After taking in a few hours of the amazing countryside, we made a pit stop at Moedlareuth – a small village with the last remaining sections of the former fence that stood between East and West Germany. There were many layers to this border - barbed wire, guard dogs, watch towers, cast iron fence, and the white Berlin Wall. Between the cast iron and white wall laid the dead zone - a minefield monitored by armed guards stopping anyone trying to make it out of the East. Technically, the border is a very small river and there is a spot where you can stand on the bridge and be in both sides at once. It was truly unbelievable to stand at that spot and imagine how much an East German resident would have wanted to do that very same thing not that long ago.
I have to admit, I'm more of a science nerd than a history buff...so my host gave me a lesson from the front seat of the VW. For those of you who also learn history through Hollywood movies like me, here is the trailer. After Hitler went Romeo and Juliet, the Soviets took over East Germany and went Mugatu, families were divided, everyone "owned" everything and the secret agent was born. This continued until a few months after the infamous kiss and the most important demolition project to date. Now, East versus West exists only in the German memories and cultural norms defined by this Hollywood documentary.
Seeing the fence reminded me of a very similar one that can be seen on the way to San Diego😳 minus a small difference that our fence keeps people from coming in and their fence prevented people from leaving - but it's hard to completely dismiss the similarities and I can't help but wonder if I'll be taking my students on a field trip to the fall of the Mexico fence someday.
A few short hours later we arrived in Berlin and parked the VWs at our first campsite - City Camping. Now I do love to camp but I have to admit the thought of no wifi (explaining the lateness of these posts) and getting vacation ready in a community bathroom made me a little nervous. However, the buses do make for some amazing Instagram pictures and they'll be more on the campground description and adventures later. After setting up the pop ups, we began our first Berlin bus/subway/walk transport that lasted a mere hour.😁 In the past five days, I've taken more public transportation than a NYC resident traveling to and from the VW bus.
Downtown Berlin reminded me of Center City Philly, but actually with less of a crass population (sorry Philebrities). We explored the pavement, entered tourist shops, ate coffee cake and saw amazing architecture of castles and cathedrals. I had to remind myself many times that I was in a foreign country and just how awesome this experience is starting out to be!
We then went on a 90 minute German tour of the parliament building, the Bundestag, that concluded with a birds eye view of the city. Our hosts helped as much as possible with the language, but a german tour guide is not someone you want to interrupt or anger.
The Eagle is a representation of Germany, much like the US.
We ended our first day in Berlin with of course, dinner at a brewery! I ordered the famous schnitzel! It was everything I had imagined and more - even though I've got my camera around my neck and I'm breaking out the backpack tomorrow, eating such a German dish made me feel like a local!
After dinner we re-visited the Brandenburg Tor gate – it was amazing during the day, but absolutely breathtaking at night in the big Berlin lights. There were people taking selfies, posed pictures, everyone was so very happy - it was an inspiring place to be. Standing at the gate made me realize that big cities are all similar and unique in their own ways. I much more enjoy the history and outdoors to the big buildings, but I can always find a spot in every city that is mine. A magical area where you go to dream. Some places take your breath away, some inspire you, this did both.
I'll probably have to thumb war Marianne for it, but the Tor is that place for me.
We finally traveled back to the campsite, and though it was far away, it's existence did give me ideas of how to return to Europe on a budget (positive vibes here)!
Tomorrow - we'll visit a structure that changed the German (and others) world forever - the Wall! (I never ever thought I would get to say that awesome sentence!)
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