Wall Woodpeckers

Back in the good ol’ US of A, the most “typisch Deutsch” thing that I ever did was to dress in Lederhosen for Halloween when I was about five years old. It was the first year that I didn’t wear the butterfly costume previously worn every 31st of October, and the year Quinlan child #2 decided to be a princess--dressed in pink, no less. And, since my green pointed hat and short hair cut made me look rather androgynous, Quinlan child #2 also decided that I would be the perfect “prince charming” to accompany her trick-or-treating. Needless to say, the whole idea of being my sister’s prince, or a prince in general, wasn’t too appealing. My opinion of Lederhosen has, needless to say, never been 100% unbiased.

During the past few months, however, I have really tried to experience the “typisch Deutsch” and embrace the stereotypical associations one generally makes when thinking of Germany. Friends and I go out for a beer (shocking, I know), and then grab a Wurst mit Senf for the bus ride home (I even received a frequent customer card from the vendor—the Wurst vendor, that is). We meet soccer players from local teams, who share the equivalent status of baseball players in the United States, and have riden down the Autobahn (yes, it’s no rumor, you can go very, very fast) in Volkswagens and Mercedes. We go for Sunday walks on the river, and eat Liebekuchen with hearty appetites. We eat Schnitzel and Maultauschen and mix Coca-Cola with red and white wine to make “Cola-Weiss.” And, of course, we eat Brezeln. Brezeln, Brezeln, Brezeln.

This past weekend, Rachel, who just arrived for the spring semester, journeyed with me to make the “typisch Deutsch” pilgrimage to Berlin, the Hauptstadt of Germany, with the help of Mitfahrgelegenheiten, the German website that facilitates carpooling within Germany and also abroad. We met Lisa, our ride from Mainz, and her friend at 8AM and arrived in Berlin (after exposure to a decent amount of American pop music) around 2:30. After dropping off those “typisch” backpacks found in the possession of many Germans, Rachel and I headed out to see the Gedächtniskirche on the Kurfürstendamm before meeting up with Sam, my friend from high school, later on that night. We also trekked through KaDeWe, one of the largest (and also one of the more expensive) department stores in Europe. Rachel and I were a bit out of place, seeing as how all of the people that were actually shopping there already dressed perfectly from head toe in entirely designer makes. But it was no big thing—only water
off our backpack-free shoulders.

After finally meeting up with Sam, the three Americans happened upon a delicious Vietnamese restaurant called DuDu. Although not “typisch Deutsch,” we were very pleased with our decision, and later paired the store with a magnet we saw in a souvenir shop:

To be is to do- Kant
To do is to be- Nietzsche
Do-bee-do-bee-do- Frank Sinatra

Perhaps this is indicative of anti-American sentiment that claims the US holds little cultural or intellectual value. But, for purposes of our egos, we'll focus merely on its amusing nature.

On Saturday we also ate at the purportedly best falafel restaurant in Berlin, which was called DaDa. To quote Thoreau: “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” …and such was the motto for restaurant names in Berlin. DaDa, DuDu. Scooby-do-bee-do.

The next day we got up early to first buy Brötchen (no baguettes in Germany—we actually have bread that consists of multiple grains in this marvelous country [not to mention Vollkornbrot, which is the closest thing to meatloaf found in an actal slice of bread]), Gouda and clementines for a picnic before heading in to see remnants of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz that Rachel and I actually stumbled upon the night before while debating on whether said Platz was in East or West Germany before 1989. We decided that we would seize the day and the nice weather that came along with it to take all of our photographs outdoors, and continued on to see the Reichstag and the Brandenburger Tor, when we literally happened upon Das Denkmal für die Ermordeten Jueden Europas, or the Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe, and decided to pay a visit. The memorial is very simple yet very moving, with various sized cement blocks lined in a maze-like fashion and paths that vary in elevation and move in between these blocks. Underneath the memorial is the Information Center, where we spent a bit of time reading about the history behind the Holocaust and personal stories of individuals and families, as well as actual letters written by Jews to family members describing either their fears of the prospect of being arrested or their attempts to describe the conditions in the concentration camps, which were usually censured out with big, black marks by the Nazis if not somehow smuggled outside. It was a very powerful memorial, and, due to its placement right near the Brandenburger Tor and the Reichstag, symbolizes how memories of the Holocaust are now at the forefront of German society. No one will deny what happened without being seriously reprimanded.

