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Berlin - A Tour of the City Before and After the Fall of the Wall
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 9, 2026
This book was an experience, felt as if I was witnessing history unfold and unmake itself in parallel.
March 19, 2018
For Valentine's Day, the Queens Library had a fun little promotion where they wrapped books up in brown paper, gave a few clues as to their content, and asked you to have a "Blind Date with a Book" - cute! So Berlin - A Tour of the City Before and After the Fall of the Wall was my charming surprise date. It's a picture and flip book showing the changes wrought on Berlin over the past century or so, plus some historical and cultural background, and a few travel tips. I don't think Berlin was really on my travel radar before, but now I definitely want to visit!
The most interesting facts relate to the time of the separation: how maps of East Berlin did not include West Berlin, preferring a blank space where a whole half of the city existed; how subway lines built before the war were truncated, leaving abandoned "ghost" stations for decades; how at the infamous Checkpoint Charlie crossing point there are now fast-food restaurants. There are also plenty of knowing warnings about the dangers of walls for would-be wall-builders - not that they'll listen.
The most interesting facts relate to the time of the separation: how maps of East Berlin did not include West Berlin, preferring a blank space where a whole half of the city existed; how subway lines built before the war were truncated, leaving abandoned "ghost" stations for decades; how at the infamous Checkpoint Charlie crossing point there are now fast-food restaurants. There are also plenty of knowing warnings about the dangers of walls for would-be wall-builders - not that they'll listen.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews