Germany 2022 : 2022-09-19 : Berlin Museums

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Tip
Type Name Description Service Provider Cost Notes Actions
To Do Topography of Terror $0.00 A place of remembrance on the site of the SS central command

Remembering terror and persecution – the documentation centre Topographie des Terrors is one of the most-visited places of remembrance in Berlin.

A place where terror is tangible, a place of remembrance and a warning from history, the “Topography of Terror” exhibition is located on the site where between 1933 and 1945 the principal instruments of Nazi persecution and terror were located: the headquarters of the Gestapo, the high command and security service of the SS, and from 1939 the Reich Security Main Office.

With more than a million visitors each years, it is one of the most frequently visited museums and memorial centres in Berlin.

1 Hour by train from AirBnB. 15 min by train from Brandenburg Gate
Travel
Type Name Service Provider Origin Destination Cost Notes Actions
Train Berlin 24-Hour Transit Ticket $25.00
Activity
Type Name Description Service Provider Cost Kms To Date Total Notes Actions
Sight See Berlin Story Museum $34.00
Accommodation
Type Name Service Provider Confirmation Location Cost Notes Actions
Bed and Breakfast Cozy hut/ A-frame house Air BnB Brandenburg $390.01 Host: Mario
Cost is for four nights. 219.13 paid 2022/08/03. Balance to be charge on Sept 2
Check-in 15:00, Checkout 10:00
Confirmed no dogs or cats on 2022-08-03


Trip Log

Notes Actions
Today we started with coffee at a little shop in Mahlow, then we made our way into Berlin. We visited Topography of Terror, then tried (unsuccessfully) to wait out a thunderstorm in a coffee shop (although drinking coffee and eating a cookie was successful). We then visited the Berlin Story Bunker.

Topography of Terror was really interesting. It has a series of photos and placards that follow a section of preserved Berlin Wall, a few placards around the grounds describing buildings that used to be there, plus a museum building which, to an extent, repeats the material from the outdoor display along the wall.

Although it is very interesting, I was not as happy with the Berlin Story Bunker. It claims to trace 800 years of city (Berlin) history with a reconstruction of Hitler's bunker. It also talks about Hitler from a ‘how could this happen’ perspective. What we found is that it doesn’t really cover much before WWI. In my opinion it is overwhelming and unfocused because, beyond Berlin, Hitler, WWII and the bunker, it also covers subsequent genocides, women’s rights, environmentalism, 1968, the Vietnam War, Angela Merkel, global warming and Covid-19. As interesting as those things are, it makes it the whole long and overwhelming (Brent and I spent 4.5 hours there, and that was rushed). It’s also a little poorly structured/laid out. Since it is in a bunker, it is limited by trying to guide folks through a long series of rooms in a sequential fashion in a building that does not lend itself to that kind of progression. Visitors are often squeezing past each other and confused about which piece of information comes next. There is an audio guide provided, but I gave up on it early because it really just reiterated the info on the placards along the route. I suppose if one wanted to listen and look at the pics without reading the placards it would be awesome but I’m a placard reader (or, at least a placard skimmer by the time I reached room 45 of the museum) so it was annoying and redundant for me.

You’re not allowed to take photos within the bunker, so I have none to share from that part of our day.

By the end of the day I’m completely done. Done with WWII stuff. It is so distressing and depressing. I think we might change the plan for tomorrow to go to the Disgusting Food Museum, the Metropolis Panorama and a map store (always a favorite for me).


Photos

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