We decided to have a short break in Berlin but stayed on the outskirts since Freddy is too old to drive into the Berlin region due to the low emissions regulations most European cities now have. We stayed in a lovely area of Brandenburg surrounded by lakes.

For me, it was a trip down memory lane as I visited in 1982 when there was still a wall and an East Berlin and a West Berlin.

So it was a little surreal to visit a city where I once passed through Checkpoint Charlie with USA guards and then to passport control guarded by East Berlin guards to visit East Berlin for the day (I think from memory you could only visit the Fernsehturm – the Berlin TV tower building). When I once walked along the western side of a wall and found it frightening and sad that such a thing existed, especially at the sections you could look over and see “no man’s land” and the armed East Berlin guards.

To then visit in 2024 where those things are now a tourist attraction.

Especially Checkpoint Charlie which is now like a traffic island in a busy Berlin street with a McDonalds on the street right beside it!

We spent the most time at the Topography of Terror, an outside exhibition that runs alongside a retained section of the original wall. The display shows the history from 1933-1945 and the rise of the Nazi party to the end of the war and the division of Berlin. It was good to refresh my memory of history, and it was a little frightening to read some of the newspaper headlines and quotes that sound almost word for word what Trump has been saying.

We walked past the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas) on the way to te Brandenburg Gate.

It was very busy at the gate as we were there the day before the Euro Cup 2024 final (yay go Espana!) which would be played in Berlin. So there were lots of English and Spanish football supporters everywhere. We think there was going to be a presentation of some sort with both teams but we did not hang around to find out!

We finished off the day at the East Side Gallery Memorial – another retained section of the wall that has been painted with different murals.

It was a short and sweet visit but I’m pleased we made the effort.