day 42 berlin

1 july 2009


CANADA DAY!

we joined a walking tour today that had been suggested by someone kim knew and it was great. uk guy named matt took us around and explained so much history that had taken place in berlin, most interestingly (to me at least), the berlin mauer (wall). so crazy to hear why it was built (to stem the drain of east germans into west berlin who would then be transported to the capitalist west germany)... so they contained everyone (or west berlin). a barbed wire fence simply went up one day, that in the 4th reincarnation was the wall most people know. the tube structure at the top was to prevent easy handholds and grappelling hooks, and i learned that there were 2 walls, inner and outer. at checkpoint charlie we asked matt a lot of questions regarding the iron curtain as well. matt also told us that the mock checkpoint charlie guard (and others in his trade) are from an exotic dancing company (1e for pic, 10e for lap dance).


we also went to the jewish memorial which was very cool (and totally reminded me of pics i had seen of the jewish cemetary in prague). ironically, the anti-graffiti coating on the memorial is manufactured by the same company that supplied the concentration camps with cyclon-b... used to gas and kill the jews. terrible.


also visited the site of the nazi book burning, although it was enveloped in fashion week festivities that was kind of annoying.

hearing matt fill in gaps around the press conference that reopened west berlin was crazy too... wasn't supposed to happen that night... the press guy didn't have too much info, so when asked by a journalist when the travel visas to west berlin would commence, he simply said... immediately. oops. but yay!


other:

- matt pointing out gouges in buildings from bullets, bombs and shrapnel. i would never have considered them unless he pointed them out...
- red  pedestrian signal, "childkiller!" jaywalking