There are certainly more depressing places to go than Berlin (Auschwitz, Soviet Gulag Camps, North Korea) but it was definitely the least cheerful place we went during our 10 days.
After our train ride from Prague, we navigated (poorly) the huge central train station – the Hauptbahnhof. After finally finding the right city train, we made it to the Ostbahnhof (East Station) and found our hotel. For budget reasons and historical interest, we stayed at the Ostel Hostel, an East German-themed hostel in an original GDR apartment building. The theme was certainly authentic: with the dull grey weather, the dreary concrete-filled neighbourhood and the 70s-era furnishings, we felt like we’d time-traveled and actually ended up back in East Germany.
After a quick rest, we went back to the central area to see the main sights. First stop was the famous Brandenburg Gate. I was a bit moody because the gate was fenced off for festival preparations and there were tents and trucks and whatnot in front of it, so we couldn’t walk underneath. Still, it was an impressive sight.
Around the corner from the gate, you find the Holocaust Memorial – officially called the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. A square the size of a city block is filled with more than 2700 concrete blocks of various sizes in long rows that you can walk between. In some places the huge blocks are perhaps 10 feet high or higher, and walking between them is a disorienting and bizarre experience.
Beneath the square is an information centre/exhibition, which includes statistics on the number of people murdered and their places of origin, an explanation of the political policies that led to their murder, excerpts from letters and diaries, and profiles of individual victims and entire families who were torn apart by the Holocaust. The exhibition is extremely well put together, and is both poignant and sobering. I found the quote from Primo Levi posted at the exhibit’s entrance very powerful: “It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say.”
By the time we had finished the exhibit, it was getting dark. We wandered down the long street from the gate to the Alexanderplatz area, taking in some of the other historic buildings and statues, and looking for some place to eat.
Beneath the Bebelplatz square, where the members of the Nazi German Student League held the first major public book burning in 1933, there is this installation beneath a glass pane in the center of the square. It is called Empty Library, and I found it to be another thoroughly powerful message.
In the ornate walkway between museums on Museuminsel (Museum Island), we stopped to listen to a busker play his violin. The beautiful music echoed off the pillars and rang out sweetly through the crisp winter air.
Across the river from the cathedral we found the DDR Museum, which is a great interactive museum where you see what daily life was like for East Germans under the GDR/DDR. It’s billed as “Berlin’s most interactive museum” and it includes lots of exhibits where you get to listen to things, push buttons, open drawers and touch Communist-era household goods. However, it’s not really set up to handle a crowd, so would be best to go there when you have the time and space to enjoy the exhibits.
The next day was our only full day in Berlin, and we had ambitious plans to see a number of museums, take a bus tour to get a look around the city, and find a nice German restaurant for dinner. It started off with promise as we caught a bus tour as soon as we got to the central area. However, the bus was moving along so slowly and stopping for ages at every place that I was quickly losing patience with it. I managed to keep my cool (with much encouragement from Chris) while we toured around to see the Reichstag (German parliament building), the chancellor and the president’s homes, the Siegessaule pillar, and the parks and shopping areas of former West Germany.
We got off the bus at Checkpoint Charlie, where you can get your passport stamped by cheerful “American soldiers” and take pictures of the replica guard booth and signs.
After that it was time for more sombre exhibits at the “Topography of Terror”. Although its corny name makes it sound like a carnival haunted house, it is actually another extremely well-organized memorial that stands on the former sight of the main building of the Gestapo/SS offices.
The exhibit is divided into five sections, which walk in detail through how the National Socialists gained power in Germany, how they set up their agencies and secured absolute control for their forces, how they developed their campaign of persecution and extermination, the impacts of their policies and pogroms in the Nazi-occupied territories, and – finally – what happened after the end of the war in terms of the prosecution (or, in most cases, non-prosecution) of those involved. Each section includes a main narrative with photos, along with documents, articles, newpapers and posters that provide additional information. To read all of the exhibits would have taken hours and would have possibly left a person with little will to do anything “fun” afterwards. We focused on a few key areas, and I was very drawn to the letters and articles that showed how the party had manipulated the German public into giving them absolute control.
