First, let me say that this is not how my trip to Berlin went:
I arrived in Berlin on Monday afternoon. I dropped off my things at my airbnb, a simple room in East Berlin. It wasn't much but perfect for a short solo stay.
My host Michael was great and helped orient me in the city. I didn't see much of him as he was away the rest of my time in Berlin, but he was definitely the best host I have experienced with Airbnb.
Being late in the afternoon, I didn't have much time to sight see during that first day, so I decided to start with a visit to the East Side Gallery, which was close to where I was staying.
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| this is just the bridge nearby |
The East Side Gallery is the longest remaining sections of the Berlin Wall today. Part of the former Eastern wall, the gallery was commissioned in the early 90's as many artists from all over the world were asked to contribute pieces across the wall. The gallery is significant since this part of the wall was facing East Germany, where free expression was reprimanded and the wall remained a drab grey during its existence. Here were some of my favorite pieces:
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| I love this quote |
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| The Kooks made an appearance |
It's been about 25 years since most of these works were commissioned. Despite the signs asking patrons not to disturb the works, each piece has received its fair share of tags. Some have even begun to deteriorate over time.
Near the Eastside Gallery is the neighborhood of Friedrichshain, which is where I ate dinner and spent the rest of the night. I checked out a local brewery called Hops & Barley, not to be confused with the Barley & Malt I visited in Hamburg. Hops & Barley offered a good introduction to the Varieties of German beer which includes Hefeweizen, pils, brown lager, and all at a nice price too. 3.10 for a pint!
The next day, I set out to see as much of the touristy stuff as I could. Naturally, I started with the Brandenburg gate, one of the most recognizable monuments of Berlin, having stood during the German empire, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the Cold War, during which, it was blocked off from pedestrians being located between the two walls.
The gate is conveniently located in the city center, where there are significant amount of monuments and attractions in a close proximity. Right near the gate is the Reichstag, the German political office, that is synonymous with the image of the Soviet flag flying over Berlin.
Accompanying these two landmarks are a series of memorials to those persecuted during the reign of the Third Reich. The Jewish Holocaust memorial features a series of large stones that vary in size.
Across the street, on the border of Tiergarten is the memorial for the Roma and Sini, groups of people persecuted during the Holocaust for being gypsies. The memorial features a still fountain surrounded by a number of stones, several of which bare the names of the camps in which many/most of the roman and Sini lost their lives.
A few meters away is another memorial to the persecuted homosexuals during the Third Reich. The Memorial consists of a single large box.
On one side of the box is a small window. When you peer through the window, you see a looping video of two men kissing.
Although Germany has a terrible history of persecution, it is clear that the country and government is making strides to avenge their past and encourage the freedom of individuals more than ever.
I continued my day at the Topographie of Terrors, a museum dedicated to exploring life as it was under the Nazi state. The museum is located on the former site of the SS headquarters. Although the building does not remain, recent excavations have found the partial remains of the basement of the former building which is on display outside accompanying another display. Coincidentally, a section of the Berlin Wall runs along the front of the museum, and was left in tact.
The museum is free. The inside exhibit consists of a series of panels that display the history of police forces starting with end of WWI and up to the fall of the Third Reich. It offers further insight on the daily operations of forces including the SS, Gestapo, stormtroopers and Hitler Youth. There are many photos that show the destructive nature of these organizations, how they terrorized Jews and other minorities as well as the general public. I found one picture of Belgian Jews being escorted to a train station in Brussels for deportation to camps. This photo was taken on the main street that I pass every day on my way to school here:
After an eerie morning, learning more about the terror of life under the Third Reich, I needed to switch up things. I walked towards a very commercial area of the city, specifically Potsdamer Platz, a busy plaza located where part of the Berlin Wall once stood.
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| Where it stood |
Right Across from Potsdamer Platz is the center of film in Berlin. That isn't an actual place, just how I chose to describe the area which features the center for Berlin Film Festival, several giant cinemas, the German Film museum, and the German Walk of Stars. There weren't many stars on the walk, so unlike the Hollywood counterpart, it was relatively easy to find those stars you recognize. For example I found the famed composer Hans Zimmer,
And the noted actor Christoph Waltz. God, he was amazing in Inglorious Basterds. That opening scene!
Taking my interest in film, I then went to check out the German Film museum. Although I don't know too much about German film, I was definitely intrigued by the various stages that German cinema has experienced as I have studied a couple German films including Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu.
