A Tour of Berlin

 
 
 

Vocabulary

local	heart (2)	draw/drew/drawn (2)
tour	column	attraction
victory	entirely	sightseeing
vehicle	location	convertible
roof	tailor (2)	panoramic
pillar	block (3)	impression
wish	thrilled	feature (2)
desired	head off	couple (2)
district	seat (2)	chancellery
Soviet	explore	memorial
dome	break (3)	come into view
design	architect	parliament
Kaiser	point (3)	square (3)
island	on route	headquarters
altar	heritage	UNESCO World Heritage Site
site	for now	complex (2)
bust	comprise	ensemble (2)
burial	cathedral	round off
wurst	damaged	impressive
pass by	cross (2)	checkpoint
escape	credit (3)	dramatic (2)
guide	boast (2)	take place
agree	revamp	take place
section	sensitive	traumatic
curry	resident	regrettable
invent	ketchup	divide (2)
vary	fabulous	take a break
taste	opinion	Reichstag
trace	attempt	fascinating
variety	high rise	no man’s land
visible	show off	stand/stood/stood (3)
gallery	espresso	they’re off (3)

 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

The Tiergarten, a huge park in the heart of Berlin draws tourists and locals alike. The Victory Column can be seen for miles around.

Kerstin Floge takes guests to see these and other attractions on sightseeing tours in her 1969 Mercedes convertible.

Kerstin Floge, Tour Guide: “The special features that you experience the city in its entirety in an open-top vehicle. You enjoy a panoramic view and you don’t have a roof or pillars blocking your view.

You get a completely different impression of the buildings. And the city’s beauty.”

Kerstin Floge tailors her tours to meet her guests’ wishes, and meets them at their desired location.

Ellen Bell and Werner Baumgarten are waiting at the Brandenburg Gate. The couple from North Rhine-Westphalia have been wanting to visit Berlin for a long time.

Ellen Bell, Tourist: “I’m thrilled to be here in such a nice car in Berlin. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

They head off to explore the nearby government district. On route, they pass by the Holocaust Memorial and the Soviet War Memorial. Then the Reichstag comes into view. The German parliament’s glass dome was designed by architect Norman Foster.

Kerstin Floge, Tour Guide: “The Reichstag, the seat of the German parliament, was opened in 1905. Kaiser Wilhelm II called it a talking shop as he didn’t think much of parliamentarianism or the Democratic developments in Germany.

As you can see the building didn’t look that much different before, but it was badly damaged.”

Across from the Reichstag is the German Chancellery. It’s one of the world’s largest government headquarters, much larger than the White House.

Their next destination is Museum Island in Berlin’s historic center. The complex, comprised of the Bode Museum, Pergamon, the Altes and Neues Museum, and the Alte National Gallery is UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kerstin Floge, Tour Guide: “The Museum Island is one of the world’s largest museum ensembles. The island itself is home to five museums. The bust of Nefertiti and the Pergamon Altar.

Behind us there’s the Berlin Cathedral burial place and house church of the Horseclans. The Lost Garden rounds off the ensemble.”

Gendarmenmarkt boast of another of Berlin’s impressive architectural ensembles. It features the Concert House and the French and German Churches.

The square is one of the prettiest in Germany.

Kerstin Floger is next headed for Checkpoint Charlie, the famous crossing point in the once divided city. Some dramatic escape attempts also took place here.

Kerstin Floge, Tour Guide: “It’s regrettable that this city still hasn’t revamped this place; they can’t agree on what to do with it, as what occurred here happened at a very sensitive time.

It was quite traumatic, especially for Berlin residents.”

No visit to the German capital would be complete without an original Berlin curry wurst. Herta Heuwer is credited with inventing this curried sausage back in 1949.

The secret is in the ketchup.

Kerstin Floge, Tour Guide: “There are different varieties in the city, but this is a good place to take a break. Opinions vary as to where Berlin’s best curry wurst can be found around the city, but this one’s pretty good.

Werner Baumgarten, Tourist: “Tastes great!”

Few visible traces remain that showed Berlin was once a divided city, but on Anita Kirchner Strasse, a section of the Berlin Wall still stands today.

At Potsdamer Platz, Berlin shows off its modern side with high rises over a hundred meters tall. It’s hard to believe that this was once no-man’s-land where the Berlin Wall stood.

Now it’s the end of today’s tour.

Werner Baumgarten, Tourist: “It was a wonderful tour, a great day. I think we’ll just have to do it again because Berlin’s so big.

Ellen Bell Baumgarten, Tourist: “I loved it; Berlin’s such a fabulous city. It was fascinating. We’ll definitely do it again.”

But for now, they’re off to enjoy an espresso in one of the German capital’s many cafes.

 

 

Questions

1. Kerstin Floge is a tour guide who works on a tour bus. True or false?

2. Which is better for touring a city, an open-top, or a closed-top car? Why is it better?

3. Does Kerstin follow the same tour program for all guests? Does she always pick them up from their hotels?

4. What is the Reichstag? Has it always looked the same? Was Kaiser Wilhelm II very enthusiastic about the German parliament?

5. Why is Museum Island known as Museum Island? Why is it called Museum Island?

6. Berlin was always one, united city. Is this right or wrong? How was it divided?

7. Does Berlin have an iconic food? Is it old and traditional?

8. Berlin has many old, historical and classical buildings. Is this correct or incorrect? Give examples. Are all buildings in Berlin old and historical?

 

A. I have visited Berlin. Yes or no? If yes, what places did you go to?

B. What is the atmosphere of Berlin like? Does it feel old and historical; new, modern and cosmopolitan; or both?

C. Have you been to other cities similar to Berlin?

D. I would like to live, study or work in Berlin. Yes or no?

E. What will happen in the future?