An Afternoon in Berlin- Humboldt, the Dom and Fernsehturm.

After all that memorial visiting in the gloom, we went in search of food! Consulting the guidebooks- yes, I am an old school guide book user- it seemed the best chance was a highly rated upscale food court in a mall. I was willing to have a look, but my experiences with mall food courts- the "chinese" food,  soft pretzels and heat-lamp pizza is not only uninspiring, it's- for me- inedible.

I definitely liked what I saw at the bottom of a huge escalator!

I think this is the model of things to come in the US too. Since stand alone businesses are more expensive, groups of restaurants that can share tables and customers, but offer different cuisines will be the new Food Court of the 21st century.
I went to the French restaurateur, and asked about my food limitations. He thought maybe the best chance for accommodation would be at the fish place on the other side of the circle of offerings.
We sat at the counter, and a short discussion with the server had me ordering a specifically prepared fish. And a lovely glass of wine. We could see the chef working the grill, and he chose our fishes, both mine and Huz', and then dredged them both in flour and onto the grill. Uh oh. That will put me in the krankenzimmer! So, I tried to get the server or the chef to pay attention to my distress. To no avail. Darn! Why did I not learn German? A gentleman down the counter was listening. And understood. He spoke up and they paid attention to him. He explained, in German, the problem, and why I couldn't eat what was being prepared. I was so grateful. Thank you, kind sir.

And, in a bit we were delivered beautifully prepared and (safe) delicious fish! Huz thought maybe the best fish he'd tasted. We then visited the counter with all the lovely pastries for him to select a bonus prize. I hunted in the grocery section for a piece of German chocolate, not wanting to be left out.

When we came out from the bottom of the mall, the sun had arrived, clearly marking our move from the morning of sad memorials and our afternoon march farther back in time.

My patient travel partner is tolerant of my guide book habit, and it takes us in places we would've otherwise missed ( and he'd likely be happy to skip). Like the U-Bahn (Untergrundbahn = undergroundtrain) station at Unter den Linden. Which had great enlarged photos of the last century and also this remaining relic of wonderful aqua tile and distinct German font . The U-Bahn opened in 1902. The charm of this little building on a subway platform!

We emerged from the underground to hunt down my next objective- Humboldt University.

 Here, on the Bebelplatz, is the revered German higher learning institution that has graduated so many historic figures.
Opened in 1811 as the University of Berlin, it eventually changed it's name to the founder, Wilhelm von Humboldt in 1949.  From this institution of thought has come Otto von Bismarck- the first German Chancellor, Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Max Planck- physicist and the Grimm Brothers - of the fairy tale fame.

 During the Nazi regime, in 1933, there was a great book burning here in the Bebelplatz. 20,000 books written by "degenerates" were made ash. There is a glass square in the platz with empty shelves, enough to hold 20,000 books in an underground room. Humboldt didn't fare well under Soviet rule either, as each student was vetted for their unity of thought- that communism was the bomb. And Universities thrive with diversity in thinking. Disagreeing with the communist government got you "disappeared", or sentenced to decades of hard labor in prison. Lovely.
Now, it is back to being a thinking institution with over 36,000 students.

Crossing the River Spree in the sunshine, under frozen battles with naked men, you can see the Fernsehturm, or TV tower up ahead. But first we cross over onto Museum Island, with the imposing Berliner Dom drawing you for a look.

I grew up in New England. We had Protestant Churches there. They looked like this:

This stock photo from depositphotos.com is what I think of when I think of a Protestant Church. Evidently Kaiser Wilhelm II had grander ideas and fortunes than the New England Protestants. Because Wilhelm wanted this church to be noticed. This church is a statement of opulence.

