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travelling-trooper-blog · 7 years

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I was really excited for the start of our second day. We were checking out Underwalten. They offer tours of Soviet era bunkers right under the city. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed, since many of the articles on display during the tour are lent out from their original owners. In fact, Underwalten is very much a collaborative effort among the people of Berlin. It was volunteers who dug out the bunker upon its discovery. It was volunteers who donated their photos, suitcases, and belongings from the War for the tour. This place commemorates the survival of the German people during a frightening time in their history.

Trevor and i actually got really lucky this particular morning, because the website stated that one can’t pre-book tickets; you have to show up early the day of in order to secure your spot on the tour. Despite leaving a bit later than I had initially planned, my stomach wouldn’t allow me to ignore the doner shop on the way to the museum.

By the time we got to Underwalten, there was only about 20 minutes left until the start of the tour. The website had suggested you arrive an hour early.

We got in line, and there was a couple ahead of us. I looked at the board, and there was one spot left for the morning tour. One. That meant the couple in front of us couldn’t possibly book the tour. But then some jerk tried to jump the line! I was freaking out!

Turns out he was just asking a question.

Thankfully, Trevor gets in everywhere for free, so we were able to score the last ticket for me. Literally the guy right behind me asked for that same ticket, and the girl at the counter had to break the news to him that her colleague had just sold the last ticket. That could have been me!

But it wasn’t! We were gonna check out some bunkers!

The staff were nice enough to leave my luggage in their staff room since all of the lockers in the subway station next door were full. And away we went.

The start of the tour was the washroom. The tour guide explained that the word on the door was an old German word for washroom–though it technically had roots in Latin. The reason the Soviets used the word was because they wanted to use only German language “and schize haus didn’t sound that great.” The toilets basically used dirt to mask the smell.

Much more interesting than the toilets themselves were the photographs directly above the toilets. They were photographs of bomb shelters from World War II. These things were massive beasts. When the Soviets initially took control of Germany, they decided to blow one of these bad boys up. They barely managed to get it to crack.

The English wanted to do the same–get rid of all remnants of Nazi Germany. They brought in reporters and photographers to document them blowing up a different bunker. They even catered the event! This was a celebration!

Explosives went off, and a huge cloud of smoke covered the structure entirely.

When the dust settled, the fortress still stood intact. It was an utter failure.

England would later try to blow the shelter up again, however this time they did it in secrecy and didn’t bother to invite reporters.

Another room was meant to be a means for quick escape to the outside world. It was covered in a special paint that glowed in the dark. This was because in the beginning, people were terrified of sitting in absolute darkness for an entire hour during air raids–especially when you could hear absolutely everything happening right above ground.

When the bunkers were actually in use, the paint was bright enough to read down there. The walls also provided entertainment for the children. Our guide showed us how you could create silhouettes imprints on the wall using a flashlight.

Another room featured benches to sit and could easily accommodate 30 people. However, during air raids, there were usually 60 people in there. Every bunker was always filled far beyond its capacity. There weren’t enough bunkers to go around.

While we were in the room, the guide explained that while people waited for the air raid to finish in this room, they lit three candles. They placed one on the ground, one on the bench, and one on a shelf. As the oxygen levels in the room decreased, the candle on the floor would be the first to go out. Then mothers would place their children on the bench. When the candle on the bench went out, the mothers would stand and put their children on their shoulders.

I say women because obviously, the man’s place was out on the battlefield. Bunkers were only for women, children, and the elderly. And a woman’s job during the war was to give Hitler as many babies as possible. Hitler would actually pay a woman a personal visit if she gave birth to her tenth baby.

Before the war, German women had become quite independent in society. The war, unfortunately, threw them right back into the kitchen.

Women would typically bring a small suitcase full of jewellery, photos, and identification papers with them. They’d also throw on every nice article of clothing they owned, including their fur coats.

In one of the last rooms, we learned of the ingenuity of the German people following the war. They turned bazooka shells into cups, helmets, into strainers and bowls, and so on.

