General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
More from Germany
Posted by:
Captain Patrick Lane
()
Date: May 16, 2001 05:56PM
<HTML>berlin is an incredible city, very rich in history and a must for probably all who have a uboat interest.
among my sites were the kaiser wilhelm church, topography of terror, actual berlin wall, checkpoint charlie and then its museum.
there is a red two-brick width run thru the streets of berlin where the wall once stood. it is still standing in only a few places, one of which is right at the topography of terror. absolutely fascinating!!!!! the topography of terror has very tastefully done. no real horrifying pics here...just a time line of what happened and lots of pics of what went on sans the gruesomeness. all the plaques are in german, but there is a trailer at the site which will give you a headset to wear which translates into english....for free!!
you can actually touch the berlin wall at the topography of terror. It is the largest section of wall still standing in the city. it is probably 150 feet in length and about 10-12 feet high. it was not quite as thick as i thought it would be...only about 2-3 inches or so. it is protected so you can only touch the very end of it over the screen fence. there are plaques saying the wall will be saved as a reminder of things past.
great idea in my mind.
further down Niederkirchen is the checkpoint charlie area. it is on a rather humdrum looking street. i thought it would be a very wide boulevard and that it was crossing a river...neither of which is correct.
its just a simple city street. they have a carbon copy of the original guard house and in it are just a few photos. about 100 feet down that road is the museum for checkpoint charlie. THIS IS A MUST SEE. it starts a bit slow, but as you travers its maze, you really get an appreciation for what the east germans went thru to get to the west. you wont believe some of the ingenius ways!! there are hundreds of photos here and actual devices used by the east germans. amazing.
regarding the hitler bunker, my guide book had it marked, but i couldnt \"exactly\" pinpoint its location but i was close. it is just a simple field now and in fact i think there were lots of cranes in the area, so i would guess that in a matter of time it will be constructed over.
the street that these are all on is called niederkirchen and where all this i have written about takes place is all within about a quarter mile length or so...nice and concentrated. This is a street that i first noticed the red brick telling where the wall once was.
by the way...the brandenburg gate is COMPLETELY COVERED by a tarp with its picture on the tarp. i was soooooooo disappointed.
one observation i made was trying to distinguish the two sections...east and west berlin, by the style of clothes people wore, the types of stores on the streets. i personally found no difference whatsoever. i was told that about 6 to 10 years ago, it was a very marked difference.
anyway, that is it for berlin for now. i stayed in a pension near the berlin zoo train station. i asked for a room with a shower...which i got, but when i opened the bathroom door....THERE WAS NO TOILET. silly american...i figured if you had a shower, you would naturally have a toilet.
be back soon for the report to all.
live from freiburg, germany on the very southwest corner (no uboat stuff here..just a great catherdral with a spectacular organ...did i mention i was an organist?)
Patrick Lane </HTML>
among my sites were the kaiser wilhelm church, topography of terror, actual berlin wall, checkpoint charlie and then its museum.
there is a red two-brick width run thru the streets of berlin where the wall once stood. it is still standing in only a few places, one of which is right at the topography of terror. absolutely fascinating!!!!! the topography of terror has very tastefully done. no real horrifying pics here...just a time line of what happened and lots of pics of what went on sans the gruesomeness. all the plaques are in german, but there is a trailer at the site which will give you a headset to wear which translates into english....for free!!
you can actually touch the berlin wall at the topography of terror. It is the largest section of wall still standing in the city. it is probably 150 feet in length and about 10-12 feet high. it was not quite as thick as i thought it would be...only about 2-3 inches or so. it is protected so you can only touch the very end of it over the screen fence. there are plaques saying the wall will be saved as a reminder of things past.
great idea in my mind.
further down Niederkirchen is the checkpoint charlie area. it is on a rather humdrum looking street. i thought it would be a very wide boulevard and that it was crossing a river...neither of which is correct.
its just a simple city street. they have a carbon copy of the original guard house and in it are just a few photos. about 100 feet down that road is the museum for checkpoint charlie. THIS IS A MUST SEE. it starts a bit slow, but as you travers its maze, you really get an appreciation for what the east germans went thru to get to the west. you wont believe some of the ingenius ways!! there are hundreds of photos here and actual devices used by the east germans. amazing.
regarding the hitler bunker, my guide book had it marked, but i couldnt \"exactly\" pinpoint its location but i was close. it is just a simple field now and in fact i think there were lots of cranes in the area, so i would guess that in a matter of time it will be constructed over.
the street that these are all on is called niederkirchen and where all this i have written about takes place is all within about a quarter mile length or so...nice and concentrated. This is a street that i first noticed the red brick telling where the wall once was.
by the way...the brandenburg gate is COMPLETELY COVERED by a tarp with its picture on the tarp. i was soooooooo disappointed.
one observation i made was trying to distinguish the two sections...east and west berlin, by the style of clothes people wore, the types of stores on the streets. i personally found no difference whatsoever. i was told that about 6 to 10 years ago, it was a very marked difference.
anyway, that is it for berlin for now. i stayed in a pension near the berlin zoo train station. i asked for a room with a shower...which i got, but when i opened the bathroom door....THERE WAS NO TOILET. silly american...i figured if you had a shower, you would naturally have a toilet.
be back soon for the report to all.
live from freiburg, germany on the very southwest corner (no uboat stuff here..just a great catherdral with a spectacular organ...did i mention i was an organist?)
Patrick Lane </HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
More from Germany
|
Captain Patrick Lane | 05/16/2001 05:56PM |
|
RE: More from Germany
|
Me109g | 05/16/2001 07:12PM |
|
RE: More from Germany
|
MPC | 05/16/2001 09:23PM |
|
RE: More from Germany
|
Kris | 05/17/2001 11:21AM |
|
RE: More from Germany
|
Joe Brennan | 05/18/2001 04:55AM |