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An alternative day in Berlin for walkers [Article]

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Aug 27, 2017 8:15:40 AM

 

An alternative day in Berlin for walkers

 
 
After moving to Berlin and getting our apartment organized I was able to have the first weekend to look at stuff and meet up with family. Here is what we did and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a day for anyone who already did the obvious things like Kaufhaus des Westens, Brandenburger Tor, Checkpoint Charlie and Berliner Fernsehturm. If you want to have pictures and stories to tell from Berlin which not everybody brings back, this is a good option.
 

Berliner Unterwelten "The mountain of debris"

 

Entrance to Unterwelten tour "From Flak towers to mountains of debris"

Entrance to Unterwelten tour "From Flak towers to mountains of debris"

 
You can start this day with a tour of Berlin Unterwelten.
 
Berliner Unterwelten E.V. is the organizing body for a range of different underground tours in Berlin. You can visit the bunkers from the Third Reich, escape tunnels, bunkers which had been built to prepare for nuclear armageddon during the cold war and other interesting sight seeing tours.
 
"The mountain of debris" tour takes place near the park in Humboldthain. You can reach it easily by traveling to Gesundbrunnen station which is well connected via S41 and S42 Ringbahn. If you want to do a little bit of shopping the Gesundbrunnen center offers everything you need, although it is an experience like any other mall in the world. 
 
You will find the ticket stand close to the station. Entry fee is 11€ per person at the time of writing. The tours leave every hour. Pay attention as English and German tours vary. You have to be quick on the draw when a tour starts as the guides take no prisoners. You can choose from
 

 

 

Monument for fallen soldiers on top of bunker Humboldthain

Monument for fallen soldiers on top of bunker Humboldthain

 
The "mountain of debris" tour is just across the street and starts at the highest point of the beautiful park, which is the entrance to the bunker itself. Please wear appropriate shoes. The next sections are built upon the notes I took on the tour itself. I am not a historian, so if you find any inaccuracies, please let me know in the comments and refer to the source so that I can update and/or correct.
 
The bunker is a leftover from the 3rd Reich. In total there were four planned and three built in Berlin after Hitler ordered them to be commissioned to protect the capital from enemy air raids. This order was given to Albert Speer who passed the planning and execution on to Friedrich Tamm. The bunkers built in Berlin are/have been at Friedrichshain, Humboldthain and Zoologischer Garten. You will find further Flak bunkers based on the same blueprints in Hamburg and Vienna. The first generation of bunkers in Berlin was finished in 1942. The Flak Towers in Hamburg and Vienna were 2nd and 3rd generation projects which were done more cost effective by saving on concrete and steel in later stages in the war.
 
Alley circling around Humboldthain park in which the bunker is situated
Alley circling around Humboldthain park in which the bunker is situated
 
It took a considerable amount of slave and forced labor to finish the bunkers. The one at Humboldthain was finished within six months from being commissioned (which is incredibly fast) and cost about 45 Million Reichsmark. This translates to roughly 450 Million Euro in today's money. The flak tower was home to several big flaks (Flugabwehrkanone = Anti Air Gun) with double barrels and small flak for supporting fire. The big flak was manned by twenty personnel to be shot. One round weighed about 50kg. The idea was to shoot these massive barrels into the sky so to leave a carpet of shrapnel in the air. The shrapnel would then damage the structure of an allied plane. The defect aircraft would lose part after part on its way back to Britain and finally fall from the sky from malfunctioning. The entire bunker was built to accommodate about 15.000 people during an air raid. However, during an attack up to 30.000 to 50.000 people would look for shelter and many of them had to be left at the doors as these had to be closed 20 - 30 minutes after the air raid signal went off for safety purposes.
 
Rose Garden in park adjacent to bunker
Rose Garden in park adjacent to bunker
 
For all the cost and megalomania that went into these massive bunkers, their effectiveness is to be questioned. In total, the flaks on this bunker were not able to shoot more than 50 - 100 airplanes out of the sky. The question of safety for the civilian population is also a double edged sword. If you got in you would be crammed with people and exposed to the risk of suffocating or being trampled to death when a panic occurred. In addition, the constant drumming of the flak made the building shake like a ship at sea. In their eternal wisdom, Hitler and Speer also had planned windows for the bunker to make them part of the Germania project after the war. Therefore you find bricked up holes in the walls on every floor. In the fight for Berlin, Russians were able to create an opening through these windows and shoot three tank shells into the bunker. You can still see where they impacted today. The bunker at Humboldthain also carries further significance as it was the last stronghold to surrender to the Russians in the battle of Berlin. 
 
