Berlin has a wealth of interesting sights to see and places to visit
The image was dramatic: one of Germany’s best-known buildings, the Reichstag—a symbol still for many of the era of National Socialism as well as Germany’s reunification in 1990—wrapped completely in 100,000 square meters of off-white polypropylene, courtesy of the artists Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, with nothing to be seen but the vague shape of Germany’s parliamentary building. For many, the parceled up Reichstag represented art gone awry, yet when the shiny covering was torn away, in July of 1995, the symbolic rebirth was hard to ignore. By then, of course, Germany had been reunified for almost five years. Yet for Berlin, the timing of the unveiling was perfect. Surrounding the Reichstag on every side was a forest of cranes, part of a structural rebirth of the city, for which the parliament building played a central role. From Europe’s biggest construction site, at Potsdamer Platz, to the renovation of Berlin’s signature street Unter den Linden, to the foundation work for the federal government buildings along the Spree River and indeed the rebuilding of the Reichstag itself, Berlin was humming with vitality. Now, eight years on, the cranes have largely vanished, leaving in their wake a cityscape that as recently as 14 years ago nobody could have imagined to be possible. It has become an architecture student’s dream with ultra-modern designs butting up against Neoclassical facades, 21st-century concrete and glass competing for space with 19th-century Neo-Baroque. On Pariserplatz one can admire the 18th-century Brandenburg Gate, erected in 1791 to commemorate the territorial gains made during Frederick the Great’s reign (1740–86), and the opulent 19th-century Adlon Hotel, flanking Frank Gehry’s brand-new National Bank structure with its stunning interior and not far away the modern, glass dome of the new Reichstag designed by Sir Norman Foster stands out against the skyline. The combination makes Berlin either a truly fascinating place to visit or an eclectic mess, depending on your taste. One thing is certain, however: as scaffolding slowly disappears and the city’s cultural life blossoms there cannot have been a better time to visit the city in the last 70 years. During the decades that Berlin was divided by the wall, each half of the city developed its own center. For West Berlin the Kurfürstendamm and the dramatic ruins of the Gedächtniskirche—originally intended as a monument to Kaiser Wilhelm and left as a ruined memorial to the destruction of World War II—became the focal point of city life. Glitzy shops and neon lights were installed quickly following the war to underline the superiority of Western democracy. The GDR government chose Alexanderplatz as its center and created the Karl Marx Allee (originally called Stalinallee) as a monument to the glories of communism. This imposing avenue lined with gray (now restored) communist-realist structures was designed to impress upon visitors the efficiency and authority of a socialist state. In the wake of reunification these two show streets have been marginalized and, although both retain something of their original atmospheres, appear no more than secondary attractions. Today, most visits to Berlin focus on the central strip that, until 14 years ago, was a mine-pocked wasteland punctuated by barbed-wire and guard towers—a barren area that included the field where Potsdamer Platz was once located, before its almost complete destruction in World War II, and where it is now situated again, the Brandenburg Gate and the area around the Reichstag. It is precisely in this district that the new Berlin is at its most dazzling—and, it must be said, at its most eclectic. For many Berliners the rebuilt Potsdamer Platz is something of an alien in the city. Indeed, the shopping mall, cinema and casino on the Daimler-Chrysler side of Leipziger Strasse and the impressive glass tent, cinema and shops on the Sony side of the street feel completely isolated from the rest of the city. The square is worth a look though—especially for a visit to the film museum, where a daily selection of excellent films, both old and new, are shown. Nonetheless, one can’t help feeling that Berlin’s “real” life is being lived elsewhere. Construction is continuing on Ebertstrasse between Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate, most notably on the large and controversial memorial to Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Here, too, underneath the large, empty lot dominated by a hot-air balloon that provides tourists a bird’s-eye view of Berlin, is the location of Hitler’s bunker, as well as the former site of his marble Reich Chancellery. The