Sam, Rachel and I continued on to see the Reichstag, or the main government building in Berlin and therefore also Germany, and picnicked in front on the grass before striking out to see the Tor and Unter den Linden, Berlin’s most famous street. In 1647 1,000 Linden trees were planted on the road in between the Berliner Stadtschloss and the Tiergarten, which is why this road is now called “Unter den Linden,” or under the linden trees. It is also representative of the very green nature of the city itself. We walked on to see the Berliner Dom, where we were able to climb up to the top and get awesome views of the city while walking around the Kuppel. Then, on our way out to find a café and take a break, we came across the Ampelmann store, where, since Berlin’s pedestrian lights are, or were originally, unique to the city, lots of merchandise relating to the “Ampelmann,” or street-light man, can be found. There was everything from sponges to lawn chairs. I settled for a t-shirt.

Later on Rachel, Sam and I took a jaunt down to see Checkpoint Charlie after visiting an Eiscafé, and then later made our way down to the East Side Gallery, where even more of the former Berlin Wall can be found. In 1990 118 artists from all over the world came to paint this part of the wall—it is now being renovated, which is currently a huge debate within not only Berlin but also Germany.

We then found our way back to Alexanderplatz, where we found a real, “typisch Deutsch” restaurant to relax with beer, Maultauschen and Schnitzel before calling it a night and heading back to our hostel for some shut-eye. The next morning we got up early with the intention of seeing several museums, but got pulled into the Jewish Museum and were simply unable to leave until we had spent a decent four to five hours there. Needless to say, we were pretty museum-ed out for the day, although it was definitely a good one to pick out of all of the possibilities offered by the city. While there, I had listened to a few songs written by Jewish composers, including "Die Fuge aus der Geographie" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DkkjrfDy8&feature=related) by Ernst Toch, with which I proceeded to infect both Sam and Rachel for the remainder of the trip. They should have known to keep the headphones away from me. After the museum, we gathered our strength again after drinking hot chocolate, and continued on.

After visiting the Tiergarten and Gendarmenplatz, we then ate, drank, and were yet again satisfied (only after ice cream, of course), and attempted to visit the Reichstag at night, where one can climb up to the dome at the top and get yet another “Blick” of Berlin. Unfortunately we were 20 minutes too late, and missed our opportunity to see the stomping grounds of Angela Merkel and other German government officials. Who knows—maybe I would have gotten to see her personal doctor after getting a bloody nose. I guess we’ll never find out.

Unfortunately we also had very little luck when we went to go see the Olympic Stadium the next morning before taking off for Frankfurt. We picked, apparently, the “one day” where there was a soccer game in the stadium, and weren’t allowed to go in and see the home of the 1932 Olympics. We did, however, buy Brezeln and call it even. All’s well that ends well.

Kurfürstendamm

Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche, built originally in 1895, and then destroyed in November of 1943, with the exception of the Westturm, or West Tower. In 1957 there was a huge debate about whether or not to destroy what was left standing of the Gedächtniskirche. A compromise was made to add on to what was left standing--hence the more modern looking Gotteshaus in the foreground.

Europa Center

Inside the new Gotteshaus of the Gedächtniskirche

Posh. 100%. Or, as the Germans would say, "schicky mickey."

Potsdamer Platz

Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz

There was clearly some sort of StarTrek premier of some sort going on at the Sony Center when we stopped by--this lady in the neckbrace won tickets and immediately ran all around the courtyard screaming.

A giraffe made out of legos...crazy, right??

