Berlin

Berlin, where do I begin, the capital of a country with what can be described as very checkered past. Our first opinions of the place was that the streets and infrastructure were quite dull and bland, none the less our first stop for the night after checking into our hotel was the Hofbräu München beer hall.  Had a couple of steins which for those at home are one litre glasses so as you can imagine after a couple of those we were all feeling pretty chilled. From there we ventured out into an industrial area of Berlin to Berghain, a nightclub described as "quite possibly the current world capital of techno music".  Now I'm not massive into that type of music but given the raps it has received, and the fact it is set in a former power station, was convinced to check out.  Before you enter however, clubbers must first get past the club’s terrifying, grim-faced gatekeeper, Sven.  He is highly selective and turns around ninety percent of people, unfortunately for the boys from Wagga, we were one of them.  Disappointed, a few of the boys decided to have a crack at getting on the following night, alas to no luck. Suffice to say Sven won't be getting a bait to Wagga anytime soon and he'll be barred from Romanos, which in my opinion is much superior anyway. Our first full day in Berlin began with a tour of the 'Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe' the Holocaust memorial for Germany which was an extremely confronting experience. Constructed and opened to the public in 2005, it is located in the centre of Berlin, the memorial consists of a Field of Stelae covering and area of 19000 square metres and containing 2711 concrete blocks representing the six million European Jews exterminated during the Nazi reign. Going through the information centre and hearing of the personal recounts hit home a lot more as opposed to reading the number of total victims and definitely gave all us a sense of appreciation of how good we have it. From there we joined a tour around the city starting at the Brandenburg Gate, built in 1791 and restored in 2002 following considerable damage during World War II now considered a symbol of the tumultuous history of Europe and Germany. Our guide informed us that due to the damage of the city centre during World War II, the oldest building in the area was only erected in 1997 and the newest in 2013 which just so happens to be the American Embassy.  He also pointed out Hotel Addison located in the centre square was where Michael Jackson infamously dangled his newborn from the balcony.  We then moved on to the site of 'The Führerbunker', which was an air-raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin where Adolf Hitler took up residence on 16 January 1945 and became the centre of the Nazi regime until the last week of World War II in Europe before he committed suicide.  Currently situated there is a garden surrounded by play equipment, but still and eery place. Next was Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus, the former Air Ministry building which was one of the few Nazi public buildings in central Berlin to escape serious damage during the Allied bombing offensive in 1944-45, it is currently used as the German Finance Ministry. Berlin Wall was next, the barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic in 1961, completely cutting off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin and served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period. The borders were reopened and the wall taken down in 1989. Our tour guide explained to us, given their history 'Are Germans a proud to be German?' In fact the only time you will see German flags flying around is during the soccer World Cup every four years and to some, the country's past is still a delicate conversation. After a massive first day we readied ourselves for day two, a tour to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial and Museum. The camp was used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May 1945, however they were joined in increasing numbers by members of groups defined by Nationally Socialist ideology as racially or biologically inferior. More than 200,000 people were imprisoned in Sachsenhausen with tens of thousands of them dying of starvation, disease, forced labour and maltreatment, or were murdered systematically by the SS. Again a really eerie experience walking around the camp knowing what had happened within the walls only seventy years ago, which when you view in the grand scheme of things was only a short time ago and wondering how people can commit such horrific offences to other humans. A really overwhelming experience for all of us and won't be soon forgotten. A quote our guide left with the group summing up the tour that really stuck with us was "What hurts us most is not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends" - Martin Luther King. Berlin in all was quite fascinating and their is so much history you can sink your teeth into. Time to move on however for some fun, next stop, a two hour flight to the Spanish island of Ibiza which some regard as the party capital of the world. DS