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A is for AMPELMANN
Ampelmann is the little walk / don't walk character you see on pedestrian crosswalks. He was sired in 1961 by East Berlin traffic psychologist Karl Peglau (1927-2009). Read all about it at www.ampelmann.de
B is for BEBELPLATZ
site of a mass book burning on May 10, 1933. On a lighter note, it's also for BUDDY BEARS, those colourful fibreglass bears you can find all over Bärlin.
C is for CHECKPOINT CHARLIE
I mean, you just can't go to Berlin without visiting Checkpoint Charlie and its associated museum and gift shop. The checkpoint names were based on the NATO alphabet, still in use by ham radio enthusiasts and other groups. I didn't visit any other checkpoints and don't know if any others are still operating as tourist sites.
D is for DUSSMANN KULTURKAUFHAUS
What an amazing place! I discovered it purely by happenstance, wandering jetlaggedlich along Friedrichstrasse on my first afternoon in Berlin. I spent a couple of hours browsing there. Multiple floors of books, in multiple languages but mainly German and English. And in the basement: MUSIC! CDs, vinyl, sheet music, musical instruments. Every musical genre you can think of is covered there. Naturally they also have an online shop: www.kulturkaufhaus.de
E is for ENTSCHULDIGUNG and also for EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN
"Entschuldigung" is a very useful word to know in Berlin and other cities and countries where German is spoken. Einstürzende Neubauten is the name of an experimental rock group based in Berlin. I bought their most recent CD at the aforementioned Dussmann Kulturkaufhaus. See www.neubauten.org
F is for FUSS and FAHRRAD
As I noted in a previous post, Berlin is friendly to numerous forms of transport, including foot and bicycle. If you're reasonably able-bodied, exploring on foot is the best way to experience the character of a city.
G is for GENDARMENMARKT,
the area of town where my hotel was situated. It's very central, about halfway between the Stadtmitte and Unter den Linden U-Bahn stations.
H is for HAUPTBAHNHOF,
the start and endpoint of so many great Berlin adventures!
I is for ISHERWOOD
Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) lived in Berlin from 1929 to 1933. He wrote, among other works, The Berlin Stories, which is actually two semi-autobiographical novels: Mr. Norris Changes Trains; and Goodbye to Berlin. The books inspired the movies and stage productions of I Am A Camera, and Cabaret.
J is for JÜDISCHES MUSEUM and also for JUGEND
Berlin has the feel of a youthful city. In its present unwalled format, it's only a little over 30 years old, which I would certainly consider young for a city. At the same time, there's a lot of history here!
K is for KURFÜRSTENSTRASSE and KURFüRSTENDAMM, better known as the KU'DAMM
The Mink Mile of Berlin, with loads of shops for loaded shoppers, like Karl Lagerfeld and even Canada Goose!
L is for LITERATURHAUS and also for LEIPZIG
Leipzig isn't Berlin, but it's an easy day-trip away, via the network of ICE trains.
M is for MUSEUM
As I noted in my last post, there's a museum for almost everything. Here are the ones I went to:
Film- und Fernsehmuseum (which also has a Dussmann branch on its ground floor)
Musical Instruments Museum
Schwules Museum (all things LGBTQ+)
Museum at Checkpoint Charlie
and in Leipzig:
Bach Museum and Archive (and garden)
Zeitgeschichtliches Forum (Forum of Contemporary History)
The above are just the ones that I actually went into and explored at length. There were numerous others that I walked past and would have loved to visit if time had permitted and if their open-hours had coincided with my awake-hours.
N is for NOLLENDORFPLATZ,
where we began the Christopher Isherwood walking tour. If you go, I recommend going on a sunny Saturday in spring or summer, when the outdoor markets and restaurant patios are in full swing.
O is for OST
Ost ist Ost und West ist West, but now the twain have met.
P is for POTSDAMERPLATZ,
a real mecca for museums and culture and just across from the Mall of Berlin, a mecca for shoppers.
