take photos there so there are no cool photos to show you except for this picture of the stairs which led to the secret underground bunker.

Stairs with bunker door at the top

Next, we headed nearby to the Berlin Wall Memorial. Remnants of the wall along with some demolished houses were there, along with the Reconciliation Church that was ultimately demolished as it stood almost as a sign of defiance against the separation of the wall. Houses once snuck people across the border either through backdoors or windows. When those were boarded up, underground tunnels dug beneath the wall transported people into West Berlin. It is sometimes hard to imagine that the Berlin Wall came down relatively recently, and a major piece of history passed just within my lifetime.

The Berlin Wall often separated lovers in the past: Mandy in the East, me in the West

Famous Tunnel 57, which snuck 57 people past the wall

Trying to be cool

Afterwards, we headed to Brandenburg Tor, the same place where we went to watch the Germany soccer game yesterday. Apparently, it is one of the oldest gates in Germany and is the ultimate Berlin landmark. We took some photos and (over)-indulged in some Currywurst. After several rounds of sausage, pommes (fries) and bread, we headed to the Reichstag building (German Federal Parliament). Passing through several security levels, we ultimately went to the top of the Parliament building. There were amazing opportunities to check out the sights and a massive glass dome that overlooked all of Berlin. Very cool.

Us in front of the Brandenburg Gate

Delicious Currywurst

Heading towards the Bundestag

Mandy in front of the German Flag. Black pants, red scarf, yellow... skin?

Impressive glass dome

 

Even more impressive on the inside

Despite all the currywurst we had, followers of our blog know that food is upfront in centre in all we do. We went to Lon-Mein Noodle House, somewhat far from the centre of Berlin. It was a Taiwanese restaurant that received good reviews and the praise is well-deserved. The noodles were delicious and satisfied our noodle cravings (temporarily). Maybe next travel should just be pure eating in Taiwan, since the food is so damn good. Pictures speak louder than words. 

Spicy won-ton noodles and spicy porkchop noodles

Tomorrow I will be meeting two of my good friends from LSE and letting them guide us around the city. Excited!