Oh! The Places I'll Go...: November 2012

Much of what we see in Berlin today has been touched somehow by war, pain, grief, and anger. A city much loved today but which was kept imprisoned only a short 23 years ago. I arrived last night late and didn't see much but a blur passing outside my s-bahn's window. I walked a short distance to my hostel and fell into bed at 2 am, a short time after checking in. I know from my past visit to Germany that the people are kind and while a little standoffish would help in any way they can. And no wonder after all I learned today. A late night meant a sleep in, which was much needed after the noisy bedroom in Madrid. Thankfully, I had the room to myself so was not woken by anyone. I got up just before 10 and came down to check some email before the walking tour pick up. Espin picked us up and we followed as he stopped at other hostels. We finally met our guide Asoka from Boston on Museum Island at the site of one of Hitler's biggest speeches. We heard about Hitler's rise to leader and how once given a small amount of power he managed to overtake all control by sending half the politicians in government to prisons which would one day be Concentration camps. Hitler said what people wanted to hear when they needed to hear it. He promised many things and gave the Germans back their self worth after their loss in WWI and their devestating economy. Walking along we saw the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Tyranny, or Neue Wache Memorial. This building was originally a guard house for the armory next door. It was then a memorial for those who had fallen in Napoleonic wars with the body of a fallen German soldier. Afterwards it became a Memorial to the victims of fascism and militarism when a concentration camp victim's body was also buried with the soldier's and dirt was also added from the battlefields around Germany with an eternal flame on top. When the new regime took over they removed the eternal flame and added the statue of a woman holding her child. A hole in the ceiling exposes her to the elements just like those who've suffered. It is a simple memorial but beautiful.

Next we saw some University buildings which were built by Frederick the Great, king of Prussia. Albert Einstein and Karl Marx were both students at Humboldt University. The university library was the site of a major book burning by Nazi students in 1933. Bebelplatz is now the home of the book burning memorial which is a piece of glass in the ground showing empty white bookshelves. The piece is meant to show absence. Simultaneous book burnings happened all over Germany and over 2000 books were burned that day. Because Frederick, a Calvinist, was a fan of religious acceptance there is a catholic church in this square as well. An opera house is also beside this square and it was the first free opera house in all of Europe!

Did you know the public trees in Berlin are numbered? Today I saw tree #1! It stands in Gendarmenmarkt, home of a concert hall which debuted Beethoven symphony #9 to Berlin. There's also a German and a French cathedral in the square. It's also the square with one of the most popular Christmas markets. Next stop! Store of the oldest chocolatier in Berlin! Yum! Inside are models of different buildings in Berlin, made entirely of chocolate. And there was a chocolate volcano! I know a few people who would have been in their element in this store!

In Berlin you need to look down when you explore as there are many interesting things to see. For example outside one building were small plaques with the names of Jewish people who had worked in that building, which concentration they went to and when they died. At Checkpoint Charlie we saw a plaque on the foundation of the Berlin wall showing how long it had stood there. Also at Checkpoint Charlie, one of the most used checkpoints in divided Berlin between the Russians and the Americans, was a copy of the guardhouse on the US side with a fake guard who stands outside. You can pay him 2€ and get a picture with him. At the end of his shift he gets picked up the Berlin party police....you do the math about his evening employment! Haha we stopped in this area for lunch.

After hearing some more Berlin history in the warmth of a cafe we walked outside to find it was snowing! The first snowfall of the winter for me! It was also dark out, at only 4 pm! Just like home! :-) We continued on in the cold to see the Berlin wall. It is a plain old wall that has so much history. We continued on and saw the Memorial to the Murdered Jewish. It is a large area filled with rectangular shaped pieces of marble of the same size but different heights. The ground sloped up and down in different areas as well although it was too dark to see much. When they were building this they hired a company to coat the stones in a chemical which would protect them from graffiti. It was discovered that this same company provided a chemical to the Nazis for the concentration camps. It was a huge controversy as they were building the Jewish memorial. The company publicly apologized for its actions during the war and offered to take no profit on the memorial project. While people were outraged it was pointed out that many companies had a part in supplying the Nazis and none have apologized. For example: BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, all the vehicles and supplies to make the concentration camp what it was (the views in this statement are those of my tour guide and I mean no offence if you own one of these brands of cars.).

Reichstaggebaude was lit up and looked beautiful. Not at all like what went on inside. 5000 German soldiers died defending this building where the Russians raised their flag to show their defeat over Hitler in 1945.

The bunker of Hitler, where he spent his last days and where he later committed suicide is now a housing complex and a parking lot. So as not to encourage any uprisings the Russians destroyed the bunker by chipping away chunks from the top and filling it in. It is unreal to know that meters below my feet were the foundations of a place where an evil man protected himself from enemy advances while thousands of his men died, what a coward.

Our last stop was the Brandenburg Gate. Built in 179, it is one of the last of the 18 city gates remaining. The statue on top, formerly named Irene Goddess of Peace, was stolen by Napolean and was in Paris in front of the Louvre until the Germans reclaimed it and renamed it after the Goddess of Victory when they defeated the French.

After many hours walking in the crisp Berlin wind I figured I'd head back to my hostel. I planned on walking but my tour guide assured me it was not that close so sent me to Potsdamer Platz to catch the U2. As I walked that way I noticed something in the distance that looked a lot like a toboganning hill! And it was, right on the side of the road, with tubes and everything. A Christmas market was at the bottom of this man made hill of snow and I wandered around with a huge smile! As much as I'm not looking forward to Christmas this year, it is still one of my favourite times of the year and the feeling in the air was very festive. Lights hung from trees and created arches over the sidewalk. It was breathtaking! I stopped and had a crepe, I sure missed those from Paris! I looked at treats, toys, decorations, and Jewellery. I had a Brotwurst and found a skating rink with a huge lit up Christmas tree down at the end of the street. Walking back towards the U ban I bought a delicious looking dessert which is a marshmellowy filling (but creamier I'm told) covered in chocolate. It waits for me upstairs.

Walking through Berlin and hearing its unbelievable and quite recent history I thought a lot about my own German roots and what my own family went through during this terrible time. I am proud of my German heritage and tears welled in my eyes when I heard of all the suffering of not only the Jewish, Gays, and anyone else the Nazis felt like but also of the innocent Germans.

I look forward to a busy