A Weekend in Berlin

June 24, 2018

Berlin is a unique city. I would definitely recommend taking a guided tour that way you can completely understand the history behind the amazing buildings and structures. We took a four hour walking tour... that ended but being more like five hours BUT it was really amazing.

First, Lunch!

We found a little hole in the wall pizza and pasta shop with amazing pizza. We couldn't read the menus but hey you can't really go wrong with pizza.

During the walking tour we got to see some really amazing parts of Berlin but what was even cooler was learner the stories behind them and why they are so significant. For example, this large pointy building was built by the soviets like a big middle finger to West Berlin. It was built during the space race (that is why is looks so much like sputnik). The buildings existence is ironic for two reasons- first, when the light reflects off of it, the light creates the shape of a cross. The soviets had outlawed religion so people called the tower the "Popes Revenge". Metal cones were added to the outside and the inside was painted black but nothing stopped the cross-like reflection. The soviets claimed it was not a cross but instead a giant "plus sign" to symbolize communist inclusion but we all know the truth. It was also finished at the same that the Americans landed on the moon, so it stood as a giant satellite-looking testament to their defeat in the great space race.

Kathe Kollwitze has an amazing story. The monument in Berlin that stands in memory of her is truly breathtaking. If you're curious, here is a link that explains the significance of her life and the impact she had to art and German culture.

The memorial of the Berlin book burning during WWII is a clear glass window that pears into an underground room filled with empty white book cases. It stands right across the street from the Berlin University where brilliant minds such as Einstein have spent time researching and teaching.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe chilled me to my core. The artist did not carefully outline the meaning behind the odd arrangement of concrete varying concrete blocks. It is left up to viewers interpretation. As I walked through the pillars an odd anxiety took hold. I am not one who is usually claustrophobic but there was something about this place that messes with your head. People appear and disappear without warning. You are left alone, confused, and disorientated- emotions that would have been experienced by the Jews throughout Europe during WWII. It is something you have to walk through to really appreciate the significance of.

Ampelmännchen (Ampelman) is a big deal in Berlin and throughout former East Germany. He's on street lights, he has his own comics and TV shows. He's basically a celebrity. Check him out!