Berlin has been at the center of recent European history, through the Industrial Revolution, two world wars, and the Cold War. And technology has played a major role. At the Deutsches Technikmuseum, you can experience most of it—if you have enough time.

The museum is so large that one visit is hardly enough.

There are exhibitions on railway operations, textiles, sugar refining, aviation, shipping, jewelry design, to name but a few.

On your first visit, you must choose which direction you want to go through the museum. Next time, you can immerse yourself in something else.

I started with trains myself.

The museum is housed in the old freight yard that belonged to Anhalter Bahnhof, and part of the huge exhibition on railway operations in Germany also focuses on Anhalter Bahnhof.

We also cannot ignore the trains during World War II, which carried people to extermination camps in German-occupied Poland.

Aviation is also unavoidable

Fighters played a major role in World War I and bombers central to World War II, and the two-stage rocket was invented in Germany during World War II.

Radar technology also played an important role during World War II. In Berlin, giant radar antennas were mounted on the flak towers.

The shipping exhibition contains many models of ships with masts and sails and with steam engines. And once again, World War II comes into play.

Technikmuseum has a U-boat from World War II and a small cinema that tells the story of German U-boats during the war.

There is only so much you can see in one day at this huge museum. Next time I visit, I want to check out the exhibits on radio communication, historical brewing, and film technology.

Which exhibition do you want to start with?