The museum included a small exhibit on Wiene's Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which included a small model depicting the stage on which the film was shot.
As well as this original Film Poster, that has remained in pretty pristine condition.
I learned a great deal from the museum. As I said, German cinema has gone through several distinct periods of existence. It started with the early days of film, when Skladanowsky brothers debuted their own film projection device. Their machine predated that of the Lumiere brothers in France, but was a far inferior product and never caught on.
As cinema became a massive art movement in the 1910's and 20's, many directors like Weine, Murnau and Fritz Lang gained notoriety for their work as German cinema dominated the world market. I'm not sure if it was the original but the museum had the robot from Lang's masterpiece Metropolis on display:
The museum has a large amount of space devoted to actress Marlene Dietrich, who was the rare breed who became a major star both in Germany and in Hollywood. It has many of her personal objects and keepsakes including outfits, suitcases, personal photos and some private love letters exchanged between her and multiple men. Very erotic.
From there, the museum advances through the period of German cinema dominated by Nazi propaganda including film taken of 1936 Olympic games. I will say I expected more from this part of the museum. It wasn't as explanatory of the period or reference the role of Goebbels in film propaganda as much as I expected. Instead, it featured a lot of clips from a wide variety of films, but the overall theme was not readily apparent.
There was also a special exhibit on display during my visit to the museum that focused on the career and work of German production designer Sir Ken Adams. Who is German despite the English name and knighthood. The exhibit touches on that. Adams has done set design and production work for hundreds of films and is responsible for creating some of the most recognizable sets in film history, including villain lairs from several James Bond Films and the Pentagon War room in Dr. Strangelove. The exhibit included many of his original drawings and sketches that helped visualize how he imagined the set designs.
After a nice few hours of embracing my film interests, I went back out into the city of Berlin and tried to immerse myself in its historical narrative. Next, I headed to this lovely parking lot just a few blocks away.
While this may look like just a parking lot, it is in fact the site of Hitler's former bunker, where he lived out his final days during the end of WWII. The bunker has obviously since been demolished, and the area overtaken by an apartment complex and parking lot. Still, it was incredibly interesting to be standing right near the former hideout of the most evil man in history. The fact that an apartment complex now surrounds the sight is fascinating. Do the people living there realize the significance of the area where they live? Or are they just used to it now, and over it?
I then continued walking, eventually arriving at Berlin's Neue Kirche, or New Church, which is nicely situated in a large plaza surrounded by a few more beautiful buildings. Very picturesque.
I continued on my museum streak for the day with the probably overpriced Checkpoint Charlie Haus and museum. To give you a sense of the museum. All the walls were lined with posters in about size 12 font giving extreme detail to the history and notable events associated with the wall. I've never seen so many words cramped into such small spaces in such a setting before. There were also numerous artifacts strewn around the museum. It even had one of Gorbachev's actual shirts and hats!
Yeah, I know, that isn't too exciting. But, the exhibit did have a variety of the actual devices and mechanisms that many citizens used to escape East Germany. This includes simple ideas, like this early homemade zip-line used by a father and son:
There was this electrical unit that was able to hide a person or two:
A very sketchy hot air balloon built and used by a family of four:
As well as this one man mini sub type of contraption. Honestly, I'm still not exactly sure how this thing worked.
And what was probably the most audacious device used, in this two person flying device. There was also a video playing from a camera that was mounted on the plane during the rescue attempt, which was incredible to watch.
The artifacts were not just limited to escape mechanisms as the museum was in possession of many significant items from the wall itself. These included fragments of the actual wall in addition to the original entry/exit sign from the American side of Checkpoint Charlie:
As well as the original stripe of paint that served as the dividing line between the two sides:
The museum actually included more exhibits on a range of topics, most dealing with the matter of human rights such as Ghandi's struggles for peace, the Northern Ireland conflict, the war on Terror, and the recent conflicts in Ukraine.
The whole museum was a lot to take in, and my eyes grew very tired from the absurd amount of squinting they had to do just to be able to read everything. So, my next stop on the day would be a spot where I didn't have to read. This brought me to another Berlin Wall memorial site, this one located a bit outside the city center, further away from all the tourist attractions.
While the Checkpoint Charlie Museum presented a more optimistic view of the Wall and how people overcame it, this memorial site offered a contrasting vision. There were no tales of success of success here, but rather bitter reminders of the realities the wall presented. The remaining wall in place was not adorned with street art or graffiti but rather remained an ominous grey slab of concrete, still showing signs of its initial destruction following the collapse of the Wall years ago.
