Because Berlin was only 1 1/2 hours from Dresden, and because the girls just had to see Berlin, we opted to take them to Berlin. This is the last day we would see them for 5 days, Rachel just had to see this high fashion city and they all wanted to see Check Point Charlie. Kim said it was awe inspiring to realize all the depravities that the East Germans had to endure under communism during those 28 years.
The Berlin Wall was still standing in some places. Untouched so as to be a reminder of the injustices that men will do to each other. It is now an outdoor art gallery. The cement has been a canvas to many artists. We all took lots of pictures. We took a tour and saw the Brandenburg Gate where it all began. This is a very interesting city. Because it was Hitler's favorite city, it was totally bombed during WWII. The City was rebuilt with newer style buildings but some of the important ones were rebuilt as they were.
I was in my late teens when all this started but I don't seem to have caught the vision of it. I think that was because the US was fully embroiled in the Vietnam War. Gene says he does remember it well as he was in the Air Force at the time and they were talking about having to go to war against Russia over it. But as it turned out, we did not go to war but Berlin was split basically down the center with the GDR on the Russian side, and the West side of Germany was occupied by the US, France and Britain. This situation started after WWII in 1945 but so many East Germans left for the Western side that Russia decided in 1961 to build a wall to keep people from leaving. Many lives were changed from that time until 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell and people were free to rejoin there families. It is a sad story and one I hope never repeats itself. Today West Germany is putting allot of money into rebuilding East Germany.
We took allot of photos of Check Point Charlie. Now Gene and I have seen Alpha Check Point & Check Point Charlie both very important. We didn't have very much time to stay here so we left for home and drove straight through. We were like sardines in a can.
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