Berlin
Sandra and I took a weekend trip to Berlin via a 3 hour train. Flying was actually cheaper than train, but trains are more comfortable and the train stations are more centrally located in Nuremberg and Berlin than the airports are. Trains in Germany are freaking fast. It shows the instantaneous speed and we got up to 250 km/h, which is 150 mph and it feels super smooth. The Amtrak train between New York and DC probably does 80 mph and feels way bumpier. Even though the tickets were 160 euros each, our tickets were never checked on the train. I guess people just trust you'll buy our ticket, or the fines are expensive enough that no one risks it.
Berlin has had a tough history, although not nearly as bad as Poland. After being mostly destroyed in WWII thanks to Allied bombings, Berlin became divided between the Soviet Union in the East and Americans, British, and French in the West. The weird thing was that Berlin was a divided city, but it was entirely surrounded by East Germany (see map below). The Berlin Wall wasn't actually built for 16 more years in 1961. The Soviets saw Berlin as a perfect Petri dish to show the West that the communist model was the preferred social system. Putting up the wall in 1961 was an admission by the Soviets that people were choosing to leave the East to go to the West. The Wall remained up for 28 years until 1989 and Berlin was reunified in 1990.
Today, Berlin is a Mecca for hipsters. Everything is so cool and hipstery. There is also a grungy feel about Berlin with lots of graffiti and tons of people with tattoos and counter-cultural looks. Berlin does not feel like Germany the same was that Barcelona does not feel like Spain. I've realized that most of the stereotypes Americans have about Germans (beer, sausages, lederhosen, sauerkraut, Oktoberfest, etc.), are actually stereotypes about the south of Germany in Bavaria, not the rest of Germany.
Germans are not very creative with their building names. They built a Cathedral for the French and called it French Cathedral. Then they built one for themselves and called it German Cathedral. They have an old museum named Old Museum, and a new museum named .... you guessed it, New Museum. Here is the cleverly named Berlin Cathedral:
Brandenburg Gate. We saw this while on a guided bike tour, which I'd highly recommend as you get to see most of the principle sites with a decent explanation from a tour guide. It does feel a bit rushed, like "did I really see all those things today?" But since we had just a weekend to see Berlin, it made sense.
We got a bit addicted to bikes in Berlin because it's so bike friendly and the whole city is flat. It's just a much faster way to get around. Here is Sandra discovering the joys of an electric bike with pedal assist. We were on our way to Kronburg, which is like the Brooklyn of Berlin, which means it's a super artsy gentrifying part of the city that is quite diverse.
"Heeeeerrrreee's Jannnny, ja?"
Germans are very sober about their past with WWI and WWII. They do not try to sweep their history under the rug about the horrible things that happened. It is illegal to deny the Holocaust in Germany. After Hitler's death, they turned the bunker where he committed suicide into a parking lot and cremated and disposed of Hitler's ashes at an undisclosed location. This is similar to what the US did with Osama bin Laden's body, which was disposed of at sea. This way there is no final resting place for followers to pay homage. Berlin dedicated one full city block to a Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Yes, that is its name, not Holocaust Museum. It's very direct. The memorial has no descriptions or information, it's just 2000+ concrete blocks arranged in rows that gives a very isolating and eerie feeling as you walk through them. Ever corner is a blind corner and you have to be careful not to run into people coming from the sides.
Germany, like the rest of Europe, does have an emerging extreme right party called AfD (Alternatives for Germany). Today flying a German flag is considered a sign of holding extreme right beliefs, unless it is related to soccer.
The German Reichstag. This is the house of government. In the 1930's the Reichstag caught on fire when Hitler was chancellor. Hitler declared the fire an act of terrorism (not clear that it was) and asked for emergency war powers to deal with the terrorists. The powers were granted by the Congress, and well, the rest is history.
Berlin has a strong Turkish community. The tour guide thought it was weird that one of the main things I wanted to do in Berlin was eat Turkish food, but I was not disappointed. Here is an amazing Schwarma Teller.
Alexanderplatz. This tower was built in the 1960's as a show of East Berlin's technological prowess. Keep in mind that everyone in West Berlin could see the tower as well.
Most famous street mural in Berlin painted on the Berlin Wall. It based on a photograph of an East German and Soviet official doing the fraternal kiss. Wtf is the fraternal kiss? Well, apparently between Soviet leaders, they had a little special greeting that consisted of three kisses on alternating cheeks. BUT, if the two leaders knew each other well, they would kiss right on the lips instead.