Much of the city was in rubble at the end of the war. School was out, and children would run around playing in their own Mad Max-inspired playground. Unfortunately, many children died during this period, since many bombs had failed to detonate during the war. (Apparently Germany has very soft ground, and so oftentimes bombs would just sink into the ground rather than go off. ) The children would be climbing over and under rubble, and suddenly a huge explosion would go off. Our guide said that more Germans died after the war than during the war.

The guide also claimed that to this day, one bomb goes off per month in Berlin. AND, if you find a bomb on your property, the financial onus falls on you to pay for its removal. Crazy, no?!

Despite all of the tragedy, the tour ended on a positive note. She led us to a room that held a large filing cabinet of sorts. Inside were metal plates. These were identification plates. After the war, many Jews who had been kept as prisoners and slaves by Nazi Germany were sent to their native countries, such as Ukraine, where they were then treated as defectors and betrayers who abandoned their country. They left from one nightmare to a brand new one.

As a result, many burned teir identification papers and simply made up stories for where they’d been for the past years.

Unfortunately, years later, Germany finally offered to pay reparations to these individuals, but the people were required to show those very identification papers that they had burned a lifetime ago as proof. As a result, many of them were unable to receive the money they were rightfully owed.

Thankfully, the people at Underwalten were able to track down the people those metal plates in their filing cabinet belonged to, and those individuals were able to receive their reparations.

Continuing on with the theme of World War II, Trevor and I visited Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind. This man was a real hero. This man was badass. This man was partially blind, and managed to save countless Jewish lives from concentration camps.

Weidt employed blind Jews, gave them food and advice, organized hiding spots, used bribery and lies, all to keep them from persecution and deportation. He had three Jewish people working in his office, which was illegal. However, whenever the Gestapo would come for a visit, they would hear a bell go off as a signal to go hide.

Like Iron Man, though, Weidt could not do everything on his own. He needed his Avengers. There was Hedwig Porschutz and Karl Deibel, who provided Jews with shelter. Porschutz also got them food from the black market. (She was later imprisoned for 18 months for these actions.)

Hans Rosenthal offered Weidt useful intel like a warning about a mass roundup called “Operation Factory.”

Dr. Gustav Held and his wife, Inge, provided medicines for people in hiding.

Theodor Gorner provided forged identity cards through his printing press.

These people are all amazing heroes, and they deserve to be recognized and celebrated by more people for their efforts.

The workshop is actually located in the Haus Schwarzenburger alley, which houses some awesome graffiti.

And speaking of graffiti, we were hoping to visit the Art of Banksy exhibit this day, but we ended up spending way too much time at the Bear Pit Karaoke at Mauer Park.

Every Sunday, the park hosts an awesome market full of vendors and delicious food trucks. However, the real attraction is the Bear Pit Karaoke. It’s hosted by Joe Hatchiban. It’s him, a laptop, a mic, and his buddy manning the sound system.

People sit on benches around this hill called Bear Pit and volunteer to come sing their hearts out in front of hundreds of strangers. I desperately wish I’d thought to pull out my phone and record as soon as we got there, because the first guy we heard was an extremely talented old man belting the hell out of Sinatra’s “My Way” in German. Dude was phenomenal!

The real stars of the evening, though, had to be the people who went up to sing and had absolutely no singing talents. Thankfully, the crowd was very merciful and always cheered those people on.

I was having so much fun that we ended up sitting there until all of the festivities came to a close.

Somebody in Toronto needs to make this a regular thing over there too. Hatchiban organizes this all on his own on his free time. I think he’s a dentist or something during the week. He went around while people were performing asking for money that goes to pay for the permit that pays for him to use the park area. Local hero, if you ask me.

Trevor and I went back to our host’s place and got ready to go out for the night. We went to a local bar called Madame Claude, where they have an open mic night every Sunday. The bar has a Twin Peaks theme to it and features a bunch of stuff hanging upside down on the ceiling. Very cool place.

After the music was done for the night, I headed upstairs and befriended some Americans: Melanie, George, and Charissa. (It seems people named Melanie tend to be pretty awesome.)

Another great day in the bag!

Exploring some of Germany's World War II history. I was really excited for the start of our second day. We were checking out Underwalten. They offer tours of Soviet era bunkers right under the city.