This site serves as more of a reminder of what the disruptions the wall caused to Berlin. This section of the wall not only cut through a major city street, but also divided a cemetery and encircled a church which it separated from the majority of its congregation. While some of the outer wall remains intact, the land in between the walls has changed. There are some archaeological remnants of previous instillations between the walls including prior walls, the remains of the street and sidewalk the wall disrupted as well as the foundations of a guard tower and patrol station. When the wall underwent one of its many reconstructions, former slabs were stored within the two walls, where they remain to this day:
The most chilling part of the memorial is the wall of faces dedicated to those who lost their lives at the wall. Wether they were escapees, guards, or innocent citizens caught in the line of fire, their faces adorn the wall.
By this time, it was growing dark and I needed to refresh. I went to Berlin's oldest Beer garden, Prater, for dinner as it was just a few tram stops from the memorial. In addition to the house beer, I decided to splurge and try out local speciality of wiener schnitzel. It was as good as you would imagine, and they sure did give you your moneys worth with the amount of schnitzel on the plate.
The next day, I again woke early to get a long day in. I began the day at the the GDR Museum, which focuses on the daily life of the citizens of East Berlin. The museums possesses a large amount of memorabilia from East Germany, including everything from books, kids toys to canned food and kitchen accessories. It also included some real authentic East German toilet paper!
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| Which does not look comfortable |
I enjoyed the section dedicated to sport, which detailed the one official match played between the nations of East and West Germany, which resulted in a 1-0 victory for East Germany. The result was significant for so many reasons, and the game ball and pennant as well as an East German shirt remain on display.
On a bizarre note, there was also a whole wall devoted to the East German art of nude beaches. I was not aware this was a thing, but the exhibit really forced it in your face with its visuals, that are too inappropriate to share here. Here's a diorama instead:
The museum was fine for its cost of 4 euro, but I am not sure if I would recommend it as something to do in Berlin if you are only there for a few days.
I then took a nice stroll through albeit one of the more touristy but beautiful sections of Berlin, which included the Berliner Dom.
It had a nice little green square that I lied down in for a while. When I finally got the energy to get up, I went to the Germany History Museum across the street. The museum is intensive with very detailed information on Germany dating back to the Roman empire and up to the present. The older stuff was interesting but it took forever to get through the museum, so I mostly skimmed this part. There were plenty of interesting artifacts on display including an old fashioned pinball game:
One of those classic bicycles with the hilariously large front wheel:
A kid's outfit that strongly resembled the one worn by everyone's favorite cartoon horse:
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| Bojack? |
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| And why is this the only photo I can find of kid Bojack on Google images? |
The exhibit on WWI had plenty of ammunition and weaponry used during the war, as well as uniforms worn by members of the front line:
Moving forward in time, the museum explored life following WWI, the Weimar Republic, and the Golden 20's in Berlin, which was a time when people did what they want and had fun. Look, they even played Table Tennis:
The section was the last bright point of German life, as the exhibit them moved to the rule of the Third Reich. It was the most encompassing look at the time period that I had seen during my trip. The exhibit covered everything from the daily life of German Citizens, the persecution of Jews and other minorities, the structure of the government and the roles of high ranking officials, the 1936 Olympics and other important events leading up to the second World War. This section also had the most relevant artifacts on display, including a wardrobe full of uniforms from different Nazi officials.
Even more compelling were some of the personal effects of Hitler that were in the possession of the museum, including the desk from his office:
And a giant globe that was given to him as a gift:
The exhibit then shifted to the portrayal of WWII, with a focus on the persecution of Jews and the establishment of concentration/extermination camps. It's important to note the difference between the two. Concentration camps were still villainous places of treachery, as inmates were forced to live in abysmal conditions and were worked to near death. However, they were not created with the sole purpose of executing mass killings like the extermination camps. This is the difference between camps like Dachau and Auschwitz. Many people were sent to Auschwitz with the sole purpose of being executed on arrival. I believe 90% of groups were immediately executed at Auschwitz, while the rest were needed for the camps labor but would also be executed at a later point. There are no words accurate enough to describe these kinds of crimes against humanity. There were numerous personal relics of camp survivors on display, ranging from silverware, to contraband items to their uniforms:
I was fascinated by a large scale model in the corner of the room. The model was a full re-creation of the gas chamber buildings from Auschwitz-Birkenau, complete with model figures that captured just how many people would be crammed into this thing. It was almost as chilling as some of the pictures taken of the camps.
