Berlin

Berlin is massive. Once an obscure village located on marshland it now has 1.4 million people. I don't think we appreciated just how huge the city is until we arrived at the main train station and were blown away by the enormity. The transportation is amazing too. There is the Deutch Bahn (nationwide train), S-Bahn (Street train), U Bahn (underground), trams and buses. We got a bit turned around but a very nice German man helped us. When we emerged from the UBahn stop for our hostel, we immediately felt a bit uncomfortable, Melissa realized that Man in a Can (mace) isn't that helpful if you have no idea where it is. It's not like you can say, "Wait a minute, let me dig in my bag for a bit and then you may resume attacking me." The hostel was absolutely fantastic and boasted that it was "The Most Tiny Hostel in Town!" Enrico, the young proprietor, had tattoos covering both arms and an affinity for purple sweat pants. He gave us a street map with tons of circles marking the bets places to go and the must see sights of Berlin. A little intimidating actually. The hostel is located in Kreuzberg. It was nestled up along the west side of the Berlin Wall and not exactly prime real estate during the Cold War. To encourage people to move there, the government offered exemption in the army. It became a mecca to pacifists and hippies. Today it is the counter cultural center of Berlin. Walls are covered in graffiti and murals. But we noticed that it is a phenomenon city wide. An extreme form of expression and not related to gangs or violence. The freedom of speech was restricted for so long that it simply exploded onto the walls. The best example is The East Side Gallery, a section of the Berlin Wall that is absolutely fantastic to see. There are some incredible messages of peace and fantastic art. And it's free!

We went on the Free Walking Tour of Berlin. It was absolutely fantastic. We started at the Bradenburg Gate which is a centerpiece of Berlin. Once one of seven gates entering the city, it is the only remaining gate and it is known as the royal entrance as the street leads to the palace located within the city. The royal family had their official residence in Potsdam located southwest of the city. It was also part of the Berlin Wall so it was quite exciting when Berliners could pass through their beloved landmark again. The Reichstag is located near the Gate in the old royal hunting grounds. The German Parliament meets there. There is a glass dome over the parliament where citizens can actually look into the chamber. It is to represent the transparency that the government wishes to have after such a dark past. From there we walked to the Holocaust Memorial, officially named, Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe. 2077 plain, gray, concrete slabs rise from the ground. The slabs are different heights; some level with the ground, some as high as 4 meters. The path undulates as well. There is no pattern. It is sobering and immense and each person can walk away with a different thought from their experience. The saddest thing is that the stones were covered with a special anti-graffiti paint. Hitlers bunker is a short distance away. The Germans wisely chose not to mark the spot as they didn't want Hitler's death site to become a shrine. It is actually now a parking lot and many dog owners from the nearby apartment complex like to use it as a doggy dumping ground and one has to be a bit cautious of landmines.


We next headed to the Luftwaffe Headquarters, surprisingly the only building left untouched by the bombing raids. After the War, the building was utilized by the Soviets and became the Ministry of Ministries (very Orwellian). A massive protest was held there which was followed by a massacre, one of the many atrocities committed by the communist regime. Checkpoint Charlie is rather unimpressive and has turned into a gimmicky tourist attraction. We walked by cathedrals that have been rebuilt after the war. The Nazis had many of the statues removed from buildings during the bombing raids. After the war, they were placed back on the buildings. The buildings look a bit odd; clearly old designs but you can tell newer stones have been used which have been topped off with really old looking statues. The TV Tower is, in my opinion, a hideous blight on the city. Clearly a Soviet design,  it was intended to show the world just how great Soviet engineering and prowess is. However, it had to be completed with some help from Swedish engineers. The massive globe atop the tower actually displays a cross when the sun hits it. I found it encouraging and amusing that Christ shines even when people try to block Him out and deny His existence and forbid people from believing.

I was struck by Babelplatz. It is located just outside the old library of Humboldt University, a prestigious educational institution. When the Nazi's took power, they burned 20,000 books. Original manuscripts, books written by Jews and communists, anything that countered Nazi theology was thrown into the fire. Many university professors and students were involved in the book burning. The university has grappled with their role and now have a daily book sale across from Babelplatz, regardless of the weather and sell copies of many of the books that were burned that night. There is also a telling memorial built into the plaza. A glass panel allows you to look down into a white room line with bookshelves, enough to hold 20,000 books. It is a fantastic example of how Germans have honored the past, acknowledged the good and the bad, incorporated the lessons learned and moved on. I think we can all learn from that.

Food
Not my favorite. But then again, it could have been where we were. Surprise surprise, Berlin doesn't have good Mexican food, it was our hostel-mates' idea to go there. There is a huge Arabic population. I had a Donar Kebap that was decent but Melissa had a terrible one. We ate a berliner, a cream filled pastry in memory of JFK's famous proclamation of "I am a Berliner" There is some debate of the grammar used and if it was appropriate of if he truly announced that he was indeed a cream filled pastry. The main beer, "Becks" wasn't that great. Curryworst is pretty terrible as well.

Things I Didn't Think I Would Do When I Woke Up in the Morning
I have decided to start a section on things that I didn't expect to do when I woke up in the morning, because there are a lot of things that happen that are a bit odd.
Berlin Edition:
Arm wrestle Australians in a Berlin Bar at 2am after taking a shot of absinthe.
Learn that "serviette" is what Canadians say for napkin.
Play "Name the State Capital" as a drinking game with a Canadian.
Sit on a massive park bench and a car that has been covered with astro turf.