One of the most famous cities in the world, Berlin is in many ways an enigma. Once the city of Prussian splendor, once the fallen city of ruined empire, once the epicenter of the clash between the West and Communism, Berlin is more than a city: there is something about it that is fundamentally part of the German spirit, in a way that is often difficult to put into words. One feels especially that the history of the divided city and the divided Germany exists in the present here.
A unique youth counterculture is evident wherever one goes: youths dressed in whatever unique style they feel expresses their identity, and graffiti. Berlin graffiti was famous in the days of the Wall, the Western side of which became a canvas of expression for West Berlin youth.
The metropolitan area is huge and sprawling, composed of dozens of districts, each with its own character and town center. It is a busy city; always on the move, and always building. Berlin will never be finished, I was told. Construction cranes tower everywhere. After reunification, many buildings associated with the GDR were torn down and new ones put in their place. Although most that were torn down have replaced by now, it doesn't take much to convince one that Berlin is one big building project that never ends. Everywhere, the old is mixed with the new; steel and glass next to stately stone and brick. Berlin is a city that dazzles, intrigues, beckons.
Several months ago, Henriette, a student at the PH Ludwigsburg I had become acquainted with, and her parents invited me to visit them in Berlin. My most heartfelt thanks to them for their hospitality and generosity! They really made me feel like part of their family.
My trip to the capital took place from March 9–14. While many of my readers already know about my trip, the photos are being released now for the first time to the public. For reasons of security, and the hassle to get the photos declassified, they are only now being released .... all right, maybe I've just been involved in other things, and just haven't gotten around to the task of sorting through photos and writing. But, belated though it is, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you my Berlin Report.
The Red-Eye Express
The adventure started in Stuttgart. A month before my departure, I had found a bargain airfare deal from Stuttgart to Berlin and back. Even with my BahnCard, which gives me 50% off train travel in Germany, it was half as much to fly. Furthermore, it takes over five hours to travel by train from Stuttgart to Berlin, as compared to an hour with an airplane. There was only one problem: my flight left at 6:50 in the morning. Passengers had to be checked in a half hour before takeoff at the latest. This meant that even if I took the earliest S-Bahn from my place, I probably wouldn't get to the airport in time. Rather than try to get to the airport early in the morning, I decided to get there late on the night before, and spend the night in the airport. And rather than try to sleep, I would read Lord of the Rings all night. It didn't turn out to be so bad. I knew I would be kaputt later in the day, but that was just part of the adventure.
The Panic
The plane touched down on the tarmac, and I was in Berlin! I walked to the terminal, and sat down to wait for my host family. After a while, I began to wonder if I'd missed something. After a half hour, I began to suspect that we had waited for each other in the wrong place. Having never been in the airport, I didn't know where else to wait. I didn't know that I was in the terminal called Terminal D. I also didn't know that the main terminal, Terminal A, was a short walk away in the main building. By the time I started moving around, I knew it was too late to look for my hosts. I knew that my best hope was to find their house. Problem: I had neglected to print out the e-mail with their address and phone number. I had no idea where I needed to go! I started feeling panicked, but I came up with a plan: I would get on the next S-Bahn, and ride until I found a part of town likely to have an internet café. Upon finding one, I would access my e-mail, and have all the information I needed. To make a long story short, it was much harder to find an internet café than I thought, and I took S-Bahn trains, walked, and rode busses for about two hours, before a bus I was on turned a corner, and there, in front of the bus stop, was an internet café. I got the information I needed, and used a pay phone to call a surprised Henriette. My desperate quest had taken me from the Berlin-Schönefeld Airport to Treptower Park. Thankfully, the S-Bahn station I needed to get to, Köpenick, was not far away. Within the hour, it was all worked out, I was with my hosts, and we laughed and shook our heads over the whole deal for the rest of my visit.
The Experience
The first day, Henriette showed me around the city center. Despite fatigue from staying awake all the previous night, I was up to some sightseeing, and did fine as long as I stayed on my feet. We went inside the Berliner Dom, and even took the stairs to the roof, getting a terrific view of the city. Other sights we took in included the town hall, the Fernsehturm (television broadcasting tower), the Reichstag building, the Hackescher Markt, and the glittering new main train station. Over the next several days, I saw the Berliner Zoo, was in four Museums, and visited Sanssouci in Potsdam. Now, on with the photos!
< Day One - Reading Lord of the Rings in the Stuttgart Airport >
< Reading Lord of the Rings in the Stuttgart Airport (Resolve waning) >
< In the S-Bahn at the Berlin-Schönefeld Airport >
< My host family's neighborhood. >
< Köpenick is the part of Berlin I stayed in. While Berlin was divided, it was in East Berlin. >
< Henriette and I stand on the roof of the Berliner Dom >
< View of the city from the Berliner Dom >
< In front of the Reichstag >
Day Two - No photos for this day; I visited the Pergamon Museum and the Alte Nationalgalerie, both of which were very interesting, especially the Pergamon Museum, where one can see, among many other items of interest, a reconstruction of part of the Ishtar Gate of Babylon.
< Day Three - At the Schloss Köpenick >
< Henriette in front of the chapel opposite from the Schloss Köpenick. >
< Day Four - Henriette and I went to the Berliner Zoo. The weather was great. Many of the animals, including this polar bear, were just chillin'. >
< On the wall with the rest of the primates. >
< Henriette >
< "I opened my eyes and looked into a face so ugly, that it could have come out of a nightmare." (from It's a Dog's Life, by J. R. Erickson) >
< In front of the famous Brandenburger Tor >
< Day Five - King Caleb at Sanssouci! (Henriette joked about this at the time of the photo) >
< Henriette and I stand in front of the vineyard below Sanssouci. >
< We didn't tour the inside of Sanssouci, but rather the Neues Palais. Here I am, inspecting my realm in front of the palace. >
< Interesting architecture, the Holländisches Viertel in Potsdam. >
< A "fairy-tale" gate, the actual name of which I do not know, Potsdam >
< Day Six - The trip home. Germanwings, the airline with which I flew, surprised me with their good service. I had not flown with a "budget airline" until my Berlin trip, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I would recommend them and gladly fly with them again. >
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