Biking through historic Berlin

“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”  Standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate, I am reminded of the famous speech delivered by Ronald Reagan on June 12, 1987.

Located on the River Spree, Berlin is the capital city of Germany with a population of 3.3 million people, making Berlin Germany's largest city and second most populous city in the European Union behind London.  Berlin is a city with an extraordinary history, complete with culture, politics, science, and nature - one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.  During the Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648, a third of its houses were damaged or destroyed, and the city lost half of its population.  After the 1806 Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Napoleon marched through the Brandenburg Gate and stole its Quadriga (statue of a chariot drawn by four horses) while on route to Paris.  At the end of World War I in 1918, a republic was proclaimed in Berlin until January 30, 1933 when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power.  After the Nazi-Germany was defeated in World War II, the Allies (the U.S., Britain, and the Soviet Union) agreed on dividing a Germany into occupation zones.  Later, a French zone was carved out of the American and British zones.  Additionally, although large parts of the city were destroyed by air raids, Berlin, even though it was inside the Soviet-controlled territory of Germany, was also divided into four parts because of the city’s strategic and historical importance.  In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in West Germany and eventually included all of the American, British, and French zones, however, this republic excluded those three countries' zones in Berlin.  Airline service to West Berlin was granted only to American, British, and French airlines.

The founding of the two German states increased Cold War tensions. West Berlin was surrounded by East German territory, and East Germany proclaimed East Berlin as its capital, which was not recognized by the western powers. Although only half the size and population of West Berlin, East Berlin included most of the historic center of the city.  By 1961, approximately 20% of the entire East German population, or 3.5 million people fled East Germany, with the majority of emigrants being young and well educated.  With the brain drain of professionals becoming so damaging to the political credibility and economic viability of East Germany, construction on the Berlin Wall began on August 13, 1961 to curb its declining population.  The barrier completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and East Berlin and included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (aka the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails, dogs, and other defenses.  This only added to the political and economical tensions of the Cold War and events escalated to a tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie on October 27, 1961.  The dispute began over whether East German guards were authorized to examine the travel documents of a U.S. diplomat named Allan Lightner passing through to East Berlin to see the opera.  By October 27, ten Soviet and an equal number of American tanks stood 100 meters apart on each side of the checkpoint.  The standoff ended peacefully the next day, however, the tension was high given that at any moment, a new world war could have started over an accidental shot.

Following widespread public anger over the faking of results of local government elections in 1989, many citizens applied for exit visas or left the country.  When Hungary removed its border restrictions and unsealed its border in August 1989, and more than 13,000 people left East Germany by crossing the "green" border via Czechoslovakia into Hungary and then on to Austria, and finally into West Germany.  On 9 November 1989, a few sections of the Berlin Wall were opened, resulting in thousands of East Germans crossing into West Berlin and West Germany for the first time. Finally, on October 3, 1990, East and West Germany was re-united.

Berlin's history has left the city with a highly eclectic array of architecture and buildings.  The eastern parts of Berlin have many Plattenbautens (large, prefabricated concrete buildings) as reminders of Eastern Bloc ambitions to create complete residential areas that had fixed ratios of shops, kindergartens, and schools to the number of inhabitants.  The Fernsehturm (TV tower) at Alexanderplatz in Mitte (same location as the Bourne Supremacy) is among the tallest structures in the European Union at 368 m (1,207 ft). Built in 1969, it is visible throughout most of the central districts of Berlin.  The Brandenburg Gate is of course the iconic landmark of Berlin and Germany, with the nearby Reichstag building serving as the German Parliament.  The building was in the 1990s and features a glass dome over the session area, which allows free public access to the parliamentary proceedings and magnificent views of the city.  Small sections of the Berlin Wall remain today, but for an interesting history of the wall, you can watch via the attached link.  Finally, the border crossing at checkpoint Charlie draws a number of visitors, and it is interesting thinking how easily I passed through on a bicycle without any questions, which 25 years ado was unthinkable.

One final reference to my favorite TV show Seinfeld while sitting in the Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL), which may be one of the worst airports for a delay or transfer due.  As customary for some European airlines, complementary newspapers and magazines are handled out to read on the plane.  In Berlin, one of the magazines was Playboy, which did not seem to last very long on the shelf.

Bridge from the Bourne Supremacy