Berlin!

Taylor and I in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
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Everyone was extremely excited to arrive in Berlin after a long 6 hour train ride… which most people actually used to catch up on sleep from the first week of classes (it was so long, a whole 3 days of actual schoolwork lol). Arriving in the hauptbahnhof (train station), I kept thinking about how our EU Seminar professor told us how during reunification, the city of Berlin was built up to accommodate for the surge of prosperity that was expected to occur. He had told us that there would be many open spaces that just seemed empty because there simply aren’t enough people living in Berlin to fill them up. Immediately when we left the train station and walked out onto Alexanderplatz I noticed how empty it seemed. There was a huge paved square with stores in the bottom floors of the buildings surrounding it, but just a few people walking around in it. From that moment, I perceived a difference in Berlin from any other city I have ever been to.

Me in front of the Reichstag!
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Later that night when we did a walking tour in the freezing rain, I realized that the difference about Berlin was that the city itself still seems to be struggling against the weight of its history. With Western Berlin, the door to the western world, so close, the city and its people have been working so hard to catch up. Socially, I’m would guess by now there is only a little difference between the people of the East and West, but regarding architecture and infrastructure, buildings on nearly every block were undergoing restoration or construction. This seemed to be a constant reminder that the city is still striving to overcome its dark period in history that ended not so long ago at all. New construction was juxtaposed against a few preserved relics, such as the Kaiser Wilhem Memorial Church which was bombed during the war and preserved in its destroyed state, and new monuments to remember the war, specifically the holocaust memorial, both of which I have uploaded pictures. The contrast in architecture symbolized the transition that Berlin faces today, as large city in size, rich with history, still aspiring to reach its full potential as a prosperous and lively city.

I wanna dance with somebody!! With somebody who loves me! - Whitney Houston

Taylor and me trying to keep warm before our meeting in the Reichstag.
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During our walking tour, our tour guide offered us several interesting and sometimes chilling tidbits of information. While craning our necks to look up at the gold goddess and chariot on top of the Bradenburg Gate, it was extremely difficult to comprehend that exactly 75 years before, a parade marched through the very square we were standing in, celebrating Hitler being named Chancellor. While we were walking down a street lined with nice apartments, our guide stopped us and told us that we were standing directly above the chamber of Hitler’s underground bunker where he committed suicide. It was so strange to try to imagine what condition the city above him was in and how different it was from today.

the Kaiser Wilhem Memorial Church
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Our only full day in Berlin, Thursday, we had meetings with two different people. The first was a young man, Moritz Jahke, a Consultant of the German Foreign Ministry, who gave us an outline of Germany’s involvement and place within the EU as well as its position on some of the current issues, such as ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which is proposing structural and procedural reform for the EU. He also brought up other interesting issues, such as the link between Turkey and Croatia’s accession negotiations. It was especially interesting to learn how intertwined the processes must become because of being “fair” to each country and the accession process for becoming a member of the EU. Croatia’s accession negotiations are taking much longer than they would have, had it not had a tie and applied at the same time as Turkey, who’s accession negotiations are much more complicated than Croatia’s. Because the two countries applied at the same time, the current EU member states are dwelling and intensifying Croatia’s negotiations, so the EU doesn’t seem to be too easy on Croatia,

Berliner Dom. It was also the official cathedral of the Prussian Hohenzollern royal family. It was damaged by Allied bombs during the second World War, and took nearly 20 years to repair. The resulting building isn't as tall as the original, but it certainly remains an impressive and worthy structure.
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I was even more impressed with Markus Loning, the Free Democratic Party Member of the Bundestag (the German Parliament which is in the Reichstag building). I was intrigued not only by his presentation but also by the way he presented himself. Working with an international affairs organization in Washington D.C., I have attended many meetings with members of government, Foreign Service, and other high ranking officials, and I have never been in the presence of a speaker seeming as relaxed and sincere as Loning. It was refreshing and flattering to know, or to believe, that this government official would give his honest opinion and not strictly adhere to a rigid protocol. I was particularly intrigued on his opinion about the Iraq war and also his microanalysis of United States Foreign policy. I completely agreed with Loning when he stated that Bush made a mistake when not talking to Iran before the Iraq war, because Iran shares similar sentiments about Iraq.

