Berlin has always been one of those cities that has held a magnetism for me. 

When I think of the city images of the 1920s and club scene come to mind.  The Nazi’s marching and put up their right arms.  Straight and disciplined.  Interesting art. German Expression.   I wanted to see it all so when the opportunity presented itself I jumped a the chance. 

An early 20th century German intellectual, Karl Scheffler, described Berlin this way, “Berlin is damned to be a city that is always becoming and never being.”  Resonated with me.  My sense is that our two day only touched the surface and that it is a city in constant reinvention.   

As a tourist in Berlin, you can not get away from the war. 

First and obvious to me is the role the events of WWII play in this northern German city.  We visited on a gray and gloomy weekend in November.  A bit like our Michigan weather.  We were traveling on a Smithsonian tour with an introductory bus tour.  The focus seemed to be on the WWII, the Nazi venues and the horrible events of that time period. 

Interesting to me to compare to other cities.  A similar trip in Barcelona would be on Gaudi,  London would focus on the Royals and their residences, history.    St. Petersburg with Art and grand buildings.  This felt different to a first timer.  

Influential and poignant for me was the Holocaust Memorial with its 2,000 slabs of cement reminiscent of coffins.  Walking around the stacks of gray cement was profound, memorable and tragic.  I wondered what other Memorials are like . There’s probably a photo book with that idea.  What makes one truly stop and remember and respect and feel the deep in the gut sadness for what happened? This one did.  

We also have a brief visit to Topography of Terror,  the building where the Nazi’s did horrible experiments on people. Made my skin crawl. 

On our own we  went to a rather modest History of the City of Berlin Museum.  While it included an overview the history of Berlin, the Holocaust dominated the displays.  

Frequently the location of the old wall was pointed out on our introductory tour.  It’s location is often marked with bricks in the pavement.    And of course, Check Point Charley was on the tour which has turned into a huge tourist attraction.  Not sure what I think about that, but I did like a small exhibition of the wall near by that captured my attention.

It revealed how the  West Side became a source of art work while nothing was allowed to be applied to the East Side.  

The East Side Gallery

Later we visited the remaining one mile part of the wall that has been turned into an outdoor art exhibit. It is called the East Side Gallery. 

It was raining and we were on the bus, so Jack and I went back the next morning and walked the whole thing. It’s filled with political statements and reminders of the horrors of war.    Here’s some images from that including the famous kissing mural. Lots of people posed in front of that one.

Many areas of the city had interesting art on the buildings.  It said to me that graffiti is part of the Berlin culture.  Having a big  wall running through the middle of it probably influenced that.  

And then there’s the drain pipes.  I was fascinated with the way they ran above ground and were painted in colorful ways.  It turns out that Berlin was built on a swamp with very high ground level water.  When ever there is new construction in the city, the water needs to be pumped out.

Hence the pipes.  If you follow them to the end they always get to the canal or the river.  

Why colors?  The pink and bright colors were selected because they are favorite colors of children.  The thought is that they would remind locals and visitors to be fun and youthful.  

Of course, I captured reflections.  It rained a lot.

If we were to go back I’d like to go to Bauhaus Museum.  I understand a huge renovation and expansion is happening.  I’d also like to learn more about German Expressionism.  My sense is that there is a lot more to enjoy.  

Party Time

It seemed to me that the  memory of the Holocaust, the Wall and the ghastly effects of the Nazi’s reign dominated the city until we went to a couple of the Christmas Markets (they have 80 in Berlin alone I’m told).  Talk about Party Time.   Come back next week for that experience and more.