They say all good things must come to an end - and seeing as my year in Germany was a very good thing, it most definitely was coming to an end back in May and June 2015. At this point, my return from Europe may have been many months and a few vacations ago, but I am still determined to let one particular good thing NOT come to an end - this blog!
After a trip to Krakow, Poland, I found my time in Berlin rapidly coming to a close. But that didn't keep me from heading out and making some more memories in my adopted city before having to bid it farewell.
My first stop: Karneval der Kulturen (Carnival of Cultures) in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, an annual celebration of Berlin's cultural diversity. At no other place and no other time is the principle of "multikulti" - multiculturalism - better on display in Berlin. After browsing market stands that featured food and goods from every continent (and coincidentally running into my host sister), we joined 500,000 others and looked on as representatives from a wide range of nationalities put on an engaging parade that featured everything from the Brazilian samba to a Chinese lion dance.
But what would a gathering of Germans be without a smattering of social activism? Berlin is a rapidly growing city, and Berliners are definitely experiencing some growing pains - specifically in the form of gentrification and skyrocketing rent prices. So true to form, there was a float dedicated to bringing attention to housing issues.
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| The signs read "Berlin is selling out," "Creativity needs space," and similar phrases |
Germany has a lot of official national holidays that relate to Christianity. The day after the carnival was one of them, as it was the first work day after Pentecost (a Christian holiday marking the 50th day after Easter). What's the best way, we thought to ourselves, to mark a religious holiday that got us a day off from work... obviously, going out and drinking! And if there's one thing that millennials like just as much as avocado toast, it's a rooftop bar. That's how we found ourselves imbibing outdoors on a mild, sunny Monday afternoon with a perfect view of Berlin's Television Tower.
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| One of my favorite Germans, Julia |
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| My good American friend and frequent travel buddy, Sarah |
Days passed, and I made a concerted effort to photograph any last landmarks I had been meaning to visit. So when I found myself deep in the heart of East Berlin, in Prenzlauer Berg, I made a brief stop at formidable Communist monument, one of the very few still left standing in the city.
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| This friendly-looking fellow is Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944), a Communist party leader who was arrested, imprisoned in solitary confinement for 11 years, and murdered during Adolf Hitler's rule |
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| In 1986, in honor of Berlin's 750th anniversary, the German Democratic Republic (more commonly referred to as the very undemocratic, communist East Germany) erected this memorial, a 46-foot-tall bronze statue carved by a Soviet sculptor named Lev Kerbel. The park is fairly austere, and the style of the bust unmistakably Soviet |
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| Small German biker for scale |
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| Another nearby memorial. This one is the Denkmal des polnischen Soldaten und deutschen Antifaschisten (say that 5 times fast), or The Memorial to Polish Soldiers and German Anti-Fascists. The text reads "For your freedom and ours," as it was originally dedicated to the Polish soldiers who died fighting the Nazis in World War II. But once East Germany was history, the monument was rededicated to the German resistance movements that fought against the Third Reich, as well as to all other victims of Nazi rule, even though its design and inscription remain the same |
A few weeks later, all CBYX participants in Germany descended upon Berlin to take part in a year-end seminar and debriefing for a few days. The highlight of the program? A visit to the Bundeskanzleramt, or German Chancellery! Basically, if the Reichstag (which, of course, I've visited multiple times) is the U.S. Capitol, then the German Chancellery is the White House! It's Mutti Merkel's home base, although she doesn't actually live in there (I photographed where she does actually live though - keep scrolling). It's also way more high-security and less accessible to the public than the Reichstag, so we were truly lucky to be able to stop by.
