We finally made it to the much-hyped city of Berlin! Strap on in, this is a long one.
I am ashamed to admit this, but before our trip Noah and I really didn’t know too much about recent German history. We knew there was a wall in Berlin, that JFK said he was a jelly donut (Ich bin ein Berliner versus the correct Ich bin Berliner), East Berliners learned Russian, and the wall came down in 1989. Pathetic, I know. But to our credit – we were 4 when the wall came down, and they don’t really teach much ‘modern European history’ in Texas. And, because we knew so little, Noah and I have been actively learning about Germany in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
Anyways…. Regardless of how much or how little you know about Berlin, the city is a pretty awesome place to visit. We arrived on a Saturday afternoon, and immediately dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed to explore. First stop – lunch on the river! Second stop – St. Marienkirche – which was across the street from our hotel. It is a nice church, but at this point Noah and I realized we are good to skip German churches in big cities, because it starts to get to be ‘seen one, seen them all’.
Right outside there was a good view of the Fernsehturm – an iconic Berlin landmark. I think this is probably like the Eiffel Tower in that some people see this as a historical landmark that makes the skyline, while others see it as an ugly eyesore. Noah and I had differing opinions on the Fernsehturm – though I won’t divulge who thought what.
As we walked along the river, we noticed a photo shoot happening at the Berliner Dom. Maybe the next season of Germany’s Next Top Model? Work it girls!
We walked around to various squares, hitting up Nikolaiviertel where I eyed a cupcake shop (I declared we would return later), and then had icy chocolate drinks at Gendarmenmarkt.
Our last stop on the way back to our hotel was the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral). I can’t believe this is a church – it is the most impressive building I have seen in Germany (from the outside that is – we didn’t want to pay to view the inside). But the lawn was a great place to relax and people watch. And Berlin is a great place to people watch – interesting looking tourists and locals alike. I just hope the all-orange look we saw (orange shoes, purse, skirt, top, jacket, and hair) isn’t coming into style for the 50+ age category (or any age category). But if you like looking like a citrus nightmare, you go girl!
Back at the hotel we finally checked in, and marveled at the enormous AquaDom in our hotel lobby. It is a 25 meter tall aquarium with over 1500 fish. You can pay to ride the elevator in the middle, but our room looked right out on the thing, so money saved. The AquaDom inspired Noah to try to take artsy photos on our balcony, and this is what we got. We should stick to our day jobs.
The next day we started with the Neue Synagoge. This is a very beautiful building, and we paid the 3EUR to go into the dome. While we couldn’t take photos from the dome, we did learn more about the history of the building. It was built in the 17th century, but was badly damaged in WWII. They basically demolished the synagogue after the war, and once the Berlin Wall fell in ‘89 they began to reconstruct it in the original design. Inside they try to distinguish the little bit of original building from the reconstruction.
Down the street is the Kunsthaus Tacheles. Noah had read up on this beforehand and it sounded really interesting – it is an old department store, then a Nazi prison, and then partially demolished. After the wall came down, artists took over the remaining building. Now it has workshops and galleries, and apparently a nightclub and cinema (according to Wikipedia). However when we went there in our Gap shirts and tattoo-less skin, we didn’t feel right walking around and trying to make art (photos) of other people’s art. Plus it looked like a constant drug deal, so we stuck to the outside only. Chickens, I know. But whatever.
Now it is off to finally find some of the wall! We started with the Berlin Wall Memorial (Die Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer), where some pieces of the wall were left standing. Down the street is Mauerpark – another place where some of the wall was left standing. Mauer = wall. Get it? Here was a collection of interesting people. We ran across a music video shoot (what is with the tiny Chihuahua – he was shaking the whole time?!), a guy tagging the wall (there is graffiti everywhere in Berlin, especially on the pieces of the wall left standing), and my name!!! I am on the wall!!!
Carrying on with the theme of the day, the Berlin Wall, we hit up the East Side Gallery (after I picked up some cupcakes). I think this was my favorite place in all of Berlin. This is 1.3km of the Berlin Wall with over 100 paintings from various artists from around the world. The disappointing thing to me is the graffiti that marks up the art. I am sure many people can argue that this is what makes Berlin Berlin, but in my mind there is a difference between art and vandalism. And this is vandalism. Not to mention a lack of respect for those artists that came before you. Anyways… enough soap box. Here are some of the photos of the open air gallery:
You know those folks that try to wash your windshield at the red light for some cash? Well, here is a new take on that. These girls would stand in front of your car at the red light and juggle! I was impressed – if I was in the car I would have forked over some money. But they were far away, so we just kept walking instead.
I am not sure how many American’s go to Berlin and don’t eat any German food… but there are at least 2 of us. And not even authentic Berlin currywurst – I hope they don’t kick us out of Germany. But can you blame us – we have it every work day at lunch, and there were actual American style restaurants! And not McDonalds or Hard Rock Café. We gorged ourselves on milkshakes, onion rings, and cheeseburgers. And then we felt pretty gross. But it was worth it! It was the first milkshake I have had here that wasn’t just melted ice cream (I am looking at you Hard Rock Café).
Our last day found ourselves visiting the famous Brandenburger Tor. Though one of my questions is: I read that the French took the Quadriga (the statue at the top) by Napoleon, but now it is there. How did they get it back? Or did they? As I wrote this, I realize I am on a computer, and Google is right there. So here is the answer: In 1797, Napoleon carried the quadriga off to Paris, but after Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and the Prussian occupation of Paris, the horses were returned to Berlin. However, due to the effects of atmospheric pollution, the original quadriga was retired to a museum and replaced with a replica in the 1980s. My source – Wikipedia, of course. Looks like my suspicions were correct in that the original was not up there! And yes, that is a person in a bear suit.
Near the Tor is the Holocaust Memorial – Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe). It is a city block of columns of various shapes and sizes. You can get yourself a bit lost in here – and makes a great hide and seek or game of tag location, as many children were doing. Unfortunately, and Noah can attest to this, Jewish things are often closed when I want to go to them. And this was the same for the memorial center here. Oh well.
We stopped for lunch at the Englischer Gartens beer garden in the Tiergarten, and spotted Sadie!!! What was she doing there?? Crazy little puppy!!
We made our way back to the Jüdischer Friedhof – Jewish Cemetery. I say ‘back’ because this is another place that was closed Sunday when we tried to go, even though Fodors.com told me they would be open. It was a beautiful cemetery, I think in part because they let the plants grow everywhere. We didn’t find any ‘Weiss’ tombstones, but I did have my favorite. It simply said, ‘Auf Wiedersehen’. And to top it off – they had a public bathroom!! This is something that is very hard to find in Europe, especially a free one. I was very grateful. Don’t judge.
Sadly another trip had come to an end. We flew back home the next morning, but decided to hang out at the airport a little while longer. Why would anyone choose to do that? Oh, just because they had SURFING at our airport. Lufthansa is sponsoring a ‘Surf & Style’ this month – kids can take surfing lessons in the morning, everyone can surf in the afternoon, and there is even a 2nd European Championship (though we missed this by a week).
Auf Wiedersehen Berlin! Because of you, we now know what the October 3rd holiday in Germany is all about – 22 years since German reunification! Huzzah!
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