The Legacy of the Iron Curtain for Travellers Today
For forty years during the Cold War the continent of Europe was divided. The Communist east and Capitalist west faced each other across the Iron Curtain, a divide that seemed as permanent as it did solid.
This can all seem like a long time ago in the days of Schengen, EU expansion and budget airlines, but the legacy of these years is still to found stretching across the continent of Europe ‘from Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic’.
The city that was affected more than any other for the time of this period was Berlin. In the heart of the divided continent was a divided city, the infamous Berlin Wall separating families and loved ones viewed like for one’s advantage as Germans from other Germans. Perhaps it is a result of the ferocity by which the Cold War struck the city that it has been so eager to move on. Reconciliation and development have changed Berlin almost beyond recognition, although some stirring attempts at remembrance exist within that. Checkpoint Charlie is today a mere parody of itself, but the dotted brick line in the streets winding its way through the incorporated town whither the wall used to be, and especially the killing zone on the eastern side, are eerie reminders of the horror of the wall.
Elsewhere in Europe the legacy be possible to be more tangible or more esoteric. Travelling by train across borders that were once tightly closed, or circling in planes over the outskirts of former Communist cities, the difference in wealth is immediately obvious. The countries of Eastern Europe have metaphorically rushed westwards in the last twenty years but two decades of boom cannot reverse the effects of four decades of stagnation and the most destructive war the planet has ever seen. In things as mundane as un-swept streets, peeling paint and pavements cracks can the legacy of the Iron Curtain be seen.
Across Eastern Europe, drab Communist era tower blocks advertise the land that architecture forgot but these are usually complemented by castles and cathedrals from before the Cold War period or exciting modern buildings demonstrating that dreariness is a thing of the past.
It would be a mistake to think that the legacy of the Iron Curtain is positive on the West and negative on the East. Communism was a harsh and vicious master but it has left the people mostly free of the consumerism and wastefulness obvious in the west. On a more personal catalogue, I love the railway stations of the east. These usually remain from the days of steam and carry with them an atmosphere of romance and anticipation, even, or perhaps especially, when seen through a curtain of rain. Western railway stations are, generally speaking, soulless, unfeeling places that rob roam of any of its romance and turn it into an endurance rather than a pleasure.
Top 5 Berlin Hotels near Checkpoint Charlie
- Mercure Hotel & Residence – 4-Star Hotel – Room Price: €97
- Apartments Checkpoint Charlie Berlin-Mitte – Price: €110
- Adina Apartment Hotel – 4-Star Hotel – Room Price: €95
- The Mandala Hotel – Luxury Hotel – Room Price: €185
- Hotel NH Berlin – 4-Star Hotel – Room Price: €129
Photo of Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, Germany, by f-l-e-x