There was a very interesting transcript of an interview with one of the heads of the Gestapo, from the postwar trials. In it, the prosecutor asked how the Gestapo had convinced its officers to follow the new policies, and whether they had to recruit many new officers from loyal party members. The former head basically said, ‘no, we didn’t have to do much convincing, and we didn’t have to recruit new members. The police officers knew that if they wanted their jobs, they would have to fall in line with the new policies’. Truly, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)
After that museum I was a little run-down, so when our tour bus (allegedly on a 15-minute interval) didn’t show up for what seemed like ages, I was not a happy camper. I was starting to get moody since I’d planned way too much for too short of a time, and we decided we would have to skip a couple of museums. Finally the bus came and we continued on our tour. Then we saw something Chris knew would cheer me up: CHRISTMAS MARKET!
Since the museum plan was shot, he convinced me to stop for a walk-through and some snacks. My wonderful husband always knows what I need. The market was great – filled with delicious smells and interesting handicrafts, and set in a lovely square between two twin churches.
The best thing about Berlin was…
…this waffle. Crispy, caramelized, golden deliciousness topped with juicy glazed cherries and vanilla custard. I devoured it. Seriously, this waffle saved my Berlin experience when I was on the verge of turning into a hormonal, sobbing tourist who would just sit on the pavement and complain about her feet hurting.
After the waffle pick-me-up, we waited (again!) for our bus to take us back over to the former East German Alexanderplatz area. The defining feature of this square is the Fernsehturm (TV Tower), Germany’s tallest structure. It was built by the GDR as a symbol of East Germany’s technological advancement. It’s pretty hidoue, but has become the beloved ugly-duckling symbol of the area and you can find its outline on everything from t-shirts to cookie cutters.
From there we took a train up to the Nordbahnhof (North Station), where we found the Berlin Wall Memorial. The memorial includes a large park with information stands set up to explain various components of the wall and the “death strip” that bordered the wall. This was comprised of an inner wall, a wide floodlit space with guard towers, and other mechanisms to ensure people could not escape. The memorial park includes one of only a few sections of the wall that remain standing – almost the entire 155 km of it were demolished completely.
Below: Chris shows the height of the wall. On the top is a round rubber tube/pipe, which was almost impossible for people to get a grip on. It prevented them climbing over more than barbed wire or razor wire would have.
The section below is the official memorial where a section of the death strip is preserved. In several locations in West Germany, observation towers were erected so that West Germans could look over and hope to see people in East Germany. This view is from a tower beside the memorial.
After a long day that was sometimes sad and sometimes frustrating, it was time to cheer up. We went back to the Christmas market and enjoyed a very German evening with sausage (rostbratwurst), potato pancakes (kartoffelpuffer), beer, and mulled wine.
Perhaps my descriptions make Berlin seem like a dreary place. Of course it was not so bad. The history the city holds, the lessons humanity has learned that are represented here, and the way that it has managed to bounce back are all inspiring. Most people seemed reserved but friendly, and there is a very young, hip vibe in many parts of the city. To redeem my dull and depressing explanation, here are a few random pictures of the more light-hearted side of Berlin:
Traffic lights in Berlin show this odd hatted man, known as Ampelmann. He is an unofficial symbol of the city, and shops sell his emblem on t-shirts, bags, gummy candies and more.
Berlin revels in fast food. Donair shops and sausage stands are everywhere. A local delight is “currywurst”: sausage on a bun, drowned in curry sauce. We were too busy stuffing our faces with waffles to try any, so that will have to go on the list for next time.
Much of Berlin, especially the parts that were West German, are extremely Americanized. There are McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts franchises everywhere. Chris didn’t mind the latter.
The trains in Berlin are very good. Once the initial confusion wore off and we got the hang of the system, we could make our way across the city in no time at all. Some of them are even quite nice to look at.
The next morning was an even earlier one than our departure from Prague – we were up before 4:00 to take trains and a taxi to the airport to go to Paris. Of course, I was so excited about going to PARIS that I really didn’t mind. But that story is for tomorrow.
