It's been 35 years to the day the Berlin Wall fell, ending nearly decades of Cold War tensions between the two sides of the divided city and ushering in the reunification of Germany as a whole, bringing together families and friends long separated by political forces on the other side. their control. Namely, a global conflict that pitted the USSR in the east against the US and its allies in the west. Its reputation transcended the art built on both sides, and its divisive presence is still felt today.
But the remnants of this period fall into the past as Berlin's tired history is told. Construction projects are everywhere as old, weird, often crumbling buildings are torn down and new, strange, often shiny structures are erected in their place. To see what's left, you'll have to act fast.
We will start with the wall itself. Its pieces are scattered, kept in both prominent places and hidden corners. Potsdamer Platz—a bustling, upscale commercial center that was once separated by a barrier, the then barren darkness of the western prairie in stark contrast to the polished, touristy area it is today—contains several panels that stand in the middle of the Brandenburg Gate. and the outstanding Neue Nationalgalerie. The latest collection covers the last century or so, and is full of aggressive works of broad political import, many of which offer a chilling view of the culture produced under the oppressive conditions of the Wall. A few blocks east, nestled among the trees on Wilhelmstraße, hides the Wall slide decorated by Thierry Noir (next to the essential pizza at Caffe Bar Italia).
But the most impressive exhibition—at least in the center of the city—is the East Side Gallery: a long section of segments that was filmed shortly after bringing together more than 100 artists from more than twenty countries. Today, it shows the analogies used in 2009, arguably the most famous of them My God, Help Me Survive This Deadly Love by Dmitri Vrubel, portraying Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev and East German Chairman Erich Honecker locked in an embrace of socialist brotherhood.
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The open gallery runs along the riverside park that cuts southeast on a wide path, on the other side of which is a wild cultural center called RAW-Gelände. Established in an old industrial area, it is packed with murals, art galleries, nightclubs, restaurants and an outdoor/indoor climbing wall. The overall vibe is perhaps best described as reclaimed earth, and it's one of the city's most unique public art experiments that shouldn't be missed. However, it is seen by real estate developers, so check it out before it is torn down and cleaned up.
This could easily take a full day, so I suggest starting the next day in the Turkish, bohemian district of Kreuzberg. The neighborhood is rich in street art, food and random reasons to stop and look. Point to the statue of Clessidra (the hour glass), and just wander there. The art possibilities are many, but perhaps the most exciting is the KÖNIG GALERIE, a contemporary gallery housed in a brutalist church called St. Agnes often provides high quality work reliably.
Now head west to Schöneberg, a historically working-class district home to immigrants, gay musicians and—for a few years—David Bowie and Iggy Pop, who in the late 1970s fled the pain of addiction to Los Angeles to get clean and refocus. in Berlin. This period of collaboration proved to be one of the most fruitful of their careers, as the duo ended up producing Iggy's. Stupid and composed his greatest album, Lust for Lifeand Bowie, along with Brian Eno and Co., did much of the work for the Berlin Trilogy, which Down, Heroes again Lodger. “It's a wonderful, healing city for a musician,” Bowie later said.
At Hauptstraße 155, you'll find a Ziggy Stardust explosion above an anonymous shrine to Bowie, a plaque above it proclaims. We are heroes, just for one day. He and Iggy lived here from late 1976 to early 78, in a second-floor apartment where Bowie began painting portraits of his Turkish and German neighbors—many of whom, he later explained, lived apart from loved ones in the area. the other side of the Wall—he refused to show it for decades, instead questioning his skills as an artist. It is worth noting that his stated and most obvious inspiration for these paintings was the German rhetorician Die Brücke Erich Heckel, whose work you can visit in the nearby Brücke Museum, a favorite of Bowie.
To top it all off, head to the Stadtmuseum—City Museum—north of Berlin's Museum Island. Through a combination of photographs, art and artifacts, this foundation offers an insightful, well-curated exploration of Berlin's turbulent history.
As for where to stay during your visit, the city has strict rules limiting the number of Airbnbs, so your best bet is a hotel. I have three very different suggestions. If you're looking for luxury hotels in Berlin, it's hard to beat the Ritz Carlton, located near Potsdamer Platz and offering easy access to many important sites such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Neue. The Nationalgalerie and the Topography of Terror. The hotel itself is extremely refined and serves an excellent breakfast—comfort amidst the horrors of the city's history.
For less expensive but more convenient accommodations, Cosmo Hotel Berlin Mitte is located south of Museum Island. Its central location offers easy access to almost anywhere, and it's a comfortable, if not cool, base.
And for artistic vibes above all else, Circus Hotel is my top recommendation. Each room is decorated with a different theme, and the lobby, restaurant, library, and garden are all specially appointed and provide enough atmosphere whether you are dining, meeting with fellow travelers, or looking for a quiet place to put in some laptop time. The rooftop terrace offers a view of the city's iconic TV Tower—designed to evoke a Sputnik satellite—and the area is lined with restaurants, bars and one of the few dry cleaners.
As a final but completely different tip, those looking for the unusual can enjoy a visit to the Designpanoptikum Surreal Museum for Industrial Objects. Located north of Museum Island, it offers a quirky break from some of the main attractions. An eclectic experience, its curator has filled its interior with all sorts of random, well, things arranged in a multi-room installation. Does it have meaning? I don't know, but it speaks to the artistic and cultural spirit of Berlin: something old that was transformed into something new by lack of creativity and madness.
