Boundary Conditions

We had an early start to day two in Berlin. We had booked in to visit the Reichstag at 8.30am, thankfully a relatively short walk from our hotel. The amazing glass dome sits on top of a historic building with a fascinating history to tell.

From here, we took a bus sensing the weather wasn't going to be the best for walking. Next stop was Topography of Terror. Built on the site of feared Nazi institutions (Gestapo, SS) this was a fascinating exhibition detailing both the story and actions of the Nazi state. Models of the layout of Nazi administration in Berlin brought to life the scale of the organisation and visually many gritty back and white images told as much of the story as the actual words.

Outside the centre is a preserved section of the wall which lead us on to the next visit, a small but informative exhibition explaining the role and actions of the Stasi in East Germany after the war. This annotated another fascinating chapter in Berlin's story.

We headed up towards Checkpoint Charlie but on the way visited a very large (almost lifesize) panoramic 'photo' of the wall rather uniquely presented. The image was 'constructed' but based on a real scene and its presentation gave a compelling insight into life with the wall from West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie was under siege with a active but calm anti-racism demonstration underway, probably not the time to start trying considered photography!

With the rain now coming down, we picked up a circular bus tour which crisscrossed the former location of the wall and gave us views of the still patently different architectural history of the former East and West Berlin.

There are various 'decorated' bits of former wall dotted around the city and Annie picked out one example for today's blip. We will back to more regular commenting once we're back in the UK.