Alexanderplatz

Educational Activities

Enjoy a 3.5-hour private tour of Berlin in a Russian “Bukhanka” minibus, hitting all the most important historical and cultural highlights. Start with pickup at your accommodation and head across the Spree to the center of the German capital where you’ll see the Reichstag and the monumental Soviet War Memorial Tiergarten, which bore witness to bloody fighting in the spring of 1945.   Passing by the famous Brandenburg Gate, your next stop is the former border crossing Checkpoint Charlie, where Soviet and American tanks faced each other in the heyday of the Cold War in the early 1960s. Head to Alexanderplatz and Karl-Marx Boulevard, impressive urban development projects of the socialist GDR. Between the TV tower, the socialist mosaics, and the Soviet classicism and socialist brutalism, you’ll feel the old splendor of East Berlin.   Next, the “Bukhanka” vintage van will take you back over the Spree River to the kilometer-long Eastside Gallery, which was once part of the insurmountable Berlin Wall. For the grand finale, head towards Treptower Park with its gigantic Soviet War Memorial, combining deep history and impressive architecture.

Immerse yourself in the life of the former socialist metropolis of East Berlin and learn all about the beginnings of socialism in times of Soviet occupation. Start in Berlin-Mitte at Berlin Central Station and then explore the prestige projects of the former socialist urban development. For the Soviet Union, East Berlin was the socialist outpost in the heart of Europe. Also, see two of the monumental Soviet War Memorials that once again underscore why Berlin was so important to the Soviets. During the tour, discover some of Berlin's most famous sights and listen to the exciting history of the Cold War. The tour ends at Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park, one of the largest antifascist monuments in the world.

Explore the highlights of the former East Berlin in a vintage Soviet “Bukhanka”, also called a “pan loaf” van, on this private 2.5-hour sightseeing tour.   Start your tour at Friedrichstraße train station, where the Palace of Tears was once the central border crossing for Berliners. Many tears flowed here during the division of Berlin, which separated many families.   The next stop will be the famous Berlin Wall Memorial in Bernauer Strasse. This is the only place in the city where you can experience the former inner-city border strip in its entire dimensions.   Then, head to Ernst Thälmann Park, a former prestigious urban development project of the late GDR. Admire the skyscrapers and huge monument to Ernst Thälmann, which was finished only 3 years before the end of the GDR. Continue on to see the former Lenin Square and Karl-Marx Boulevard, which combines Soviet neo-Classicism with socialist Modernism and Brutalism.   Finally, visit Alexanderplatz Square, where you’ll see a huge socialist mosaic and the 365-meter-tall TV tower. Finish the tour back at Friedrichstraße station.