 We didn't want to pay the large fee to enter the church, but rather enjoyed walking around the exterior. I enjoyed the back of the Dom that goes right down into the water of the River Spree, with stairs. I think this is how I would like to go to church on Sunday, in a little boat. Although I may have to reconsider high heels.
Back over the Spree, we walked a block or so, and then jaywalked across several lanes of traffic to go see these two troublemakers. They are Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, writers of the 1848 The Communist Manifesto.  They sit here together in this large open space that is practically empty of people, trees and even grass. The only area given attention is in my photo. There is a large area of construction that is apparently an extension of the U-Bahn, but again, seemed strange to have so much unused space in the Mitte. It isn't even a proper park, more like a wasteland.

Turns out the area used to be a densely populated neighborhood. 1944/1945 took care of that, and the Old Town Quarter became the old pile of rubble.  Then the Soviets took over, and had too much to do to get around to rebuilding, eventually deciding to make it a monument to these fellows here.
Now it's been close to thirty years of continued emptiness. Check back in thirty more. You. I'll be too old.

 Just past the Marx-Engels Forum we were close to the Fernsehturm, or TV tower. Rising above this church, the Marionkirche, or St. Mary's Church, the silver dome of the TV tower, meant to be a testament to communism in the 20th year of the DDR, reflects the cross of St. Mary when the sun hits just right. Take that communists! Of course, the tower was designed by Swedes, so they might've been in on it.
The church, itself, was a Roman Catholic church, dating back to the 13th century, but after the Protestant Reformation became a Lutheran Protestant Church. It's either the oldest, or second oldest church in Berlin. It was the church that served the huge local population, until the local population got bombed to smithereens. Now it has a communist tower and a cool fountain as neighbors.

Just beside the Marionkirche is Neptunbrunnen- the Fountain of Neptune.

 Neptunbrunnen is an extravagant, intricate fountain with a four leaf clover form.

Water, water everywhere (especially with a light breeze) and sea creatures and nets and mermaids and Huz found his German Gator! 

The Fernsehturm has a restaurant and a viewing floor up there in the ball. Not interested. I don't like heights enough to pay for the torture. 

 Our last destination of the afternoon was the Alexanderplatz. It has been a hub of life here since the middle ages when it was a wool market. Then when Russion Emperor Alexander I stopped by in 1805 he left behind his name. It's now a transportation hub (with a tram that will take us back to Honigmond Garden and a freshening up) and a large populated square surrounded by boring communist era buildings.
This cool Jetson's-cartoon-come-to-life item is also there:

 The World Clock. It's an astronomical clock that displays the time for cities around the globe.
So, I don't know how it works. It is more George Jetson or Leonardo da Vinci? My feet are tired. I'm thirsty. I just took a picture.

After washing up and changing clothes, we ventured forth once more in search of supper.  Our destination was this charming place, Sophie'n eck.

It used to be a tailor shop, or laundry? Now it serves delicious, hardy food and I had a nice glass of wine too. Not sure what I ate, but it was delicious, vegetarian, gluten free and smothered in cheese. Perfect.  Huz ordered a "meatball" for an appetizer, and was surprised to find that it was what we would call a hamburger patty. Must be in Germany.
 We had a tiny table, an open casement window and a candle to light our appetites. Win!

A walk around the neighborhood, and eventually there is a tram station, ready to trundle you back to a good night's sleep.
For tomorrow we visit Emperors.

A morning in Berlin. Reichstag, memorials, lessons.

