A Little Bit of Berlin

Berlin: the capital of Germany, the former site of the famous (or infamous) Wall, and the destination of my travels this past weekend.  Leuphana University’s International Office organized a three-day, two-night excursion to Berlin, giving me the opportunity to visit such a cool place.

We took a bus from Lüneburg to Berlin, which meant we had to depart bright and early at 7 am.  Most people slept on the four-hour ride; I instead started planning what I wanted to see when, and enjoyed watching the north-German countryside.  After arriving (a little late), we moved our luggage into the Sunflower Hostel, located in former East Berlin near the River Spree.

Our first organized event was a guided tour of the city.  We rode in the bus throughout Berlin, as our tour guide narrated the sights in both German and English.  We drove through Kreuzberg (the developing “modern/hip” district), saw various embassies, and passed Alexanderplatz before stopping briefly at the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) for the classic group photo.

Our tour then continued through the parliamentary district, down Kurfurstendamm (the upscale shopping district), and back into the city center.  We continued on foot to Gendarmenmarkt, a square surrounded by the Schauspielhaus (built in 1821 as a notable theater; a major concert hall since 1984) and two similarly-constructed churches.  The Französische Dom (French Cathedral) was constructed as a Protestant (Heguenot) sanctuary, and was supposed to be identical to the Catholic cathedral on the opposite side of the square.  The two churches on the same square were designed to be a grand demonstration that Catholics and Protestants could live, work, and worship with each other.  Having said all of that, the two churches were not identically made, and the differences live on.

The Schauspielhaus

Statue: Friedrich Schiller, a notable German poet and playwright.

Similar, not the same, but very beautiful nonetheless.

We then walked to Bebelplatz (also known as Opernplatz, because the Staatoper's normal venue is here), the site of the May 11th, 1933, Nazi book burning.  Today, visitors to the square can look down into an empty, white library, with enough shelf space to contain all the books thought to have been burned on the spot.  Humboldt University surrounds the rest of Bebelplatz.

Just down the street was the Berliner Dom (pictured below), flanked by the Old and New Museums.  In the background you can see the Fernsehturm (Television Tower).  Possibly the most-well-known landmark of Berlin's skyline, the Fernsehturm's globe houses an observation platform and a restaurant.  The sun's cross-shaped reflection, visible throughout the city, is affectionately called "the Pope's Revenge:" a Christian symbol above what was a secular communist state (the former East Berlin).  We took the city train (I think I’m getting addicted to public transportation) back to the hostel for a short break.

I say “a short break” because we basically turned right around to go the opera.  I did, however, have time to try my first (and definitely not my last) currywurst.  We saw The Barber of Seville, composed by Gioachino Rossini, and performed by the Berlin Staatoper (State Opera).  The opera was performed in Italian, but translations were displayed in German on a screen above the stage.  Between the displayed German and my English explanation of the plot, I actually followed most of the production.

The Barber of Seville's cast and the Staatskapelle Berlin (Berlin State Orchestra),

conducted by Daniel Barenboim

The next morning, after the hostel’s breakfast, I visited the East Side Gallery.  A portion of the Berlin Wall in its original location, the East Side Gallery features murals painted by artists from around the world. I spent the early afternoon with a friend from high school, going to church and getting lunch at a Mexican restaurant near Alexanderplatz.

Our next organized tour was through the Reichstag, the building where the German parliament (known as the Bundestag) meets.  We had to pass through a couple security checkpoints to get in.  Once inside, our tour showed us everything from the basement tunnels (possibly used by the Nazis to set fire to the building prior to World War II, according to one theory) to the plenary chamber.  We got to sit in one of the public galleries, in which seats can be booked for parliament sessions.  Our tour ended on the roof, dominated by the glass dome added when the building was renovated in the late 1990s, designed by Sir Norman Foster.

The view from the roof, and especially from the top of the dome (ascended via spiral ramps), was spectacular: the entire city of Berlin laid out in front of you.  Thankfully, the weather was clear enough that you could see quite a bit of the city.   In the center of the dome is a mirror cone, which serves to direct natural light down into the parliamentary chamber.  The dome also ventilates the chamber, thus serving a practical as well as aesthetic purpose.

From the Reichstag Building, I walked through the Tiergarten to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.  Designed to provoke reflection as visitors wander through the labyrinthine field of 2711 concrete blocks and visit the information center below it, the Memorial was sobering indeed.  The ground undulates, the blocks loom higher overhead, slanting obliquely from the uneven pavement, and you do reflect.

After eating dinner with the whole group at Amrit, a nice Indian restaurant, I returned to the Brandenburger Tor to see it illuminated at night.  As soon as you reach the street level from the subway station, your vision is filled with the gate, lit in yellow-white against the black night sky.  Really cool.

In the morning, after another freezing cold shower (everything about the hostel was great, except the scarcity of hot water.  At least I woke up quickly...), we checked out of the hostel, and toured the German Historical Museum.  Although the museum contains exhibits from Germany's history "from the beginning" until 1994, our tour covered material after World War II.  After our tour, I started over "at the beginning," and got through the beginning of World War I.

 Once a military arsenal, now the German Historical Musesum's courtyard.

Leaving the museum, I walked through the rain to Alexanderplatz, where parts of the Bourne film trilogy were filmed.  On the way there, I sampled a Berlin Döner (and they really do taste different!).  I then, like a good tourist, got my passport stamped at Checkpoint Charlie and did some souvenir shopping downtown.

Spending three days in Berlin was amazing, to be sure, but it wasn't enough.  There is so much to do and see there.  I thoroughly enjoyed my little taste.  The International Office's program had a good balance of organized events and free time to explore on your own.  Awesome way to spend a weekend: see a little of Berlin.