Berlin Tours

Berlin in a Day

On a recent trip to Berlin I had one day available for sightseeing. Being my first time in Berlin, I was not sure how to go about seeing the sights, or even where the sights were. So I picked up some of the brochures that hotels have in the lobby and decided on taking the Insider Tour, billed as The Original Walks in English. The decision was a tough one, because the bicylcle tour also sounded good, but I decided on the walking tour. Both were about the same price, approximately 12 Euros.

Museum QuarterInsider Tour gave me an incredible tour of Berlin and all the main sights in about 4 hours. The interesting thing about Berlin is that there is so much important, recent history there. Berlin really was at the center of the Cold War. I had no idea that West Berlin was actually a small island of territory completely surrounded by East Berlin. I was always under the impression that Berlin was divided down the middle into East and West, along the lines dividing the country. As it turns out, West Berlin was about 150km from West Germany. Being completely isolated from the West, all of West Berlin's supplies had to be flown or trained in on special trains that had no stops in the East.

Our tour started in West Berlin at the main train station that was the gateway to the West. We then took the the S-Bahn (Berlin's train system) about 5 stations into former East Berlin where much of Berlin's older historical buildings are to be found. From there we walked the rest of our tour.

Checkpoint CharlieBeginning in the Museum Quarter , we walked to the sight of the Nazi book burning of 1933 which was one of the major events leading up to the changes in power in Germany. We then made our way to Checkpoint Charlie, the sight of a major standoff between the East and West in 1961. US and Russian tanks stood nozzle to nozzle and war was narrowly averted.

Our tour continued onto the only remaining part of The Berlin Wall. It remains as a monument and reminder of a divided city, and the many lives lost trying to escape to the West. We then made our way to the sight of Hitler's bunker, which is not marked at all, and past the new Jewish memorial. We then arrived at the Brandenburg gate, one of Berlin's most famous attractions. The horses and charriot atopt he gate were taken back to Paris by Napolean when he conquered Berlin, but later returned.

Reichsgericht BuildingThe final stop on our tour was the Reichsgericht Building. The former seat of German government, it is now used only a couple of times a year for mostly ceremonial purposes. A glass dome sits atop the structure, symbolizing an open and transparent government for all Germans. If you can brave the lines you can actually walk up into the dome for a great view of Berlin.

One of the great things about the tour with Insider Tours was the accessibility of our tour guide. He was very informative and happy to answer any questions we had. I can't imagine learning more about Berlin in 4 hours.

One recommendation that our tour guide had was to visit the Pergamon Museum. So with a couple of hours left in the day I decided to check it out, and I'm glad I did. The Pergamon Museum is home to the Pergamon Alter, an impressive marble alter standing 3 stories tall and that you can walk in and about. The other main attraction at the museum is the Ishtar Gate. Built by Nebuchadnezzar II, it was one of the main gates into the ancient city of Babylon. The museum also has a huge collection of Islamic art and many impressive sculptures.

If you're ever short of time in Berlin and want to get in as many of the main sights as possible, take an Insider Tour. Its a great way to see Berlin in a day. (July4, 2005)