Brandt Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Anybody been? Was just back from the 20th anniversary of the wall coming down. The party was a bit of it of an anti-climax but still had a great time. Gobarchev got the biggest applause out the lot of the speakers. G.Brown just mumbled something. Happened to be there 20 years ago with some folks from school when it all happened. Wish i knew what i did now about exactly what was happening then (i was 12 then :-)). Still though, what an amazing city. Fantasic old and new buildings. They dont seem to change many old things just because they appear old and dated either. One pretty central subway station we came to had a big pillar outside it, kind of like the things at a garage with petrol prices on it, except made of wood. It had in German translated along the lines of 'we should never forget', and under it had a list of names of concentration camps, Dacau, Auschwitz etc. I was a bit puzzled by this and thought maybe trains left from here with victims on there way to these places. We went down stairs and asked a station worker. He said, no, its simply a reminder for people what happened and sort of half smiled and shrugged. Thought that was pretty amazing in a respectful way of course. There is also a great museum called the DDR museum where you see the daily life in East Germany which is superb. Also, just seeing the grey and brown communist flats is pretty mad too, literally everywhere. My girlfriend being German told me that Berlin is a poor city. couldnt believe it but if you go far enough you will see for yourself. The unofficial motto in Berlin is 'poor but sexy'. Apparently as big as their economy is they are still struggling financially as a country due to the on going rebuilding of the East and around (dont quote me exactly on this figure) 60p a week from every wage earned goes towards re-building the East and will continue to be paid until around 2019. Anhoo, fantastic place if anybody wants to visit. oh and found a Big Lebowski themed pub. 1000 times better than the one in Edinburgh, if you want to call it a Big Lebowski themed pub :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-Dizzle Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Anybody been? Was just back from the 20th anniversary of the wall coming down. The party was a bit of it of an anti-climax but still had a great time. Gobarchev got the biggest applause out the lot of the speakers. G.Brown just mumbled something. Happened to be there 20 years ago with some folks from school when it all happened. Wish i knew what i did now about exactly what was happening then (i was 12 then :-)). Still though, what an amazing city. Fantasic old and new buildings. They dont seem to change many old things just because they appear old and dated either. One pretty central subway station we came to had a big pillar outside it, kind of like the things at a garage with petrol prices on it, except made of wood. It had in German translated along the lines of 'we should never forget', and under it had a list of names of concentration camps, Dacau, Auschwitz etc. I was a bit puzzled by this and thought maybe trains left from here with victims on there way to these places. We went down stairs and asked a station worker. He said, no, its simply a reminder for people what happened and sort of half smiled and shrugged. Thought that was pretty amazing in a respectful way of course. There is also a great museum called the DDR museum where you see the daily life in East Germany which is superb. Also, just seeing the grey and brown communist flats is pretty mad too, literally everywhere. My girlfriend being German told me that Berlin is a poor city. couldnt believe it but if you go far enough you will see for yourself. The unofficial motto in Berlin is 'poor but sexy'. Apparently as big as their economy is they are still struggling financially as a country due to the on going rebuilding of the East and around (dont quote me exactly on this figure) 60p a week from every wage earned goes towards re-building the East and will continue to be paid until around 2019. Anhoo, fantastic place if anybody wants to visit. oh and found a Big Lebowski themed pub. 1000 times better than the one in Edinburgh, if you want to call it a Big Lebowski themed pub :-) Sorry I can't help, but. Where is this Lebowski pub that you speak of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandt Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 Sorry I can't help, but. Where is this Lebowski pub that you speak of? Nothing to help me with mate :-) Which pub? The one in Edinburgh or Berlin? Edinburgh, opposite the ABC cinema at Tollcross, the old Festival Tavern. Only thing Lebowski about it is the name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-Dizzle Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Nothing to help me with mate :-) Which pub? The one in Edinburgh or Berlin?Edinburgh, opposite the ABC cinema at Tollcross, the old Festival Tavern. Only thing Lebowski about it is the name. Oh, that sounds crap then. Sorry to bother you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 My girlfriend at the time was in Berlin when the wall came down. She was woken up by the people she was staying with and they went down as it all happened. Amazing experience she will never forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandt Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 My girlfriend at the time was in Berlin when the wall came down. She was woken up by the people she was