Leaving behind discussion of The Wall, it's effectiveness, or ineffectiveness and the message it sent to the world of the inadequacy of the Communist East German society to provide for it's citizens, we now step back in time for the events prior. 
When Germany was Germany, not an East and West.
After World War 1 (then called The Great War) and after The Great Depression- both things that were NOT "Great" and I would not like to see them be made Great Again. 
They were so UN-Great, that the country of Germany was in a pretty desperate space. 
And, presented to them was a man who promised to give Germany wealth and respect again. 
Now. I suspect that even the most desperate of Germans, had they been able to see with clarity what would happen in the future, would've steered clear of this man. But, alas, they did not see. And those who did see, recognized his megalomania (meg·a·lo·ma·ni·aˌmeɡələˈmānēə/  noun: obsession with the exercise of power, especially in the domination of others.) and his demagoguery,(Demagoguery is an appeal to people that plays on their emotions and prejudices rather than on their rational side. Demagoguery is a manipulative approach — often associated with dictators and sleazy politicians — that appeals to the worst nature of people.) hoped he would be kept in check by the other parts of the government. 
I put the definitions for those two words right in the blog, because, those are two words I have not had a whole lot of use for in the past, and needed a refresher on what they meant. Both definitions are from Google, which, thanks to my nifty new computer, is easy to access into the blog. But, I also cruised definitions from Merriam-Webster and the Cambridge English Dictionary and though slightly different, the definitions are similar.  Also, the peak usage for the word "megalomania" in the last century was between 1945 and 1950. 
History shows Hitler was not kept on check. When he was voted to power as Chancellor of Germany, there were only two other members of the parliament , the Reichstag, who were in the Nazi Party. The hopeful thought the rest would balance out the Nazis. 

Huz and I headed out into Berlin to see the sights with few expectations. I had done only a little research about our Berlin trip, having spent most of my efforts in understanding Poland for the longest stretch of our travel. 

We made our way to the edge of Tiergarten, a large greenspace in the city centre. There we found this impressive Wilhelmian piece of architecture, The Reichstag. This is where the German Parliament convenes. It opened in 1894, and served as the seat of Parliament until a Great (and suspect, one month after Hitler assumed power) Fire in 1933. It was a ruin for 40 years, and only fully restored and used again after the reunification of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1990's. 

Behind me, on the right of the photo, you can see a somewhat unattractive and temporary structure built along the bottom of the building. This is what is used for screening people prior to entering the building in our age of terrorism. 
To the side of this structure is a memorial to a piece of frightening history, that led up to even more horrific drama. 

Memorial to Politicians Who Opposed Hitler

 This unassuming row of slates is a memorial to all the members of the Reichstag who opposed Hitler. These were the folks that were supposed to "keep him in check". This was the division of politics that was to balance out the demagogue megalomaniac. 
They died. 96 of them.
Each slate has on the side the name, birthdate and date of death, mostly in concentration camps, of the elected member of the government. Most of them were accused of treason by Hitler and shipped off to a concentration camp to die. If they died in a camp, the name of the camp is also on the slate's edge. 

 Ravensbruck, Dachau, Neuengamme, Buchenwald, Mauthausen, Theresienstadt; dozens and dozens of names of death camps that took in the elected officials of Germany, and snuffed their voice, and any chance the world had of skipping the abominations to come. 

Now, diagonally across the lawn in front of the Reichstag, stands this building, the Bundeskanzleramt, or Federal Chancellory. This is where current Chancellor, Angela Merkel runs the business of Germany. 

I like that the people of Germany, affectionately? call the building "Bundeswaschmaschine" or "Federal Washing Machine" for it's looks. 


Before leaving the Reichstag, we went on a hunt through the edge of the Tiergarten for the 

Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Murdered under the National Socialist Regime

At the memorial, looking grim. In the park there is a glass wall with the time-line of the summary genocide of the Sinti and Roma people. Chilling to read, for how reasonable the politicians made it seem at the time. An accounting of a people who were mostly uncounted for they were a roaming population. Considered undesirable, and perhaps treacherous, impoverished and a threat to the German people, they were sent to camps. 

 Here,  in the shadow of the Reichstag, as if to remind the politicians of what can happen when the power is put in evil hands, there is a peaceful pool. In the center is a triangular stone that is the shape of the badges put on the prisoners of the concentration camps. A fresh flower is placed there daily. 