Here's an example of Berlin being hipster AF. An iced lattee with a metal straw in a remodeled old home in a gentrifying neighborhood.
All the crosswalks have this green man instead of a regular walk sign. This little guy has ended up becoming one of the symbols of Berlin (especially East Berlin).
Berlin has had a tough history, although not nearly as bad as Poland. After being mostly destroyed in WWII thanks to Allied bombings, Berlin became divided between the Soviet Union in the East and Americans, British, and French in the West. The weird thing was that Berlin was a divided city, but it was entirely surrounded by East Germany (see map below). The Berlin Wall wasn't actually built for 16 more years in 1961. The Soviets saw Berlin as a perfect Petri dish to show the West that the communist model was the preferred social system. Putting up the wall in 1961 was an admission by the Soviets that people were choosing to leave the East to go to the West. The Wall remained up for 28 years until 1989 and Berlin was reunified in 1990.
Today, Berlin is a Mecca for hipsters. Everything is so cool and hipstery. There is also a grungy feel about Berlin with lots of graffiti and tons of people with tattoos and counter-cultural looks. Berlin does not feel like Germany the same was that Barcelona does not feel like Spain. I've realized that most of the stereotypes Americans have about Germans (beer, sausages, lederhosen, sauerkraut, Oktoberfest, etc.), are actually stereotypes about the south of Germany in Bavaria, not the rest of Germany.
Germans are not very creative with their building names. They built a Cathedral for the French and called it French Cathedral. Then they built one for themselves and called it German Cathedral. They have an old museum named Old Museum, and a new museum named .... you guessed it, New Museum. Here is the cleverly named Berlin Cathedral:
Brandenburg Gate. We saw this while on a guided bike tour, which I'd highly recommend as you get to see most of the principle sites with a decent explanation from a tour guide. It does feel a bit rushed, like "did I really see all those things today?" But since we had just a weekend to see Berlin, it made sense.
We got a bit addicted to bikes in Berlin because it's so bike friendly and the whole city is flat. It's just a much faster way to get around. Here is Sandra discovering the joys of an electric bike with pedal assist. We were on our way to Kronburg, which is like the Brooklyn of Berlin, which means it's a super artsy gentrifying part of the city that is quite diverse.
"Heeeeerrrreee's Jannnny, ja?"
Germany, like the rest of Europe, does have an emerging extreme right party called AfD (Alternatives for Germany). Today flying a German flag is considered a sign of holding extreme right beliefs, unless it is related to soccer.
The German Reichstag. This is the house of government. In the 1930's the Reichstag caught on fire when Hitler was chancellor. Hitler declared the fire an act of terrorism (not clear that it was) and asked for emergency war powers to deal with the terrorists. The powers were granted by the Congress, and well, the rest is history.
Berlin has a strong Turkish community. The tour guide thought it was weird that one of the main things I wanted to do in Berlin was eat Turkish food, but I was not disappointed. Here is an amazing Schwarma Teller.
Alexanderplatz. This tower was built in the 1960's as a show of East Berlin's technological prowess. Keep in mind that everyone in West Berlin could see the tower as well.
Most famous street mural in Berlin painted on the Berlin Wall. It based on a photograph of an East German and Soviet official doing the fraternal kiss. Wtf is the fraternal kiss? Well, apparently between Soviet leaders, they had a little special greeting that consisted of three kisses on alternating cheeks. BUT, if the two leaders knew each other well, they would kiss right on the lips instead.
Here's an example of Berlin being hipster AF. An iced lattee with a metal straw in a remodeled old home in a gentrifying neighborhood.
All the crosswalks have this green man instead of a regular walk sign. This little guy has ended up becoming one of the symbols of Berlin (especially East Berlin).
Berlin felt like a very livable city. All of the parks and street restaurants were crowded with people. I imagine it's not quite as nice in the winter, but in the summer everyone was outside sitting in the grass drinking beer and vaping. They say that Berlin is "poor but sexy". Gentrification is definitely an issue just as it is in San Francisco, New York, and Washington DC. None of the sites in Berlin are really that famous other than the Berlin Wall, especially when you compare it to London or Paris. For me, I just enjoyed biking around and seeing how people live their life and eating good food.
The US Department of State has just reissued a travel security alert about Germany for potential terrorist activity. The good news is that I only have to avoid "tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas."
No problem!
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