Virtual Berlin wall for tourists
:nana:
TOURISTS TO BERLIN have been so disappointed that there is so little of the old wall between East and West left, that the city has decided to rebuild it - virtually.
Punters taking the wall tour will be given a gadget that shows snaps of what the wall looked like where ever they are standing.
The appropriately-named Mauerguide (Mauer is German for wall) aims to preserve the history of the wall which was knocked up by the East German government in 1961 to stop citizens legging it to the West in search of a better life... and better television.
Each device uses GPS to work out where the tourist is standing. It then shows pictures, movies and audio history of the spot. It will be available in German and English.
Once the wall stretched for 96 miles and cut the city in two. Now there is only three kilometres still standing after it was broken up, sold for souvenirs and, in some cases, shipped to other countries to form memorials to those who died under Communism.
The Eastern side of the city has been the subject of a building boom and it can now be difficult to tell the difference, although many tourists cannot tell the difference between France and Germany and would need a GPS to find their own buttocks with both hands and a torch.
:nana:
TOURISTS TO BERLIN have been so disappointed that there is so little of the old wall between East and West left, that the city has decided to rebuild it - virtually.
Punters taking the wall tour will be given a gadget that shows snaps of what the wall looked like where ever they are standing.
The appropriately-named Mauerguide (Mauer is German for wall) aims to preserve the history of the wall which was knocked up by the East German government in 1961 to stop citizens legging it to the West in search of a better life... and better television.
Each device uses GPS to work out where the tourist is standing. It then shows pictures, movies and audio history of the spot. It will be available in German and English.
Once the wall stretched for 96 miles and cut the city in two. Now there is only three kilometres still standing after it was broken up, sold for souvenirs and, in some cases, shipped to other countries to form memorials to those who died under Communism.
The Eastern side of the city has been the subject of a building boom and it can now be difficult to tell the difference, although many tourists cannot tell the difference between France and Germany and would need a GPS to find their own buttocks with both hands and a torch.