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Germany, as a major country in World War II, preserved many historical footprints in Berlin. To learn more about the story, we booked a 2-hour private guided Segway Tour to show you 11 must-see sights in Berlin. Let's take a look at this German city's open attitude towards history. It doesn't hide or escape, but rather generously acknowledges past mistakes and is wary of the world.

📍 1. Atlas Museum Berlin

💡 Location: Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin (map requestClick here)
💡 Official website:https://www.smb.museum/museen-und-einrichtungen/altes-museum/home.html
💡 Opening hours: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (closed on Mondays)

We ordered a 2 hour long one at Klook Segway Tour (HKD $381) Let our guide take us to many of Berlin's must-see attractions. Since we weren't familiar with the streets of Berlin, we had some twists and turns to get to the exact meeting point. Fortunately, the manager was very kind, so they gave us a private guided tour. We first visited the Altes Museum in Berlin, the first museum on Museum Island, which is one of the world heritage sites. It mainly houses ancient Greek and Roman art. From the outside, you can see that several of the pillars have been dyed black due to the baptism of the Sun and the Moon. They also retain the bullet holes left by the Soviet Union at the time, bearing witness to the changing times, and reminding the world not to forget this battle. I was fascinated by the two statues in front of the museum. After questioning the guide, I learned the difference between “Lion Slayer” and “Amazon Female Warrior.” This is to represent that the sacred is stronger than the wild.

📍 2. Berliner Dom Berlin Cathedral

💡 Location: Am Lustgarten, 10178 Berlin (map requestClick here)
💡 Official website:https://www.berlinerdom.de

The opposite side of the museum is Berlin Cathedral, which is also full of historical traces. During World War II, the church was bombed by Allied forces, causing a fire, and the dome was further burnt down. After restoration in 1975, the church was reopened in 1993. Therefore, it can be seen that the new dome is separated from the main building.

📍 3. Bebelplatz Bebelplatz

💡 Location: Unter den Linden, 10117 Berlin (map requestClick here)

It houses the Berlin State Opera, the Humboldt University Law School library, and St. Hedwig's Cathedral, Berlin's oldest Catholic church. In 1933, many Nazi students of the time were gathered here, and as many as 25,000 books deemed anti-Nazi ideals were burned, including books written by Jews and socialism. Therefore, in the center of the square, you can see a row of empty bookshelves under the glass to commemorate the book burning incident. He also engraved the German poem “Where a book burns is only a pregame; it will burn people at the end.”

📍 4. Gendarmenmark Gendarmenmark

💡 Location: Gendarmenmarkt, 10117 Berlin (map requestClick here)

The Gendarmenmark Gendarmenmark Gendarmenmarkt brings together the Berlin Music Hall and the German and French cathedrals. Französischer Dom French Cathedral was built in 1704 because the French Christian faction of the time, the Hoogholks took refuge in Berlin. Later, it was rumored that due to the unhappiness of German citizens, the Deutscher Dom German Cathedral was also built in 1708, which is opposite the French cathedral. Although the two cathedrals look exactly the same, rumor has it that German cathedrals are actually quite large! Most of the buildings here were severely damaged during World War II. Fortunately, after a long period of restoration and reconstruction, we were lucky to be able to see it in its original appearance again.

📍 5. Checkpoint Charlie

💡 Location: Friedrichstraße 43-45, 10117 Berlin (map requestClick here)

This was a checkpoint for entering East Germany and West Germany during the Cold War. It was mainly used by diplomats and allied military personnel. For the people at the time, it was cruelly separated between West German freedom and East German oppression. Currently, we are still able to see the warning signs we would see in a difficult situation at the time. What's interesting is that, judging from the clarity of the photos, the photos of the military personnel on display are not Charlie himself!

📍 6. Topographie des Terror Terrain Map

💡 Location: Niederkirchnerstraße 8, 10963 Berlin (map requestClick here)
💡 Official website:https://www.topographie.de
💡 Opening hours: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM

This was once the headquarters of the secret police Gestapo Party, and now it is open to the public as a museum, where you can feel the hopelessness of the prisoners at the time. Due to the excessive cruelty of torture by the secret police, many inmates want to live their own lives and not be tortured. In addition, this is also the most complete Berlin Wall outside the East Side Gallery of the East Side Gallery. The original appearance of the fence has been preserved here, and you can feel the changes of history.

📍 7. Bunker of the Führerbunker

We arrived at a parking lot that seemed unremarkable. In fact, this is the former site of Hitler's Bunker, and it is also a place where he was born lightly. Since German citizens don't want the world to remember this powerful person who carried out tyranny, they only used a simple memorial card to record information about this bunker.

📍 8. Holocaust-Mahnmal Jewish Memorial

💡 Location: Cora-Berliner-Straße 1, 10117 Berlin (map requestClick here)
💡 Official website:https://www.stiftung-denkmal.de/startseite.html
💡 Opening hours: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM (closed on Mondays)

There are 2,711 coffin-like monuments here to commemorate Jews who were brutally murdered during the Holocaust. Walking between the stone monuments, I was able to feel the confusion and hopelessness of the Jews at the time. The smart Jews at the time were very good at doing business, which was a great source of prestige for Germany in the midst of an economic crisis. Hitler's speeches controlled people's hearts, aroused popular indignation and hatred against Jews in Germany, which led to a tragedy.

📍 9. Brandenburger Tor Brandenburg Gate

💡 Location: Luisenpl., 14471 Potsdam (map requestClick here)

It symbolizes separation and unification, and has witnessed many historical and cultural changes. Two very different architectural styles that can be seen from the division of East and West Germany are also representative of the freedom to unify East and West Germany. The center of the top of the gate is carved with the goddess of victory in Greek mythology. On her right hand, a scepter with a wreath stands a hawk spreading its wings, symbolizing victory in war.

📍 10. Reichstag Reichstag Reichstag

💡 Location: Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin (map requestClick here)
💡 Official website:https://www.bundestag.de/besuche/architektur/reichstag/
💡 Opening hours: 8:00 AM - 12:00 AM

It was formerly the Reichstag of the German Empire, and is currently the seat of government in the German Federal Assembly. The mirrored glass behind the pillar is a collection of historical and modern characteristics, reflecting the changes of the Sun and the Moon. The original design idea of this building was to represent the concept of democracy and fairness through an untouched hall.

📍 11. Museumsinsel Museum Island

💡 Official website:http://www.museumsinsel-berlin.de/home/

Last stop, we went back to Museumsinsel Museum Island, a World Heritage Site in Berlin. It contains five Berlin's public museums, including the first stop, the Atlas Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, and the Bode-Museum. Among the many museums, our guide compared and recommended the Old National Gallery, which showcased classical romantic works of art.

From the First World War to the Cold War, Germany was in an indispensable position. These kinds of historical sites not only serve to alert the world to “face up to history and not forget the past,” but also commemorate the innocent victims of these historical events, showing Germany's remorse and remorse for these historical monuments. On the next day, we will visit the ruins of the Berlin Wall and the Espionage Museum. Check out the full description of the tripThis travelogy.