 
 
The bunkers in Berlin were destroyed by the allies. If you want to see one example which stayed fully in tact you can go to Vienna. The Russian were the first to blow up the bunker in their zone. The French and British followed after. For the British, it took several attempts to blow up the Flak bunker in their district. The French only deconstructed two of the entire four towers of the bunker in their respective zone They only blew up half the bunker as the Russians warned them not to damage the train tracks close to the northern bunker at Humboldthain which belonged to them. Therefore, the French decided to only stick dynamite into the towers which were facing away from the train tracks. 
 
As these bunkers were situated at the end of two big boulevards they became places for the rubble to be transported to when Berlin was being cleared up after the war. As a result, the surrounding areas of these bunkers, ironically, are surrounded by very nice parks nowadays as there no new buildings being constructed on these sites.
 

Mauerpark and Bernauer Strasse

Graffiti in Mauerpark

Graffiti in Mauerpark

 
Once you are finished with the Flaktower tour you can make your way to the Mauerpark which is a 10 - 15-minute walk from where you finish at Humboldthain. If you are hungry after being underground you can go to the burger bar "the bird". Here you will find an excellent cheesecake, German beer, and good burgers. In the evenings the place can be quite busy so book in advance. We went on a Saturday shortly after twelve and we were able to get a table out side and enjoy ourselves. Timing it right you can either go to the flea market.
 
Burgers in "The bird" bar
Burgers in "The bird" bar
 
Once you are finished you can digest while having a stroll through Mauerpark. The Mauerpark gets its name for a remaining piece of the Berlin Wall which runs through it on a hill. In the evenings there are karaoke contests in which the whole park can listen to you. If you have the X factor, here is your opportunity to test what you are made of. Around the wall itself, you will get to experience some of Berlin's culture as you might meet aspiring rappers, graffiti artists and some punks who choose to live on the street voluntarily. If you want to go for coffee after enjoying the urban art you can sit down in the Mauersegler before heading off to the next stop.
 
Cheesecake in "The Bird" Bar
Cheesecake in "The Bird" Bar
 
From the Mauersegler you can continue to Bernauer Str. which used to run parallel to the Berlin Wall during the cold war. There is an open air museum which tells the stories of different eastern Germans who tried to escape from the Soviet bloc. You can find a story of two brothers, one brave enough to jump to freedom, the other not willing to take the risk and being punished by the system he lived in for wanting to flee in the first place. After this history lesson, you can sober up at the next stop.
 
 
 

Kastanienallee 

Kastanienallee is an area which was very busy when I visited. You will find stylish boutiques, sushi bars, Italian restaurants, hot dog stands and everything else you could desire on this street. If you are looking for something where the middle to upper middle class goes away from the tourists on Kurfürstendamm, this seems to be a good spot. Lots of mommies with their children around enjoying a sunny Saturday.
 
If you want to go in a  bar with the hipster feel you can go to the Kapitalist. Here you can sit outside, look at the passers by and sip on a chardonnay or pinot noir depending on your mood.
 

Pappelstrasse

Selection of ice cream in Hokey Pokey bar
Selection of ice cream in Hokey Pokey bar
 
After the booze, it is time for something sweet to round up the day. You follow the Kastanienallee until it crosses with Pappelstrasse. There used to be more trees along this road, but they had to be cut down due to environmental problems and getting sick. You follow the Papppelstrasse for quite a bit to
 
Hokey Pokey patisserie
Hokey Pokey patisserie 
 
Again this place is buzzing with families and the ice cream was very nice. I have never seen it before that you someone would rent two entire shops close to each other just to satisfy demand. We queued for about 5 minutes and the result was definitely worth it. For 1,80€ a scoop we enjoyed more of the Berlin street life to call it a day then. 
 

Conclusion

 
All in all, we walked 20km on this day with some unnecessary detours and getting lost. I personally think you can definitely do the same in 15km. If you are not the walking type you can get to each of these stops I mentioned by taxi in 5 - 10 minutes investing 10 - 20€ each time to get around. If you were to walk you can take in more of the scenery and the Berlin feel. If you were to get a taxi this tour will probably only take you half the day instead of the entire day. I just would question whether it would be as enjoyable.
 
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Topics: Berlin, Travel