[ENG&RU] Travel memories. Berlin, Germany (april 2019)

English

Hello everybody! Today I continue to share my memories from my trip to Europe in 2019. After Warsaw, Berlin, the capital of Germany, was next in line. We were in Berlin for 1 day, as well as in Warsaw (about Warsaw: @oleftinka/eng-and-ru-travel-memories-b252f65259f4).

The first attraction in Berlin was Treptow Park. Its main attraction is the monument to the Soviet soldiers-liberators, opened in 1949. This is the largest memorial complex dedicated to the victims of the Second World War outside of Russia. The memorial has not only historical, but also artistic value. Dozens of talented sculptors, architects and artists of the USSR and Germany were involved in its creation.

After that, we went to the eastern part of Berlin. Passing in the bus, we saw the famous Berlin Wall and the painting "Brotherly Kiss". Unfortunately, we weren't able to walk along the wall on foot.

The next stop was Museum Island. Currently, there are 5 museums where you can get acquainted with the history of Babylon, Egypt, Persia, Gothic and Romanticism:

• Old Museum
• New Museum
• Old National Gallery
• Bode Museum
• Pergamon Museum

The Old Museum is the very first museum on the island, opened in the 30s of the 19th century. The idea of building an exhibition of works of antiquity here was proposed by Friedrich Wilhelm II - King of Prussia, in connection with which the museum was initially called the Royal One.

Also on Museum Island is the Berlin Cathedral - the largest Protestant church in Germany. Built in the period of William 2. This cathedral was created as an analogue of St. Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican.

The Museum Island offers views of the Berlin TV Tower. It is the tallest building in Germany and the fourth tallest TV tower in Europe.

The Old National Gallery is one of the five museums of the Museum Island in Berlin. Here are works from the collection of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.

After the museum island, we visited the Brandenburg Gate - the hallmark of Berlin. The Brandenburg Gate was built by order of the German King Friedrich Wilhelm II in 1791. According to the original idea, they were supposed to become a symbol of peace, hence their second name-the Gate of Peace. This sculptural composition so pleased Napoleon Bonaparte that after the conquest of Berlin in 1806, he took it with him to Paris, but eight years later it was recaptured and took its former place.

And, of course, we visited the Reichstag - the main Berlin attraction. The building has a difficult past, inseparable from the history of Germany and the events of the Second World War. The symbolism of the Reichstag for the Germans is filled with sorrow, the memory of a bloody and senseless war that should not be repeated.

At the same time, the Reichstag is the image of a new European country with a developed economy, freedoms and a democratic system.

And across the street is the largest park, the "green heart" of Berlin - the Tiergarten. Its area is, according to the roughest estimates, 210 hectares, the total length of the paths is 30 km. Here you can go cycling, boating on the lake, take a walk and lie down on the grass. Birds sing loudly, squirrels jump, flowers bloom.
It contains another memorial to Soviet soldiers.

After exploring the eastern part of Berlin, we went to the western part.

One of the most interesting sights of West Berlin is the Kaiser Wilhelm Church of the late 19th century. It was built in memory of the first German Kaiser. The central part of it was crowned by a tower with a height of 113 m. At the time, it was the tallest church in Berlin. In November 1943, the Allied bombing almost completely destroyed the temple, only the western tower survived, however, losing the upper part. After the war, the church decided not to restore, but not to demolish, leaving at the request of the Berliners as a memory to posterity about the horrors of the war. What was left of the church was called the "empty tooth".
Today, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is an unusual combination of old and modern, destroyed and restored. Together, the old and 2 new buildings create a unique ensemble. The new buildings, the octagonal nave and the bell tower, are called "powder and lipstick" by Berliners.
The church houses the Stalingrad Madonna, painted by the German doctor and priest Kurt Reuber on the back of a map of the Soviet Union in 1942 surrounded by Stalingrad.

Then we went for a walk in West Berlin.

Berlin is not just the capital of Germany, it is the pearl of European culture, which is a mixture of various expositions of times and epochs. In Berlin, you can see sculptures of ancient, ancient Greek origin. Not far from them are the monuments of the Third Reich, and a little further away are the expositions of the modern world. In terms of the number of interesting places, Berlin can easily compete with other European capitals. To see all the sights you need to lay a few days.

On the way to the hotel after exploring Berlin, we saw a beautiful sunset and many windmills.