Berlin
December 2018
I look forward to Berlin every time I’m due to travel there. As a city, it just suits me well. Rich in history, good value for money, unpretentious, and filled with attitude – Berlin is one of those ephemeral cities you just have to see for yourself.
Leaving Zagreb and Croatia, we caught a 4 hour flight to Berlin Tegel Airport. Jane & Pete elected to take the 13 hour scenic route via train. We argued enthusiastically about who made the better choice.
Staying in Kurfurstendamm (often shortened to K’damm) we were deep in West Berlin. If you aren’t familiar with the modern history of Berlin, as a result of the cold war, it (and the rest of Germany) was divided by the powers that be in to an allied West, and a communist East. As the cold war ratcheted up, tensions rose to the point that eventually the Berlin wall was erected by the Communist powers in 1961, completely surrounding West Berlin. Given that Berlin is geographically east, close to the Soviet Union, this meant that it was now effectively cut off from the rest of the world, which lead to the allies organising the so called Berlin Airlift to supply it. It is fascinating stuff which I suggest you look up. It’s rather easy to forget that the Berlin wall only fell in 1989 – this isn’t ancient history.
Since we got in well ahead of Pete & Jane, we decided to get out and see the town. Our first stop was Markthalle Neun – an undercover market with a focus on international food and craft beer. Catching the U-bahn across town to Kreuzberg, we grabbed a table and settled in. We had a delicious mix of Tibetan Momos & Swabian maultaschen, washed down with local beer from Heidenpeters brewery. Elle, not usually a fan of beer, even managed to down a few raddlers – beer mixed with lemonade. The whole place had a lovely, happy, and friendly vibe – I’d highly recommend anyone go if you have time and are looking for something a little more off-beat.
Walking across town, we then met Pete and Jane at Good Morning Vietnam. Those of you who were on Topdeck with me know what this place is about. I first ate here 7 years ago and have been missing their crispy red duck curry since. With the entire party starved of Asian flavours for quite some time, it was a fantastic change – we had a mix of fresh rolls, coconut curry, grilled meat, and noodles. Perhaps not a typical start to a trip to Berlin, but an excellent one.
Our next day began by meeting up with our friends Zivian and Tahlia to secure tickets for the Reichstag – since we were unable to book online. Our booking made for the afternoon, we walked through East Berlin and Checkpoint Charlie to have a quick breakfast, before stopping at the Topography of Terror.
The Topography of Terror is a blunt, horrific, and poignant museum devoted to the apparatus of terror that engulfed and controlled Nazi Germany. It effectively tells the story of the slow, maddening transformation of Weimar Germany in to the Third Reich, while telling deeply personal tales of both the victims and perpetrators. Particularly insightful, given modern politics, is the discussion of the use of language, fear, and the ‘other’, to sell political ideology. It was bleak, morbid, and resonant.
Our trip to the Topography of Terror was made more poignant by our visit to the nearby Memorial to The Murdered Jews of Europe. Perhaps the most striking memorial I’ve been to, and have repeatedly come back to, it consists of hundreds of unassuming concrete blocks built on to an undulating ground, with equal spaces left between them. The effect of the memorial is best experienced with others. If you enter with someone else, they quickly vanish. Sound seems to dissipate and you can't help but feel lost, disoriented, and alone. It is a brutal and effective way to convey a difficult to comprehend human experience – that of being a persecuted Jew in Europe during the pogroms of the 20th century.
In need of lunch, we turned to a German staple – the Turkish kebap. Turkish people had a significant role in reconstructing Germany after the war, leading to a great many Turkish immigrants. As a result, there is a great deal of exceptional Turkish food throughout Germany – the most obvious example of this is the humble kebap. Embraced and adapted to the German palate, a Turkish kebap in Germany often has an open cut roll, rather than pita, and additional red cabbage. Just go and get one with all the trimmings. Ziv and Tahlia were easy converts.
We then headed to the Reichstag for a brief, educational, and rewarding tour. Organised with strict German efficiency, we were all given automatic headsets which gave the history of the Reichstag and the German Republic. We admired the famous glass dome and the views of the Berlin Skyline. The tour is free, so I suggest you do it. Of particular interest is the collection of documents at the base of the dome, showing the gradual transformation of disparate German states to the German Empire, Weimar Republic, Third Reich, and modern Federal Republic of Germany.
Amy and I then parted ways with Zivian and Tahlia and made our way to Charité Hospital and Medical History Museum. Berlin was historically a centre of medicine, with Charité in particular being well-known for its contributions to science – notably those of Dr Koch, who discovered bacteriology and the vaccine for tuberculosis. All together kooky, the museum consists of a collection of specimens, instruments, oddities, and stories.
It was fascinating; however, I wouldn’t recommend it to just everyone. Perhaps my Allied Health colleagues only…
Meeting back up with Ziv, Tahlia, Jane, Pete, and Elle, we headed to Hofbrau Haus for dinner. Completely kitsch, but filled with great food, cold beer, and good cheer; it was fantastic - Always is.
We then wandered north, stopping by a number of pubs. We had craft beer at Kashk, cocktails at Crossroads, and more cocktails at Becketts Kopf, before stumbling back to a random Turkish restaurant for a sobering meat plate. East Berlin kept us busy until the wee hours of the morning.
Nursing a hangover and feeling poorly, Elle, Amy, and I resorted to the medicine of the Golden Arches. Revived, we walked on to the East Side Gallery – the largest free-standing part of the Berlin wall that remains. Running 1.3km and covered with mostly political artwork, it’s a wonderful tribute to what was and a reminder of what can be.
Next, we headed to the Pergamom Museum. In all honesty, I probably misread the play on this one, as I made the girls stand outside for well over an hour to see ancient Mesopotamian artefacts – they were not amused. How was I to know they wouldn’t really appreciate ancient Assyrian stelae? Jokes aside, the museum is phenomenal – but only if you like that sort of thing. If not, head over to the nearby Altes, Neues, or Bode Museums.
Stopping quickly for coffee and cake near Hackescher Markt, we then split up – the girls to go shopping and myself to explore.
Jumping on the U-Bahn, I checked out the gorgeous Gendarmenmarkt, walked the Tiergarten, and stood below the Victory Column – erected to commemorate the German victory of the Franco-Prussian war in 1871.
We all met up later that night for a simple Vietnamese dinner, before retiring to bed – all of us rather weary from travel and having enjoyed ourselves too much the night before.
Our time in Berlin moved all too fast.
Getting up early we made our way to Tegel Airport in record time – our next stop: Edinburgh. Only we didn’t, as upon getting to Tegel, Amy realised that she had uncharacteristically assumed the wrong airport. We were in the wrong place two hours before our flight. Yikes. Biting the bullet, we got a taxi and raced towards Schönefeld Airport with time to spare – a late bit of excitement.
I often feel the same leaving Berlin – Could I have done more? Maybe I should’ve booked one more day? I can always go back in a few months. There’s just so much going on – history, sport, food, drink, people, art, music, etc. I always want to go back the second I’ve left. Maybe I could live there for a year or two…
JC
"Deutschland, mein Herz in Flammen Will dich lieben und verdammen Deutschland, dein Atem kalt So jung, und doch so alt"
Till Lindemann
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