Tourist will no longer be disappointed when they go to Berlin. They can now get to experience Berlin Wall and its history on a bike.
The City has recently built a trail along the 160km stretch of the wall. We all can remember watching thousands of people climbing the Berlin Wall and its fall on T.V in 1989, and, the reunification of Germany. The wall was bulldozed, the pieces were bought and sold and have become collector’s item. Today it is illegal to remove any pieces from the wall but every souvenir store or postcard shops sell them. The pieces, usually small grain or a tenth of an ounce, carry no proof of authenticity. What remained of the wall until recently was a cobblestone path.
Innovative Michael Cramer dreamed the idea of a bike path (a hugely popular city transport in the region) along the wall’s course. It took 5 years and a lot persuasion to build it, but the result is worth it. The trail circles old West Berlin and a lot of history along the way. You will cross Checkpoint Charlie famous for its 1961 standoff between Soviets and Americans. The Glienicker Bridge where captured spies were exchanged and the East Side Gallery that showcase 1.3-km of the remaining longest stretch of wall. It features murals by International Artists. Crammer himself conducts guided tours in summer or you could just go and discover it yourself with a guidebook.
If one wants a closer look, there are three museums exclusively on the Berlin Wall.
The Standing Museum is an open air and near the Gestapo Headquarter use to be. It runs along a potion of the wall tacked with wooden roof and frames. These frames carry posters with subtitles in four languages (English, French, German, and Russian) that tell the story from World War II to the Cold War and how the Wall was built.
The Berlin Wall Museum on Bernauser Strasse is excellent which a serious researcher will enjoy. There is an in-dept portrayal of key events from 1961 to 1989. It has a library with many good books and even magazines of that time. Situated on the border between French and Russian sectors it gives a complete reconstruction of a section of the wall complete with double barrier.
Checkpoint Charlie is downtown and the most famous point. The museum is more of an art exhibit with period military vehicles, paintings, and dioramas. It has a special section highlighting the struggle for freedom.
Pictures by: Tom Galvin
