We are writing this blog post from the train from Berlin
Germany, to Munich Germany (home of Oktoberfest). The train we were meant to be
on was apparently broken so they have given us a replacement. By replacement
they actually mean – the train you were meant to get has 12 carriages and the
train you now have has 7. Hence we have been left standing for 2 hours in the
spot where the carriages connect like a bunch of sardines in a very snug can,
it seems we have a little more space than those sitting in the aisles on their
suitcases waiting for seats. Apparently the 100 Euros we spent buying the
ticket doesn’t actually guarantee us a seat. What is amazing is that the
Germans don’t seem fazed by standing around. We chatted to a few awesome guys
who said it’s not completely unusual, we explained that we had expected big
things from the world famous German Deutsche Bahn with incredible efficiency. We
also remarked that in Australia if this happened people would be outraged and
no one would be sitting on suitcases quietly. There was nothing we could do so
we waited 2 hours and finally some people got off and we got seats. Simon
grabbed a quick snap off me having a standing up chat to one of the great guys
we met.
Initial Impressions
We weren’t sure what to fully expect from Berlin given its
extensive recent history. We would come to learn over our days that Berlin has
been through a hell of a lot in the last century. Even 60 years after the war
and 20 after The Wall came down Berlin is still rebuilding with construction
everywhere. We would learn that 90 percent of Berlin was destroyed in WW2
bombing and most everything is maximum 60 years old or newer. The communist
influence in the east is obvious with the high rise social housing and the
architecture there. That said the effort that has gone into restoring Berlin to
its pre war prestige is impressive with 18th and early 19th
century building rebuilt in their original forms deceiving us completely. Additionally
we were reminded of how crap hostel showers are…
Day 1
We flew into what must be Berlins “B” airport, think the Tiger
airways terminal in Melbourne. Trying to figure out the trains was a nightmare
and the ticketing even worse. We lucked out on the kindness of a passer by
giving us their day tickets that they no longer needed and saved $10, and a big
headache. We only got slightly lost on our way to the hostel and checked into
our private room. It was private in that you couldn’t see you neighbours but
you could hear just about everything. We stepped out for a bite to eat and
found a charming and very genuine German restaurant where we both had weiner
schnitzel and beer for about $15. Delicious. So much so we returned there for
dinner the next day. You always know things will be good when you hear German
people in the restaurant and the waitresses speak little to no English.
Day 2
The weather was not on our side as we headed out to explore
Berlin properly. We bypassed the TV tower as it was so overcast and rainy you
couldn’t see the viewing platform. Deciding we have been lost too many times
and needed mobile data we searched out a prepaid SIM card, so we can use maps
on the go. We had a terrible customer service experience in a Harvey Norman clone
but got there in the end with the assistance of a friendly Android fluent
German in the hostel. Berlin take two was walking to the Brandenburg gate. We
took some shots in the rain before hiding out in a nearby Starbucks. Some guy
decided to stand right in my shot but I actually decided to work with his
intruding camera – I like the result.
We met an English guy who told us about a
free walking tour that started in 30 mins. So we headed off on a two and a half
hour tour around one of the most important areas and touching on the history of
Berlin from ca 1200 through to today. We were overwhelmed by the number of
Aussies who were in Berlin, all of them in our hostel and on the walking tour,
naturally everyone was there to head to Munich for Oktoberfest.
Some of the highlights of the tour were Pariser Platz, The
Brandenburg Gate, The Reichstag (parliament), Gendarmenmarkt, The Memorial to
the Murdered Jews of Europe, The Site of Hitler’s Former Bunker, The Berlin
Wall, The Former SS Headquarters, Checkpoint Charlie and Bebelplatz.
Hitlers bunker has been honoured with all the respect it
deserves by collapsing it in, building a carpark ontop of it, where people
drive all over it everday, people walk their dogs on it and the dogs do their
business on it. It was noted that they could not leave it empty or otherwise it
was a concern that neo-nazis would make it a shrine to Hitler. This is also why
Hitlers body was cremated and spread so that there is no burial place for the
people who may for whatever reason want to honour him. Babelplatz is where the
Nazi book burnings took place. This is remembered with a memorial with a glass
plate which below you can view empty book cases big enough to hold the 20,000
books which were burnt. Additionally there is a plaque which reads "Where
they burn books, they will in the end also burn people", what is eerie
about this quote is that it was written by Heinrich Hein in 1821 over 100 years
before the Nazis.
Given that 90% of Berlin was either damaged or destroyed by
the bombings in WW2 the buildings are mostly re-built. What is interesting is that
many of the statues were taken away to protect them, so you see buildings that
are still a light colour as they are new but they have dark statues or
ornaments because they are original. Also as you walk around you noticed where
bullet holes and shrapnel has been filled in.
