I Heart Berlin

guten Morgen aus Berlin!  (Good morning from Berlin!)

As I write this, I am staring out my 24th story window, looking out at a bustling city below foggy, drizzly clouds.  Streets are full of Mercedes cars, electric trains, bicyclists and pedestrians, despite the damp, cold weather (highs only in the 40s (F)).  Being the explorer that I am, I would normally be out on the pavement also.  But yesterday I think I logged 15 miles on foot, and my calves are aching.  I decided that today would be a good day to rest.  

From my viewpoint here in Alexanderplatz, I can see quite a distance when the fog and clouds are away.  Today, the visibility is limited, though a few distant church steeples peek through the clouds.   

Berlin as a whole is an incredible city, rich with history and yet bustling with new growth.  Alexanderplatz, a fairly modern section of the city, is busy with construction and renovation - from my seat I can see at least 6 operating cranes.  People here take a great deal of pride in their constant improvement, yet cling to the incredible history of this place.

I want to take a moment to talk about the history of Berlin.  I think that as Americans, it is easy to look at Berlin, or even Germany as a whole, and come up with a laundry list of wrongs committed by the people of this region.  Yes, Germany can leave a bad taste in the mouths of anyone born during the times when Germany was a vicious dictatorship, ruled by selfish, evil intent.  World War I and World War II gave westerners a bitter taste for Germany, and with good reason.  Oppression, fascism, communism, persecution, and despotism are very real parts of the history of this country and it's people.  People here of a certain age can still remember the aftermath of the war, the political and economic repercussions, and they endured them through the Cold War era, and on into modern times.  People here haven't forgotten their history.  They aren't proud of the blemishes in their history, but they are nothing if not penitent.  Every corner seems to commemorate those lost in various battles, skirmishes, and confrontations.  

Last night, we walked along the remaining sections of the Berlin wall.  We touched both sides of the wall, feeling for ourselves the cold concrete that would likely have been the barrier between freedom and suppression.  But the wall no longer serves as a reminder that freedom is an unobtainable dream.  Now the wall serves as a gallery for art.  Each section of the wall is painted like an individual mural, some with political or socially-motivated messages.  Some serve simply as a beautiful bandaid over a big black eye.  Unfortunately, several of the pieces have been vandalized over time.  However, the message remains.

We passed several memorials, commemorating the over 100 people who lost their lives trying to climb, claw, and crawl their way to freedom on the other side of this tall, cold wall.  Some memorials were state-sponsored, and featured plaques like the one below.  Some of them were created with private money or artists, and featured individual names and dates.

We put our hands on the columns at Brandenburg Gate, and held broken pieces of the wall in our hands.  In a moment of overwhelming sorrow, I offered a simple prayer.  Lord, let me understand these people.  Don't let my negative information about this place crowd out the good here.  Don't let me view these people through the lens of their past, but with the understanding of their future.  As a held that rock in my hands, I began to understand.  I began to see less of the painful history, and more of the effort to move forward.  Berliners know that they will never escape the past that defines their city.  But they are a progressive people.  They move forward.  They are constantly improving.  They don't dismiss or hide the past, but they don't live in it.  They have acknowledged their past sins, and they seem to be truly remorseful.

Near Humboldt University, there is a beautiful unmarked building - it looks regal and Roman in stature.  Upon approach, a plaque describes that it was once a watchtower, now turned war memorial. A simple statue sits inside, surrounded by official wreaths.  Not far from there is the official Holocaust Memorial, a chilling and difficult-to-understand commemoration of the Jews, Roma, and other victims of the Holocaust.

There are approximately 4 and a half acres of concrete stones, varying in height, representing Holocaust victims.  The museum itself lies underground.  The memorial is open at all hours, and is immediately adjacent to the US Embassy.

While no known concentration camps or prisoner stations were here in Berlin, several important buildings remain here, despite heavy shelling from Allied Forces.  We visited the Reichstag Building, where Hitler and his cabinet would've met.  We stood at the place where the Chancellor's Palace once stood, until it was destroyed by war.  We took pictures at Lustgarten, a location of several Nazi rallies, where the Fuehrer himself stood and roared the crowd into frenzied applause amidst a backdrop of Nazi banners and soldiers.  And in every one of these places, plaques with information regarding its history shows pictures with swastikas and salutes, famous names and symbols.  Berlin does not shy away from what has given Germany a bad name.  But she has made great strides to advance in light of her past.

Berlin is a democratic society.  People here do not tolerate well the neo-Nazi movement.  They embrace foreign culture.  People here have been very kind to us, and have seemed patient and tolerant.  In the US, we say things like, "you're in America now, so speak English!"  Here, nearly every restaurant offers a menu with Italian, French, Spanish, Cyrillic, and English translations.  Nearly every person we've spoken to - be it on the train, in a restaurant, at various memorials, and on the street - seems to speak English, and joyfully so, though they carry on casual conversations amongst themselves in German.  Most signs are in German and English.  People here don't seem to be impatient about having to speak English to us, and they giggle at our "accent."  During our self-led sightseeing tour yesterday, we saw people from all over the globe.  People in Berlin seem to embrace those not of itself.

Another beautiful thing about Berlin is that it is clean.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I have issues with cleanliness.  I don't deal well with trash, litter, and general sloppiness.  And don't get me started on restrooms!  But let me tell you that Berlin is clean.  You'll be hard pressed to find litter on the streets here.  There are garbage cans within reach at nearly any time.  And beside the garbage cans you are likely to find recycle receptacles, labeled for paper, plastic, and glass.  While you do have to pay 50 cents to use public toilets (and I have not ventured to use these as of yet), the restrooms that are available to paying customers at restaurants and in the airport are very clean.  And modern.  I approve.  Parks and green spaces here are full of people at all hours of the day, even though it has been cold and damp.  And still, no litter.  Berliners are not wasteful people, either.  All the toilets are low-flow, and the sinks and shower heads are restricted.  They have signs everywhere about turning lights off when they're not in use, and they even require you to indicate that you wish to open the train door so they don't waste energy opening and closing doors, and allowing heat to escape from the cars.  Big trucks here do not spew black smoke, and every car we have seen thus far is new and emission-certified.  Even the buses run cleanly.  The majority of Berliners seem to take a combination of bicycle, train, and bus.  The train system here is kind of confusing, but covers a great deal of the city, with connections to buses at nearly major intersection.  Germany appears to be the 'efficiency machine' with no time or space wasted.

I came here unsure about what I would see.  What I knew of Germany was a harsh, guttural-sounding language, blond hair, and a blemished past that nearly cost my granddaddy his life during WWII.  What I found is a culture that recognizes its past, embraces its future, and accepts and adapts to changes.  Modern yet historic, cozy yet efficient.  Berlin is many things to many people.  But I have become very fond of it very quickly.  

I could see myself a Berliner. 

...if I could figure out this map...