#Around the world #bearpit karaoke #berlin #germany #karaoke #mauer park #nazi #otto weidt #Travelblog #trevor the travelling trooper #underwalten #world war II

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thevisafly · 4 years

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Explore Berlin – What to Do, See, and Eat?

Berlin is a city that fascinates all kinds of people. No matter if you are an explorer, a music- lover, or a player, Berlin has you covered. It is a city of divergent seasons: long, gloomy winters when residents bundle up in layers to withstand Siberian winds, accompanied by humid summers spent relaxed in parks and alongside the lakes. In stately western Berlin, the extensive avenues are punctuated by shopping malls and Starbucks, beverage shops, entirely different in style to its former-Soviet eastern half, with its mass-produced, pre-fabricated Plattenbau residence blocks.

At Potsdamer Platz, visitors find a global capital city with shimmering glass buildings. But a more transgressive section to the town insists at twilight in the clubs and bars, despite growing property prices. The multiple sides to the city united together in 2019 to commemorate 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

What to do? Plunge into history: Barely 200 meters of the Berlin Wall persists, weathered to the wire, at Niederkirchnerstrasse that marked the boundary between Mitte in East Berlin and Kreuzberg in West Berlin. It’s available to walk the length of it. Rotate your head to see the Topography of Terror, a museum established in the erstwhile headquarters of the Nazi covert police, where a free exhibition features the most horrifying era of German history. From there, walk north past Checkpoint Charlie and Potsdamer Platz that has been restored since the downfall of the wall with a dizzying quantity of skyscrapers. As you move towards the Brandenburg Gate, look out for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a gloomy figure of coffin-like solid slabs that tourists can walk in between. Wander the museums: There are five museums that jostle for space on Berlin’s Museum Island and attending them all would need more than a day. With a single ticket at €18 (£15), you can choose the highlights: the Pergamon Altar built on the terraces of the acropolis at the Pergamon Museum; the bust of Nefertiti, the Egyptian queen, at the Neues Museum; and the European figure collection at the Bode Museum. However, all are closed on Mondays so take care before leaving for the venue. Explore Berlin Take a dip: If you are visiting in summer, the Badeschiff is primarily a swimming pool on a barge. You can do lengths in turquoise water facing the River Spree. Just wipe off in the sun with a beer and a deckchair on the shore and enjoy the view. also, check the venue listings for formal parties and live harmony. The entry fee is around €5.50.

Where to stay?

In the beautiful northern region of Prenzlauer Berg, a prior public bathhouse has been remodeled into Hotel Oderberger. The baths have been painstakingly reconstructed, with domed ceilings enclosed by magnificent columns. It is quite the place for a morning swim (but be conscious that the guests will have to pay for it). The guest quarters are spacious and modern – some include stairs up to mezzanine bedrooms – and breakfast is a lavish spread of cheese, meat, and fruit with a live waffle-making section for the special pickers. The price ranges from £108.On the west side of the city, Max Brown Ku’Damm has become a favorite brunch spot for locals, with lines around the block on the weekends. The hotel, named after the nearby shopping boulevard, has 70 rooms with beautiful oak floors, white blinds and capricious features such as basketball hoops and Crosley cassette players. The hotel’s happy hour operates between 5-9 pm. Doubles from £54.

Where to eat? Approximately three million individuals of Turkish origin live in Berlin, numerous of them around Kreuzberg. The region has grown into heaven for Turkish food. More latterly it has embraced immigrants from Afghanistan and Syria, some of whom serve at the Kreuzberger Himmel on Yorckstrasse.

Explore Berlin You can rediscover legendary German cuisines at Knodelwirtschaft, a cozy dumpling eatery, on Fuldastrasse in Neukolln. Decide between two, three or four gut-busting cheese, meat, and spinach dumplings served on mutual tables illuminated by candlelight.

Where to grab a drink? Klunkerkranich, a sprawling rooftop bar in Neukolln, is the most competent spot to watch the sunset on pleasant evenings. While the venue gets crowded in the summer, the indoor bar does serve spiked chai and gluhwein in the colder months. Villa Neukolln may look like enough in the daylight, but gaze behind a massive curtain after midnight and you will find a low-lit Art Deco ballroom packed with beautiful bodies loafing on sofas and downing cocktails. The venue also entertains live acts and DJs who perform until dawn.

