English
Today there are many vestiges of communism in Berlin. Not only the Wall but also the famous Checkpoint Charlie, huge avenues built by the Communists, the last flag of the Kremlin, or numerous monuments and cemeteries that remind us those who were killed trying to cross the Wall from its beginnings up until 1989. Let’s start the tour.
We all learn from history and from what we’ve seen that the world is more just now that the Wall has fallen. And the Germans began a new stage of no return, marking the end of communism.
In Berlin it is possible to take a tour of the most significant places of the former GDR. And you can even take a tour aboard a Trabi, the model of the former Communist regime. With the company Trabant Berlin, you can visit the typical Communist avenues with large gray buildings, at a cost of around 70 euros an hour. The tour also visits the East and West sides of the Wall (where you’ll notice the difference) and Checkpoint Charlie (the most famous crossing of the Wall between 1945 and 1990). It is located near Friedrichstraße and was under the control of the U.S. The name Charlie is the phonetic alphabet used by NATO, it stands for the third letter. There are also others, such as Checkpoint Alpha, in the autobahn in Helmstedt or Checkpoint Bravo in Dreilinden. In addition this route will pass through the museum of the Wall, the last flag of the Kremlin, and the Wall itself, or what remains of it.
You can continue this “Good Bye Lenin” style tour of Berlin by visiting the Treptower Park area, where you can see the remains from a border control tower, or the Karl Marx Allee, which has buildings typical of the communist era, an avenue that was once called Stalinallee.
Another point of interest we recommend is a visit to the Museum of the GDR. There you can see the inside and outside of a Trabant (known colloquially as Trabis), a typical home of the time, and instruments used by the spies of the Stasi, the police of the Communist Regime.
And if you still have time… you can go on an underground tour. Thanks to the Berliner Unterwelten Association, it is possible to tour the city’s underground, including the ancient atomic bunkers complete with border crossings and elements to deter leaks, such as trenches, electric fences, etc. It was used as an escape route for many Germans for a while, even after police took over the control of the city’s sewers. This underground trip is guaranteed to give you goose bumps.
Would you like to check out this Good Bye Lenin style route in the German capital? Then don´t delay! Rent apartments in Berlin and you´ll have an unforgettable time.
