Berlin

Potsdamer Platz with pieces of the Berlin wall on display

Also in Potsdamer Platz, this rooftop courtyard includes the Berlin red carpet area with a large movie theatre, and has restaurants with patio seating all around, with a fountain in the middle. Brendan and I grab some famed Berlin currywurst for dinner- washed down with some Franziskaner Dunkel beers.   

Brandenburg Tor- The gate that is at the center of everything. Hugely symbolic. Napolean when he invaded Berlin, took the statue at the top, which originally was a goddess of peace. When later France returned the statue after Napolean's nonsense, the Germans altered it to be a goddess of Victory holding a staff with the German eagle on it, and also turned the statue's gaze to the French Embassy. It's as if to keep a watch out, to say "Victory against Paris, and- don't you dare try and steal me again." 

Just outside the Brandenburg Gate is the plaza with all the embassies and there are often street performers, music and the like. I had to take a picture of these guys. What kid that grew in the 90's could resist. 

Random street corner in Berlin

This is a series of photos of the holocaust memorial. The undulating paths between the slightly crooked rectangular boxes is both haunting and a powerful message. It's a maze once you're inside, and they eventually get up to 15' high. No angle is exactly 90 degrees, but the corners, are perfectly sharp, really good craft with the concrete (they used a very fine aggregate like Rock-ite, which I've used in Architecture school).

Amplemann, the little man from childrens stories is the symbol used in the crosswalks. It is unique to Berlin, and anytime it has been suggested to change to something more standard, the people reject the idea. As they should. Amplemann is awesome.

This is the river nearby the Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind (below). 

The Jewish Museum was an interesting experience. The exhibit starts at the basement, with two sloping, crooked hallways, were purposefully disorienting. There were three intersecting axes- Continuity, Emigration and Holocaust- which represent the three German Jewish "realities." The axis of Emigration ends in the garden of exile, an outdoor garden with tall rectangular concrete pillars, a la the holocaust memorial downtown, but with Russian olive branches which form a green canopy in the summer to symbolize hope, life, regrowth. The Axis of the Holocaust ends in one of the most poignant parts of the museum, a concrete unconditioned three-story angular space, dark and damp with one single rectangular window in the top highest, most acute corner of the room. It definitely gives you that feeling of despair when something is so out of reach and you're helpless even to hope. The rest of the museum is more about the history of Judaism in general, what life was like for Jewish families, how they evolved, particularities of certain settlements in the diaspora etc. I loved how the jagged slash window theme was carried through every detail in the building, the ceiling, hvac, lighting- even the elevator followed suit. Lots of care in the details made for a compelling experience. 

The German Parliament building (Reichstag) was renovated by Norman Foster and includes a glass dome from which you can peer into the Parliament chamber proceedings from high above. The views to the city are remarkable, and the ascent and descent along alternating ramps is really fun. It was definitely worth the wait in line to go see, especially for how much we talked about his building in grad school at Taubman College. I love the building's use of symbolism in the dome with the view and in the glass, implying transparency of government. Conceptually the idea of people watching over the government literally from above, in the more powerful position I think is great, even if not always true in practice. 

The tower in the back is the tallest structure in Berlin, nearby a clock tower. I forget the significance... 

Goofy puppeteers that I came across while waiting in line to make a reservation to see the dome of the Reichstag (Parliament building). Yes, it is still free, but you must make a reservation, and the lines are often long unless you get there at 8am. 

Hilarious group of Germans on a BierBike.

Memorial to all those that died in the war, near Brandenburg gate and the rest of the memorial/symbolic Cultural center of the city. 

Humboldt University Campus. They have a book sale in front of the Library everyday to commemorate the loss of knowledge in the student book burnings under Nazi fascism. There is also a memorial which is a glass window on the plaza into an underground room filled with empty white shelves. 

Dinner at Noto (veal ribs with cabbage-apple slaw), and drinks at Katz Orange, a very fun restaurant/bar which was through a courtyard. Anyone going to Berlin, I highly recommend all of their cocktails.

These pictures are from places we saw in the neighborhood where we lived, near Senefelder Platz. It was really cool. The bar with the stairs is called Kunsthalle, has a reuse theme and is made of railway cars. 

Overall, Berlin was a great time. I especially loved the Berlin Welcome Card 48 hour public transportation ticket. We found ourselves using the amazing public transportation in Berlin all the time, and it was always fast, available- made seeing and doing all the things we wanted to do and see easily possible in the short amount of time that we had. It is also nice that there are no turnstiles to go through- its all run onthe honor codes system, though there are routine checks on board, which we did come across in the two days we were there.