From the outside some of the activities that fans engage in may look mad: We follow the career of our chosen celeb intensely, invest money in films or TV subscriptions, occasionally even in trips to premieres or public appearances of the man; we discuss and blog, engage in fan art, buy memorabilia, or visit film locations long after RA has wrapped filming there. The latter often is greeted with disbelief. “What the f*** do you hope to achieve by that?”, the disbelief says. “Do you kiss the ground just because RA has once walked across it?” It’s hard to counter the condescension that speaks from such reactions – which is why most of us fangirl quietly, or in the company of fellow fans where such questions do not have to be justified.
Full disclosure: I very rarely feel a holy shiver down my spine just because I am visiting a spot where Mr A may once have frolicked around. Yes, it is fun to think that I am seeing what he has once seen. But I have come to understand that following in his footsteps is actually a great way to see new places – and often places that I would otherwise not have discovered. He is not the mastermind of my life, but rather an involuntary tour guide. It felt like that when I was travelling New Zealand last year, and it does so now when I visit Berlin. With the main sights long ticked off, my visits to Berlin now mean I can leave the well-trodden paths and discover other things. Why not explore a city, guided by the locations where a show has been filmed? More often than not they are actually interesting spots in their own right – except I might never have known about them, had I not come across them on the fan trail…
Thanks to trailers and tweets from cast and crew, a few new location hints had popped up since my last visit to Berlin in February, and with MatildRAs a knowledgable guide, last week I explored central Berlin with the purpose of giving you a few more glimpses into the German capital.
Every time I visit Berlin, my first port of call is always the Brandenburg Gate. What used to be the symbol of German division, is now the symbol of our reunification. The first glimpse of the Gate as I emerge from Brandenburger Tor underground station *never* fails to move me. This time, the added interest was the US Embassy which serves as Daniel Miller’s workplace in Berlin Station. The Embassy is located in prime position right next to the Brandenburg Gate on Pariser Platz – a visible reminder of the US’s presence in German politics. The German parliament – called the Reichstag – is just a few minutes away, as is the office of the German chancellor (equivalent to “prime minister”). In the introductory scenes of Berlin Station you see Daniel Miller in a taxi driving past the embassy along Ebertstraße.
The US Embassy is a sight that you literally can’t miss when you are in Berlin… Other locations, however, need the eagle eyes and knowledge of a local. And thus MatildRAs took me on a walk to see one of Berlin’s typical Höfe (literally: “courtyards”). These yards are pretty typical for Berlin and reflect the population explosion of the city in the 19th century: The streets were lined with bourgeois residential complexes; new living spaces had to be built to provide space for people moving into the city. The solution was to build onto the backs of the bourgeois apartment blocks, often resulting in a number of successive courtyards with surrounding rear buildings. The further back you lived, the poorer you were. The buildings not only housed people but were also their place of work, with factories or workshops located in the rear buildings. The Heckmann Höfe look pretty idyllic now, including a fountain in a rose-planted inner courtyard. According to MatildRAs, a scene from Berlin Station was filmed here, although we haven’t yet seen any glimpse of it in the existing trailers.
For lunch, MatildRAs took me to ChenChe, a Vietnamese tea house on Rosenthaler Straße that had been frequented by the cast in February and seems to be a bit of a celebrity hot spot. I can’t blame the celebs – the place is not only beautiful, it also serves fantastic food. Try the hot banana bread with coconut milk and roasted peanuts! (I wonder what RA ate??? Was this in his “vegan phase” *teasetease*) And what did he drink at the cast/crew wrap party in the rather unassuming bar on the corner of some street whose name I cannot remember?? Yes, those are the *really* important questions that we need answered…
MatildRAs had a few other locations up her sleeve, but that was all we had time for. However, I managed to visit another location that writer Olen Steinhauer himself had tweeted about – Teufelsberg. The “devil’s mountain” is located in the Grunewald, Berlin’s extensive woodland area in the west of the city. The mountain is actually an artificial hill, created after WWII from the rubble and debris of the destroyed city. After the separation of the city, the allies built an espionage site on top of the hill which was in use from 1963 until the reunification of Germany. The site not only served as a listening station but was also a visible reminder of the allied presence to the surrounding East Germany. With the equipment removed, the site is now in ruins – and the perfect backdrop for some clichéd spy scenarios. The site is maintained by a colony of artists who also offer tours of the remaining buildings.
We climbed all the way to the top of the high tower and had a fantastic view across Berlin. The site itself looked chaotic but jolly in warm summer weather. The walls are adorned with fantastic graffiti which are a sight in their own right. I bet it will look rather eerie and dangerous for the purpose of the film, though. If you decide to go, you can walk to Teufelsberg through the Grunewald from the Heerstraße bus stop. It takes about 25 minutes to get there. Guided tours available, entrance fee 15 Euro.
I leave you with a sight that I came across totally by chance. Walking down Oranienburger Straße in the centre of Berlin, this mural looked oddly familiar:
Bingo – Richard’s farewell tweet. The things we see and learn…
Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed the little tour of Berlin Station. I really can’t wait to see the show and its lead character – Berlin 😉
Come back tomorrow for Day 3 of my little Armitage Week celebration 😘.
Day 1 of Armitage Week HERE
Guylty Pleasure 
Fantastic, I’m putting this in a folder marked “Next trip to Berlin!”
