Postcards From Far Away: September 2012

I have been to a number of cities in Germany, but have always been intrigued by Berlin and its eventful history. A friend back from my university days, Mandi, lives there and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to combine a long weekend seeing a new place with catching up with someone I haven't seen in over ten years. After adding up the costs, we decided driving would be the most economical. Ryan estimated a six hour drive - it's the Autobahn afterall - but it ended up taking us over seven with the amount of traffic and slow downs due to heavy amounts of construction. We did get up to120 mph though as BMWs and fancy Mercedes flew past!

Once we arrived, I knew immediately that I was going to love this city. We rented a cute apartment in the eastern part of Berlin, which is known for its bohemian, artsy feel. We parked the car (free street parking - undheard of in Holland), threw down our bags, and went out into the warm evening to explore our new surroundings. A street in our neighborhood was lined with bars and restaurants, and we found a nice place to sit outside and people watch while enjoying a proper half-liter sized German weiss bier. Ryan was in heaven!

Berlin is enormous; much larger than I realized. In traditional Taylor style, we like to take in as much as we possibly can when visiting a new place. This means walking miles upon miles (or kilometres over here). The next morning we made our way through the sheets of pouring rain and hopped on the S-Bahn to the Reichstag, which was on the top of my list. After being given clearance inside, we climbed the glass dome that offered an amazing 360-degree view of the city below. If you know your history, the Reichstag was set on fire in 1933 and was heavily damaged during WWII air raids. The dome was reconstructed in all glass to represent the transparency of government after the reunification of Germany in 1990.

After grabbing a fresh, homemade pretzel, we walked to the famous Brandenburg Gate. Although I was quite young, I still remember Reagan's visit to West Berlin in 1987 where he delivered his famous speech with the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall behind him telling Mikhail Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall!" To me this gate is a symbol of freedom. As I walked through the enormous gate I wondered what it must have been like with a wall that literally cut the city in half.

Nearby is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It is a maze of stone slabs that seem to stretch out endlessly. As we entered the maze, the slabs grew taller, the only light streaming from the sun above. Although the architect stated there was no symbolism to his design, I felt like I was amidst thousands of tombstones. In the information center beneath are the names of all known Jews who died in the Holocaust.

We then followed the double bricks through the city which replicate where the Berlin Wall stood. The bricks twisted and turned through the city, until we found ourselves at Potsdamer Platz where remnants of the former Berlin Wall were on display. We had a few hours before our dinner plans, so we crossed the city (yes more walking!) and took in the Jewish History Museum. If you ever make it to Berlin, I highly recommend that you visit this musuem. It gives an extremely comprehensive overview of Jewish-German history and the architectural design of the building is phenomenal. My favourite was the Garden of Exile where wild olive trees grew out of stone pillars.

After enjoying dinner at a cozy restaurant with Mandi and her boyfriend, we headed over to a beer festival where we sampled some fantastic German beers. What a city with so much history. I couldn't roll it all into one post so Part II is coming...