I walked up to the Brandenburg Tor (Gate) again, going a different way and enjoying some of the architecture. I ran into a memorial to the jewish people killed in Europe, and it was interesting. Large dark blocks of different shapes, and around a city block. There were kids running through it laughing. I stopped at the gate and took some pictures and decided to take advantage of the rain not starting yet to walk in the Tiergarten.
The Tiergarten is a large park within Mitte, the central part of Berlin and formerly part of West Berlin. It was once the hunting grounds of royalty, and was improved by a landscape designer in the mid-1800s. It has a lot of mature trees, stone paths and statues throughout including one which is a music tribute to Mozart, Beethoven, Handel and another to Goethe. There is also a large pool called Venus' Basin, and a momument dedicated to the 'homosexuals' of Berlin. This city is such an interesting contract. Most people seem very conservative, however, it was the location for the Institute for Sex Research. The park was deforested during WWII as a source of firewood for the city, but was replanted shortly after.
As I was walking and looking for the Venus Basin, I consulted my map and a man working in the park asked if I needed help (in German). I asked where the Basin was and he asked if I speak English and switched, as I've often seen. His English was halting but still very understandable. It turns out he lives in Denmark on a farm, and comes to Berlin for three months to work, then goes home to work on his farm. His girlfriend is from Sweden. I shared with him that I just came from Copenhagen and he said he likes it very much. He was very friendly and again, when I complimented his English, he protested that it was not very good.
I walked through a section of Tiergarten to Potsdam Platz, a very modern western area of the city with the Sony Center (and the Lego museum!) and lots of modern skyscrapers. The two western Berlin areas of the city I walked through seem to have more modern buildings, where the former Eastern part seems to have a lot of buildings built in the 1960s and 1960s. Neither seem to have a lot of old-looking buildings with the beautiful carved stone as much of the city was destroyed during the war.
I then hopped on the u-bahn with the idea of looking at Schoenburg area, as the guys I met from Boston yesterday said it's a nice part of the city. I stepped off the subway and it didn't look very interesting, so I continued on to the area with the Kaiser Wilhelm church, one of the sites recommened on tripadvisor's 'three days in Berlin' list. True to my travels it was under construction but instead of scaffolding, it had a white barrier around the bottom half of it. Huh.
There was a merry-go-round near it so I walked around, noticing it was some kind of festival going on. It seemed to have a Russian influence and I saw a booth with those cute little stacking ladies. There were crepes, beer stands, and I got some sugared almonds to snack on in assorted flavors like caramel, orange and irish cream. Yum! I saw a mechanical bull for riding on top of a large air-filled cushion with a US flag on it. Then I saw Statler and Waldorf a la Muppets on a wall. I love seeing snatches of US culture in other countries that are not a McDonalds!! I hopped back on the u-bahn and decided to head back to the Mitte area, and wen to the Jewish Museum.
I have to say that it was one of the best laid-out and curated museums I've ever seen. I decided to go as it was starting to rain and was fairly close to my hotel. Also, it was designed by Daniel Liebskind, the original designer for the memorial to 9/11 and the rebuild, before it became a political mess. It is a very symbolically-shaped building and large. Like with the synagogue there was a police presence and I had to go through a metal detector. The museum is very interactive, with a lot of places for kids to play and learn, videos, and interactive exhibits. It was very difficult to walk through in areas, but really brought forward some of the many lives and Jewish families impacted by the anti-semitism of Berlin through the last two centuries, culminating in the Holocaust.
The museum showed an item owned by a person/family, like a china set, showed pictures of the family and in several inserts and cutouts told their story. Most didn't end well. It also talked of some of the people who emigrated from Germany and how hard that was for them to leave family behind to go to a country foreign to them. It was incredibly poignant and I spent much of the time on the verge of tears, yet being so glad I went. The museum was incredibly artistic and the layout of the items and stories was so interesting and intriguing. I wanted to learn more. It was incredibly well done and I'm glad I went.
Walked past the currywurst museum in wonder and awe. There is actually a museum dedicated to the dish. Wow.