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Great stuff! Armitage Tours is gaining traction…
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Thanks for the great mini tour. I have never been to Berlin but my daughter loved it and thought it was very “hip”. Actually too hip for me, in her opinion. But I am more adaptable than she thinks.And I have a feeling you saw a lot more of the city than she did, unless you count partying as sight-seeing. 🙂
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Well, I don’t think I count as “hip” anymore, either. But Berlin has enough on offer, even for us un-hip oldies. Yes, it’s pretty much Party Central, but it has got lots of places that anti-hipsters like 😀 And I am a total sight-seeing nerd. Apart from the Armitage Tours, I did a museum every day and everything else that was of interest and by the roadside. Totally back in my element as a history teacher. My poor daughter…
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There’s plenty of stuff for the average mortal in Berlin, IMO.
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Thanks for the tour and the photos. I’d no idea Berlin was so impressive and so interesting. Another of the things you learn as an Armitage fan.
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Exactly. Indulging in Armitage has really widened my horizons in many ways. And Berlin really is worth visiting – hehe, just like RA was saying today in the latest Berlin Station promo. Can’t tell you how chuffed I am that he likes that piece of Germany…
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maybe for S2 he can learn to pronounce it BerlIIIIIIn and not Beeerlin 🙂
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That is a major point, but then again, that’s the accepted English pronunciation of the place…
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yes, i guess it bugs me more because of the whole ‘German mother’ thing and that he’ll have to speak some German in it as we’ve been lead to believe..
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That will be a crunching point, I think. I am always extra critical when non-native speakers have to convincingly speak German for film purposes. I hope his speech trainer was good…
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Thank you for the tour! Now I want to see it even more!
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I can only recommend it. It is actually not a very expensive city; food is really cheap, and accommodation can be had at good prices, too. Most of the sights can be done on foot – lots to see in the city centre. I hope you get to make that trip!
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Great photos, thanks for sharing all you saw! Very interesting. ..never been to Germany at all. I got a little shiver seeing the “Farewell” mural…you were in a place where he was moved and felt enough to post it and share with us. Call me a geek or groupie, but that does thrill me.
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Sorry I am repeating myself – but Germany, despite not being a typical “holiday destination” as such, is really worth a visit. And Berlin is a metropolis that is up there with Paris, London, Rome, New York. If you ever have the chance, I do recommend it 🙂
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One summer I lived not very far from the Heckmann Höfe. I just really enjoy that part of Mitte even if I know it’s a bit of a tourist magnet. I think the whole “living cheek by jowl with the poor” thing is quite interesting, historically. It persisted in Berlin, Paris and London longer than it did elsewhere. And when those back courts get cleaned up and windows added, they are actually quite pleasant to live in.
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To me those back courtyards nowadays provide much nicer accommodation than the street front residences that get all the noise from the road. The courtyard flats may be smaller, but they are certainly more idyllic these days.
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I’ve lived in both and liked both. It depends a lot on the neighborhood, IMO, and what level of the house you’re living on. Sometimes Vorderhaus is still better than Hinterhof 🙂
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Probably does. Rooms in Vorderhaus must be bigger and brighter, I assume. And not all courtyards are planted with nice trees and have benches and cafes…
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Hinterhof was quieter in my experience, that’s for sure. I don’t like climbing huge numbers of stairs — but Vorderhaus 1. Etage is really the worst. Constant traffic everywhere and everyone expects you to accept their packages, lol. OTOH Vorderhaus 3 Etage is really neat, esp if the view is pretty …
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I love your metaphor of the involuntary tour guide. That’s exactly what I experienced. I am someone who struggles with travel, so that extra motivation of being a fan has broadened my world. Also: hot banana bread with coconut milk and peanuts! (swoon).
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What a wonderful chance to spend time with your daughter and do a bit of fangirling on the side! Thanks for sharing! I never really thought of Berlin as a destination I’d be interested in, but now I’m changing my tune!
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It’s a truly fascinating city and i think it many ways more ‘of our time’ than either Paris or London, more real 🙂 Lovely discoveries and definitely on my list of cities to go back to! On a personal/professional note i would absolutely love to visit Babelsberg studios but i doubt they do public tours…
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You can visit Babelsberg! There are tours available there. I had been thinking of checking it out in February, but it didn’t work out, time-wise.
And yes, Berlin has a certain rawness to it, probably all down to its history. It’s utterly different from Paris and London.
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ah that is great news!!! definitely worth a visit, maybe if i’m lucky i can do a quick weekend next year, fingers crossed.
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If you have the chance, do! I know you will like it.
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and the wind. I always think there’s something about the way the wind hits Berlin.
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Not Berlin, but Leicester in the UK, I have finally made the visit to Leicester Cathedral to see the last resting place of Richard the Third. I do wonder if Richard has found the time, it would be really nice if he had and it would be really special if he told us he had, especially as he talked about pursuing a project so often in the past. I don’t think this would be too intrusive
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Perfect example of the sort of thing that has come onto my radar because of RA, too. If I ever get to Leicester, I’ll definitely have a look at RIII’s grave, too. And btw, I am sure RA would’ve visited it, too. I think he’s been home to his parents a few times since the reburial (assuming that he visits them when he is in England).
But yeah, it would be lovely if he picked up on those parts of his interests, too. Who knows, maybe he will. I guess it takes a while to find the right approach to Social Media, finding out what people like to read, and how to keep the interest going without spending too much time on a Social Media strategy…
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Great pics and tour Guylty, thanks for sharing! xx
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Glad if you liked it, Austoz. I like showing off the German capital 😉
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