We went back to the farmers' market after they were set up for business, & here's some of what we saw:
We bought a ticket for a Berlin Circle tour bus for about 25 euros (for both of us). It's great, because a bus arrives every 10 minutes at each of the 20 stops, so you can get off anywhere & see the sights in that area, then hop back on the bus & go to your next desired stop.
We got off at Check Point Charlie & went into the museum which houses lots of artifacts & stories of both successful & unsuccessful attempts at escaping the eastern side of the wall. No pictures were allowed in the museum, but none were needed for me to remember some of the poignant stories of courage & fear. We saw many examples of ingenious escape methods: a glider, hot air balloon, special ladders, hoisting harnesses, compartments inside cars, trucks, suitcases, etc.....People were desperate to escape; that was evident. Here are some Check Point Charlie pictures. Notice the McDonald's as close as possible to the line.
We walked to the Wall & experienced a graphic narrative, including pictures, with no words minced, of Hitler's rise to power & its results. The word used most often was "murder/murdered" instead of "killed" or "executed." As I walked the long stretch of remaining Wall & read of the unbelievable but true story, I felt worse & worse. How could this happen? There was a section on families separated & murdered, another on homosexuals, one on gypsies, & the worst for me was the questionably ill people, aka, epileptics, retarded, reclusive or mentally ill people. On one, there was the picture of a beautiful 6 year old epileptic girl, who was murdered because of her genetic disability. Dear God, those were hard to read. Part of me wanted to get out of that place, & I'm safe & unafraid. How must it have felt to be there in that time? These are some pictures. See the "WHY" on the first one?
On a lighter note, we got lunch at one of the many caravans/food trucks near Check Point Charlie, & I had a Currywurst (wurst cut up & in a tomato-ish curry sauce with onions on top), & Dave had a regular bratwurst. We shared a Coke, & it cost 7.5 euros.
Another section of the Berlin Wall was designated for artists, so it has become the largest outdoor modern art gallery. I don't know how long it is, but here's a picture of a piece of it. I took it from the bus while standing which broke a rule!
Dave says there's a data limit on this hotel wifi per day, so I'd better stop here! That scares me, another unknown for the day.
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