Travel with Manfred

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Copyright © 1996 by Manfred P.. All rights reserved.

Dec 22, 1996

Did You Read the Writings on the Wall?

Berlin at Christmas

by

Manfred P.

Keywords: Germany, Berlin, Potsdam, Russian Embassy, Kreuzberg, the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, Christmas markets, Castle Sans Souci, Kurfürstendamm, Gedächtniskirche, Memorial Church, tourist, travel trip report, travel log, travelogue.

"One day we will be together." That's the graffiti writing on the Wall. I must be more entrenched in German culture than I ever thought I am. Why? Because that spray painted sentence meant something to me. It caused an emotional stir. I was literally moved close to tears. Maybe I am too sentimental or too sensitive, although I doubt that. It has to do with comprehending the context and the true meaning of that phrase. It's weird. I never lived in Berlin, I am not a German, and I don't have patriotic or nationalistic feelings. Nonetheless, I think I understand the pain and all the hope that went with these words.

The temperatures were freezing. Must have been the coldest days in Berlin so far this year. -7 Celsius (18 F). However, I felt warm. The cold outside was counterbalanced by the warmth of the spirit of the Christmas Season and the cozy feelings of the city. Christmas time turned out to be a good time to visit. The city was pretty much void of crowds. Little traffic, few guests in the hotel, available parking spots, etc.

History is everywhere, densely packed. Most of the history, however, is painful, bad memories of ill times and injustice. The boulevards are as wide as in any capital. The monuments are mostly of classical or neo-classical architecture. Most things are duplicated: 2 TV towers, two operas, and so on. The building causing the biggest impression was the Brandenburg Gate. Not because it so big or so beautiful (it is neither) but it is the climax of driving down the Strasse des 17. Juni for miles and miles. The expectation is building up and up. It is well lit at night and visible already from a mile away. The Strasse des 17. Juni is most likely the best known boulevard of former West Berlin. The East Berlin equivalent is the Unter den Linden Boulevard which is the extension of 17. Juni. Talking about the famous roads. The third well known is the Kurfuerstendamm, or Ku'damm for short; a string or upscale shops several miles long. It ends in the east at the Zoo and the Gedaechtnis Kirche, the Memorial Church. The bombed leftovers from W.W.II are a reminder to the darker side of history. The ruins are complemented by a modern small church, hexagonal in shape, with glass windows by Marc Chagall.

Berlin is a city in change. A city reinventing itself. Certain a city rebuilding itself. Potsdamer Platz is Europe's largest construction site. The world's industrial players have chosen it as their European headquarters. Among them Sony and Mercedes. Not to mention the German government. Millions of Deutschmark are illegally changing hands at these construction sites. A forest of cranes is turning the large whole at Potsdamer Platz into a surreal image. But this is just one out of many places of construction.

The Wall is gone and a lot of East Berlin has disappeared too. The city only has a few places left where junks of the Wall are still in existence. It was called the eight world wonder. Over the last years it has been sold off to tourists rock by rock, in small little quantities. One of the few places where the Wall has been kept as a reminder is near Checkpoint Charlie. The checkpoint with its watchtower from where 80 murders have been watched is gone too. Surprisingly, I beat the Wall in longevity. The Wall was up from 1961 till 1989. 29 long years. It has taken a deadly toll, I think around 250 people. Crosses are visible in several places throughout the city. The Wall and the Todeszone, the strip of land in East Berlin that was off-limit to everybody and which was defended by border patrols with armed response, have vanished, replaced by new shops, homes and business buildings. One of the last reminders is the Checkpoint Charlie Museum.

East Berlin isn't the same anymore either. The Trabis have gone, switched for Volkswagen and Opel. The brown apartment buildings have occasionally made room for small malls. Although many of them still remain, a lot of them are in rather bad shape. The best looking building in all of former East Berlin is the Russian Embassy at Unter den Linden. Newly renovated is sparkles with lots of gold and fresh paint.

From the Nazis there aren't any buildings left. The Olympic Stadium is an exception. It has the expected architecture: monumental, simple and classic in style. The roads nearby rekindle memories. The one right at the entrance is called Jesse Owens Blvd. after the sprinter who destroyed the national hope of an Aryan victory. The one leading to the stadium Reichssportanlage, 'Reich's sporting complex'. In the vicinity of the stadium is the 'Bel Air' of Berlin. Big old houses with Porsche 911s parked in front is the rule here.

Berlin is not the only place full of history. Potsdam, a weekend getaway place for Berliners for centuries, has more history than I can digest in a weekend. Between Berlin and Potsdam is the Wannsee with the longest sand beach of any European lake. Around it are a whole bunch of smaller lakes. Cecilienhof Castle is situated on one, frozen by now. Sans Souci is the creation of nobility with too much money at hand. Playful little gardens, a grotto, a windmill, a little joy house here, a little wing of a castle there, etc. Sans Souci, "No Worries", indicates the live style. They certainly didn't have any financial worries.

Berlin is an emotional experience for many, surely it was one for me. The Wall is mystic and still incomprehensible. Both parts, the construction as well as the destruction. Strangely, I didn't feel a bit like a tourist but like I am home here. I wonder if I will feel the same after it has emerged again as the new capital of Germany, with a new face, and a new attitude.