Alexanderplatz All that remains for you to do in this part of the city is to visit the famous Alexan- derplatz, which is also the si - te of a TV tower that was on- ce the tallest in Europe, and which today – with its 368 metres – is tall enough that you can spot it from almost everywhere in the city, whi - le from the top of it you can enjoy the views over Berlin. I didn’t climb to the top, as it was very crowded and I wan- ted to check out the archite- cture that’s very dear to me, as a New Belgrade native. We thus went to Karl-Marx- Allee, a boulevard that tou - rists often don’t find time to visit, but that’s really wort - hy of a good stroll. At the be- ginning of the street is the famous Cafe Moskau, whi - ch stands opposite one of the oldest Soviet era cine - mas, Kino International, whi - ch to this day looks like it would have if the Cold War hadn’t ended. From there, the boulevard continues wi- th its two sides appearing li- ke mirror images, completely identical, all the way to Fran - kfurter Tor, Frankfurt Gate, a large square with two sym- metrical tall towers that rise as observation towers at the entrance to the city’s histori- cal centre. East Side Gallery On the night between 12 th and 13 th August 1961, the East German Army began closing the streets and ra- il tracks that enabled access to West Berlin. This marked the start of the construction of the Berlin Wall. The bor- der surrounding West Ber- lin would reach a length of 168 kilometres. Many lives were lost during the coun- tless attempts to cross that wall over subsequent years. This horrible example of mi-
ni vide „vrata Berlina“, postao je slika kraja Hladnog rata, a Brandenburška kapija ponovo simbol mira i ujedinjenja. Ostrvo muzeja Kad dođete do kapije iz prav - ca Rajhstaga, prođete kroz nju i nastavite prelepom ulicom pod lipama, da ne kazem Ave- nijom Unter den Linden, jed - nom od najlepših u Berlinu. Ona će vas voditi pored nacio - nalne biblioteke, u čijem smo senovitom, zelenom dvorištu potražili predah, ali i pored či - tavog univerzitetskog kom- pleksa na drugoj strani. U na- stavku izlazite na kraljevski dvorac, koji je nedavno konač - no sasvim obnovljen, put vas vodi pored prelepe Berlinske katedrale sve do reke Špreje i čuvenog ostrva na kojem se nalazi čak pet muzeja. Ostrvo muzeja u Berlinu deo je svet- ske baštine Uneska i dom naj- važnijih gradskih izložbenih centara, a zbirke u ovim zgra- dama obuhvataju preko 6.000 godina istorije umetnosti i kul- ture. Čak i ako ne želite da ulazite u muzeje, sama šetnja uz reku je
divno iskustvo, naročito što se tu nalazi čitav niz kafića, resto - rana i barova u kojima može - te da pojedete dobre nemačke kobasice ili kolenice i zalijete ih još boljim pivom na zalasku jednog dana punog utisaka. Aleksanderplac Ostaje vam da u tom kraju odete i na čuveni Aleksander - plac, na kom se nalazi i Televi- zijski toranj, nekada najviši u Evropi, danas dovoljno visok sa svojih 368 metara da ga vi- dite skoro odasvud i da sa nje- ga uživate u pogledu na Berlin. Nisam se popela, bila je veli- ka gužva, a i želela sam da vi - dim onu arhitekturu koja mi je, kao Novobeograđanki, veoma draga. Tako smo otišli u Ave- niju Karla Marksa, koju turisti često ne stignu da obiđu, a za - ista je vredna jedne dobre šet- nje. Na početku je čuveni kafe „Moskva“, preko puta jedan od najstarijih sovjetskih biosko- pa, „Kino Internacional“, koji i danas izgleda kao da se Hlad- ni rat nije završio. A onda u na- stavku kreće ta avenija čije se dve strane gledaju kao u ogle- dalu, potpuno identične sve
do Frankfurter Tora, velikog tr- ga sa dve visoke simetrične kule koje stoje kao osmatrač - nice na ulazu u istorijski cen- tar grada. Istočna galerija U noci 12. na 13. avgust 1961. istočnonemačka vojska je po - čela da zatvara ulice i žele - zničke pruge koje su omo - gucavale pristup Zapadnom Berlinu. Počinje izgradnja Berlinskog zida. Granica ko- ja okružuje Zapadni Berlin po - staje duga 168 kilometara. To- kom brojnih pokušaja da se pređe taj zid u godinama koje su usledile izgubljeni su mnogi životi. Jezivi primer bezumlja konačno je pao 9. novembra 1989, a ono što je predstavlja- lo simbol mržnje, podele, ludi - la jednog vremena, postalo je simbol ujedinjenja, ljubavi, mi- ra. Večiti podsetnik na ono što je bilo, ali i na ono što je bitno. Ostaci Zida svuda su po ploč - nicima Berlina obeležni metal - nim pločicama, ali je Istočna galerija sačuvala veliki komad koji je više od 100 umetnika iz preko 20 zemalja ukrasilo za - nimljivim delima. Najpoznati-
ning how it must have loo- ked right after the fall of the wall, when Helmut Kohl wal - ked there on his way to meet Hans Modrow, his counter - part from East Berlin. This magnificent neocla- ssical monument that da- tes back to the 18 th centu- ry was built at the behest of King Frederick II of Prussia, aka Frederick the Great, and was initially called the “Pea- ce Gate”. Ironically, a triump - hant Napoleon passed under the gate and took a souvenir back to Paris when he remo- ved from the gate the statue of the Greek goddess of pe- ace riding a four-horse cha- riot. The Prussians returned the favour when Napoleon was swept from power, so the chariot is today back in its proper place in Berlin. Du- ring the last century, the ga - te long stood between two divided worlds, symbolising everything but peace. And fi- nally, film footage of Ger - mans embracing on top of the Berlin Wall in Novem- ber 1989, with the “Berlin Ga - te” visible in the background, became an image signifying the end of the Cold War, and Brandenburg Gate once aga- in became a symbol of pea- ce and unification. Museum Island When you approach the ga- te from the direction of the Reichstag, pass through it
and continue along the be- autiful street lined with lin- den trees, not to call it the Unter den Linden boulevard, which is one of Berlin’s most beautiful walkways. It wi- ll lead you past the natio- nal library, where we sought respite in its shady, green courtyard, but will also lead you past the entire universi- ty complex on the other si- de. Continuing on, you wi - ll emerge at the royal palace, which was fully restored re- cently, and the road then le - ads you past the beautiful Berlin Cathedral, all the way to the River Spree and the famous island that’s home to as many as five muse- ums. Museum Island Berlin is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to the ci - ty’s most important exhibi- tion centres, while the colle - ctions preserved in these buildings encompass over 6,000 years of the history of art and culture. Even if you don’t want to en- ter the museums themse- lves, simply walking besi - de the river is a wonderful experience, especially given that a whole series of cafes, restaurants and bars are lo- cated there, and you can eat good German sausages or pork knuckle everywhere, and wash them down with even better beer at the end of a day filled with impres- sions.
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