[21] Berlin

[21]

What do you do on your first day in Berlin? We took the city bus tour. We’ve never done that before, always "poo-pooing" the idea as too touristy. But Berlin isn’t like most cities. It didn’t start from a central core and spread out. Berlin is a conglomerate of several municipalities that were enticed into the larger metropolis over the centuries. The most recent being the Charlottenburg acquisition in 1920. This place is really spread out, with many "city centers." So, the bus tour. We picked the "Hop On-Hop Off" variety and hopped on for our two-hour tour. We sat on top, the better to see the vistas and dramatic monuments. Our bus was designed to be open on top, like a sardine can. But the weather was cloudy and threatening to rain, so a plastic top made to look like corrugated tin was lashed to the windows. No one over 5'4" could stand up straight. We got to our seats (Ralph crouching along the isle) and prepared to be dazzled. Each seat was equipped with a set of head phones connected to a black box. You simply clicked on the language of your choice and adjusted the volume. This went along swimmingly for about 35 minutes until the black boxes went haywire. My volume kept dropping and each time I raised it, my "tour guide" began speaking in Germany so I had to change the language. Sometimes, there was no sound at all for 10 minutes or so. What did we just pass? That building looks important; what is it? People moved from seat to seat but it was apparent that it was a bus-wide malfunction. Ralph gave up after awhile and hung up his head set. I hung on and managed to learn that the concrete columns I saw off to the left were the bottom of the Brandenburg Gate; the top was lost behind the bus roof. We would have "hopped off" sooner but the tour happened to go right by our hotel and we wanted a free ride back. I doubt we’ll be taking the city bus tour again. - It looked so promising. So that was day one - our 23^rd Anniversary.

This was the forbidden city when I was growing up - split in half by a concrete wall. It was beyond my comprehension. Now Germany is whole again and we’ve come to Berlin to see . . . what? Okay, the Brandenburg Gate (or Tor as it’s called here). The wall itself is all but gone, just. A brick line in the street marks the spot where it stood for 30 years. What’s left of that time? Oh, yes. Checkpoint Charlie. Indeed, the famous guard post on the Friedrichstrasse where soldiers from both sides in the cold war checked the credentials of every person passing between East and West Berlin. It’s still there and manned by "soldiers" from both sides who will gladly have their photo taken with you for a small price. You can also get your passport stamped "Checkpoint Charlie" There was a kind of gallery of history posted on a fence nearby and it was helpful to get the history straight with a chronological account of what happened in this city.

Down the street from the checkpoint is the Jewish Museum and as REB said, "It’s the strangest museum I’ve ever been in." It covered 2000 years of Jewish history on German soil. What was strange? Well, the building for one. It was designed by Daniel Libeskind who is an extreme architect to say the least. From the moment you enter you are put off guard. The ground floor is on a slant, so you are never quite sure of your footing. The windows are slashes in the walls; it’s difficult to get your bearings from any view. My stomach was queasy the whole time we were there. There is an outdoor section with 49 tall, concrete pillars filled with soi. The cobblestone ground it sits on is at a very severe slant. Very unnerving. I can’t begin to describe the exhibit because it was too extensive, but we both enjoyed it and developed a ground point for German-Jewish history as well as Jewish history in general.

Tuesday we did our laundry. Laundry day has yet to be perfected. We have to do laundry every seven to nine days. It’s always a different city so we always have to start from scratch explaining what we want (a drop off laundry that charges by the kilo) and where to find it. Then, of course, there is the always popular bus or tram ride to and from the laundry. (Preferable to just lugging the stuff through the streets.) The problem is that finding the location always involves a lot of walking and asking people on the street, to do this, we both pantomime washing our clothes to total strangers. When we find a place that looks like a possible, we have to make the deal then go back for the clothes. The easy part is picking up the clean items. By this time, we know the tram route to and from the hotel. But this still takes most of a day every week. As you can see, the plan needs work.

We also visited DeKaWe which is the largest department store I’ve ever been inside. It’s the European answer to Harrods and could very possibly set you up with anything you could imagine. We had lunch and I bought mascara.

Today, Wednesday, we bussed over to our favorite breakfast restaurant - Joe’s - where REB can get fried eggs, sausage, bacon and toast. Across from "Joe's" is the Kaiser-Wilhlem Church. It was all but destroyed in 1943 but they salvaged one bell tower; in 1963 a new octagonal church of blue glass and new bell tower were built. It's imposing both as a juxtaposition of styles and a reminder of the ravages of war.

 After that it was off to the Tiergarten, the large park that was the former royal hunting ground. We walked down to the Brandenburg Gate, had lunch and zipped by the Reichstag (the government house). A full day. Tomorrow is our last day in Berlin before leaving for Prague. We like it here; it’s metropolitan and friendly.

Love to all,

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