Let Me Tell You About Sweden » Berlin

Dynamo Berlin – Sportforum

Shane — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:21:38 +0000

As you know I wanted to watch Dynamo Berlin play at home but unfortunately the game was off, due to the high amount of snow.

Here are some photos I took in and around their Sportforum home.

Dynamo Berlin

I couldnt help but take it all in and imagine some of the historical games that were played here. Also remembering that this club was not so far from the Berlin Wall. Many people are proud of their DDR past here.

Enjoy the snaps. You can click on them for bigger versions

Treptower Park, Soviet War Memorial in Berlin

Shane — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:53:09 +0000

So this is the first of several photo collections of my visit to Berlin last weekend.

Soviet War Memorial Berlin

I had never been to the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park before. This was built to commemorate over 20,000 Soviet soldiers who died in the Battle for Berlin in 1945.

Soviet War Memorial Berlin

It hard not to be moved by the place. The massive statue of the Red Army Soldier, with the German girl in his arm, the sword oh and the trampling of the smashed Swastika.

Soviet War Memorial Berlin

The place was very Stalinist, have to say I was rather surprised to see so many Stalin quotes etched onto the walls. There was a purge from Khrushchev in the early fifties on anything to do with Josef Stalin.

Soviet War Memorial Berlin

Of course I could not reconcile this huge memorial to the story it portrays of the Russian heroes. I remember being shocked after reading Anthony Beever’s Downfall of Berlin. The Red Army were not the heroes they liked to paint themselves as. Mass rapists and butchers more like. Of course in a historical context you have to balance this with the atrocities committed by the German Army as it invaded the Soviet Union. Tough times.

This park of course was in the former East Germany, I sat for awhile and imagine the German Democratic Republics leaders paying their respects with their Russian counterparts. Whilst the local East Germans were probably sick of it. Had they been liberated by the Brits or the Yanks things would have been very different.

Soviet War Memorial Berlin

Click here for more Photos of the Soviet War Memorial Berlin.

Back from the DDR

Shane — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:02:00 +0000

I had a great weekend in Germany.

At the Brandenberg gate with the troops. Up the Revolution!

Unfortunately the Dynamo Berlin game was snowed off but there is always so much to do in Berlin it wasnt too disappointing.

Got to see a few new places including the Soviet War memorial at Treptower Park, the Sportforum where Dynamo Berlin play, the Peaceful Revolution exhibition at Alexanderplatz, also found some cracking Richard Nixon memorabilia in a market in the old East.

When I am in Berlin, I just wander around, I am well read on the history of the German Democratic Republic and the Cold war so I like soaking it all up.

I left Berlin this morning at 0 degrees Celcius, arrived to Stockholm Arlanda at minus 23 and soon as I got home I couldnt wait to get out and run. That was in minus 16 degrees….

I have a load of photos to put up which I will do during the course of the week when I have sorted them all out.