Q is for QUEER and also for QUELLE
Berlin is very queer-friendly. I don't know if Quelle is still going, but they were a big department store which used to have a wonderful multi-glossy-paged catalogue (much better than the Sears or Eatons catalogues), which I subscribed to and ordered stuff from in the 1970s and 80s. It always took a month or two to get the stuff I ordered but thanks to Canada Post and all the post offices and transport links in between, it always arrived!
R is for ROTES RATHAUS,
site of city hall and a wonderful network of cobblestoned passageways and interesting boutiques in the Nikolaiviertel, not far from Alexanderplatz. Read all about it here:
https://www.the-berliner.com/berlin/history-nikolaiviertel-east-berlin-restoration-ww2-germany/
S is for SCHOKOLADE
Did I mention that Berliners take their chocolate very seriously?
T is for TIERGARTEN and TOR and TURM and TASCHENPARADIES
Taschenparadies is the luggage shop in the Mall of Berlin where I bought a TRUEG backpack for my trip home. See taschenparadies.de
U is for U-BAHN
V is for VisitBerlin.de
Don't leave home without first visiting VisitBerlin.de
Or without your VISA card and your visa if you need one.
W is for WALK, WALL and WELCOME CARD
What can I say? I definitely found the Welcome Card worthwhile. For details, see the aforementioned
VisitBerlin.de
X is for XYLOPHONE
and all the other marvellous musical instruments I met in the Musical Instruments museum. The instruments are works of art in and of themselves, before you even consider the music they can make in the hands of those who can play them!
Y is for: YOU KNOW WHAT, MAYBE WE SHOULD SKIP THIS ONE?
Or at least make a see-reference to J. Do German Scrabble games even have any Y-tiles? If so, they ought to be 10-pointers for sure! On the other hand, a German could get lots of points with the J- and Z-tiles, if playing German scrabble with an English scrabble game!
Z is for ZEITUNG and ZOO and ZUG
I enjoyed all three during my stay.
Ampelmann is the little walk / don't walk character you see on pedestrian crosswalks. He was sired in 1961 by East Berlin traffic psychologist Karl Peglau (1927-2009). Read all about it at www.ampelmann.de
B is for BEBELPLATZ
site of a mass book burning on May 10, 1933. On a lighter note, it's also for BUDDY BEARS, those colourful fibreglass bears you can find all over Bärlin.
C is for CHECKPOINT CHARLIE
I mean, you just can't go to Berlin without visiting Checkpoint Charlie and its associated museum and gift shop. The checkpoint names were based on the NATO alphabet, still in use by ham radio enthusiasts and other groups. I didn't visit any other checkpoints and don't know if any others are still operating as tourist sites.
D is for DUSSMANN KULTURKAUFHAUS
What an amazing place! I discovered it purely by happenstance, wandering jetlaggedlich along Friedrichstrasse on my first afternoon in Berlin. I spent a couple of hours browsing there. Multiple floors of books, in multiple languages but mainly German and English. And in the basement: MUSIC! CDs, vinyl, sheet music, musical instruments. Every musical genre you can think of is covered there. Naturally they also have an online shop: www.kulturkaufhaus.de
E is for ENTSCHULDIGUNG and also for EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN
"Entschuldigung" is a very useful word to know in Berlin and other cities and countries where German is spoken. Einstürzende Neubauten is the name of an experimental rock group based in Berlin. I bought their most recent CD at the aforementioned Dussmann Kulturkaufhaus. See www.neubauten.org
F is for FUSS and FAHRRAD
As I noted in a previous post, Berlin is friendly to numerous forms of transport, including foot and bicycle. If you're reasonably able-bodied, exploring on foot is the best way to experience the character of a city.
G is for GENDARMENMARKT,
the area of town where my hotel was situated. It's very central, about halfway between the Stadtmitte and Unter den Linden U-Bahn stations.
H is for HAUPTBAHNHOF,
the start and endpoint of so many great Berlin adventures!
I is for ISHERWOOD
Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) lived in Berlin from 1929 to 1933. He wrote, among other works, The Berlin Stories, which is actually two semi-autobiographical novels: Mr. Norris Changes Trains; and Goodbye to Berlin. The books inspired the movies and stage productions of I Am A Camera, and Cabaret.
J is for JÜDISCHES MUSEUM and also for JUGEND
Berlin has the feel of a youthful city. In its present unwalled format, it's only a little over 30 years old, which I would certainly consider young for a city. At the same time, there's a lot of history here!
K is for KURFÜRSTENSTRASSE and KURFüRSTENDAMM, better known as the KU'DAMM
The Mink Mile of Berlin, with loads of shops for loaded shoppers, like Karl Lagerfeld and even Canada Goose!
L is for LITERATURHAUS and also for LEIPZIG
Leipzig isn't Berlin, but it's an easy day-trip away, via the network of ICE trains.
M is for MUSEUM
As I noted in my last post, there's a museum for almost everything. Here are the ones I went to:
Film- und Fernsehmuseum (which also has a Dussmann branch on its ground floor)
Musical Instruments Museum
Schwules Museum (all things LGBTQ+)
Museum at Checkpoint Charlie
and in Leipzig:
Bach Museum and Archive (and garden)
Zeitgeschichtliches Forum (Forum of Contemporary History)
The above are just the ones that I actually went into and explored at length. There were numerous others that I walked past and would have loved to visit if time had permitted and if their open-hours had coincided with my awake-hours.
N is for NOLLENDORFPLATZ,
where we began the Christopher Isherwood walking tour. If you go, I recommend going on a sunny Saturday in spring or summer, when the outdoor markets and restaurant patios are in full swing.
O is for OST
Ost ist Ost und West ist West, but now the twain have met.
P is for POTSDAMERPLATZ,
a real mecca for museums and culture and just across from the Mall of Berlin, a mecca for shoppers.
Q is for QUEER and also for QUELLE
Berlin is very queer-friendly. I don't know if Quelle is still going, but they were a big department store which used to have a wonderful multi-glossy-paged catalogue (much better than the Sears or Eatons catalogues), which I subscribed to and ordered stuff from in the 1970s and 80s. It always took a month or two to get the stuff I ordered but thanks to Canada Post and all the post offices and transport links in between, it always arrived!
R is for ROTES RATHAUS,
site of city hall and a wonderful network of cobblestoned passageways and interesting boutiques in the Nikolaiviertel, not far from Alexanderplatz. Read all about it here:
https://www.the-berliner.com/berlin/history-nikolaiviertel-east-berlin-restoration-ww2-germany/
S is for SCHOKOLADE
Did I mention that Berliners take their chocolate very seriously?
T is for TIERGARTEN and TOR and TURM and TASCHENPARADIES
Taschenparadies is the luggage shop in the Mall of Berlin where I bought a TRUEG backpack for my trip home. See taschenparadies.de
U is for U-BAHN
V is for VisitBerlin.de
Don't leave home without first visiting VisitBerlin.de
Or without your VISA card and your visa if you need one.
W is for WALK, WALL and WELCOME CARD
What can I say? I definitely found the Welcome Card worthwhile. For details, see the aforementioned
VisitBerlin.de
X is for XYLOPHONE
and all the other marvellous musical instruments I met in the Musical Instruments museum. The instruments are works of art in and of themselves, before you even consider the music they can make in the hands of those who can play them!
Y is for: YOU KNOW WHAT, MAYBE WE SHOULD SKIP THIS ONE?
Or at least make a see-reference to J. Do German Scrabble games even have any Y-tiles? If so, they ought to be 10-pointers for sure! On the other hand, a German could get lots of points with the J- and Z-tiles, if playing German scrabble with an English scrabble game!
Z is for ZEITUNG and ZOO and ZUG
I enjoyed all three during my stay.
