My time in Berlin got off to a slightly rough start.... I had a difficult time figuring out the U-bahn versus the S-bahn and so what should have been a quick trip to Pete's house ended up being almost an hour. To make matters worse, I was carting around my suitcase and that was NOT easy. When I finally found the correct end stop, I started walking the wrong direction (with said heavy suitcase AND in piles of snow) and stood in a random courtyard for 5 minutes before I realized I had the wrong address. Pete's place had 5 flights of stairs.... and no elevator so that was awesome too. BUT in the end, I made it to Pete's flat and we spent a few hours catching up- we hadn't seen each other since we were about 8 (or so?) and so there was a lot of catching up to be had.
The next morning, I got slightly (read VERY) lost again and was very late for my coffee date with the one and only Stephen Lowman who I had not seen since Obama was first inaugurated four years ago. It was so wonderful to see him, to hear what he was up to, catch up, share stories and of course update him on the C of I world.
Once Stephen and I parted, I started to focus on seeing Berlin in earnest. The place we got coffee was right around Checkpoint Charlie, the remaining checkpoint between East and WEst Berlin. I didn't go inside because apparently it's a tourist trap but I enjoyed seeing the military stop as well as the signs and a random Christmas tree. There was also a long wall (not the Berlin wall.....) across the street that gave a timeline of the Berlin experience, which was really helpful to get a focus on what was surrounding the area. There was also a segment of the Berlin wall that I could see but from a little afar because the area was closed off (maybe because of the snow? Who knows....)
The Jewish Museum was in the same neighborhood and I was struck by the fascinating architecture of the building. There was a very bizarre but thought-provoking exhibit where you walked across metal faces with different expressions in a tall, otherwise silent room. I wasn't entirely sure what it was supposed to represent but it certainly kept me thinking the rest of the museum. I was fascinating by the history of the Jews in Germany but was uncertain at the seemingly lack of focus on the Holocaust. Again, I know that it's a sore subject in Germany yet it seemed like it should have been focused on more in a specifically Jewish museum.
I proceeded to do some walking through Berlin to make my way past some of the big sights. I walked back the German and French domed churches which were both closed. I eventually made it to the Uter der Linden and walked past the currently renovated Opera House, Humboldt University, Museum Island, the Spree River, the Berlin Dome Cathedral and finally, the German History Museum. Wow, that museum was overwhelming, and I love history museums. First of all, there was SO MUCH STUFF THERE. Normally that doesn't bother me but I'm easily frustrated by poorly laid our museums and this was definitely poorly laid out. The top floor was German history from Roman times through the end of WWI and downstairs, the focus was on the historically heavy interwar period and then just as historically heavy post-WWII era. There were bits and pieces of the museum that jumped out at me but overall, it was incredibly overwhemling with so many artifacts, pieces of commentary, etc. But a great overview of history.
I ended the night with a stroll down the Unter der Linden, seeing the Hotel Adlon that I had read about in "In the Garden of the Beasts" and finished off at the gorgeous Brandenburg Gate. I got some food since I was starving and then was able to walk through the Gate as well as lit-up Reichstag. I went to see if I could get a tour in because the Reichstag is open late but you needed to book ina dvance and I didn't have any internet on my phone. So I wandered around in the dark, marveling at the majestry of the large building, then someone managed to find a grocery store in the train station (seriously, are there no grocery stores on the street? No? ANnoying....) and got some food because seriously, I hadn't eaten all day except for that little sandwhich that was super expensive. Also annoying.
The next day I DID get a tour of the Reichstag but it was not what I expected. Basically, you are taken up an elevator and then you get an audio guide that you listen to as you walk up through the dome. The audio guide tells you a bit about the history and then points out buildings surrounding th eReichstag but with the poor visibility, I couldn't see anything and there were a lot of annoying French school children. So it was a bit of a busy but I'm sure it's absolutely gorgeous in the summer and spring when the visibility is much better.
I did some wandering next, walking through the Tiergarten, past the memorial to the Roma and Sinti people to the Holocaust Memorial (at first I thought it was in a different place and was concerned with the pumping bass music from what turned out to be Berlin Fashion Week.... luckily I was mistaken in the memorial's location). The Memorial is made up of a bunch of large slabs that initially all look the same height but are actually getting taller and taller because the ground is uneven (it slopes down in the middle). Usually this area is a place for people to take pictures and play around (that seems odd to me....) but because it was so cold, the slabs were all covered with snow and actually reminded me of a cemetary. I was hoping for some explanation about the reasoning behind the construction of the memorial but there was none. I did love the museum underneath the memorial though. After a quick timeline about the events and laws leading up to the Holocaust (honestly the most comprehensive of all the museums I had been to thus far....), there was a large room that following the stories of individual families from all over Europe. There was a family picture, a story about the history of the family and then a discussion about who in each picture had survived. I felt that it really served to highlight the universality of the plight of the Jews and to remind that some families had absolutely no survivors, which is a sobering thought.
It was COLD on my last day in Berlin so I decided to hop onto the 100 bus so I could eat my lunch. This line takes you from east to west Berlin and you could see a lot from the windows, including the zoo, the aquarium, lots of monuments and buildings and the best part is that it's warm! I got off in the Charlottenburg area in west Berlin and wandered around for a bit. In one of the squares was a bizarre fountain with some odd statues- welcome to west Berlin, I guess. I eventually got back onto the 100 bus to head back to the Unter der Linden and got off at the end of the line by Alexanderplatz so I could go to the Marien Church which has some very, very old wall paintings that are currently being renovated. My favorite part of the Marien Church, other than the warmth, was the absolutely gorgeous pulpit (see below).
The next few hours were spent at the DDR Museum. Life in Berlin is weird. Berlin is in the heart of East Germany. Yet, half of Berlin is western and half is eastern. People visiting Berlin from the west would essentially get on a train that would go non stop to Berlin, since they weren't allowed to get off anywhere else in East Germany. Guys, this is just bizarre. And this went on for almost 50 years. Ridiculous. Life in East Germany was discussed in the DDR Museum and although I loved looking at the cars, houses, cells, layouts, etc., my favorite things were the interactive games. I played one about 15 times- you got to "accessorize" an East German man and woman to make them as Eastern German as possible. Of course, I was on a mission to not only get them as East German as possibly but also make these as un-East German as possible (which mean slutty for the woman.... go figure....). There was so much in the DDR museum, but it wasn't overwhelming at all like the German History Museum from the other day had been.
Around 5:00, I hit my wall. For the very last time. No more second wind, no more pulling through, I was D-O-N-E done. I headed back to Pete's, had some dinner, packed, left out my clothing for the following day and got some sleep since I was planning on catching the first U-bahn train from my stop at 4:05. That got me to the bus station at 4:30, in time to catch the bus to the airport. The flight to Dusseldorf was easy (I slept for most of it) and then we sat on the runway in Dusseldorf while there were some weather issues but I slept for most of it and eventually we got up in the air. I got some sleep on the second flight and of course, watched some movies and all in all, it was uneventuful. What a trip!