At this point, I was suffering from a heavy heart. The emotional toll of these exhibits was lasting and I needed a break. I ended up breezing through the latter parts of the museum, which included the divide and eventual reunification of Germany. Again, the exhibit had plenty of artifacts on display including pieces of the Berlin Wall and some flags that were waved during its destruction.
For lunch, I tried out a Berlin speciality: Currywurst.
Essentially currywurst is just a fried sausage topped with curry powder and smothered in ketchup. It's good, but I don't see what all the hype is about. Ketchup is good, but why do I need to completely smother the sausage in it? Shouldn't the suasage taste fine without it? Plus you can't even taste the curry powder. So essentially, its just a sausage and a lot of ketchup.
I then made my way deeper into West Berlin. The Kaiser Wilhelm church is a large church in the center of the busy Breitscheidplatz that was damaged during WWII.
You'll notice part of the tower is missing. Some of the church has been restored but obviously not everything. A new church was built following the war and is visible to its right in the picture above.
It was a beautiful day out, and I took a stroll through Tiergarten, Berlin's massive central park. I'm not usually a park person, but I have really come to enjoy the change of pace walking through these parks on my trips. Seeing how I have done so on almost every trip I have taken. The first thing to catch my attention was a makeshift Michael Jackson memorial:
The Germans love their MJ.
At the center of Tiergarten is this monument:
It is large, gold and shiny. That is all you need to know.
With time winding down on my final day in Berlin, I went to check out one last museum: The Jewish Museum of Berlin. The museum has 2 distinct areas. The first is a series of memorials dedicates to remembrance of the Holocaust. It had a bizarre zigzag of hallways that was supposed to represent the tribulations of Jews during the Holocaust. There were a few unique memorials that were each designed to reflect and present specific feelings and emotions.
The first memorial was a large cement room located at the end of a inclining hallway. The room was tall and long but short in width. It had one slit in part of the ceiling that let in a minimal amount of natural light. It was dark and ominous and meant to represent the loneliness and despair of Holocaust victims.
The next memorial was similar to Berlin's central Holocaust memorial in that it featured rows of raised columns. These columns different as they were filled with dirt and housed gardens, although they were too high to see. It also featured a slanted surface that made navigating the exhibit quite tricky. The entire set up was intended to be disorienting much like the Holocaust was disorienting for many Jews who were shuffled from place to place.
This memorial was especially effective in its purpose. As soon as i stepped outside into the memorial, my senses became irritated, and I developed a slight headache. It was a surreal feeling.
The next memorial was a representation of the crowding of humans that was constant during the Holocaust. It was in a large room set up not too different from the first memorial, albeit with a bit more light. Along the floor of the room were thousands of these sculpted iron faces:
The faces reflect the millions of Jews who lost their lives. We were encouraged to walk across the room, and as we did, the sound of the iron clashing against each other and against the floor was loud and unpreventable. It was a painful sound, unpleasant, which I believe was meant to reflect the screams and cries of the lost souls.
The second part of the museum featured an elaborately detailed look at Jewish history from its origins up until modern day. It was a bit hard to keep track of everything as there was a lot of information. Again there was plenty of historically relevant items on display including an ancient torah:
As well as this circumcision kit:
Other items on display were a bit more peculiar. They had a diverse array of yarmulkes. Some were creative and based of cultural figures:
Others were even more strange:
There was also some items, of which I am not completely sure why they were there. Like, why is this in the museum?
Anywho, the museum was extremely informative as I learned a lot about the specifics of Jewish heritage. I expected a bit more of an exhibit on the Holocaust, but that part was more than covered by the memorials.
As the sun began to fall, there was one last thing I wanted to see in Berlin, that I would have the chance to do the next morning. So I hopped on the metro and headed further into West Berlin to see the Olympiastadion.
The stadium was originally built for the 1936 Olympics games, which were held under rule of the Third Reich. This was of course the sight of the tremendous performances by American Jesse Owens, who has a nearby street named after him. The stadium is still in use, hosting some national team matches, and home of the club team Hertha Berlin, the club of American hero John Anthony Brooks:
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| this guy |
Weirdly enough, as I walking down a random street in Berlin that night, I ran into a girl that was in a class with me at Richmond last semester. She's studying in London this semester, so the fact that we came across each other on a random street in Berlin is just bizarre.
The next morning, I awoke rather early to catch a long train ride to southern Germany, as Munich was my next destination. Cheers.
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