We began our morning on a city tour that was lead by a retired German military officer. Today was May 1 and in Germany it is a national holiday and considered to be like our Labor Day. Lots of police presence although they did not expect demonstrations until night time and certainly no where near our hotel. Our first stop was at the Memorial to Murdered Jews of Europe. It consisted of 2711 concrete slabs of various sizes and heights that resembled coffins. There was approximately 3 feet between them. It was a very somber and eerie experience to wander between them.

Our next stop was to the Eastside Gallery that is the longest section of the Berlin Wall that is now standing. It is an open air gallery on the banks of the Spree River. After the wall came down in November 1989 118 artists from 21 countries began painting on the wall. One of the most famous paintings is entitled “My God, Help Me To Survive This Deadly Love” and depicts Brezhnev kissing East German Statesman, Erich Honecker.

The second most famous painting is entitled “Trabant Breaking Thru the Wall”. A Trabant is a German car that appears to be the US answer to the Edsel. According to our guide it took 13 years to get a Trabant if you ordered one. We saw many tourists taking rides in them. They were produced in East Germany from 1957 to 1991.

Obviously most of the wall is gone now but where ever the Wall was there are two rows of bricks flush with the pavement. Our guide told us that his family lived in West Berlin and much of his extended family lived in East Berlin. They were able to visit the East Berlin relatives to bring them money and food but the East Berlin relatives were not able to visit them.

Next on to Checkpoint Charlie. This was used only for crossing of military personnel and diplomats. In 1961 an international incident between the Soviets and US occurred when the East German police demanded papers from a US diplomat going into East Germany to see an opera. Apparently it was not allowed to ask anyone for papers and there were tanks deployed by both the US and Soviets to Checkpoint Charlie.

According to our guide there is a fake Checkpoint Charlie set up now. He said that it never looked like it is depicted and most Berliners do not know it is fake.

Next we were off to the Brandenburg Gate. It was build by King Frederick William of Prussia in the late 1700s. When the Berlin Wall was erected it was in the restricted area and could not be visited by either East or West Berliners. When the wall was torn down it became a unifying symbol in Berlin.

Then off to an Italian restaurant where I had a fabulous vegan carrot pasta dish. It is asparagus time in Berlin and all restaurants have dishes featuring both white and green asparagus. Most everyone had one of those dishes including pizza, several pasta dishes, salads and appetizer plates.

The last stop after lunch was the outdoor exhibition called the Topography of Terror. It is mainly an outside exhibition in a trench that follows the rise and fall of the Third Reich and Hilter from 1933 to 1945 with original pictures and personal stories. It was very well done and very sobering.

Tomorrow is our last day in Berlin and we have scheduled a special tour called the “Allies in Berlin.”