Boats, Bowie and the Berlin Wall

Boats, Bowie and the Berlin Wall

Well, a very good morning to you and welcome from a very, very hot Berlin Vance. We’re just to the southwest of Berlin on the side of the water here. Very, very nice indeed. We’re just sitting in the shade because today is going to be 39° C. Phew. That is a hot temperature to be wandering around a big city. That’s why we’ve come out of the city. Three words describe today’s adventures. Boats, bowy, wool. Are you up for it? Come on then. So, we’re on our way from Van towards Potsdam across the waterways and the rivers and the different canals as well. That’s a nature reserve just behind Nina there. No people on it at all. Nothing else. Just birds and wildlife. Isn’t it lovely? Lovely old church on the right hand side. This is an interesting bit of waterway actually because this land on the right in the old days in the days of the cold war was East Germany and the land on this side was West Berlin. So you can imagine what a tense bit of waterway this was back in the day. We’re just going past a hotel with its own micro brewery. Guess what we’re drinking? Water. Well, it is 39° C today. Maybe a beer later, though. Now this in front of us is what the West Germans used to call the bridge of spies. The border between West Berlin on the left and Potdam on the right. And in the days of the Cold War, they used to exchange spies on the border on this bridge. The last time that happened apparently was 1986. You probably noticed the cab of the ship is lower than it was. It goes up and down. That’s amazing, isn’t it? And here we go under the bridge. Get ready to swap your spies right now. And I’m having to stay seated for this. It’s close, isn’t it? Look at the aerials. [Music] And on the left hand side, I can see a very impressive castle as well. So it’s just not wide enough for us. So this church you can see in front of us was built in 1979 and it was built to resemble the original church that was destroyed in the Second World War and it’s used by two different denominations of Christianity. And we’re now going onto a almost like a canal. This is a really nice cruise. You start from Vonce and the cruise we’re on today is a three-hour round trip with commentary. It’s really nice. There’s a bar and you can have meals on board as well. It’s really, really nice. [Music] As you can see, not very well subscribed today, but I think most people are staying off the top because it is so hot today. But it’s lovely. A little bit of a breeze on the top deck. So, we’re okay. Yeah. So this is the beautiful city of Potdam, just to the southwest of Berlin. We were going to come and spend a lot more time here, but sadly we’re just not going to have enough time. So this cruise will have to do it for this time, but definitely somewhere to come back to. It’s full of beautiful old palaces and grand buildings. And you can see the cathedral there in the distance as well. So here we are back in Vonce. That was a really enjoyable 3-hour round cruise. We got it through a website called Get Your Guide. Get your guide. And it cost €14 each. Took us from here all across all the beautiful waterways down to Potam and back again. Very highly recommended for a day out from Berlin. Uh from Vonce down to Potam. Anyway, now we’re going to get back on the train and we’re heading back into Berlin and we’re on the search for a little bit of Bowie. [Music] [Applause] [Music] So here we are back almost in Berlin city center. We’re now in a row called Hopstrassa and we are looking for a particular address number 155. Now I’m a posty so I should be able to find it. Why you were looking for this address? You’ll find out in a second. And here we are. 55 Halp Strasa, Berlin from 1976 to 1978. These flats here just up there were home to David Bowie. So, here we are. The first place that we’re finding on the Bowie Trail today. It’s nearly 40 degrees, so we’re not going to do the whole of the Bowie trail, but we’re going to do two very important places, maybe three. This is where Bowie lived between 1976 and 1978. While he was living here, he wrote three of his arms that later became known as the Berlin Trilogy. And right next door to Bowie’s apartment, there was this restaurant, Nina. It’s now called Newest Ufer, but it was known as Anderis Uffer. And this is where Bowie and Pop frequented. And it does say they could just manage to crawl home from here. Yeah, because that’s just as far as they had to go. Just to there. This is where David Bowie and Iggy Pop used to come back in the day. Right next door. Okay, so we’ve moved on and we’re now in Kan Estrasa in Berlin. We’re looking for another very famous address not only in the history of David Bowie but also in the world of music in general. Just while we’re on our way, if you see these pink pipes that are above us, you see a lot of these around this part of Berlin. These are actually to pump out the water. Berlin apparently was built on a swamp and wherever they’re doing construction, they have to pump out the water and it’s pumped out to the lakes so the land is dry for the building. And so they decided because it’s Berlin to make it a little bit of a feature to make it artistic. So that’s why you see a lot of these pipes. And around Pot Stammer Plats, which is just up the road, there’s loads of these. And here we are. 38 