Rafael van Oppen Ardanaz
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My name is Rafael van Oppen Ardanaz, born in the Netherlands in 1989, to a Spanish mother and a Dutch father. History has been all around me since I was a child, as my father worked as a diplomat and my mother is a historian. I studied a bachelor’s in Business Administration (yikes!) in Spain, followed up by another bachelor´s in Tourism Management and ended up with a Master´s Degree in Contemporary History.
I´ve worked as a tour guide in different places since 2014, starting in Prague, the Czech Republic; then continuing in Barcelona, Spain; and now working full time in Berlin. I love this job. It´s my passion – and I´ve heard a million people tell me they could feel that on my tours. I´ve worked with many different companies here in Berlin, both in Spanish and in English, as I want to cover as many “routes” and places as I can. A holistic view of the city, country and its history mean you can explain everything you see from different perspectives.
Although I do many different kinds of tours, my preferred ones would be those which pertain to the XX century: World Wars, Nazism & concentration camps; the crazy 20s; post war Germany and Europe; Communism and the division and unification (absorption) of Germany.
Berlin is quite a city to visit. It oozes history from all its pores and crevices – you just have to be told where to look! I´ll make sure you have a comprehensive understanding not only of what happened, but possibly more importantly, why, and how. Learning history - especially in a place like Germany - should inoculate us from past errors. As a wise man once said: History doesn´t repeat itself, but it sure does rime. I hope you will feel this on my tours!
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