Berlin

I spent this past weekend on the other side of the country soaking in the vast history of Berlin. I was curious to see how one German city on the western(ish) border differed from that on the eastern(ish) border. Also, I needed to fulfill my history addiction, which had suffered a bit since I left Sweden. Obviously, Berlin has a lot of stories to tell.

I flew into Berlin in the late afternoon on Friday, and wandered aimlessly a bit until I found my hostel. I uncharacteristically dragged my feet booking accommodations for this trip, and unfortunately had to stay in two different hostels due to the lack of available beds. To my chagrin, neither panned out to be superstars, but the price was right so what do you do?

After I dumped my stuff off in the room, I quickly headed out the door to check out the sights. Since there was so much to see, and my trip was a bit abbreviated, I had to plan effectively and make the best of things. The obsessive compulsive side of me actually enjoyed the need to plan (more to come on those details later).

I figured the best place to start would be the Brandenburg Gate. Before I reached the gate though, I crossed paths with the Berlin Dom (cathedral), which for a Lutheran church is quite fancy and detailed (pictured). Although the chance of checking out a giant statue of Martin Luther was intriguing, I skipped the inside. As I've said before, once you see a handful of big cathedrals in Europe, they all start to blend together.

After another block or two, I finally made it to the Gate (the picture was actually taken the following day, due to the sun not cooperating with me Friday night). It was great to see, and if walls could talk someone would be telling it to shut up already. Of course, as with any major tourist attraction, the area in front of it was swarming with street vendors and beggars, so I quickly got out of there.

From there I didn't really know where to go, so I started following the outline of the Berlin Wall that was etched on my map. The Gate was one of the separation points between East and West, so I didn't have to go far. I really wanted to check out Checkpoint Charlie, the major check point in Berlin to cross from East to West, so I followed the outline all the way to that.

Every map in every tourist station and guide booklet in Berlin has a giant red outline of where the wall once stood. On the streets, you'll often see two-tone brick trying to hide where the wall once stood. Unfortunately, for Berlin, the wall has become one giant scarlet letter, a past it can't escape. Whether that is for the best or not, I'm not sure. I did give it its due respect though and tried to follow its history as best as possible.

As I followed the route of the wall, I tried to take notice of what was on each side of the street. I was curious to see to what degree the two sides had meshed together. I think my favorite juxtaposition was the fast food joint across from the Mexican restaurant. Now instead of Berliners wondering what life was like on each side of the wall, the guy eating the burger can look across the street and see a pack of loud Englishmen drinking margaritas.

As I approached Check Point Charlie, the old style station complete with sand bags and red and white candy striped traffic control bar (pictured) stood out amongst the tall glass buildings and the giant advertisement to buy an HP computer. I looked for the museum and after spending 20 minutes in a Check Point Charlie gift shop, I asked the lady behind the counter ringing up my purchase where I could find the museum. She informed me that I was standing in the gift shop of the museum and that actually this marked the end of the tour. Oh...

She kindly advised me to enter the museum two doors down which I gladly did. The museum is highly informal, and chronicles the history of the wall, including the various ways in which people escaped to the West. Berliners literally went over, under, around, and through the thing. People hid in cars, in speakers, in kayaks, you name it. After my visit, the sun was going down, and it was time to head back to the hostel.

Back at the hostel, I had to think up my plan of attack for the following day. After some schnitzel and a beer, I grabbed my travel book and a blank piece of paper and went to work. I wrote down in order all the sights I wanted to see the next day, based on walking distance of each other of course, the times they were open, and their cost. After a short period of time, there shined a shiny piece of organization worthy of the hall of fame. I folded up my trophy, stuck it in my travel book, and hit the sack.

The next day I was up bright and early at 6:30. I cleaned up, ate some breakfast, and checked out, only to go searching for the next hostel. It was too early to check in, so I left my luggage and hit the road. The first stop was the Reichstag (pictured), the current house of the German govt. Like the Brandenburg Gate, if the Reichstag could talk, it would be a Chatty Kathy. Although Hitler apparently never set foot inside the building, he set fire to it in 1933 in order to declare a state of emergency and seize power. At the end of WWII, the thing was bombed out and depleted. A famous photo involving the Reichstag shows a soviet soldier hanging the red flag with the hammer and sickle from the top, symbolizing Soviet control of the city.

