2014 EUROPE by Rail 25 - The Wall

Along the way to The Wall we passed through neighborhoods from very nice to middle class to a tiny bit scary. But we were never intimated by anyone, even the gypsy-like group we crossed paths with. Most passersby proceeded directly on their way without acknowledegment. A few smiled or said hello. 

On Sebastianstrasse we lingered near a large apartment complex with a historical marker in front. It is extraordinary that in the middle of this very ordinary place, such significant events as escape, betrayal and murder are remembered back from 1962. This web page documents the story behind this building and the escape tunnel beneath it: www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/1962-300,352,2.html 

After that memory jolt, the walk became more serene and peaceful. We passed by lovely Engelbecken Lake and nearby Saint Michael's Church, down along tree-lined Bethaniendam Street, and past Saint Thomas Protestant Church. We crossed the Spree River again and turned onto Stralauer Place (the street on which part of the Berlin Wall still stands).

At first we were a little unsure if we had the right spot. Building walls were painted with interesting art, but this didn't seem like The Wall we were anticipating. But after a short distance it came into view. There was an opening and you could stand in the middle of it and see both sides.

The East side of The Wall was buildings and road and concrete. The West side was a lovely green expanse. So so different, as we had seen on both sides of Brandenburg Gate. 

This is what the West side looks like. See the buildings over it on the East side. See a couple walking about a third way in from the left to imagine The Wall's height. The top of the wall had a rolled concrete piece that would make it hard for someone to get a grip while escaping.

The rest of the photos were taken on the East side. We took several hundred photos altogether, so these are just a few. Some represented the horror and some represented the hope of the years between 1961 when the wall was constructed and 1989 when the wall was felled. We think each pink dot on this one represents a soul who was killed while trying to escape through the wall.

Some of the murals were graffiti free or graffiti was placed in "non-essential" places. Some graffiti was placed right on the beautiful artwork. That part was sad. But public art is always vulnerable, I guess. This particular situation seemed a little more "holy" to me and warranted more respect. Guess I am old school. Everything is a throw away today!!

 
The art was interesting and thoughtful-provoking. Even though there were small descriptive signs by many of the murals, they were in German. So we did not understand all the implications or innuendos of the artists thoughts.  
Topics and styles were widely varied. Here is Zippie the Pin Head, a character from 1970s underground comics.

Some brought little tears to my eyes.

Here's a Trabant bursting through the wall. A Trabi is a car that was produced in East Berlin and was the most common car there. It had a two-stroke engine which lead to poor fuel economy and smoky exhaust. Not very practical, but all the East Germans had. Today the Trabi has become a cult car and there is a lot of hype surrounding it.

Here's a real Trabi used as an advertisement along The Wall for the Trabi Museum. I guess you can rent them, too. Mike really wants one!!

Along the way we saw this street artist with his dog nearby. This is one of those optical illusion pieces. At one point the artist stood on the "top" of the red pole and looked like he was balancing to keep from plunging into the black pit.

Lots of color.

This was a nearby tourist info booth / souvenir shop. At top see the famous photo taken in 1979 by Dmitri Vrubel and the reproduced painting of the photo to the right. It is called My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love (or Fraternal Kiss, for short). The kissing men are Leonid Brezhnev (President of the USSR at the time) and Erich Honecker (General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party that led East German). Read more about this story at: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_God,_Help_Me_to_Survive_This_Deadly_Love

We hated for the "slide show" to end, but it did. We walked back on the other side of the street to review and view The Wall from afar. It was actually very cool to see it from a little distance because some of the panels were related and we did not catch that fact when walking so close.

There is so much on the Internet regarding The Wall. This is a link to Wiki's info on its history: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall and on the East Side Gallery:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Side_Gallery

Nearby we also saw this sculpture of a Berlin Bear that looked like a giant mylar balloon. A group of teens were having their photo taken around it.

Alas, our feet were aching. Mike's were actually raw. Wonder how many miles we covered this day? We caught a cab back to the hotel for a little lay down.