Note from Tory: Checkpoint Charlie
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Checkpoint Charlie
Today I got up early to cram an accumulation of nearly five weeks worth of stuff into my pack. I find it impressive, how much can go into a stuffsack when proper motivation and muscle is applied. It was serious exercise tromping up and down flights of stairs to the train station to deposit my pack at Left Luggage for the day. But freed from my bag, I made a bee-line (okay, after a quick stop at Starbucks) to tour the Checkpoint Charlie museum.
The museum has expanded since the wall came down, but it still contains an eclectic mix of history, kitch, and personal stories of GDR citizens who crossed the wall (some made it, some tragically died trying). It was really moving. They still have the little VW Bug used to smuggle people out, folded into a tiny hidden compartment. In retrospect, do you think they regretted using such a small car??
They were selling chunks of the wall in the museum gift shop. I really wanted one... but introducing a heavy piece of concrete into my already bulging pack-- well, it might be the straw that broke that camel. I got a tee shirt instead
My next stop was the East Gallery, a mile long section of the wall they preserved intact and invited artists from all over the world to paint. I walked the length and snapped cool pics. I walked the rest of the way back to Alexanderplatz (regretted that when my toes went numb from the cold, but hey). Fortunately, schnitzel with pommes frites --and an excellent Berliner beer-- warmed me right up.
I have a few hours left before I have to head to the Hauptbahnhof to catch my overnight train to Paris, and tomorrow is my last day before returning home... I try not to think about that. But I think about all of you frequently and am sending you my love and good thoughts!
Love T
Checkpoint Charlie
Today I got up early to cram an accumulation of nearly five weeks worth of stuff into my pack. I find it impressive, how much can go into a stuffsack when proper motivation and muscle is applied. It was serious exercise tromping up and down flights of stairs to the train station to deposit my pack at Left Luggage for the day. But freed from my bag, I made a bee-line (okay, after a quick stop at Starbucks) to tour the Checkpoint Charlie museum.
The museum has expanded since the wall came down, but it still contains an eclectic mix of history, kitch, and personal stories of GDR citizens who crossed the wall (some made it, some tragically died trying). It was really moving. They still have the little VW Bug used to smuggle people out, folded into a tiny hidden compartment. In retrospect, do you think they regretted using such a small car??
They were selling chunks of the wall in the museum gift shop. I really wanted one... but introducing a heavy piece of concrete into my already bulging pack-- well, it might be the straw that broke that camel. I got a tee shirt instead
My next stop was the East Gallery, a mile long section of the wall they preserved intact and invited artists from all over the world to paint. I walked the length and snapped cool pics. I walked the rest of the way back to Alexanderplatz (regretted that when my toes went numb from the cold, but hey). Fortunately, schnitzel with pommes frites --and an excellent Berliner beer-- warmed me right up.
I have a few hours left before I have to head to the Hauptbahnhof to catch my overnight train to Paris, and tomorrow is my last day before returning home... I try not to think about that. But I think about all of you frequently and am sending you my love and good thoughts!
Love T
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