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1339--Der Berlin-Urlaub31 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: person63

My friend Dror, who I met in Hong Kong, spent two months in Berlin this summer to learn German. He learned I was in Finland and so the natural thing was to invite me down there for a short trip, since Finland really is harder to get to than Berlin. So I took off on Friday to visit him, and I am glad I did. My first night in was rather low-key because I arrived about 6PM on Friday, so we went out to dinner and then to have some drinks. They had 5€ white Russians that were excellent at a local café, so we made sure to enjoy one of those.

The next morning we woke up rather early because Dror's Goethe Institute was able to get a special tour for a group of people. We were able to actually tour the parliamentary part of Die Reichstag, rather than just taking an express lift to the roof of the building. The most interesting part about this building is that right when you enter you are met by graffiti-strewn hallways that are marked from the time when the United States and Russian forces were protecting the building. The government has decided to leave the graffiti up and incorporate it into the building, which is a rather interesting concept. The guide for this tour was excellent and was able to joke with every nationality (myself included, which was great because he was speaking to me in German even though I was not prepared for that) and also provided a very informative tour.

After the Reichstag Dror and I went to die Brandenburg Tur, which is used for many symbolic invasions of the city. At this gate there was a gathering for bicyclists for peace, which is a global bike ride for peace, and a man who would pass for a Santa Claus was giving a speech. While walking in the area around the arch, it become obvious that Berlin is an area that is very politically active and culturally aware. We saw groups protesting situations in the Middle East or the copyright laws. Actually the day before we got there, CNN had ran a story about the groups protesting in this area.

After die Brandenburg Tur, we went to the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral). Below the cathedral is the crypt, where the Kaisers are laid to rest. You can view their coffins and see the different members of the German royal family. One thing to really notice is that there was a lot of infant mortality in this family, which I attribute to inbreeding and also a lower standard of health than today. A wedding was occurring on the next level up, and we were able to watch part of the wedding in the beautiful and grand cathedral (see some of the pictures posted from the trip). However they did not take their time with the wedding and it was over before we knew it, probably because of how busy the cathedral is.

Anyone is able to go to the top of the cathedral and go outside on the roof top. From there we could hear people yelling, and then eventually saw a march. It was for Germany's Pirate Party, which is the party that calls for reform in copyright laws, because of the recent Pirate Bay ruling. After we made it back down, we met up with one of Dror's friends for lunch in a Turkish restaurant. There is a large Turkish immigrant population in the area around Dror's flat and in another neighborhood near where he lives. After the late lunch and some resting (watching movies, actually I took a nap, and catching up online), we went out again for the evening. This time a club nearby hosted a Turkish party, so we decided to go to that. It was a lot of fun because we were able to just dance and not get bothered by anyone, so it was kind of like when we went clubbing in Hong Kong, although maybe even a bit better because we were able to dance and have a good time.

The next morning we woke up late and headed over to one of the remaining parts of the Berlin Wall. Since this is really just a concrete structure that actually looks a little ugly, the city has allowed artists to claim plots and then paint on them. There were some nice pictures on the wall, and we took some photos next to these artworks. It is always hard to imagine the city divided because one can easily move between the east and wester Berlin districts today, but the reminders of the wall are throughout the city. Sometimes there will be a brick line that indicates where the wall used to be built, and other times there will still be one block of the wall still standing.

Afterwards we went to an art exhibition about Dali. My roommate from Estonia that I am living with this summer is obsessed with Dali, so I learned a lot about the guy—some good but even more bad. After seeing some of the works that my roommate showed me and hearing stories about how he was a womanizer made me a little uncertain, but this exhibition was extremely satisfying because it displayed many of his lesser known works that are not so scandalous. It showed many of his works that he did to illustrate famous works of fiction like Dante's Inferno or Alice in Wonderland.

After the exhibition we headed over to some of the memorials made for victims of the holocaust that are near the Brandenburg Tur. The one made in remembrance of the Jewish victims is very large but has a powerful effect since it is very simple as well. There are tall bricks that are about the same area as a coffin that are not of even height in relation to each other, and that is all you see until you go into the memorial and then you quickly sink down. It is a powerful message that one cannot forget.

Unfortunately we both had to draw my visit to an end because he has to study for a final German exam and I have to return to work in Finland. However I had a great time seeing an old friend from Hong Kong, and I got to practice German. Dror—I'm holding you to Tel Aviv one day and then Thailand another.

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