Dönar Kebab

Yesterday we had our longest train travel day yet: 7.5 hours from Copenhagen to Berlin.

Lovely views from the train

Unfortunately, our dreams of sleeping in this morning were dashed by the fire alarm going off in our hotel at 7:15am… apparently someone burnt something in the microwave!

German fireman on our first morning in Germany

But, at least we got an early start to our day and were able to fit in lots of interesting things. Our first stop of the day was at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. This ruined church stands as a memorial to the destruction of war. It is preserved with damage inflicted on it during the bombings in Berlin. 

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Chruch

After looking at the church, we met up with one of my friends from high school who moved to Berlin! We spent the rest of the day together as he showed us around some cool sights. We began by walking through Tiergarten Park, one of the largest parks in Berlin. 

This park also neighbours on the Berlin Zoo, so we were able to peek in on some animals without going in the zoo. 

Peeping like the antelopes 

Our walk through the park led us right up to the Victory Column. This monument is 67m high and commemorates various Prussian victories from 1864 to 1871. 

Looking up at the Victory Column

You can actually climb the column (all 281 steps) to get incredible views of Berlins.

Looking out onto the Berlin skyline

Lucious green park sprawling over the city

Tiergarten Park continues on beyond the Victory Column, and we continued walking through it before reaching the Brandenburg Gate.

The Brandenburg Gate

Just beyond the gate, we stopped for lunch. My friend recommended a delicious Berlin culinary invention - the dönar kebab. This sandwich was popularized in the 1970s by Turkish immigrants living in Berlin. These Turks had been invited by West Germany to work, making up for the lack of workers who were stuck in East Germany. 

And what a delicious sandwich this is! The boys had red meat (but not pork) in theirs, and my vegetarian version had thick slices of feta cheese. 

Delicious dönar kebabs

All throughout the city are monuments and plaques relating to the Berlin Wall, so we learned a lot today about the division of West and East Berlin. 

Cobblestones running along the road where the Berlin Wall stood

Many people wished to flee the communist rule imposed on them in East Germany by the Soviet Government, so over 2.5 million people fled to West Berlin before the wall was built. To stop the population from leaving, East Germany closed the border with West Germany… leaving the divided city of Berlin as the only escape point. 

Then, overnight, the leadership in East Germany built a wall that physically divided Berlin in half and encircled West Berlin.

We stopped at Checkpoint Charlie, one of the three manned checkpoints between West and East Berlin.

Checkpoint Charlie

Additionally, we saw many parts of the wall in various areas around Berlin, all accompanied by historical plaques of information. 

A large chunk of the Berlin Wall

Individual blocks of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz

One last imposing monument we saw today was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This monument consists of 2,711 concrete blocks on varying sizes which are placed over a large area with sloping ground. The effect of walking through these blocks is humbling and creates a feeling of deep melancholy and respect…Reminiscent of a graveyard. 

Looking out over the memorial

Inside the forest of imposing concrete blocks