Our meeting room in the wing of the Reichstag for the Free Democratic Party.
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I also thought it was interesting how Loning mentioned how US foreign policy strives to maintain a divided Europe. After learning about Russia’s relationship with the different Baltic States in Tallinn, I realized how similar Russia and the United State’s foreign policy strategies. Russia employs this strategy by choosing a Baltic state to favor and one to condemn and switching this relationship every now and then. I began to understand that this strategy enables both superpowers to maintain manipulative power over certain the respective regions.

Dome on top of the Reichstag.
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Unofficially, I enjoyed Berlin very much and I was very disappointed that we only got to spend a day and a half there, but we were constrained by the EasyJet flight schedules, which are extremely cheap but have tight schedules. We went out Thursday night after dinner to a club called AM PM and had a TON of fun just dancing, while the Germans made fun of our awesome dance moves :) The quote for this blog is from a Whitney Houston song that the club played a House remix of, and that we couldn't get out of our heads for the rest of the trip. Right around midnight, they played Spice Girls' "Spice up your Life" twice in a row, which I thought was a pretty nice way to start off my birthday! Friday morning, (my birthday morning!) we packed up and left for the Berlin airport, where we headed off to conquer Talinn, Estonia next!

The Holocaust Memorial. The museum is underneath this square block of stones.
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Here's a little bit about the places we saw, there will be pictures of them attached to this blog as well.

• Brandenburg Gate. Originally built in 1700's by the Prussian authorities as the western gate of Berlin, it was the first neoclassical building in the city. It is modeled after the ceremonial entrance to the Acropolis ("Propylaea") in Athens, Greece. The statue of the Goddess of Peace on top became a symbol for the German victory over France in 1814. The gate then became a symbol of the Third Reich when the Nazis reached power. Seriously damaged during WWII, East Berlin restored the gate, while West Berlin recast the Quadriga from its original molds. 13 August, 1961 the gate then became a symbol of East German soldiers starting to build the Berlin Wall. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) removed the Prussian eagle and cross from the Quadriga
• Reichstag. When Germany became a republic in 1919 however, this building was at the center of activity. Adolph Hitler dissolved the German parliament in 1933. The Reichstag was burned resulting from protests in 1933. Hitler blamed the communists, and this helped the Nazi party win a majority in the elections. It later turned out that the burning of the Reichstag was the work of a lone arsonist. It was not until 1956 that the German government decided to re-build the Reichstag. In 1964 parts of the Reichstag re-opened for party functions, but parliament continued to meet in Bonn. On 4 October, 1990 - A unified German parliament meets in the Reichstag for the first time in 57 years.
• Berliner Dom. It was also the official cathedral of the Prussian Hohenzollern royal family. It was damaged by Allied bombs during the second World War, and took nearly 20 years to repair. The resulting building isn't as tall as the original, but it certainly remains an impressive and worthy structure.
• Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is one of Berlin's most famous landmarks. The damaged tower is a symbol of Berlin's resolve to rebuild the city after the war and a constant reminder of the destruction of war.
• The Holocaust Memorial The Holocaust Memorial, officially named the Monument to the Murdered Jews in Europe. The plan was first proposed in 1988 but the design for the monument wasn’t approved until 1999. The memorial made up of 2,711 gray stone slabs that bear no markings, such as names or dates. The slabs undulate in a wave-like pattern. Each is a five-sided monolith, individually unique in shape and size. Some are only ankle high while others tower over visitors. Eisenman hoped to create a feeling of groundlessness and instability; a sense of disorientation. Most will agree that he succeeded.