Castrasa in Berlin. Where are we? Well, there’s not much to see to be honest with you. This is where we are. Very hard to see a lot to be honest with you, but we just had to come here. So, here we are at Hanser Studios. Now, Hanser Studios is a renowned recording studio with a very rich history in the world of music in a historic building right in the heart of Berlin here. It was established back in the 1960s and it played a significant role in the shaping of the music industry of that time known for their innovative production techniques and creative atmosphere. Yeah. So, of course, David Bowie recorded several of his albums here, didn’t he? Including Heroes of Low. Two of Iggy Pops records were produced by Bowie at this studios as well. Excuse me, I’m reading my notes, but I’m going to have to remember all this. Other notable albums recorded right here at Hanser Studios. Dep Mode recorded several albums here in the 1980s. Iggy Pop, who we’ve just mentioned, of course. Nick Caven, the Bad Seeds did several albums here. In 2011, the American bandm recorded their final album Collapse into Now at Hanser Studios. Susie and the Banshees, the British punk band, recorded their album Tinderbox here in 1986. And you two recorded Ashtung Baby. What an album that was back in 1991 and that had hits like One and Mysterious Ways as well. Tangerine Dream worked here. a great crowd rock band famous for the pioneering of electronic and electronic rock music if you like. What a fantastic band. And also what an iconic album was recorded right here. Misplaced childhood by Merillion right here in this building. Oh my god, what a place. It looks nothing. You can go in. There are tours. Seems to be closed today, but it’s just a privilege to be right here. Hanser Studios. I’m feeling quite emotional to be honest with you. Penc Studios, right in the center of Berlin. Yeah. So, there it is. It looks nothing, does it? And yet, some of the world’s most iconic albums have been made in that building. Anyway, that was Hunter Studios. We’re now moving onwards to a different part of Berlin. Right, so we’ve come over to the east side of Berlin now. And this is the Oberal Ba, one of the more decorative of the bridges across the river in Berlin. [Music] So, while we’ve been here in Berlin, I’ve been posting pictures on Facebook, and at least two or three people have said to me, Sean, you must come to the East Side Gallery, which is a part of the old Berlin Wall on the eastern side of the city alongside the river, where they have the famous murals. And he said, uh what they’ve said, it’s an absolute mustsee. So, this is where we are now. So, let’s have a look and see if it’s been worth the long journey on the Uban and the Esban and the uh the walking 40° C down these very hot Berlin streets. [Music] Apparently, many different artists took part in the decoration of this section of the wall. I think there’s a very famous part. I’m not sure if it’s here or not. There’s a picture of Ronald Reagan kissing the Russian president in a sign of hopeful unity. Well, this bit’s by an artist called Yan Helga Dharm and it’s called Numo Human Oiden. Sorry about the uh terrible pronunciation. [Music] That’s the winner. [Music] And here it is, probably the most famous part of the Berlin Wall. Everybody having their picture taken in front of it, of course. So, there you go. Probably the most famous part of the Berlin Wall, the East Side Gallery. Very interesting. Uh, is it worth coming all the way across Berlin from where we were to see this? Maybe, maybe not. Somebody said it’s actually better by night. I think it was Graeme who said that. But, we’re not going to get a chance to see it by night. So, this was the only window we had to see it. I’m glad we’ve done it. Yeah. Tick. Will we be back? Probably not. But anyway, it’s a piece of history and a piece of very important history. So, I’m glad we’ve done it. Thank you very much. And just over the road from the hall, it looks like this is the entertainment center in terms of music and shows in Berlin. Right in front of us is the Uber Eats Music Hall. And then right alongside us, look at this place, the Uber Arena. A lot of big big concerts have taken place here. I see Katy Perry’s on here later in the year, but I’m sure there’s a a lot of other big names as well. And so, here we are at the end of day two in Berlin. We’ve just had another meal at exactly the same restaurant that we had last night. It was so nice, we decided to come back. It’s been absolutely brutal today, to be honest with you. 39° C, but we’ve seen a heck of a lot, and I was really chuffed to go to the studios, even though there was nothing to see where so many iconic albums have been made. And great to see David Barry’s flat as well. Anyway, we’re on the move again tomorrow. We’re going to a different country. That will be a different video. So, I hope you’ll join us for that. So, from us here in Berlin, good night. I’m proed. And from Nina, cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. And we’ll see you again very soon. Terra. Bye. [Music]

Day 2 in BERLIN as the temperature hits 39 degrees C! We visit the stunning lakes in the Potsdam area. Go in search of David Bowie and music iconic locations, and visit the Eastside Gallery area of the Berlin Wall.

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