staying with and they went down as it all happened. Amazing experience she will never forget. One of our teachers had to phone the headmaster and ask what we should do because potentially... i think we know the worst that could have happened! But he was cool and simply said, enjoy a piece of world history. The memories that stuck with me was the American soldier pulling over the East German soldier. They were crying and hugging. Also i massive line of people including both sets of soldiers standing singing Auld Lang Syne in German. My eyes were really sore due to the sheer amount of camera flashes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moriarty Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 I love Berlin, really amazing city. the difference in the two halves is still very evident even though there has been quite a bit of building work done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deans-Hearts Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Going over in March for a stag do. Looking forward to the history of the place and the nightlife ! Any more info on what and where to go day and night would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandt Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 Going over in March for a stag do. Looking forward to the history of the place and the nightlife ! Any more info on what and where to go day and night would be appreciated. Tbh honest mate, there isnt really a pubby area that we got told. But if you look up the Lebowski pub on the internet, there was quite a few pubs in the surrounding area, so i'm kind of contradicting myself but there soesnt seem to be a grassmarket kind of area. The bar staff at Lebowski's are really friendly and will point you to a few places. As for the day. pick up any guide book, theres tons to do. try and get to a Hertha game or a Union game. Also if you come across a soup on a menu called Solyanka, try it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH12 Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Anybody been? Was just back from the 20th anniversary of the wall coming down. The party was a bit of it of an anti-climax but still had a great time. Gobarchev got the biggest applause out the lot of the speakers. G.Brown just mumbled something. Happened to be there 20 years ago with some folks from school when it all happened. Wish i knew what i did now about exactly what was happening then (i was 12 then :-)). Still though, what an amazing city. Fantasic old and new buildings. They dont seem to change many old things just because they appear old and dated either. One pretty central subway station we came to had a big pillar outside it, kind of like the things at a garage with petrol prices on it, except made of wood. It had in German translated along the lines of 'we should never forget', and under it had a list of names of concentration camps, Dacau, Auschwitz etc. I was a bit puzzled by this and thought maybe trains left from here with victims on there way to these places. We went down stairs and asked a station worker. He said, no, its simply a reminder for people what happened and sort of half smiled and shrugged. Thought that was pretty amazing in a respectful way of course. There is also a great museum called the DDR museum where you see the daily life in East Germany which is superb. Also, just seeing the grey and brown communist flats is pretty mad too, literally everywhere. My girlfriend being German told me that Berlin is a poor city. couldnt believe it but if you go far enough you will see for yourself. The unofficial motto in Berlin is 'poor but sexy'. Apparently as big as their economy is they are still struggling financially as a country due to the on going rebuilding of the East and around (dont quote me exactly on this figure) 60p a week from every wage earned goes towards re-building the East and will continue to be paid until around 2019. Anhoo, fantastic place if anybody wants to visit. oh and found a Big Lebowski themed pub. 1000 times better than the one in Edinburgh, if you want to call it a Big Lebowski themed pub :-) The underground station that your talking about is Wittenburg Platz, just beside KaDeWe the big department store. I was lucky enough to be in Berlin when the wall came down, it was certainly one of he highlights of my life and can still remember seeing the faces of the people coming through the wall from the east. That weekend was the biggest party that I've ever seen. I never considered goining back for the anniversary, but I back to Berlin at least once a year as I love the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Burgundy Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Berlin is fantastic for a stag do.Went a couple of years back and stayed fairly near the zoo.Great place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adi Dassler Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Great place, was only there for 3 or 4 days about 8/9 years ago but i loved it and hope to go back sometime next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemclaren Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 I was in Berlin in the summer of 1990 ( Germany won the world cup during my visit ) and it was a fascinating time to be there as you could go into the East and see what it was like before it changed for ever. I've always meant to go back but have never got around to it yet. Hard to believe it was 20 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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