Where to shop? Vintage shopping swarms in Berlin. At the Dandy Horse, by Gorlitzer Park in Kreuzberg, tracks of vintage attire sit beside a furniture store and a vinyl warehouse. A flea fair takes place in Mauerpark, Prenzlauer Berg, each Sunday. During the daytime, the tourists and locals skim through secondhand furniture, vintage apparel and all style of assets at the market. As dusk overtakes, the park amphitheater packs up for Bearpit Karaoke, a true Berlin highlight. Additionally, on Sundays, a tiny market at Arkonaplatz sells mid-century fittings, enough of it renewed, beside trinkets and vinyl. For costumes, a vintage fair at Griessmuhle runs on the primary Friday of each month from 1 pm till midnight, serving food and live DJs. Germany has been an all-time favorite holidaying destination for a majority of Indian nationals. If you are planning for an upcoming tour to Germany, Feel free to apply for a visa online on our web portal. We will be happy to help.

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audaray · 6 years

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So it has taken 6 months for me to post this online. In July, I visited my friend Laura in Berlin (my home from home) during a period of stress and family difficulty. On this particular Sunday, we went to Mauerpark to see the Flohmarkt and Bearpit Karaoke. 3 hours passed, sitting in the sun, beer drinking and chilling when I thought "fuck it, al have a go!". So on I went, infront of all these strangers and sang a wobbly rendition of Livin' on a Prayer with awkward dance moves and I swear, I've never felt so free. For that short time I forgot everything, the crowd sang along and cheered me on. What a feeling. Whenever I feel sad I remember this day and thank Laura, for takin me to this. She has no idea how she has helped.

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ntantalis · 4 years

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στην τοποθεσία Bearpit Karaoke Mauerpark https://www.instagram.com/p/B7OgTPdo7-1/?igshid=bms6tbcc3f5m

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ameritt · 5 years

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Sunday, April 5th

Heidi, Cristina and I spent the morning at the spa, then headed to Mauerpark.

Mauerpark was the border strip of the Berlin Wall and the area was off limits from 1961 to 1989. Today, the remnants of the wall are covered with graffiti and people gather for the flea market, live music, Bearpit karaoke and street food.

Karaoke is held every Sunday at 3pm -with no scrolling words- sung by everyday people- in front of a crowd of hundreds.

The flea market was in full gear, and I was astonished to see a crazy amount of framed needlepoint- including the pharaoh I’m holding.

Dinner included sahlep, a Turkish drink that tastes like rice pudding, pita sandwiches, fries, and fresh squeezed OJ.

P.S. Cinco de Mayo seems to be thing in Berlin for these two guys and not many others...

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host24space · 5 years

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In Berlin, Karaoke in Front of Thousands

This stretch of land in Berlin was once a militarized zone separating East and West Berlin, dotted with watchtowers and guard dogs. Today, it’s a beautiful public park where people gather every Sunday to sing karaoke in an outdoor amphitheater. Joe Hatchiban, who came to Berlin from Dublin, founded Bearpit Karaoke in 2009, and the event is still going strong a decade later. Amateur singers from…

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thild · 6 years

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*make up your own comment* (à Bearpit Karaoke Mauerpark)

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pinstripemag · 6 years

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DESTINATION: Berlin, Germany | The Artsy Young Free Capital City

DESTINATION: Berlin, Germany

Politically and physically divided into East and West by the Berlin Wall for nearly 30 years, Berlin is one of—if not the—most unique capital cities in the world. Since November 9, 1989 when thousands of East Berliners stood up for their freedom, Germany’s headquarters have stood tall, unified by an audacious, artistic spirit, and amazing tourist attractions. Here are some tried-and-true, trendy and neu (new) ways to: STAY | SHOP | EAT | TOUR | PLAY in Berlin.

