Day 1: Museum + Nuclear Bunker = Awesome
Touring our first museum about the history of Berlin was pretty cool, but what about seeing a nuclear bunker? Sadly, I only have one low quality picture because it was so dark in the underground bunker. But fun fact: the bunkers used in the Cold War in Berlin only had space for 3,600 people. During the Cold War, people were told that there were nuclear bunkers placed throughout the city in case of a nuclear attack, usually right outside the train stations for easy and quick access (about 16 of them). What people didn't know was that this actually only provided shelter for 1% of the population in the city in case of a nuclear attack, and that these shelters could only hold people for up to 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, the bunker would be opened no matter the external conditions. The security guards trained to control the people were trained to use no weapons, since there would be none allowed in the bunker. Psychologists really thought this one out, because the bunkers were designed to eliminate violence and suicides in such a dark and cramped placed. For example, there were no mirrors anywhere for people to use the shards to inflict injury, and the bathrooms were designed with minimal privacy so that you didn't have any alone time to contemplate suicide. The bunkers were completed with an airlock and generator that filtered out the air. One of the coolest things is that the security guards still meet up today for training in case there is ever a Cold War situation again.
