Ostalgi: My DDR experiences in Berlin

Berlin is a great city to visit. I've been there two times and every time I leave I want to go back to explore more.

The city is vast and if you are in town for only a few days you will have to prioritize where you want to stay and which sights and attractions you want to see.

On one of my visits I concentrated on the recent history of Berlin, before the wall went down. Here are the places I visited:

1. DDR Museum

A trip back in time with furniture and artifacts which show the visitor how they lived in East Germany in the 60s and 70s. The highlight of the museum is the Trabant (East Germany's automobile) which you can sit inside and explore. Remember, it's built in plastic so it's not very heavy and it was very easy and cheap to produce.

Berlin's DDR museum attempts to introduce visitors to what for millions of East Germans was once everyday life, using the 'paraphernalia of shopping, fashion and family life'. Play 'Hausfrau' in an authentic DDR kitchen and living room, or experience first-hand what it was like to be spied on by the infamous and feared Stasi (State Security Agency).

2. Stasi museum

In the former Stasi-headquarter it's today a very interesting museum which shows how the state of DDR treated its citizens and people who dared critizise the government. There's also a bar/cafe in the former meeting room of the Stasi-leaders where you can have a beer and watch a short movie about surveillance.

Unfortunelately most of the texts in the museum are in German, but you can buy an English book which covers most of the museum, buy it and bring it around with you. It costs 3 euros I think.

3. Communal swimming pool

If you visit in the summer you should head to one of the many communal swimming pools in Berlin. Check out the architecture and try to imagine how the pools were an arena where equality should be learned.