STAY

Dive right into your tourist checklist when you book a stay at Das Stue, the #1 ranked hotel in Berlin and all of Deutschland (the way Germans actually say “Germany”). Located next to Tiergarten (“Animal Park”), this luxury boutique hotel features a private entrance to Tierpark (Berlin Zoo) and the fine dining of Michelin-starred restaurant Cinco by Paco Pérez. If you prefer a higher profile place to lay your head, Hotel Adlon is just adjacent to Brandenburger Tor, Berlin’s top tourist site, and has hosted dignitaries and celebrities from President Barack Obama to Queen Elizabeth II to Charlie Chaplin to Michael Jackson who infamously dangled his baby “Blanket” off an Adlon balcony. To feel like royalty, The Ritz Carlton at Potsdamer Platz will suffice, however if you’re more of a trend-seeker—and setter—check into the Members’ Club and Hotel Soho House Berlin or try the Über creative Michelberger Hotel with a funky bar and bedazzled rooms like the “Golden One”.

SHOP

For the ultimate Berlin shopping experience, look no further than Kaufhaus des Westens, aka KaDeWe, the largest department store in Europe outside of Harrods in London, dressed head to toe in high-end luxury. Other world class shopping centers include the impressive Mall of Berlin, Galeria Kaufhof (with the newly opened TOPMAN), and Alexa Centre near Alexander Platz where you’ll find the tallest structure in Germany, the Berliner Fernsehturm—that iconic TV Tower punctuating the city’s skyline. And get your vintage kicks—literally—at Paul’s Boutique in Prenzlauer Berg stocked with 1000s of sneakers, T-Shirts, Star Wars collectibles, boomboxes and more showcased amidst eccentric décor.

EAT

After all that shopping, it’s time to EAT! Listed as the top restaurant in the city, Zur Gerichtslaube is in the heart of Berlin’s Old Town and considered one the city’s oldest structures having been built around the year 1270. Old World meets Art Nouveau at the inviting bar, restaurant and ballroom Wirtshaus Max und Moritz.

For food on the go, you must try Berliner street food. First up is Currywurst. Made of sliced sausage (Bratwurst) served with curry ketchup, and best enjoyed with Pommes (French Fries), the most sought after Currywursts are at Curry 36, and Konnopke’s Imbiss under the Schönhauser Allee S-Bahn (city train). And perhaps even more popular to eat on the street is Turkish döner kebab, with the best spot—and longest line—hands down being Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap in Krezberg right outside the U-Bahn (underground train) Merringdamm Station.

TOUR

Berlin is a lovely city to include on your Cycling Through Europe tour, rich with art, culture and history. Of its many museums, the Pergamon Museum on Museumsinsel (Museum Island) along the River Spree is a tourist favorite, while Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, provides a way to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Experience “Berlin’s C.B.G.B.” at the Ramones Museum and tribute to the legendary punk band.

See and touch what still stands of the Berlin Wall at the outdoor East Side Gallery painted with powerful murals and signature graffiti art. Viktoria Park has a 360° view of Berlin and running waterfall during warm-weather months, while Mauerpark (Wall Park) hosts a flea market and Bearpit Karaoke on (most) Sundays. One of the most beautiful squares in Europe, Gendarmenmarkt includes Konzerthaus Berlin and, during the holidays, WeihnachtsZauber (“Christmas Magic”) Market which is key to the German Winter Wunderland experience—especially when you warm up some Glühwein (Mulled wine).

PLAY

Now it’s time to…DANCE! Germany is world-renowned for its electronic music scene, and the hottest nightclub in Berlin is Berghain where celebs like Lady Gaga and André Galluzzi frequent. Join the party after 3am, that is, if you can get in. (Our sources say Britney Spears was once turned away at the door due to her poor choice of shoes.) With a panoramic view of the Oberbaum Bridge and Spree River, Watergate is another topnotch club playing techno, electro and house music. For a “jazz lounge” that also plays funk, soul, Latin, blues and rock, Quasimodo is king. For hip hop, check out The Swag Jam at Badehaus Szimpla every Tuesday. And for Berliner-style Ballroom Musik & Tanz (music & dance) like Salsa and tango, give Clärchens Ballhaus a whirl.

If you don’t speak Deutsch and feel a bit intimidated to visit Berlin, read our guide on how to prepare for a country when you don’t speak the language, then go for it! You’ll encounter interesting people from all around the globe, visiting and living in Germany’s dynamic capital city. Do you have other spots to recommend in Berlin? Let us know in the comments.

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