Monday, April 18, 2022

Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, and a Jump

I've completed 19 miles of the 30-mile Berlin Wall walking challenge I started last week. I've learned a few things about the Berlin Wall, increased my motivation to exercise, and I even look forward to walking (most days). 


After passing Checkpoint Charlie (which was really just a wooden shed when it was used as a crossing point between East and West Berlin), I came to the Brandenburg Gate. I've always imagined it as a magnificent sort of gate that was opened to mark special occasions, but I learned that while it was a gate when Berlin was a small walled city circa 1730, the current structure was built between 1788 and 1891. It has stood since then despite being damaged in WWII, through war and peace. 


Yesterday I reached Bernauer Straße where the first casualty of the Wall happened. It was also where 34 West Berlin students dug a 475 ft tunnel under the street, and 57 people used it to escape. An East German border patrolman, Hans Konrad Schumann, decided that he longer wanted to keep his fellow citizens imprisoned, so he dropped his machine gun and took a leap of faith over barbed wire to safely escape to West Germany. Things like this give me some small glimmers of hope today. 


I'm enjoying my trek through Berlin. Only 11 miles left to go!


13 comments:

  1. I'm glad you are enjoying your walks, Bonny. I love these history snippets they are giving you. I enjoy my walks, like you, "most days". Please keep us updated on your journey. It's fascinating. Happy Monday!

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  2. I am learning some interesting facts about Berlin thanks to your walks and look forward to continuing!

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  3. Wow! You've walked quite a bit!! I'm enjoying your trail and the history bits are ones that I did not know!

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  4. AWESOME! And interesting, too. What a great motivation to keep walking. XO

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  5. It's great that this is motivating you to walk and enjoy it more, too. Thanks for showing us the sights1!

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  6. well you are traveling the world with that app!!

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  7. That's awesome!! I wish our weather was a bit more conducive to walking outside... howling wind all last week and SNOW this morning. I still manage a few miles everyday -- more on Airbnb cleaning days and/or when the kiddos are over!!

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  8. That looks like so much fun! The weather here has been lousy for walking...the cold, wind, and rain has me wondering where spring has gone?

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    1. It is fun, and providing me with a lot of motivation. We were lucky enough to have really nice weather all last week, including some very warm temps in the 80s! Today we're back to the 40s with heavy rain, but it's better than snow. I've postponed more walking through Berlin until tomorrow. Hopefully, spring will return to stay for both of us soon!

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  9. Brandenburg Gate looks so pretty lit up in Ukrainian colors.

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  10. You are making good progress on your walking challenge. Good for you. Although I have German heritage, I know very little about Germany so your post is very interesting to me. Thank you for sharing.

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  11. Marking progress with actual places and history sounds like fun! and they let you write and share postcards, too? I might have to check it out ... I wonder where I'd go?

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  12. GO YOU! (and I bet you have completed your Germany Walk by now!)

    :)

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