latter survived the war, but was later dismantled by the Russians and used as building material for the Soviet War Memorial on Strasse des 17. Juni and for the bombastic Soviet military cemetery in Treptower Park—even today the blocks of marble that line the site are adorned with quotes from Stalin. The Regierungsviertel (government district), just north of the Brandenburg Gate and nestled into the so-called Spree Bogen, or bend in the Spree River, likewise does not yet seem to have merged with the rest of Berlin. Dominated by the Reichstag, the northwest corner is anchored by the rather boxy and unattractive concrete and glass Kanzleramt—Schröder’s offices are referred to as the “Chancellor’s washing machine” by locals, for reasons that will immediately become obvious to visitors. The similarly angular, yet infinitely more attractive Paul-Löbe-Haus spans the Spree River next to the Reichstag and will provide office space for Bundestag representatives as well as shelf space for the Bundestag Library when it is completed next year. Visitors from Munich will likely see the similarities with the Pinakothek der Moderne; both buildings were designed by Munich architect Stephan Braunfels. The hub of Berlin’s city life, however, is mostly to be found east of the government district, along the street Unter den Linden and its most important cross street, Friedrichstrasse. The latter is the more commercial of the two, lined with expensive shops and boutiques. At its northern end it intersects the Oranienburger Strasse, the main street of the so-called Scheunenviertel—the former Jewish quarter of Berlin—and home of the gold-domed New Synagogue and the old Jewish cemetery. Nearby is a complex of buildings known as the Tacheles, home to a cinema, a theater and a couple of rustic yet stylish bars. This was once the mecca for Berlin’s alternative crowd. The Bohemian scene that settled here after 1989 has since moved on to parts of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, city quarters to the south and east respectively, but Tacheles even in its rundown state has a good deal of charm. A small monument to Checkpoint Charlie, the famous crossing into East Berlin, can be found at the southern end of Friedrichstrasse. Unter den Linden itself is lined primarily with imposing-looking public buildings now housing expensive shops and automobile showrooms. And, of course, there are the linden trees, the current generation having been planted after the war to replace those felled by the Nazis, who preferred rows of flagpoles sporting swastikas on either side of the street. Originally leading west out of medieval Berlin, Unter den Linden really came to prominence in the early 18th century under Frederick the Great, a statue of whom graces the eastern end of the boulevard, when a number of palaces and the Royal Library were built, though sadly none of these has survived. The area was devastated in World War II, but the street was rebuilt by the Soviets to recall Berlin’s past and includes the immense Russian embassy and library toward the western end. At the eastern end of the street lies the Humboldt University, the State Library and, just across the Schlossbrücke, the now asbestos-free, but still incredibly ugly, monument to the GDR, the Palast der Republik, once home to the East German government. After being closed for a decade, the building can now be visited on Saturdays, but go soon as there is still talk of tearing it down and rebuilding the Berlin Palace, which was home to Berlin’s Hohenzollern rulers for nearly half a millennium, from 1443. The communists dynamited the palace in 1950 to make way for the current monstrosity. Also toward the end of Unter den Linden lies the Neue Wache, or guard house, the first of a number of buildings designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841), painter and court architect to Frederick William III. Mixing elements of Romanticism and Neoclassicism into his works, Schinkel built the Schlossbrücke as well as a number of buildings in the city center, many of which have been destroyed. Happily, though, his personal favorite, the Altes Museum with its impressive columned front still stands and remains the cornerstone of the impressive collection of museums on the Museumsinsel, a location that is on Unesco’s list of World Cultural Heritage sites. While the buildings on the island are, for the most part, beautiful from the outside, perhaps the most famous single item on the island is the Pergamon Altar inside the Pergamon Museum. The building was erected specifically to house the altar, but now also plays host to a large number of artifacts brought—some would say pilfered—from Egypt at the turn of the 20th century. From here it is just a short walk