Berlin Day 4 : Following the wall
As Simon had been otherwise engaged so far this week it was now time to show him round the bits of Berlin I had visited already this trip. Back to Potsdamer platz for more indulging of Glühwein, and this time a go on the snow-sledge! Then as the peace bears had been taken away we moved swiftly to the Reichstag (not up it this time) and the Brandenburg gate which today had been blocked up for the king of Saudi Arabia to visit the French embassy—we saw him briefly through the gate pillars.
Following the wall line back down through Potsdamer platz—the wall is still marked in brick on the road—we found the old Stasi buildings and statues which had been deliberately left un-restored as a reminder of events and a warning of consequences. For similar reasons a 200 meter stretch of the wall remains up as part of an outdoor museum display. There was a really interesting selection of billboard information near to Checkpoint Charlie with some old photos, including one of what the Brandenburg gate looked like in 1940, almost entirely unrecognizable today.
Dinner was in an Austrian restaurant with our happy band of seven, before a couple cocktails in a tiki bar with sand on the floor! much fun.