Travel to Germany

Germany is officially an important European transport hub, one which has international links to almost everywhere and this not only makes it an attractive place to do business with but also an attractive place to live. As such, it is not good enough for international courier companies to rest on their laurels and expect business just to come to them, when the industry is extremely competitive and when demand for such services is so high.

Those who need to send a parcel to Germany expect to have a choice when it comes to the type of service on offer, if they don't mind when the parcel gets there, then they will likely want access to a cheaper option which takes this into account, the same is true the other way round when people are happy to pay for express worldwide delivery. Those courier companies who are up to speed with the world of global business will understand that Germany is an attractive place for other European and global countries to do business with and as such can draw a crowd as it were.

Each courier to Germany has a chance to make themselves the courier of choice for business and individual customers alike and they can only do this if they are able to offer a choice of services, whether this is discounts on multiple items, free additional services such as postcode finders and parcel volume calculators or simply the choice of express parcel delivery or economy options. Germany parcel delivery companies must realize that they are competing not only with each other but also with technology, with email and video calling and as such, they must exploit their niche in the market and ensure that they remind businesses just how important it is to be able to send samples, important business documents and so on, both to their stakeholders and global offices and to their customers.

Bearing all this in mind, shipping to Germany needs to compete with technology in terms of relative speed, customer care, price and overall service and this is a tall order, especially as Germany is so up on business and what is and isn't a good deal. The German people are famously efficient and they will not take inefficient service lying down, so if worldwide courier companies are going to make themselves attractive to do business with then they will need to be at the top of their game at all times. Send a parcel to Germany the easy way, by booking your choice of worldwide courier online and booking a parcel collection from your home or work address.

For 40 years, the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe appeared permanent. The Iron Curtain began to crumble in 1989 and in merely one year, countries have left behind communism one after another, like domino pieces.

The symbol of the Cold War, Berlin Wall has been called the "physical portrayal" of the Iron Curtain. For 28 years, the enormous construction separated in two a city - Berlin and a country - Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall is the most important emblem of the communist bloc failure.

The creation of the wall began on August 13, 1961 to stop the westward exodus of the German people. In the east it was called "the anti-fascist protection wall" while in the west people named it "Wall of Shame". 155 km of embarrassment of over 3 m high, of which 43 km through the central part of Berlin.

The frontier was also made of km of trenches, bunkers, hundreds of watch towers and barbed wire. Although the creation of the wall began in 1961, Germany was disjointed since the end of World War II. In 1945, Reich capital was disjointed between the Allied powers in the west and the Soviet Union in the east, and in 1949 two countries were formed: Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.

In 1952, East Germany closed its borderline with West Germany, concerned about the exodus of population. There were weak points though, where people were still capable to pass. More than 2.5 million Germans made it to west between 1949 and 1961.

Although on June 15, 1961 East German leader Walter Ulbricht officially stated that there will not be a wall built, on August 13, the eastern part of Berlin is encircled by barricades and barbed wire. The wall is constructed in several stages. In 1962 a barrier was added, 90 feet on the inside, being created a strictly administered "restricted area". Houses on this strip were demolished and people moved. The zone, mined and full of trapping wire, offered an extensive field of fire for the guards.

In 1965 concrete walls began to be raised and, over the years, observation towers were added, while patrols and security were increased.

The "four generations wall", ameliorated in 1975 was the last version. It was composed of slabs of 3.6 meters high and 1.2 meters wide. The wall was strengthened with motion sensors, fencing net and barbed wire, trenches against vehicles, and on the crest wall it was mounted a clean pipe, which would have made even harder to escalate.
The eight passing points were planed particularly for different categories of people that could pass through.

The most famous was Checkpoint Charlie, which was intended only to Allied personnel and non-German citizens.
During the history of the Wall, military personnel, officials and Allied diplomats could enter East Berlin without passport control. Also, Soviet patrols were able to enter without reserve in the West Berlin.

On November 9, 1989 the East German government decided to permit visits to West Germany, but the minister for propaganda was not accurately informed therefore a lot of disorientation was developed. Tens of thousands of Berliners rushed to the crossing points, insisting to move freely in the West. Overwhelmed by tens of thousands of people and in the absence of coherent instructions, border guards were improbably to open fire, allowing the crowds to cross.

The wall has been kept for a while after November 9. On June 13, 1990 East German army launched formal demolition, and on July 1 all border crossing points were properly abolished. The two Germany halves were finally rejoined on October 3, 1990.

Today, there are only three remaining portions of the wall: a section of 80 meters near Postdamer Plaz, a longer section near the river Spree and the third piece, turned into a monument, north of Bernauer Strasse.