Rheinland - Düsseldorf, Köln(Cologne) und Bonn, 14-18 February 1999

It was Carnival time when I arrived in the (supposedly) staid financial city of Düsseldorf. Carnival (I think it celebrates the days before Lent) is an excuse for the normally dour Rheinlanders to go absolutely nuts. Millions flock into the Altstadt (old sections) of Düsseldorf, Köln and Essen. Parades wind through the streets. Gallons (excuse me, litres) of Kösch (Köln's beer) and Alt (Düsseldorf's beer) are consumed. And then, on Monday, everyone gets up, goes to work, and pretends like nothing happened.


Carnival on the straßen of Köln. The tall spires in the background belong to Köln's Dom, the largest cathedral in Germany.

The rail bridge across the Rhein serves Köln Hauptbahnhof, the busiest train station in Germany. Trains rumble across it over 1000 times a day. Everything from the lowly S-Bahn (graffiti-covered commuter trains) to the glitzy, high-speed ICE and Thalys cross this imposing 6-track steel arch bridge.

An InterCity train rumbles out of the Hauptbahnhof.

Berlin, 18-26 February 1999

Berlin. A steady diet of Len Deighton novels when I was about 13 (1989) built Berlin into kind of twisted wonderland of political machinations and intrigue in my mind. This is where a century of European and American history focussed. Scupted, eviscerated, pummelled, bisected, unified, and rebuilt. There was a definite shiver through my ragged, hung-over shell (the last night Carnival was the night before) as the ICE's automated voice chimed:"Nächste Bahnhof, Berlin-Spandau." The euphoria was palpable when I walked off the train at Zoo Station at 3:30 pm on that clear, cold February afternoon.

Any U2 fan should recognise this location: Zoologischer Garten... Zoo Station. This was the main station in occupied West Berlin. It is still one of Berlin's major gateways.

Friedrichstraße

This station was the interchange between the East Berlin and West Berlin transit system. Until reunification, this station was literally cut in half by sheet metal. The Western rails and the Eastern rails did not link. To get from West to East one could take an S-Bahn to Friedrichstraße, alight, and go through East German customs (including a ripoff of a money change). This is also where families were split up. Perchance brother was a citizen of West Berlin. His visit to the East ended here, at the Tränenplast (Palace of Tears)...East German exit customs. Today, in beautiful irony, it is a comedy venue.

		The Doner Kebab "Imbiss"(snackbar) at Bahnhof Friedrichstraße. These kept me fed for quite a number of days. Hey, a full meal for DM5,- (US$3) is hard to find in Berlin. Bratwurst? Nein. This is the German cuisine of the 1990s.
Friedrichstraße crosses the dark waters of the Spree. Until 1989, these waters held incredible danger. The communists, in an effort to prevent escape to the West by SCUBA, lined the river bottom with spikes and razorwire. It's hard to believe watching pleasurecraft and small barges pass under this intricate ironwork. In the background is Bahnhof Friedrichstraße and the Tränenplast (the blue building).

The Wall

Everyone asks me if I saw The Wall. Except Berliners... they don't talk about it much. Traces of the Wall are disappearing fast. Soon new buildings, parks, and, most of all, people will be where only barbed wire, automated rifles, guards with shoot-to-kill orders, and a few brave defectors once were.


One of the last remaining sections of the Wall. Zimmerstraße at Wilhelmstraße.		Brandenburger Tor.
Tainted Ground. The site the SS and GeStaPo headquarters. Prinz-Abercht Terrain.

On a positive note...

All this historic reflection could make you forget that Berlin is still very much alive...

The "Red Box" at Potsdamerplatz is Berlin's official information centre. Even if it is a bit propagandistic it has lots of interesting stuff... and internet access! The tower in front is the traffic light that controlled Postdamerplatz in the 1930's. I wish they still put clocks on the traffic signals!

The Wall used to pass through Potsdamerplatz... it was no man's land. Now... well it's still kind inaccessible... unless you're a construction worker!

Leaving Berlin

It was grey and cold as I waited at the Ostbahnhof for the train to Prague. I felt another shudder as the train rumbled through the labyrinth of tracks and out of Berlin towards the Czech frontier at Shöna...

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