Tour Examples
My most prominent tours are OVERVIEW TOURS with special a focus on one’s special interests. They usually take 4-6 hours. During that time we will see most of Berlin’s attractions which are located in the area of the old center of the city.
I also offer tours on JEWISH BERLIN, THE NAZIS AND BERLIN, COLD WAR BERLIN, ARCHITETUAL TOURS or even on ALTERNATIVE BERLIN. Or we can simply combine your favorite subjects in one tour. Please ask for further information! E-Mail
1. JEWISH BERLIN
Ever since Berlin was founded in the 13th century Jewish life was part of it. The oldest document of Berlin is just seven years older than the oldest Jewish tomb stone dating from 1244. Jewish merchants made this city an important trade city, Jewish bankers turned Berlin into a financial capital. More than 172.000 Jews lived in Berlin, one third of the entire German Jewish population. Berlin was the center of the assimilation movement. But like no other European city Berlin offered Jews good business opportunities and freedom. The Nazis destroyed most of the Jewish life, but not all of it. Anyway, there is no way to separate Jewish life from Berlin life. Today more them 30.000 Jews live here. Berlin was and is again a Jewish city. Come and discover it with me, see the New Synagogue, the former Jewish Girl School, one of the three Jewish cemeteries …
2. THE NAZIS AND BERLIN
Out of the 800 years history of Berlin the Nazis dictatorship lasted only 12 years. But those were the most devastating years. The Nazis hated Berlin since it symbolized to them everything they hated: an industrial, Jewish, leftist, intellectual, and gay city. That’s why they tried to rebuild it as a Nazi city, with a gigantic North-South axis which lead to the biggest dome on earth, the Great hall. Berlin should become Germania. None of these projects were realized. Instead, Berlin was a gigantic heap of rubble in 1945. The history of the relationship between the Nazis and Berlin was ambiguous. Most of the Berliners never supported the Nazis, during the 1933 elections the Socialist and Communist parties gained 60% of the votes in the central area of Berlin. On the other hand, Berlin was the political center of the German Reich and so the political center of the Nazis once they were in power. Here they organized the killing of millions of people and the destruction of Europe and Africa.
Discover with me the visible and invisible remains of Nazi-Berlin, the Great hall, Hitler’s office the New Reich Chancellery, Hitler’s bunker, the …
3. COLD WAR BERLIN
In the 1950’s a new war divided the world: the Cold war. Berlin became one of its hot dangerous spots. Spy activities, propaganda, sabotage on both sides made Berlin to one of the most talked about cities in the world. When the wall was build, the double city Berlin became two worlds. How was life in the Eastern part of Berlin? How did it feel to grow up in a Communist state? How did it feel when the wall came down? Come and discover Berlin through the eyes of someone who grew up in East Berlin … See the Berlin wall, the Soviet memorial, the Brandenburg gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the former death strip in the middle of Berlin.
4. BERLIN ARCHITECTURE
Berlin is a goldmine for Architecture lovers. Besides the architectural highlights from the 18th century, Berlin became famous in the 1930’s for modernist “Bauhaus” architecture. Entire housing communities were built by Bruno Taut and Walter Gropius. Seven of them are now protected UNESCO World Heritage sites. Since 80% of the center were destroyed in World War II, Berlin became a playground for modernist architects. After the fall of the wall and the re-unification Berlin attracted many post modern architects. Daniel Libeskind, Frank Gehry, I.M Pei, Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, Sir. Norman Foster, Helmut Jahn , and David David Chipperfield are just a few names. Discover with me the modern and postmodern face of Berlin and look closer to the old facades to discover the bullet holes from World War II.
5. ALTERNATIVE BERLIN
Berlin has a long history of underground culture. The gay and drag bars in the 1930’s. Jazz music in the 60’s, alternative music and punk rock in the 1980’s. Berlin was a hot spot for underground life on both sides of the Berlin wall. In the 1990’s more than 100 buildings were squatted by anarchists in Berlin-Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg. Today the epicenter of underground life is the new district Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain - a true East-West joint venture. Come and discover it with me.
6. POTSDAM
Potsdam has been the home to Prussian kings and German Kaisers for centuries. It retains its imperial character. On our tour we visit Potsdam's charming downtown area, the Dutch quarter, the summer palace of Frederick the Great called Sanssouci ("without worries"), as well as Schloss Cecilienhof, a rambling Tudor manor house where the last German Crown Prince Wilhelm lived. It was at Cecilienhof that Truman, Churchill, and Stalin met for the Potsdam Conference that decided the division of Germany.