A part of the Berlin Wall showing the "first hole."

Sam and his immense plate of sushi at DuDu...Lecker! :)

One could get his or her passport stamped with the former seal of East Germany either here or at Checkpoint Charlie if he or she so desired--but I'm letting Morocco be my coolest stamp yet.

East side, West Side--the bricks mark the border of the former wall.

Das Denkmal für die Ermordeten Juden Europas

Very disorienting--interestingly enough, the number of blocks is in no way representative of the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. There was a huge debate on whether this memorial should be dedicated to all victims of the Holocaust or just to the Jews. In the end, it was dedicated solely to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

Sam and I jumping in front of the Brandenburger Tor. Quiz: is Amanda an innie or an outtie?

Our itinerary summed up nicely on touristy signs!

Reichstag

The aftermath of a picnic.

Brandenburger Tor

Berliner Dom, finished originally in 1905 and then restored between 1973 and 1993 due to its destruction in World War II.

Sam, Rachel and I

Fernsehturm!

View from the Kuppel of the Berliner Dom

ConVal meets Berlin!

...Middlebury meets Berlin!

The Ampelmann. :)

The Ampelmann Store!

Hackescher Markt, where we found a bunch of cafés and restaurants

I will admit, Sam did a very good job at deciphering menus when they weren't available in English. Note the concentration.

New Synagogue, burned in 1938 by the Nazis on Kristallnacht and then destroyed further during the war. Renovations were finally finished in 1993.

Stop!

Green means go!

A funky café we passed through, with lots of "junkyard" art and murals

And, naturally, ice cream. Mine is the one with all of the fruit, of course :)

The fastest car on the market...I hear it puts the Batmobile to shame.

Rock on.

Checkpoint Charlie

Rut roh.

East Side Gallery

Sam and I found this quite hysterical--and we wonder why people ask us Americans if we carry guns around with us on the street back home. Quite curious.

"This flag is based on the fundamental humanistic ideals of freedom and unity of all people. It is a examination of the heritage of all German generations after the second World War."

Sam I am.

Wasn't that hard for me to imitate. Let's be honest here.

Rachel, celebrating the precision of German recycling. Don't these bins look like Pac-man ghosts?

A memorial at the Jewish Museum to the Jews killed in the Holocaust--the artist calls it Schalechet--gefallenes Laub (fallen leaves). the room devoted to this is called Leerstelle des Gedenkens, or Memory Void. Below the actual museum there is an Axis of the Holocaust and an Axis of Continuity that devotes itself entirely to Jews that have emigrated and made lives for themselves in places like the US or South America, or were persecuted during the Holocaust.

A Jewish satirist commenting on the common practice of Jews to celebrate both Hannukah and Christmas during the holiday season.

Flags outside of a movie theatre advertising the premiere of The Producers. Open to interpretation.

Rachel getting ready to Prost before Sam even got to order--delicious hot chocolate! Can you blame her? :)

Bear-lin Hug

Spaziergang im Tiergarten :)

This rock reads Hoffnung, or Hope. There were rocks from each continent in this one part of the Tiergarten to symbolize unity throughout the world--the Hope rock is from Africa.

Take five...

A five-person cycle. We deemed it the star-fish-'ycle.

Red light!

Gendarmenmarkt

Französicher Dom

Konzerthaus Berlin

Troublemakers

Too bad Europe doesn't have root beer...

Reichstag at night

Walking to the Olympic Stadium...

...to find out it was closed.

On the way home Rachel and I shared a ride four other people, not including our driver, Javier. We all piled into a van that moved at about an average of 180 kilometers per hour down the Autobahn to Frankfurt. One could call Javier an expert at traffic weaving. He's also very, very talented at beeping his horn and making rude gestures to people out the window. Oftentimes, these gestures were reciprocated. I guess the ideal of a typical Sunday drive doesn't exist on the Autobahn.

Peace, love, and a 70 cent fee to use the restroom,

Amanda