 The bronze pool is edged by a poem written by Roma poet, Santino Spinelli. It reads:
Gaunt face   dead eyes    cold lips    quiet   a broken heart   out of breath    without words  no tears

Surrounding the pool are stones, and on some of the stones are engraved the names of the concentration camps in which an estimated 220,000-500,000 Roma and Sinti were murdered. I guess they didn't bother to keep accurate records. 

 Just blocks from the Reichstag is the famed Branderberger Tor, or Brandenburg Gate. 
It was built on the site of the former gate to the road to....Brandenburg. It was erected as a symbol of peace in the time of King Frederick William II of Prussia, 1791. HA! Well, it wasn't a symbol of peace forever. The statue on top, the Quadriga, is a chariot of 4 horses, pulling a goddess- originally Eirene, goddess of peace. But, after Napolean defeated the Prussian army in 1806, he took the Quadriga to Paris. Peace no more. 

This is a man, happy to not currently be deliberating on Nazi mass murder.  Victory, small. 

When Napolean was defeated in 1814, and the Prussians occupied Paris, they took the Quadriga back to Berlin, to top the gate again. But, now, the gate was no longer seen as a sign of peace, but as a truimphal arch, and the Quadriga was redesigned into the goddess of Victory, with the Iron Cross and Eagle added to her lance. 

Part of the history lesson!
 Cool pictures of the Branderberger Tor moving through it's different stages.

 1945 looking a bit rough. 

After April 1945, note the portrait of Stalin in the center of the Pariser Platz.

 The wall around the Brandenberger Tor. 

1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall!

 Directly behind the Branderburger Tor is the Pariser Platz.  One of the buildings directly behind the gate is the US Embassy. 

It looks accessible.  Don't be fooled there are guards and concrete driving barriers and that's not a door. Just looks like a door.

A few blocks from the gate, and the Reichstag, is a dirt parking lot. This seems weird, as this is a busy, modern city where space is a premium. Who would own a dirt parking lot? 
Well, there is a small sign that gives you the reason. Underneath this dirt lot is the bunker where Hitler first married his mistress, Eva Braun, then committed suicide. With her. I think it was a "Thing" at the time to go out together. So, no one wants to use the space. No one wants to build upon it. Going back through my photos, I didn't even take a photo. Too disgusted to bother. 

And, within sight of the dirt lot is this eerie bunch of monoliths. There is no large sign, or anything flashy. This 4.5 acre space sinks to the center, and is filled with large granite stones, like rows of massive tombs. It's disorienting in it's scope and the way it sinks at the middle. It is the 

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

 The gloom of the weather fit the scene so well, with a rain falling in earnest. It seemed like the rain should always fall on this patch of ground. 

Huz walked around the rows a bit, but to be honest, I was so deeply saddened by the weight of it all, I hung around the edge. 

How do we keep our eyes open? How do we prevent the fear, the anger, the crazy minds that speak to those things and prevail? How do we keep ourselves from looking away? How to stand up for the persecuted? How to prevent history from repeating itself, pure, or in slightly different form? 
Were the people who were struggling and pinned their hopes on Hitler's promises of prosperity deceived or culpable? 
Tough questions. Revolting history, already written. History continues to be written, it is just, now, we are the authors. 

Berlin- Den Mauer. The Wall.

Berlin 2016

When I last shared in this blog, Huz and I had been in Wrocław, Poland.

Loved it! He had been lecturing and hosting and being all Rad.

But, now we took the opportunity for a bit of vacation, and traveled by bus back to Berlin. 

I have to say, when planning our adventures from Cowfeathers Farm, we had a heck of a time figuring out any kind of train passage between the cities. It seemed to only be an option of bus. And, even after traveling to the source, we still didn't iron out a train option. 

So, a bus ride through the forests between the two countries, without jet lag this time, was just fine. When we arrived back at the Hauptbahnhof train station in Berlin (the bus stops directly across), we went into the station to the Visitor Center. There we purchased passes that allowed us, as visitors, to ride all the public transportation for a flat fee. And it was a good deal. 

