A Time Away: April 2008

Berlin, the reunified capital of Germany, is one of Europe's great cities. I had heard that the eastern part of Germany is still economically depressed, even 20 years after the fall of the Wall. With this presupposition I traveled to Berlin to find that nearly everything worth doing or seeing is on the eastern side of the famed Wall.

Five of the city's great museums are located next to this small church on what is aptly named Museum Island (the river splits around the area creating the island effect). In the background is the TV tower built by the Soviets to show the Allied counterparts that communist Germany was thriving; in fact, with the exception of a few government projects such as this tower, everybody was equally impoverished.

History, especially from WWII, is everywhere. Babelplatz is where the 1933 book burning led to an increased power grab by the Nazi party.

Next to what used to be Checkpoint Charlie, the famous US/Soviet fighting ground there are walls filled with historical write-ups and pictures from the area. This picture (that I took of a picture) is of a famous tank standoff.

The Wall today, is nearly gone. All that remains is a double-stoned trail that follows everywhere the Wall went. Many times on my trip I crossed the cobblestone path; a feat that would have been impossible 20 years ago, enforced by the fences, mines, and the Soviet gun.

This is the location of Checkpoint Charlie, though the original guard-shack is in a museum; this is the 'everybody wants to see the thing so we better reconstruct a look alike' version. Just to the side of the road you could get a stamp in your passport saying you've entered/exited US occupied Berlin.

Interestingly, on the historical write-up/photo wall were some WWII pictures showing what led up to the building of the Berlin Wall. Here's a shot of people standing in front of a partial facade of the Brandenburg Gate - in front, the facade shows WWII damage, while behind stands the actual restored gate.

Today the gate is in fine condition, though upon close inspection there are countless patches covering bullet and shrapnel holes. Just to the left of this photo is the new US Embassy (still under construction) while just through the gate and to the right is the Reichstag, which is their parliament building (equivalent to our US Capitol Building). I guess this is to say that the US doesn't want to be too far from the German government's mind's eye?

One of the few areas that has a standing version of the original Berlin Wall is show above, protected from "Wall peckers," or people who steal pieces the Wall for their own purposes. Ironically, the cement was completely asbestos filled, which is said to cause cancer if the fibers are inhaled. I guess the Wall is just a natural born killer.

Spread throughout the city are many single sections of the Wall. This painted (Germans paint or graffiti everything they can reach) section is actually in front of some apartments that were reserved for the "elite" of East Germany. These boring things were the cream of the financially ruined communist experiment; only important people lived here - government officials and, as I am told, famous citizens such as Olympic figure skater Katarina Witt.

Not more than a half mile down the main road from the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (parliament building) is a huge memorial controversially titled, "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe." It is a few thousand tall stones that strike an unbelievable resemblance to a Jewish graveyard I once visited in Prague. The name is loud, the location is unavoidable, and the memory is unforgettable.

Here is the Reichstag that I've been mentioning. I was fortunate enough to go inside the glass dome; however, I went there in a spur of the moment decision and did not have my camera, which is a shame because it was nighttime and beautiful.