Atlantica - 01.03.2004, Page 20

18 A T L A N T I C A
encased within a tiny bubble of plastic –
your very own pebble of history.
The Wall was removed 14 years ago,
yet it remains in the forefront of Berlin’s
consciousness. So it makes perfect
sense to spend your first day in Berlin
walking the outline of where the Wall
once stood.
First stop: Potsdamer Platz. Said to be
one of the busiest squares in Europe in
pre-war days, Potsdamer Platz turned to
rubble during the fighting, and became a
wasteland separating East from West
once the wall was built.
Today, the renewal is downright
remarkable. Commercial complexes for
Sony, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, plus
malls and restaurants, permeate the
square. While the malls and plazas are
fairly routine, the Filmmuseum Berlin,
located in the Sony Centre, is worth a
look. Here visitors can get up close and
personal – sort of – with film star
Marlene Dietrich. Film fans desperate
for an American film not dubbed into
German can check out the multiplex or
enjoy an IMAX film.
In the middle of all the glitter of
Potsdamer Platz is one large chunk of graf-
fiti-covered wall left over as a reminder.
If one piece of Wall isn’t enough to
satisfy your imagination of how the city
was once divided, follow the dotted line
on your walking map to Niederkirchner-
strasse, where you’ll find one of the
longest remaining stretches of the
Berlin Wall. Because pieces of Wall are
popular souvenirs, it is illegal to chip
away at the stone, and this section is
protected by a fence, a sort of wall with-
in a wall.
Behind this section of Wall is the
open-air, documentary exhibition “The
Topography of Terror”, which stands on
the grounds of the former headquarters
of the Gestapo and SS. The exhibit is a
collection of notice boards with pho-
tographs and texts that tell the story of
the darkest period in Germany’s history.
It’s about a ten minute walk from the
red-brick rubble of the former SS head-
“It’s tough, so you have to work hard to
make it here. But it’s also easy living.
I enjoy the people, the parties – the
lifestyle,” says Alina Bauer.
E
Berlin
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