East Berlin: City of Shadows Walking Tour
This 3 hour tour explores the surviving monuments of the East German regime including the infamous Berlin Wall and Stasi headquarters. A historian will reveal the dialogue between modern Berlin’s built environment and its dark and often hidden history. You’ll hear about life under Communist rule, the East Germans’ growing discontent and their government’s brutal suppression.
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What's included in East Berlin: City of Shadows Walking Tour
(Subject to Option Inclusions)Itinerary
Brandenburg Gate
A historian will reveal the dialogue between modern Berlin’s built environment and its dark and often hidden history. You’ll hear about life under Communist rule, the East Germans’ growing discontent and their government’s brutal suppression. The tour begins at the Brandenburg Gate where, in June 1987, President Ronald Reagan famously called on Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to, “tear down this wall!” Nearby is the former Soviet Embassy, a grandiose monument built in 1945 amid the rubble of World War II as a bold declaration of Stalin’s ambition to control all of Berlin. We will discuss how the Allies’ postwar division of Germany into four parts led to decades of Cold War tensions.
Friedrichstrasse
Friedrichstrasse train station, a key crossing point between East and West Berlin. When families were torn apart by East Germany’s ironfisted immigration laws, they said their sad goodbyes here in the office known as the Palace of Tears.
At Nordbahnhof, we’ll explore how Berlin’s division created “ghost” stations, unused but heavily guarded stops on West Berlin’s subway lines that lay in East German territory.
Inclusions
- Local guide
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transportation to/from attractions: You will need to use public transport a few times, since the distances between some key sites would be too far to walk. If you will not have a few days visitor's transit pass to Berlin already, we suggest that you purchase the day metro pass. If you cannot purchase it in advance, your guide will help you purchase it at the first metro station on the tour. Berlin Transit One Way Tarif AB Ticket 2.8 Euro, Senior Discount 1,70 EUR Berlin Transit Day Ticket for one Person 7 Euro, Senior Discount 4,70 EUR
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Meet
Pickup and Dropoff
You can choose to be picked up from a list of locations, or alternatively, have the choice to make your own way to the meeting points
Please arrive at the pick up point 15 minutes before departure time.
Additional Information
We pickup from any hotel or accommodation in Berlin.
Meeting / End Points
- Please meet your guide outise Cafe Einstein at address Unter den Linden 42, 100117 Berlin.