Ep 26 - Boating Berlin on the Spree, Eastside Gallery, Oberbaum, Molecule Man, to Checkpoint Charlie

We start this 14 km paddle at the Oberbaumbrücke, sharing the iconic artwork along the East Side Gallery on our way to the put in. East Side Gallery is a permanent open-air gallery using the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall as the artist's substrate. Running for over 1.3 kilometres along Mühlenstraße between the Berlin Ostbahnhof and the Oberbaumbrücke, along the Spree, this art installation reverberates with a profound “No more wars. No more walls. A united world." message of peace, and unity.

It is almost unfathomable to think that the start of my journey from East Side Gallery across the Spree, the former East/West cold war divide, could have had me shot before reunification in the spring of 1990.

This very enjoyable paddle kept on offering scenic and interesting encounters, including a massive mid-river artwork installation, Molecule Man, an old abandoned barge, nesting swans, and much more. Here are some key moments:

0:01 – Eastside Gallery
0:25 – The famous: My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love by Dmitri Vrube
7:30 – Over to the Spree
9:05 – Checking out the Oberbaumbrücke
12:20 – Arriving at the scenic, but a bit scetchy, put-in
17:06 – Barges and a strange swimming seagull along the Spree
23:00 – Exploring a derelict barge
27:30 – Molecule Man sculpture at the mid-river meeting point of former East & West Berlin
35:24 – Floating outdoor swimming pool
37:24 – Old warehouse right along the river
41:49 – Over a flood control dam under the Obere Freiarchenbrücke
45:21 – Mother and baby ducks
56:00 – Funky house boat
58:34 – Länderdreieck
1:05:20 – Graffiti Art on a bridge
1:14:24 – Famous old steel bridge - Admiralbrücke
1:15:20 – One of several interesting banners
1:18:03 – Swans and a guitar player
1:20:28 – Restaurant ship
1:21:55 – Graffiti Art on a bridge
1:25:11 – Nesting bird in the river
1:26:29 – A dark, low, inflow tunnel, evidently full of spiders
1:28:40 – Old Pump park - Alte Pumpe Kreuzberg
1:30:34 – Nesting swans with eggs
1:33:18 – The take-out
1:36:17 – Walking through Checkpoint Charlie, back into the former East Berlin

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