City Breaks

Berlin Episode 09 In Search of East Berlin

What has happened to the GDR (German Democratic Republic), the country which was created when the Berlin Wall went up and which then disappeared when it came down? What was life in East Berlin like between August 1961 and November 1989? And where in today’s Berlin can you find out all about it?  Here are three museum suggestions, plus a little of what they tell us.

Reading suggestions for this post
Red Love by Maxim Leo
Stasiland by Anna Funder
The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding

Film suggestions
The Lives of Others
Goodbye, Lenin

Useful links  
The DDR Museum
The Stasi Museum
Hohenschonhausen Museum and Memorial

Berlin Tourist Information Centres
Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!
Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://citybreakspodcast.co.uk/

We love to receive your comments and suggestions! 
You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk
And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Berlin Episode 08 In Search of the Berlin Wall

The story of the Berlin Wall will always fascinate.  And here it is, along with ideas for three places in Berlin you can visit to see the remaining sections and find out more. Author Rory MacLean summed up the impact first seeing the wall had on him: 'At the heart of the continent were watchtowers, barbed wire and border guards, instructed to shoot fellow citizens who wanted to live under a different government.’    

Reading Suggestions
Berlin: Imagine a City by Rory MacLean
Berlin Biography of a City by Barney White-Spunner
Tunnel 29 by Helena Merriman    

Links

Checkpoint Charlie
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie Museum
Berlin Wall Memorial Site
East Side Gallery 
Guided tours of the East Side Gallery: either this one or this one

General links 
Berlin Tourist Information Centres
Germany Travel Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!

Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions! 
You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk
And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

                                                                                               

Berlin Episode 07 Holocaust and Remembrance

The Holocaust Memorial is deliberately sited right in the heart of Berlin because this is a city which does all it can to make sure the  horrors of the holocaust are understood by each new generation. This episode begins with the main facts, then focuses on the places you can visit in Berlin today to learn more and to remember the victims, collectively and, in many cases, also as individuals. 

Reading suggestions
Jewish Girl in Wartime Berlin by Inge Deutschkron
The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding
Book of Clouds by Chloe Aridjis

Useful links 
https://www.sachsenhausen-sbg.de/  Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum
https://www.museum-blindenwerkstatt.de/de/mbow/ 
https://www.annefrank.de/
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/block-women
https://www.stolpersteine-berlin.de/en/finding-stolpersteine 

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres 
https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!
Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions! 
You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk
And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Berlin Episode 06 Finding World War 2 in Berlin today

On this episode, we take a tour of places in Berlin connected to World War 2; the square where the Nazis burned books, the stadium where they held their showpiece Olympics in 1936, the sites of their HQ and of Hitler's bunker and the museums which tell tell the story of war, devastation and resistance.  A little history and a lot of tips on what to look out for on a visit.

Reading
Berlin 1936 by Oliver Hilmes

Useful links
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/deutsches-historisches-museum  
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/book-burning-memorial-bebelplatz
https://olympiastadion.berlin/en/guided-tours/
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/topography-terror 
https://www.life.com/history/after-the-fall-photos-of-hitlers-bunker-and-the-ruins-of-berlin/ 
https://www.gdw-berlin.de/en/home/   

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres 
https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!
Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions! 
You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk
And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

 

Berlin Episode 05 Four Berlin Squares

A tour of four main squares in Berlin: a little history and tips on what to look out for in each.  Baroque beauty in Gendarmenmarkt, the book-burning memorial on Bebelplatz, finding the old East Germany at Alexanderplatz and lastly Potsdamer Platz, the heart of pre-war Berlin which is now an architectural showpiece, and a shopping and cultural hub.  

Useful links  
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/franzosischer-dom-french-cathedral
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/deutscher-dom 
https://www.konzerthaus.de/de/ 
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/bebelplatz
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/st-hedwigs-kathedrale
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-television-tower
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/marienkirche
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/potsdamer-platz
http://qrcobble.com/en/one-of-the-most-innovative-berlin-attraction/ 

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres 
https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!
Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions! 
You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk
And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Berlin Episode 04 The Tiergarten and the Ku’Damm

There might be fewer 'must-sees' in the western half of Berlin than further east, but they are winners: a glorious park which began life as a 16th century royal hunting ground and is today the green heart of everyone's Berlin; and a fascinating church, rebuilt after the devastation of World War II, combining the remains with a beautiful new church, forming both a memorial of reconciliation and a modern place of worship.  Oh, and the city's very classiest department store.  We guide you round the area and fill in the history and culture which will enhance your visit.

Useful links  

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/tiergarten  
https://www.berlin.de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/3560160-3558930-siegessaeule.html (Victory Column)
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/kaiser-wilhelm-memorial-church 
https://www.zoo-berlin.de/en 

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres 
https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

 

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!
Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions! 
You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk
And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Berlin Episode 03 Unter den Linden

A wander down Berlin's most elegant street, Unter den Linden, to see its baroque splendour, its iconic buildings - think cathedrals, the opera house and the poignant war memorial, the Neue Wache - and maybe visit a museum or two on an island which is packed full of antiquities and art. Here is a little history, plus lots of tips on how to make the most of a day here in the heart of Berlin.  

Useful links  

https://www.berlinerdom.de  (Berlin Cathedral)
https://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/en (The State Opera Unter den Linden)
https://www.hedwigs-kathedrale.de (St Hedwig's Cathedral) 
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/neue-wache-memorial (War Memorial)
https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/museumsinsel-berlin/home (Museum Island)
https://www.humboldtforum.org/en (Humboldt Forum)
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres 
https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

 

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!
Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions! 
You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk
And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated! 

 

Berlin Episode 02 The Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate

On a first trip to Berlin you'll probably head straight for the Parliament or the Brandenburg Gate.  We're doing the same, and handily, they are close together and near to lots of other top sites. We bring you a little history to explain why these two iconic monuments represent everything dear to today's Berliners - lessons from history and the freedom enjoyed in the capital today - and explain what to look out for when you visit.  

Reading
Berlin, the Story of a City by Barney White-Spunner

Useful links 
https://www.bundestag.de/en/visittheBundestag
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres 
https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!
Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions! 
You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk
And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

 

Berlin Episode 01 Introduction

There's nowhere like Berlin. A turbulent history, an unrivalled cultural richness, green and modern and laid back all at once, truly a city break destination with plenty for everyone. Here is an overview of the series, offering some geographical, historical and cultural details to set the scene for the remaining 19 episodes when we will tour all the main sites, telling you the stories behind them and bringing them to life.

Reading
City Lit Berlin edited by Heather Reyes                                                                                  Berlin, A Literary Guide for Travellers by Paul Sullivan and Marcel Krueger

Useful links
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres 
https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

Edinburgh Episode 16 Anthology

A tour of Edinburgh through the eyes of the travellers, poets and novelists who captured its essence.  London, compared to Edinburgh, wrote Charlotte Bronte, is as 'prose compared to poetry.'  Well, we bring you lots of both, from centuries past and right up to the present day.    

Useful links:

https://edinburgh.org

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!
Check our website to find more episodes from our Edinburgh series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions! 
You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk
And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!