Just two weekends ago, my French and Greek friend and I decided that it was time to head to the excellent Jewish Museum here in Berlin. During our marathon 4-hour visit, we learned thousands of years of Jewish history, with a particular focus on the Holocaust. What made me particularly happy was that the modern architecture was stark but impressive, and thus made for some nice photos.
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Blue skies have become a bit of a rarity these days
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| We'll get a closer look at those pillars soon |
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| A hall with artifacts from Holocaust victims and survivors |
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| This empty 24-meter-high room is called the Holocaust Tower, which is lit only by natural light coming in through that slit. It's interpreted as a commemorative space for the victims of the Holocaust |
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| This is the Garden of Exile, where 49 cement columns stand on a sloping plot of ground. The monument reflects the plight of exiled Jews, who escaped from Germany and survived but then had to reorient themselves in a new foreign country. Sometimes they would have trouble gaining a foothold - hence the sloped ground and cobblestones in the monument, which make it difficult to walk |
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| This installation resembles the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which I first saw here, but that memorial doesn't serve as well as a commemorative space - it's immediately adjacent to Berlin's busiest and noisiest intersection. It can also be entered and exited from all sides, which isn't exactly an accurate metaphor for the Jews' plight during the Holocaust |
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| Back inside the museum, we learned that architect Daniel Libeskind intentionally created empty spaces in several parts of the building in order to reflect the absence of Jews from German society. This void features a work by an Israeli artist on the floor. Titled "Falling Leaves," the piece consists of 10,000 sculpted faces that honor innocent victims of war and violence |
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| In a happier room, we were able to climb in and around a tree where one could post wishes using those red slips of paper |
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| Finding an apartment in Berlin is extremely hard, as tens of thousands of people move here annually but hardly any apartments are being built. There's a whole application and interview process involved to even secure a room. Unfortunately, our Greek friend needs to find a room or apartment in the next few months for when her current lease expires. Thus, our wish: "We wish that Maria won't become homeless." And for good measure, on the backside, we added, "Right, and peace for all!" |
Hours later, we emerged as newly minted experts on Jewish history. Hopefully those wishes come true!
And now, an exciting new feature for the blog:
This is a map of where I've been during my program year. Not only does it serve as a neat way of tracking where I've been, but now my posts are sorted geographically - so click on any city, and my post(s) about that city will pop up! I look forward to adding more and more markers as the year goes on. This map can be accessed by clicking "Travel Map" in the ribbon at the top of every page on this blog.
Speaking of travel, I'm off to Austria for a bit! Auf Wiedersehen!
