Studying in Berlin: Five First Steps in the CityCategory: Travel & Holidays
Article added by: Paul Collins
So you've booked your German course in Berlin, and you find yourself excited, a little nervous even, on your first day in the city. Now what? Well, you're not just here to study, so the first thing to do is get out and see some of the city's iconic sights.
The Berlin Wall
When it comes to Berlin sights, they don't get much more iconic than the Berlin Wall. Although most of it was (famously) pulled down, there are still a few places in the city where you can see it: there's an important section next to the former Gestapo headquarters (around the corner from Checkpoint Charlie), and another out east that runs alongside the river, which is referred to as the 'East Side Gallery'.
Intriguingly, where it once ran, now you can see a line on the pavement. These days as Berlin - and Europe, generally - reside in peace, it's hard to imagine the turn of events that allowed such a thing to happen, and the remains of the wall stand as a sort of time capsule and a fascinating vestige of a once divided city.
The Brandenburg Gate
Not far behind the Berlin Wall in the iconic stakes is the monumental Brandenburg Gate. Forming a stunning gateway to Berlin's foremost boulevard - Unter den Linden - it's neighbored by the equally emblematic Reichstag. As well as being on the old dividing line of East and West Germany, the Brandenburg Gate has, throughout history, been the site of some of the city's landmark occasions, from triumphal entries to great speeches. Nowadays, it's a handsome and cherished symbol of the reunified city.
The Holocaust Memorial
Just to the south of the Brandenburg Gate is another testament to the city's troubled recent history: the Holocaust Memorial. Covering an area of about five acres, the monument is made up of 2,711 concrete slabs lined up in undulating rows. As you move down the rows, the feeling is of walking amongst a sea of enormous graves. It's a fittingly moving and somber monument to the atrocities of Nazi Germany.
Museum Island
The cluster of museums that makes up 'Museum Island' is one of the city's most popular attractions. At its heart is the vast Pergamon-Museum, home to a world-famous collection of art and architecture. The Alte Nationalgallerie, the Alte Museum and the Bode Museum complete a cultural hub that few other cities in the world can match.
A good tip for anyone on a German course in Berlin
with a strict budget is that the state-owned museums (right across the city) allow visitors in for free during the last fours hours of opening on a Thursday.
The Berliner Dom
Having taken in the cultural feast that is Museum Island, it's just a quick stroll away to the mighty Berliner Dom, the city's grand cathedral. A handsome neoclassical structure, like many other buildings in the city, it was badly damaged by Allied bombing during the War. When it was re-opened to great fanfare in 1993, there was a highly emotional sense of it being one in a series of long-awaited closings of chapters.
Posted By: Paul Collins
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Paul Collins is a travel writer who has spent many a happy week in Montreal. As a former English teacher with a number of close teacher friends in the city, he has an extensive knowledge of how to get the best German course in Berlin while at the same time, really making the most of a stay in the city. |
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