It started raining, and I walked back to the hotel to dry off a bit and figure out where I was going to eat for my last meal. I skipped lunch but decided on a late lunch/early dinner as I'm flying tomorrow so didn't want a large meal right before going to bed! I decided to go to a restaurant the hotel recommended called Augustiner on Gendarmenmarkt, affording me another walk through the wonderful plaza. The restaurant got good reviews on tripadvisor, though the last review was rather scathing about the service. I was glad to find that was not my experience.
The waiter was adorable and very helpful. He recommended a few dishes, and I settled on a traditional Bavarian dish of pork, a potato dumpling and cabbage along with a gruener veltliner wine, a white (I know!!!) that I loved in Prague. Yum. The pork was good and came with a light brown sauce, the cabbage wasn't sauerkraut but an interesting cooked cabbage and the potato dumpling was great and interesting. It actually looked like a small potato but was a bit puffy when I cut into it. It was all really good, and I had enough room for a yummy apfel struedel. Yum! They had a goulash and I was interested in trying to to see how it compared to the Czech and Hungarian version, but the waiter said it's a big dish and I wanted room for dessert. Priorities!
As I was finishing my meal a loud and large group of guys came and took up three tables. One started talking to me and turns out it was a bachelor's party from England. Oh my God, they were hilarious! The groom-to-be wore leather 'hot shorts', and my new buddy told me he wasn't forced to wear them. He was very happy to pose for pictures with his entire ensemble: a black face mask, leather collar and metal leash, and leather vest. Pictures were taken and a waiter jumped in on the action cracking up. Funny photo! People crossed the street to see what the action was about. Absolute hilarity!
My buddy shared that he just got engaged, and when I asked what he planned to do for his bachelor's party, he grimaced and said that it may be private. I don't think he wanted the spotlight as this groom-to-be did. A guy holding three beers in one hand between his fingers staggered across the street watching the hilarity unfold.
It started to rain while I was dining and it was lovely under a large umbrella enjoying the calming sound while staying dry. The day overall turned out to be wonderful. It was cool but perfect walking weather, with a light breeze and some scattered light drizzle. Only once for a few minutes did I take out my umbrella. I paid my bill and gave the waiter a tip, which he gushed about. It's funny.. the bill was 26,5E and I gave him 30E. It was around 10% so not high by US standards. But what I did find is that service is usually not all that great in Berlin, so I wanted to give him extra as he was really wonderful. All bills remind people that the tip isn't included however most people round up so the waiter gets change. I'm not sure how well they are paid, but this didn't seem worthy of his gushing, but it was nice that he acknowledged it. He deserved it and off I go to write up the place on tripadvisor!
I walked back to the hotel to finish this blog, pack, make arrangements to the airport. I decided to splurge and take a taxi as it will be quicker and transferring to the bus to the airport in Alexanderplatz with my bags early in the morning doesn't sound appealing. I was finally able to check in and select a seat so I won't have to get to the airport quite so early. i don't sleep on transatlantic flights, so the extra half hour or so will make a difference!
This trip has been quite interesting, and honestly, I'm struggling with my feelings about Berlin. The city has seen so much grief for so many years, and I almost feel a weight around my heart here. And yet, there is a quiet vitality and energy. More than hope, it's almost a sense of fierce determination in the people.
Some interesting things I've noticed in Berlin:
- The light shows a walking man instead of the usual standing man on the traffic lights
- People don't seem to take such pleasure in trying to run people over crossing the street as I've seen in every other city in Europe! There are some intersections with no lights (unusual from what I've seen) and people actually waved me along to cross. Unheard of in other cities!
- The light turns red without any flashing and cars come quickly. I am a fast walker and if it's more than a single-lane street, I cannot make it all the way across before it turns.
- Like in the rest of Europe, the ground floor of hotels where reception is is 0, not 1 like in the US.
- Many/most people speak English, even in the former Eastern Berlin (people my age learned Russian and usually not English, so this is interesting). They almost always will respond in English when you open in German (guess that may say something about my German!) and if you compliment their English, they will always say they don't speak well. They do.
- If I smiled at people, most didn't smile back but simply stared at me. It was kind of interesting.
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