So, back outside the Hauptbahnhof, the tram station a few steps away allowed us to hop on the tram and travel down the Invalidenstrasse to our hotel.

We had booked rooms at the Honigmond Garden Hotel, and it was a great choice. 

This was the walk to our rooms. 

   

Just beyond the little table on the left of the photo is the bannister that led to the steep, narrow stairs and our rooms a few stories above. 

On a narrow landing (I had to stay on the stair, as Huz and I could not both fit on the landing and open the door), we found our door. It opened into a tidy little kitchen with a luxurious little bathroom behind it. Beyond is a dining room, with petite fireplace, and then beyond that our bedroom, with a large wardrobe and a big four poster bed. And Huz.

 And this is our view from French Casement windows. Lush garden below, with this fabulous green wall making our room feel extremely private and as an oasis in the city.
But, we don't go on vacation to hang out in our rooms! So out into Berlin we shall go.

 Our first order of business was food, and that is a touch complicated by me! But, we found a place several blocks from our hotel that was right up my food alley, and had a lovely little luncheon.
We then set out for a wander, and consulting my friend- a map- found we were quite close to a place where the Berlin wall still stands.

Den Mauer- The Wall.
It turned out that it wasn't just a patch of standing wall, it was the Berlin Wall Memorial.

Excellent! Because I must admit my ignorance here. I just didn't understand The Wall. I knew it separated East Germany from West Germany. And was a larger symbolic divide between Communism and Democracy. I knew people died trying to climb over the wall and escape East Germany.
The rest was murky. Who decided this was a good idea? And, if the wall was just across Berlin, why not just go around it instead of over it? Just walk into the countryside of East Germany and walk through the fields to the west. Skip the whole Wall thing and people shooting at you.
Although I do understand it much better now, I still can't answer the question "Who thought this was a good idea?"

 So, my image of The Wall being a line is false. The wall went all the way around the West Berlin, and so it was an oasis of democracy in the communist East Germany. There was a portion of West Berlin allotted to the Americans, another to the Brits and the last to the French. So, after the fall of the Hitler Regime, the victors carved up the spoils, and this was their idea of how to make it fair.
BIG Eyeroll.

 Much friendlier looking that when it was in use, the wall now has some green space, is no longer surrounded with barbed wire and trigger-happy guards.

Along the wall in the memorial area are these boards that have information on them about the wall. This board is about  a man who died here trying to climb over the wall to visit his mother. They had been separated by the ding-dongs who thought up a wall, and he was missing his Mummy.  Humans are really so bonkers. They had to build a wall to keep people in their society, because so many people had left they were floundering. So, instead of finding a way for the society to prosper, they shoot people who try to leave.
And we share DNA. Rather discouraging.

I found this photo interesting, as I realized we were standing in the same location. So this is what it looked like. You can see in the foreground, the wall divided a cemetery from the church on the East Berlin side of the wall. So, not only could you not visit your living relatives, you couldn't visit dead ones either. There is a guard on a small wooden stand, between the wall and the fence of barbed wire. There are visual barriers up across the road, so East Germans couldn't see down the street to the West Germans prospering and get ideas.

 The older building in this photo is the same building as is pictured in the Wall photo. I pointed it out with a curved blue arrow. There are new apartments going up across the street.

And this road, that prior to the wall went past the cemetery, is still blocked off by wall. In the old photo above, it is marked with a red arrow.

Standing in history.

Crazy history. But as they say, history repeats itself. So, better have a good look, just in case we are around when it does.
This is fairly recent history. As the inscription says on the marble in the photo back a-ways, the wall stood from August 1961- November 1989. I was born into a world where this wall existed. And I was in college when it was finally taken down.
Although Germany has centuries of history, the history of the 20th century is truly palpable.
In the next blog, we take a tour of Mitte, Tiergarten, and the postcard sights of Berlin. Plus the devastating reminders of the ugliness of the demagoguery of megalomaniac Hitler.
Fun!