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| A reminder of what the Reichstag looks like. Before our exciting tour of the Chancellery that day, our group made a stop by the Reichstag and watched the Bundestag, the German Parliament, hard at work for a bit. After seeing some gripping debate about IT security (the Bundestag's computer structure had recently been attacked by hackers), we moved into another room, where America's Ambassador to Germany, the President of the Bundestag (who would be Germany's equivalent of Senator Mitch McConnell), and a few other parliamentarians spoke to us and answered our questions about German politics |
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| Then it was on to the good stuff. We went through some stringent security screenings and entered the hallowed halls of the Chancellery. Here, a view from one of the balconies towards the Reichstag. If you're wondering why there are no other buildings between the Chancellery and the Reichstag, it's because Adolf Hitler's main architect, Albert Speer, tore down what was there in preparations to build a grand new hall dedicated to Hitler, though it never materialized |
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| Another look towards the Reichstag. The plaza in the foreground, underneath the flags and in front of the fence that keeps the public at bay, is where Angela Merkel receives foreign dignitaries and heads of state. The visitor's flag is hoisted upon the third flagpole on the left |
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| Group photo in front of the podium where Merkel and her associates give press conferences from within the Chancellery |
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| Another view towards the Reichstag from within the Chancellery |
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| More CBYXers dressed to impress and excited to see the internal workings of the German government's executive office |
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| The EU flag normally accompanies any German flags on display around the country |
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| Part of our exclusive tour was a visit to the top floor of the Chancellery, where Angela has a commanding view of the Tiergarten Park and, off in the distance, Potsdamer Platz |
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| The motto on the front of the Reichstag is visible from much of the Chancellery, including Merkel's office, and that's no accident - it reads "Dem Deutschen Volke," or "To the German People", so it reminds the Chancellor of the democratic nature of the German republic |
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| Also on the top floor: a meeting room reserved for super-high-level gatherings of all of Mrs. Merkel's cabinet ministers. Each seat is assigned. These chairs are reserved for Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Chief of Staff Peter Altmaier |
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| Extraordinarily weighty and consequential decisions affecting all of Deutschland are made at this table |
As if seeing Merkel's stomping grounds up close and personal wasn't exhilirating enough, there was one more incredibly exciting development in store for us: the FRAU DOKTOR KANZLERIN was going to speak to us, LIVE AND IN PERSON! I already revealed this in an earlier post, but it bears repeating since it was such a unique experience.
We all lined up on the main staircase and awaited Merkel's arrival in nervous anticipation. Finally, she rounded the corner and we erupted into thunderous applause and enthusiastic cheering! She was clearly taken aback - not all Germans would be so excited to see her, and even those who were would express their support in a much more reserved manner. A mass of wildly, raucously cheering Americans was a bit of a shock for her.
After remarking that we seemed to be in an extraordinarily good mood, she spoke in German to us for a few minutes about the importance of our program and expressed her support for our mission. She declared herself a big fan of the CBYX program and signed off with a few words in English (which she only very rarely speaks in public) about how Germany has clearly been an inspiration to us. It was so kind of her to stop by. She's up for reelection in a few weeks, though - go Merkel!
Following that thoroughly action-packed day, a night out at a karaoke bar, and one more half-day of programs, our year-end seminar came to a close. I took advantage of the free time and headed with a friend to the Berliner Unterwelten ("Subterranean Berlin"), an underground museum that offers tours of a former bomb shelter built during World War II. You could imagine my dismay when I found out upon our arrival that pictures inside were not allowed. You'll have to take our word for it - it was a fascinating tour, and we saw everything from the nondescript, secret entrance to the bunker in a modern U-Bahn station to paint originally applied to the rooms' walls in the 1940s that STILL has the ability to glow in the dark. Eerie!
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| They couldn't stop me from taking the above shot of the air raid bunkers, though. This aboveground section of the bunker, which also doubled as a flak tower, juts out of a hill and into Humboldthain Park |
My friend and I parted ways, and despite the menacing gray skies I set off for more former Soviet memorials in East Berlin I that I had been meaning to photograph. My destination was Treptower Park, which hosts the enormous Soviet War Memorial and cemetery. This complex was erected in 1949 to honor the 7,000 Soviet soldiers who died during the Battle of Berlin in 1945.
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| A kneeling Soviet soldier |
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| The large stone sarcophagi lining the sides of the memorial each represent one of the 16 Soviet republics. The park is the final resting place of some 5,000 Soviet soldiers |
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| This massive, massive feature (see the people resting at the statue's base for scale) is the central focus of the memorial. It depicts a 40-foot-tall Soviet soldier holding a sword and a German child, standing over a broken swastika. The Soviet army claimed the statue is based on the heroism of a real-life Soviet soldier, Nikolai Masalov. They said Masalov risked his life during the final storm on the center of Berlin by braving heavy German machine gun fire to rescue a three-year-old German girl whose mother had disappeared |
I think the cloud cover wound up providing the perfect backdrop for such a foreboding and strange setting. With that, my appetite for photographing former Soviet memorials in Berlin was satiated.
