Tag: Germany

To say that Germany has a dark past is definitely an understatement. The Nazi’s determination to wipe away the Jewish race in World War II driven by the insanity of Adolf Hitler will be forever etched on world history. Add to that the construction of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War and the image of Germany seems like it would be historically stained forever.

But many years later after the wall came down, the city decided to use the miles it covered with what is called the “Berlin Wall Trail” (Berliner Mauerweg) where residents and tourists could walk, run, or bike to acknowledge Berlin’s past and give them a way to see the city in a new light.

Background and History of The Berlin Wall Trail

The Berlin Wall stood for 28 years as a divider between East and West Germany from 1961 to 1989. It was built to keep “fascist elements conspiring to prevent the will of the people” from building a communist state in the GDR (German Democratic Republic).” It contained guard towers, trenches, beds of nails, etc., from leaving the Eastern block. Many were killed as a result of these measures.

To eschew its past but bring a new, positive light to the city, Berlin began work on a historical trail called the “Mauerweg” (wall trail) in 2002. It was completed in 2006 and runs for 160 kilometers (100 miles), basically the whole area the wall covered around West Berlin.

The wall trail passes by historical sections where the wall stood, such as Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate. Along the way, maps and historical markers are displayed to keep cyclists, runners, and walkers on course. The trail also has a “Berlin Wall Orientation System” in the city center [that] has maps and listening stations and gives visitors another way to discover traces of the Wall. People who died at the Berlin Wall are recalled at 29 different places along the route with short biographies.”

Riding, Running, or Hiking “The Berlin Wall Trail”

The nice thing about the trail is that it is divided into 14 sections. Each section varies in length from 7 kilometers to 21 kilometers. And access to and use of the trail is free!

So, if you decide to ride very leisurely and only cover 10 kilometers of the trail, you can hop on a bus or regional train and go home or back to your hotel.

If you want to return the next day and ride the trail some more but don’t want to retrace the ground you’ve already touched, you can pick up the bus or train to pick up where you stopped.

The trail is supposedly mostly flat but it does contain some hilly sections. If you are a hardcore roadie, a 50 mile or 100 mile ride (and on a paved bike trail) is ideal.

Last Thoughts

The Berlin Wall Trail is an excellent way to see the city if that is something you wish to do. The city’s public transportation system is so good that it makes that goal feasible. But if you are a hardcore roadie who is seeking a good ride and, perhaps, your time is limited, riding the whole trail in a day is also possible.

Just keep in mind that if you want to also learn the history of the wall and take in associated sites, you may not complete your ride. Either way, a bike ride around the area of the former Berlin Wall sounds engaging, informative, fun, and different.