After the tour we returned to some of the sites to take some
photos particularly at Gendarmenmarkt which some say is the most beautiful
square in Europe. Take note that this was entirely destroyed and has been rebuilt
to original form.
The weather finally cleared up somewhat and we got some
shots of the nearby Berliner-Dom but we were too tired after the massive day of
walking to head inside. We returned to the same restaurant for Curry-Wurst
which is a Berlin speciality which is essentially lightly battered sausage with
curry sauce. Delicious again!
Berlin has a famous pub crawl, which we heard could not be
missed, so we got dressed up and headed out. We went to 4 bars and a nightclub
seeing a variety of styles of bar and music. We ended up in a massive club in
the middle of Berlin with cage dancers, and hit the floor for a long overdue
dance along with the other hundred or so people on the floor, aint no such
thing as personal space. Absolutely awesome! Again the bulk of people along
were Australian so we made quick friends with the people around us as we moved from
place to place. A good night was had and we got into bed around 3.30am.
Day 3
Late start. We got up and then wandered up the round and
around the corner was some markets selling local food, produce, clothes etc. We
enjoyed a German sausage in bread, a baked kartoffel (potato) with possibly the
biggest filling you have ever seen, and this incredible gozleme like nothing we
have ever eaten. This along with a morning coffee helped us perk up, we needed
it. Amy was desperate to buy a pair of Birkenstocks in Germany, so we found a store
around the corner from the hotel and the prices were very good so Amy bought a
pair but we had the worst customer service we’ve ever had. Germany doesn’t do
customer service really it would seem. And if we thought the service here was
bad it only got worse trying to buy a train ticket.
With the sun shining and the rain seeming to hold off, we
headed to the TV tower for 360 degree views around Berlin from 203 metres high.
From our tour on our second day we were wanted to take time to
soak in the history at the Topography of Terror and to pay our respect to the
innocents murdered by the Nazis at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
The topography was a good way to see how the Nazis rose to power and answered
for Amy the question of how the Germans went along with Hitler. The topograhy is built over the former SS headquarters and is situated directly next to a portion of the Berlin Wall still standing.
The Memorial is
humbling and sobering. The photos in no way give enough scale to this place, it
is huge with 2172 blocks in total. The artist who designed it has never
answered what it represents because everyone experiences and perceives its
meaning differently. Some things that we thought it represented were it takes
away everything you know and are familiar with. You look around and one minute
you see someone and then you are alone. It is dark, lonely, and completely isolating.
It looks like tombstones which stretch so far that the eye can’t see all. The
blocks could be seen as people standing in the cattle cars waiting to die.
Whichever way you see it, you feel moved, even if you can’t quite put your
finger on it.
Day 4
It was another slow start, after some packed days. The goal
was to find a Drindle (traditional female German dress) before Oktoberfest. We
quickly checked that off the list and headed to the Berliner-dom. Again this
defining Berlin piece of architecture and key attraction was bombed and damaged
extremely badly, but it has been rebuilt. It is stunning, both outside and
inside. As we walked in the organ started playing, overwhelming our senses,
apparently it meant we made it just in time for the 15 minute afternoon service
(all in German of course). We made our way to the top for more panoramic views
but it was pretty miserable outside, but the rain made for a free exfoliation.
Lessons Learnt
- You will find genuinely amazing people everywhere if you just chat. We were blown away by the quality of people we had the pleasure of chatting to on the train, in the hostel, in cafes etc.
- Random acts of kindness really do make peoples day (free train tickets)
- Even when 90% of you has been broken and destroyed, it doesn’t mean you cant be rebuilt with a helping hand. Make sure you treasure the most valuable parts of you to make sure no one destroys them.
- Learn from the past, acknowledge the past and be accountable for your actions
- Buying train tickets and dealing with Deutsche Bahn is awful. Awful. No seriously, it is honestly AWFUL!
- If you don’t like someone build a carpark over their house
Parting Thoughts
Many people have said that they did not like Berlin, so we
were a little sceptical. Go there with a thirst for history and be prepared to
get a little uncomfortable and it will be good. Berlin is accountable, they are
not trying to bury what happened but rather ensure that they educate so it doesn’t
happen again. Berlin is not somewhere Simon and I would actively go back to,
this doesn’t take away that we enjoyed our time here and would recommend it to
others. Berlin is cheap – or maybe that’s just in comparison with Scandinavia.
Ensure you have a currywurst.
Danke Berlin, est ist gut, ja. Simon & Amy
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