But June 14th was a much sunnier day, and my German friend Julia and I took advantage of it. We did some hiking in Berlin's outer parks, and then headed to Potsdam to escape the hustle and bustle of Berlin life and enjoy the small-town vibes.
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| Julia had never been to the Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island), so I took it upon myself to show her around. After all, I was a Peacock Island expert on account of my earlier visit. Unsurprisingly, we saw peacocks |
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| Schloss Pfaueninsel, built in 1792 by the Prussian king so he could frolic around with his mistress here (it's ok, his wife cheated on him back) |
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| We also passed by the Wannsee Mansion (Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz). Its magnificent facade and serene surroundings belie a dark past - it was here that a group of high-ranking Nazi officials met in 1942 to organize and implement the Final Solution |
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Then we headed on to a train and out to Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg (which surrounds Berlin). This is the Dutch Quarter (Holländisches Viertel), a famous neighborhood consisting of 169 red, Dutch-style brick buildings that were first built in the middle of the 18th century. They served as living quarters for King Frederick William I's soldiers
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| St. Nikolas' Church, a Lutheran church built in 1837. Like so many other structures, it was heavily damaged in WWII (and was only rebuilt in 1981) |
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| Potsdam's Old Market Square (Alter Markt), with the 18th-century City Palace in the background |
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| The Nauen Gate used to be part of Potsdam's city wall back in the 1700s. Potsdam's city wall, though, wasn't used to keep enemies out - it was to keep soldiers in, so they couldn't desert their post |
A week later, fully conscious I had just days left in Berlin, I headed out into the city in the afternoon for one last solo photo tour of the city's core.
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| Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom), which I wrote more about here |
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| All throughout the year, I had seen a shot of the Bode Museum on Berlin's Museum Island from this vantage point, and I was inspired to find it and get a shot of my own. I found the perfect spot - I would return at dusk |
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| Altes Museum (Old Museum), built in 1830 |
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| Fun fact - though Merkel could live in a two-room flat reserved for her at the top of the Chancellery, she instead chooses to live with her husband in an apartment right next to the world-famous Museum Island, at Kurpfergraben 6 (that yellow building on the right). There's much less security than you might expect - just one or two policemen stand guard at all times. You can see one in the left corner of this photo |
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| Ah, I got what I came for! My dusk shot of the Bode Museum (with some unsightly cranes digitally removed). Another fun fact - at 3:00 am on March 27th of this year, thieves used a ladder to climb from some train tracks outside the museum, snuck through a window, and shattered a bulletproof glass case protecting a 221 POUND SOLID GOLD COIN worth $4.3 million. They escaped with their bounty by dropping it into a wheelbarrow and carting it off into a waiting car. The coin hasn't been seen since. Police have made arrests and said it was an inside job, with a newly hired museum security guard having given some associates information crucial to the theft |
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| A walkway along the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) on Museum Island |
Fast-forward two days. I toted around my camera and got some last shots of the residential neighborhood my host family and I called home, Friedenau.
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| Fancy street art |
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Rüdesheimer Platz, a park next to my host family's apartment. In the summer, a wine stall opens up and you can sip on some German Riesling amongst the trees and statues
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| Most Germans LOVE. GARDENING. But what to do if you have an apartment and no garden? Have no fear - Schrebergärten are there for you. A uniquely German phenomenon, a Schrebergarten is a small garden that you can lease out in order to put your green thumb to work. However, there are rules! (The concept of "Ordnung muss sein" ["There must be order"] applies - this is Germany, after all.) To lease a plot, you have to agree to abide by the regulations put forth by the administration of the Schrebergarten, much like some homeowners here have to follow homeowners associations' CC&Rs |
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| More Schrebergärten line this walkway. You can't access any of the gardens - they're all fenced off; only the owners and their guests can enjoy the fruits of their labor |
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| A statue of Sigurd, a Nordic mythological figure who also appears as a protagonist in some Richard Wagner operas, at Rüdesheimer Platz |
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| Home sweet home! I lived with my host family on the top floor. Not for long, though... |
My program was almost, almost over and my stay in Berlin was effectively at an end. So if you're sick of Berlin pictures... too bad! There is actually still one more post to go.
But then the real fun starts, as Marissa and I headed off to visit 5 countries and 12 cities in just 16 days! Many a sight was photographed - just wait and see.