The building has been restored in all her glory. Up close you can see her wounds, with multiple bullet holes and large portions of brick patched up here and there. Visitors are allowed to the top of the building to get a view of the city and the glass dome. In true German fashion, an upside down solar cone (pictured) helps power the building.

From there I caught a glimpse of the Soviet Cenotaph, a memorial (in the old West Berlin of all places) dedicated to the Soviet soldiers who died in the fight for the city. Included are the first two Soviet tanks to enter Berlin. It's a hop, skip, and a jump from the Brandenburg Gate, so I walked through that again, and past the Russian embassy. It's the size of one city block, and is almost like a symbolic fist coming down on the city. I continued along past the Neue Wache memorial. It contains the remains of an unknown soldier, and a concentration camp victim, along with soil from various battle fields and camps. Inside is a marble sculpture of a mother holding her dead son.

The next stop was the German history museum. It's one of the best museums I've been to yet, and chronicles the history of the area that is now Germany dating from the first settlers to present day. After three hours of wandering through the museum, my stomach was curling under the pain of starvation, so I grabbed a quick bite, and made my way back towards the hostel to regroup.

Along the way I stopped by the Berlin Wall Documentation Center. There, a stretch of the wall remains intact for people to observe. The site resides on the grounds of an old church that was cut off from its parishioners when the wall was built. Even old graves had to be dug up and moved to make way for the wall. Not really a way to win over the people you are trying to govern huh? There is a platform you can climb up to get an aerial view of what it looked like (pictured), including the no mans land brave souls tried venturing into to make their escape.

Fatigued, I finally crawled back to my hostel to officially check in, and secure my bed. The hostel was highly regarded in my travel book, so I thought it was a no lose situation right? Wrong. I came to find out that I would be sleeping in a room with around 40 beds in it. One shower and toilet for the guys, one shower and toilet for the girls. Between the hours of 11-4 I got no sleep from the constant stream of people coming in. Even after I took a shower, I still felt dirty. The total package was a first in my hostel experiences.

I wasn't done exploring, so I hoofed it to the other side of town to check out some more sights. The funny thing about Berlin is that it doesn't really have a city center. The city was divided for so long that there are almost two of everything. So, after walking for what felt like an eternity, I came upon an entirely different city. I checked out the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, and then jumped a tram out to the Olympic Stadium.

By this time it was getting late, and not too many people were at the stadium. It is a bit outside the city, so it was nice to enjoy the peace and quite. The stadium has obviously been renovated since it hosted the 1936 Olympics, but the outside still resembles its mid - 30's appearance. As you walk around the perimeter, the grounds act as a type of museum, with signs up here and there describing the grounds, the historical significance of each building, and pictures. Still standing at the one end of the stadium is the Olympic torch (pictured), and etched into the stone of the building were all the winners of gold medals. Prominently displayed at the top were Jesse Owens' accomplishments.

With sore feet and hips, I made my way back to the hostel to crash. The next morning, I was again up bright and early. I checked out the memorial at Bebelplatz where in the early 30's, Nazi students burned thousands of books by what they considered "subversive" authors (think of the scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). A piece of heavy glass allows you to look underground at stark white empty book shelves. Included on the ground next to the memorial is the German poet Heinrich Heine’s ironic statement in 1820, “Wherever they burn books they burn people.”

After, I had brunch with a friend of a friend from work who has been living in Berlin for the past three years. It was fun to hear her story, and meet someone new. After a couple hours, I made my way to the airport, and back to Cologne. In all, Berlin has a lot of history to share, but can be a confusing city to figure out. Like a huge scar on a face, it's past sticks out there for everyone to see. It has persevered to become a symbol of struggle and peace throughout Europe.