to Alexanderplatz, the home of the dominating Fernsehturm (television tower), and the Rotes Rathaus (“red” city hall), so called owing to the color of its bricks and not, as has often been intimated, the political persuasions of its politicians. The building is one of the few examples of Hohenzollern architecture remaining in Berlin and was largely reconstructed with bricks recovered from the rubble remains of the original destroyed during World War II. While the square itself, on the east side of the Alexanderplatz train station, is completely surrounded by ugly 1970s communist architecture, it is a place full of people and activity and is a good location to take a break from sightseeing. The fountain in front of the Kaufhof—this has to be Germany’s most spectacularly ugly building—is a great place to people watch. Just behind the Rotes Rathaus toward the river lies the Nikolaiviertel, situated on the site of the original Berlin. For centuries after its founding, in the 12th century, this settlement was of little geopolitical importance. It was not until the Elector Frederick William (1620–88) became ruler of Brandenburg, towards the end of the Thirty Years’ War, that Berlin began its transformation into a major trading post and later into the capital of Prussia. Much of Berlin’s economic success during the years of Frederick’s rule and that of his successors was the result of a tolerant attitude toward immigrants. The city welcomed Jews and French Protestants known as Huguenots to the area. (It is Berlin’s Huguenot past, in fact, that explains the French church on Gendarmenmarkt, one of Berlin’s most charming squares, located to the south of Unter den Linden.) In GDR times the Nikolaiviertel was rebuilt to give it some of its original, village character, but unfortunately, in present-day Berlin, the district has all the atmosphere of an open-air museum or a historical Disney Land. It feels, despite being home to Berlin’s Hemp Museum, more like an island of provincialism rather than the historical core of the city. For a more authentic look at the city’s history, go to the Märkisches Museum, housed in a hulking brick building visible across the river. Located in what used to be the town of Cölln, the other village from which Berlin originated, it provides a good look at some of Berlin’s pre World War II history. Germany’s capital is a city that takes weeks to discover. While it can be tempting to spend all of one’s time looking at the historical and cultural attractions in the center, it is the outlying neighborhoods where Berlin life really takes place. And just as the geographical city center of Berlin moved east after 1989, so too did Berlin’s nightlife and vitality. Immediately after the wall came down, Prenzlauer Berg, just north of Alexanderplatz, became a magnet for young West and East Germans alike, developing into a vibrant artistic center. The area around Kollwitzplatz, though since largely gentrified, still has an attractive atmosphere, where it is pleasant to wander along tree-lined boulevards past carefully restored villas. The restaurants and cafés aren’t as cheap as they once were, but gallery-hopping can be a fun way to spend an afternoon. The neighborhood of Friedrichshain has taken over the mantel once worn by Prenzlauer Berg. While locals are already complaining of gentrification, the area around Simon-Dach-Strasse has a seemingly never-ending array of cafés, bars and restaurants, including excellent Thai, Indian and Middle Eastern establishments. The scene here is colorful as well, with a mixture of down-at-the-heel locals, punks, yuppies and tourists. Along the Spree Friedrichshain also plays host to the Eastside Gallery, the longest still-existing section of the wall that once divided the city. Still, it is Kreuzberg that seems to have exhibited the most staying power in the Berlin scene. No longer the aggressively alternative quarter tucked up against the wall of the 1980s, the area continues to be the best place to observe the cultural salad that Berlin has become. Known as “Little Istanbul” for being home to the largest population of Turks outside Turkey, Kreuzberg also boasts a large population of Asians and Arabs. And, of course, there are plenty of young Germans looking for an alternative lifestyle. The area around Kottbusser Tor is primarily Turkish, while nearby Oranienstrasse provides yet another lively nightlife area and a couple of good cinemas to boot. For a slightly more upscale feel, head south to Bergmannstrasse. Or, better yet, having read all of the above, those who want to get a real sense of Berlin and have some time on their hands may prefer the type of discovery that involves long, aimless walks, which in this city will never disappoint.