Amy and I flew from Paris to Berlin, to meet up with several friends from our program and start the next phase of our Spring Break! We met an airport employee on the bus from the airport who later told me about the stigma that still exists between East (less desirable) and West Berlin, even though they have been one in the same for 20 years. We got in at night, and the first thing we did the next morning was head to a free tour of the city we had heard about from several people, who said it was amazing and one of their favorite parts of the trip to Berlin. It was a 3-hour walking tour and our small group was led by Summer, a girl from California with an extremely deep voice and off-beat sense of humor, who told us she majored in art history, is a classically trained opera singer, moved to Berlin the day after she graduated college and has been there for years.
We saw so much in those few short hours: the Brandenburg gate, the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his baby from the balcony (oy), Holocaust memorial, Hitler's bunker (an unmarked spot for fear of it becoming a pilgrimage site for Neo-Nazis), the Berlin Wall, the burned books memorial, and more. We learned an incredible amount of history about this city that has completely changed and re-identified itself over these past 20 years. Walking through former East and West Berlin, we heard an insane amount of information about past and present, the Berlin under communism and the Berlin that existed on the other side of the wall. Summer was on point and knows so much about the city, so when she told us she was leading the alternative tour through squats and about street art the next day, we decided to do it.
Brandenburg gate, former gate to the city.
The Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe done by Peter Eisenman in 2005, a series of rectangular blocks of different levels throughout and designed to be interpreted by the viewer.
A stretch of the Berlin Wall, blocked by barbed wire because of people trying to take pieces from it. People sell 'pieces of the wall' but more 'pieces' have been sold than the length of the entire wall..ha
After our tour, we went to the Pergamon museum with parts of ancient ruins, and then to the Jewish museum, where we stayed several hours. It is big and detailed, and is divided into a few exhibits, with the basement dedicated to the Holocaust. That floor itself is divided into several "axes" (Axis of the Holocaust, of Exile, and of Continuity), containing many people's personal histories, letters and belongings, as well as what happened and where people were dispersed. The upstairs floor gave an entire overview of Judaism in Germany throughout history (a much bigger exhibit than we realized going in), where we hung wishes on a 'tree' for peace.
View from the glass dome on top of the Reichstag, which we waited for over an hour to enter but is free and open to the public. You can look down and see into the Congress' chambers. It is designed with the idea that in a democracy, 'the people' are on top.
Berlin is FILLED with street art
At the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining stretch of the Wall which has been turned into an amazing series of murals done by various artists bringing their message of why freedom matters to Berlin, from across the world.
That last night a few of us decided to head out into the famous Berlin house/techno/madness scene, so I braved it for about an hour and went from a techno-music-blasting, 12th floor office-building/club to the hostel to take a shower, grab my stuff and head to the airport for our 7 am flight to Frankfurt.
Our final stop on the trip was Frankfurt, Germany. Let me explain what brought me there. Last summer in Santiago, my friend Allison and I decided we should do something 'touristy' that you do when you're in Santiago--an afternoon taking these cable cars up to the top of a mountain to see a giant statue of the virgen Mary. On the way up, we met a German family, and one of them, at the end of the conversation, gave us his 'card'. His name was Marius, and we laughed at the randomness of being handed this card which read "One good turn deserves another". Anyway, turned out he and a friend were on a 10-month world trip, and we ended up keeping in touch with him, since he was spending a while in Santiago like we were. We only overlapped for a few more days, and meeting up didn't work out, but he told us if we were ever going to be in Germany to just let him know and we'd have a place to stay. Of course at the time, I laughed when he said that, not knowing where life would take me less than 10 months later.
I contacted Marius and he told me I was more than welcome to come. Allison ended up only being in Frankfurt to change planes, but Amy and I spent a night there. (Also, since Frankfurt has a major international airport, it's actually cheaper to fly to Frankfurt first and then to Madrid..worked out very nicely!!) He and his brother run this huge gym that his father started, so we met up with him there and headed out for a delicious German meal, then went to one of his friend's birthday party where we met a bunch of his friends who were cool and around our age. He was so hospitable and we had a great day.
Walking along the Mein river. Frankfurt is unlike most European cities with its modern skyscrapers (it is a big financial hub)
At a local restaurant Wagner's. Marius, some vegetarian schnitzel (woohoo) and some of the German specialty Apfelwein (apple wine) that he introduced us to
At his friend's birthday party, with the birthday girl's dad who weirdly looks like (a German version of) Mick Jagger, hehe
Marius showed us some amazing pictures from his 10 months of travels. I was so impressed by the hospitality he adopted so well, which he told me he firmly believes in after having encountered so many wonderful and helpful people along his travels (hence the 'one good turn deserves another' from his card..coming true). He's a great example of how travelling, especially like we do with limited resources but still a great amount of freedom, can really help you grow and reach out to people like they've done to you. It was a great Spring Break, and Amy and I returned to Madrid tired and happy.
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