Berlin is one of the most popular cities of the world and between our travelers. At Europamundo, we take you through all over the city while we give you insights on its history, its culture and the life of its people. But today we are going to discover a few curiosities about this fantastic city that you might not know, Kommen Sie mit uns nach Berlin? Oops, sorry, we wanted to say: Are you coming with us to Berlin? We have just started talking about this place and we suddenly become Germans!
- Although the city is full of bear sculptures, which is Bär in German (pronounced Ber) the name of Berlin has nothing to do with this. In fact Berlin means “marshy land” due to the marshy terrain on which it was built.
- SieWe always think that in Germany everyone speaks English perfectly and we can communicate without a problem. Well, it is not like that. Only a few people speak English at the German capital. So, prepare the dictionary!
- The Berlin subway has nowhere to pass an entry ticket. The doors are open and it is assumed that the traveler will buy their tickets to access due its civilized culture and responsibility that they have. But be careful, if you think about jumping the ratchet, you will face a heavy fine.
- Due to the division of the city at the time of the wall, the subway was also divided and because only the western part had purchasing power to use this type of transport, the trains ended up going through phantom stations of the communist part, since they did not make stops in these places.
- It has the third highest television tower in Europe, no less than 368 meters high and is located on Alexanderplatz. Do not look for it because it is seen from almost all Berlin and is an excellent guide in case you find yourself lost.
- If you have been to Berlin, you may have noticed that there are huge colored pipes at some points. It is not artistic they are real pipes! Because, as we have said, Berlin is built on a swamp, the level of humidity under the ground is very high so the pipes had to be removed to the surface and to avoid damaging the aesthetics of the city it was decided to paint them.
- Berlin also has its own “green lung” such as El Retiro in Madrid or Central Park in Manhattan. It is called Tiergarten park and the most curious thing is that in summer two specific areas are enabled for … nudism!
- In the center of Berlin there is “The Island of Museums”, a spectacular set of 5 Museums adding to more than 170 Museums that the city possesses. Some of them are The Pergamon Museum and the Bode Museum. This “island” was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.
- The Berlin Wall was built almost overnight. On the morning of August 13, 1961 the Berliners of the eastern side woke up with the whole area cordoned off. Little by little the wall was installed to prevent people from escaping to the developed part of Germany. It was guarded by thousands of guards and checkpoints. The most famous was the Checkpoint Charlie, which was rebuilt and is one of the most flashy places in Berlin. Usually there are two “military guards” imitating the famous surveillance station, where you can take a picture, yes, but by paying. Do not get caught taking one without consent, because they will demand that you to pay the price of the photograph.
- More than 10% of Berlin’s population is foreign, mainly Turks, Poles, Italians and Russians. In fact, in Berlin is the largest Turkish community outside of Turkey in Europe.
- In Germany they wanted to erase even the last remainder of Dictator Adolf Hitler, so they erased the map to the bunker in which he committed suicide. On top of this there is now a sand park built for the children to play.
- Although it is almost 28 years since the fall of the wall, there are still older people living in the eastern part of Berlin who do not wish to cross to the other side. Incredible but true.
- The most typical meal is the “currywurts mit pommes” one or two sausages chopped with a delicious curry sauce and chips. In fact this dish even has a dedicated museum in its name, the Deutsches Currywurst Museum. If you go to Germany and do not try this typical dish you have not been in this beautiful place.
- Although the only surviving one is the famous Brandenburg Gate, Berlin has up to 18 entrance gates.
- Berlin houses the largest erotic museum in the world. We are not going to tell you what’s in it because we prefer you to discover it for yourself, if you dare!
- Berlin has three airports and it is a much visited city, but did you know that these addition traffic from these three airport it reaches Frankfurt air traffic? This is because Frankfurt is an important business center, apart from the sightseeing, so in addition to sightseeing, there are hundreds of business trips made by different entrepreneurs from the world to the city.
What do you think about all these facts about this amazing city? Europamundo has many tours which stop at Berlin – click here – and if you want to see a spectacular presentation of Europamundo tours of Germany by our experienced Tour Guide Vanessa Fraila, click on the following link – click here-
