It would almost be weird to visit Berlin and not to see The Wall. Comparable to visiting Rome without seeing the Colosseum. So therefore, as part of Chapo’s grand European tour, we took a stroll along the Spree and indulged ourselves with some stunning art.
The Berlin Wall, or the East Side Gallery as it’s called today, stars a great vibe and truly amazing murals. Arriving from Warschauer Str. in the east with the S-bahn, it’s a small walk west to Mühlenstrasse, where the wall is situated.
The gallery is a 1.3km long section of the Berlin wall – its longest-surviving stretch -, which was erected in 1961 to prevent East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin. It got taken down in 1989 by the Germans on both sides, although of course there’s no need to explain you all that.
In 1990, 105 artists from Germany and the rest of the world were invited to illustrate a section of the wall, resulting in the East Side Gallery. Almost 30 years later, many of the graffitis already are to be called iconic. Take the “Two Guys Kissing” for example. A depiction of a kiss between from former Soviet dictator Brezhnjev and former East German President Erik Honecker. It’s the first picture below. Impressive right?
Take it easy if you go there, as it might be bustling, especially on the weekends. Nonetheless, it’s very well worth the effort as you can see!
