Since prehistoric times the Spree River has been part of a major North European trade route and taxes were collected at what later became the city of Berlin.

 

During the Cold War the Spree formed part of the Berlin Wall that separated East and West Germany, and many people drowned or were shot trying to escape the DDR communist welfare state.

 

Nowadays tour boats cruise the river that winds through downtown Berlin, providing tourists a leisurely way to see the town.

 

On a nice day in September 2015 we followed the crowds and boarded one of these boats for a one hour city cruise on the upper section of the Spree River.

 

The tour shows you an interesting mix of old and new architecture, (sometimes in the same building, like the old Reichstag with the modern glass dome on top), the hyper modern Chancellery building and new railway station but also 19th century beauties like the Nationalgalerie and the Bode Museum.