Well, er … not really to be fair, constant reader. People like Muhammad Ali whom I quote are born to greatness, others have greatness thrust upon them, and then there are the rest of us who just aren’t so great! There has been, however, a powerful synergy to this European trip that I hadn’t fully realised when planning my itinerary in Sydney. I’ve arrived back in Germany where my European travels began, and on to fascinating Berlin. But in hindsight I realise my trip has followed in the footsteps of great and terrible men; men such as Napoleon and Hitler, and like them I’ve been drawn inexorably towards the East. The main difference is I didn’t enter Eastern Europe and Russia to direct or lead conquering armies; but have taken on these countries armed only with a backpack, a camera and a smile!
The outcome of the terrible struggle on the Eastern front during World War ll has defined the history of Europe in the 20th Century and beyond. However, sixty years after the cessation of hostilities Europe is a different and far more peaceful continent, with East and West united in the pursuit of democratic ideals, human rights and prosperity within the European Union. Germany is at the forefront of this movement for good as the most powerful economy in Europe, and my German travel friend greeted me on arrival at Berlin airport. This followed an uneventful flight from Tallinn, which was preceded by a bus trip from St Petersburg. We have shared many travel adventures already, and checked into the quality downtown baxpax hostel. Then we set out to take in the sights and tours on offer in this intriguing city, a city so full of history and located at the very centre of the Cold War. The momentous events that took place here in 1989 irrevocably changed Europe, with the German parliament subsequently voting to relocate the capital of a united Germany to Berlin. The historic move from Bonn back to Berlin took place in 1999.
Berlin is a beautiful city, featuring impressive modern architecture that complements the mighty Reichstag and the buildings of Old Berlin. We signed up for the free walking tour with New Berlin tours, a tour that takes in the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Jewish memorial and Old Berlin. The walking tour comes highly recommended and was very informative. Jason was our knowledgeable guide, and he informed us it was thirty five years to the day when the world was taken to the brink of World War lll. There was a tense sixteen hour standoff at Checkpoint Charlie between Russian and American tanks, as the Americans tried to enter East Berlin prior to the completion of the Berlin Wall. President Kennedy wrote a potent letter to the mayor of West Berlin Willy Brandt on 18 August 1961 during the construction of the Berlin Wall, and I quote:
Since it represents a resounding confession of failure and of political weakness, this brutal border closing evidently represents a basic Soviet decision that only war could reverse. Neither you nor we, nor any of our allies, have ever supposed we should go to war at this point.”
And so the die was cast. The blockade by the Soviets of West Berlin had been circumvented by airlifts, and the allure of a more prosperous lifestyle in West Berlin was irresistible to the citizens of the East. The Communist government was losing irreplaceable workers and decided to build the Berlin Wall, which upon completion in 1961 totally surrounded West Berlin. East Germany quickly evolved into a police state under the dreaded Stasi. During the course of the next thirty years more than 1,100 citizens were shot while trying to escape over the wall, desperately striving for the opportunity to live a life of freedom in West Berlin.
In 1985 the era of glasnost and perestroika initiated by Gorbachev began to shake Eastern Europe to it’s very foundations, and the Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989 in sudden and dramatic fashion. Suddenly seventy years of communist rule in the former USSR collapsed. Those momentous days in Berlin changed the world forever, and it’s scarcely believable visiting Berlin to consider the citizens of Eastern Europe were living under the yoke of a repressive Soviet dictatorship only fifteen years ago.
Berlin has so much to keep you occupied, and the city is an extremely rewarding and stimulating travel destination. We climbed the glass dome recently built inside the Reichstag which was hugely impressive, and then visited the legendary Brandenburg gate, and the recently completed Jewish memorial and information centre. We also enjoyed being out and about in the superb restaurants and bars, where I admired the Teutonic efficiency of the hospitality workers. It can tire you out just watching Germans work! I had an excellent time with my adventurous travel friend in the new capital of Germany, and also enjoyed Oktoberfest earlier in wonderful Munich. Travelling in Germany is a pleasure as the country is so well organised, efficient, picturesque and friendly. As a matter of fact, basically all of you should be here now!
“Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.” John Kenneth Galbraith
It’s home time so until next time, I’m signing off for now
Tom
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