Back-Tracking

Okay... so there's no shortage of photos for today's post. You'll just have to be patient.

Today was spent going back over ground I'd already covered. My first goal was to return the two blouses that I'd purchased at "Extra Wide" last Tuesday. I like them; I just decided I didn't love them.

Returning things in Germany is not as automatic as it is in the US. Of course there's the whole language thing. But beyond that... stores aren't required to post their return policies and are often reluctant to accept returns. At this point, I still have the shirts. I'll be going back again on Thursday when the boss lady is there, for which the saleslady I was dealing with expressed heartfelt thanks.

From there I decided to once again grab lunch at Karstadt... mostly because it was convenient. Feeling the need for some veggies, I chose to eat from the salad bar. Serve yourself + weighed for payment = spent more than the last time.

After lunch I wandered down to their home store. I was primarily looking for embroidered table linens (which I found but resisted), but I got tempted into their home decor section. Much of what is sold in that department could also qualify as craft materials. I bought a few things I liked that I've never seen back home... which, of course, means they'll all show up at Michael's or JoAnn's next week.

Decision time. Haul around the blouses I didn't return, plus my new purchases, all afternoon OR climb 3 flights of stairs out of the subway and walk a block (then reverse) to drop the bags at the apartment, given that my route would go right past the stop. (Answer at the end.)

My afternoon agenda was to head back towards Mauer Park. At the Bernauer Straße subway stop I'd noticed a memorial to the Berlin Wall. Because we had a mission on Sunday (the flea market), and because there were people everywhere (who would get in the way when I was taking photos), I walked past. But today I wanted to take a look.

When you climb up from the subway stop, the first thing you see is a seemingly endless row of rusty metal poles. These poles stretch along the route formerly occupied by the Wall. But unlike the wall, they have gaps that one could pass through. 

There are strips of metal embedded in the ground, which I eventually figured out were the outlines of buildings that were destroyed to create the "no man's land". There are also small metal discs in the ground for either the escapees, or people who were killed trying to escape. My sense is the former, but I'm not certain. Also, the paths of escape tunnels are marked by stepping stones above-ground.

The walls of the adjacent buildings are used to tell some of the story and include some of the iconic photographs that we "cold war kids" will recognize. 

There are also poles clustered around the memorial with interpretive information, recordings, and short videos. 

At the end of the park is a large metal bas-relief map of the area.

After wandering the length of the block, I was surprised to see that the memorial continued. First there were 4 tall beams representing a watch tower.

Half way down the next block was a pavilion covering the foundations of some homes. The interpretive information under the roof told the stories of the families that had lived in those homes.

Wandering further, I came to a chapel that was built where the Reconciliation Church previously stood.

Some relics from the destroyed church were also on the grounds. The structure in front of the chapel houses the bells.

Across the next street was a massive unbroken stretch of wall with a watch tower peeking from behind. I'm fairly sure the wall is a reconstruction, though the watch tower may be original. 

Standing on the corner across the street and looking one direction at the representative wall and then the other direction at the reconstruction caused a gut reaction that would be tough to describe.

At the very end of the memorial, on the other side of the street, is an observation tower. Unfortunately, the elevator was not in operation and I'm not physically up to 5 flights of stairs, so I wasn't able to take in the entire memorial from above.

After wandering so far down hill, I was glad to be able to take the tram back up the hill, and then a couple of stops more to the Mauer Park. After getting off the tram, I stopped to pick up an OJ and pastry, which I carried to the park to eat.

My plan was to climb the hill in the park to look at the graffiti wall at the top, which is a remnant of the original Wall. There were a lot fewer people sans flea market. 

Part way up the hill, I found an empty nook with benches to enjoy my Kaffeetrinken. The area behind the benches is a dog park, and the larger area on that side is a sport park.

The hill, one of 90 or so scattered around Berlin is built over piles of rubble from WW2. One thing we learned on the underground tour on Sunday was that under some of these piles are what's left of reinforced above-ground bunkers that the allies failed to completely destroy, despite multiple applications of explosives.

The graffiti wall was interesting, but much of the "art" looked more like signatures and gang signs. I've seen much more artistic graffiti. However, anyone is welcome to paint on the wall, so there's no "curation".

From the top of the hill there's a rather splendid view.

At the top I also spotted a swing that would give American parents heart failure. The "launch zone" for jumping off the swing appears to end at an abyss. The drop-off isn't as abrupt as it looks from the sidewalk, though.

The park also has an amphitheater. I'm not sure what, if any, performances might take place there.

Near the tram stop for the first leg of the trip back to the apartment is this adorable building. I have no idea what it is or what it's for. In the lower left corner I've inset a close-up from behind the duck. Awww... ladybug.

Between the tram and the subway I made a side trip to a hobby store I'd spotted. 

I found a couple of small things to buy, and had no trouble carrying them home, since I'd previously dropped my other bags at the apartment (there's your answer).