Check Point Charlie

Sunday, 18th September

A grey, dreary and rather wet Sunday in Berlin. An early start to the day with a tour of the East Berlin sector, beginning with a stop beside a section of the Wall which has become an art gallery. This long section of the Berlin Wall is now covered in large paintings which depict the era of a divided city and country. Our next stop was at the largest Soviet War Memorial (now maintained by the German government). Apart from a statue of Mother Russia, this memorial also contained the mass graves of 12,000 Russian soldiers killed in Berlin during the Second World War. It did feel rather surreal visiting a memorial to soldiers we have always considered to be the enemy. Even our loud, arrogant American quietened down for a short time.

Then it was off to Check Point Charlie and the museum, with our guide pointing out the horrors that the citizens suddenly faced when the divide was constructed overnight and the efforts made to reach the West. I think most of us suddenly came to realise just what it means to live in a free society. Check Point Charlie is still in the street, but I think it is probably just a reconstruction - we could pay 3 Euros to have our photo taken standing beside two guards!

Following lunch, we continued our tour of Berlin before heading for Potsdam. Such a pretty town with some lovely houses and lots of trees. We stopped at the Tudor style Cecilia House, (can't remember the German word), site of the Potsdam Conference with Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin. We were taken through the rooms used by the three delegations. Back on the bus for a short drive to the Palace of San Souci and a rather quick look around the gardens - it was bucketing down by this time and Cat had a very wet nose!

I think we were all glad to get back to our hotel for an evening's rest - a long drive tomorrow to Warsaw.

We have enjoyed Berlin - after 95% of the building were destroyed during the Second World War, they have now been reconstructed and all the old buildings still look like old buildings. The streets are very light, airy and leafy and the city has a vibrant feel to it.