You Go Nate!

How I Spent My Sommer Vacation - Part IV (July 12th):
"INTO THE LION'S DEN"

As some of you may have guessed, I left Lüssow in the morning and after a short but scenic train ride...

...I arrived in the German capital of Berlin.

I had been to Berlin once years ago on my first trip to Germany, but our time there was short and it was the last leg of a long trip so we didn't see much. I really wanted to go back and take a peak at some of what I missed.

Berlin is such a huge, interesting, multi-layered city that I knew my nine hours there would only be a brief sampling of all this city has to offer. I went with the expectation that I would be back again.... and after the great time I had there I hope that I can go back soon!

I arrived at the main station and went to the luggage center to leave my big back pack for the day. The Berlin train station is one of the most interesting I've ever seen with multiple layers of tracks and platforms going from deep in the basement to up in the air.

Just a few steps from the Main Station is the center of the German government: The Reichstag

This magnificent building has a tumultuous but significant history and has only housed the current parliament for about a decade or so after extensive rebuilding and restoration. There was a huge line to go in and go to the viewing area at the top. I decided that would be something I will do on my next visit (Rick Steves says to go either really early or really late, neither of which was an option for me).

So I walked around the corner to Berlin's most famous landmark: The Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate is the last of the Great Gates that surrounded the inner city of Berlin in its glory days before WWI. It was also a part of the Berlin Wall and a symbol of a divided Germany. It was here (from the back side) that Ronald Reagan made his famous speech where he said, "Tear down this wall!"

A lot has changed even in the eight years since I was last here in 2000. You'll see the area in front of the gate is now a pedestrian plaza where it once was part of the street.

Me, Grandma Jepson, little bro. Isaac, and Sybille in July 2000.

On this plaza was touristic chaos. You can see in this picture all the different kinds of people standing around hoping you'll take a picture with them and drop them a euro or two. Look closely (by clicking on the picture below) and you can see Death with a Mexican wrestling mask, two soldiers American and Soviet with their respective flags, somebody with a top-hat, and some other soldiers painted like plastic army guys.

Right next to the Gate is the new US Embassy which just openned (to some controversy of course) a few weeks ago. The security measures are so state-of-the-art that the actual entrance is across the street and through a tunnel.

What would be more appropriate in front of the US Embassy than a group of break-dancers?...

On the other side of the plaza is the Hotel Adlon. This famous hotel has seen the likes of Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin. More recently it is famous for another guest: Michael Jackson. It was here on the second-floor center balcony (above the entrance) where he dangled his baby with a burp-cloth over his head (the baby's).

Leading away from the Brandenburg Gate is the main drag of Berlin: Unter den Linden. This wide boulevard connects most of the most famous landmarks in the area. So that is the way I followed next. Everything from the Gate on down is East Berlin and this is where I spent most of my day.

One of the first things I saw was the Russian Embassy. It was built early in the Communist days when the Soviets were eager to show their muscle and is in the "Commy-Classical" style that Stalin liked so much.

As I was walking down Unter den Linden I saw the Hotel Westin Grand. Immediately I heard in my head, "Pamela Landy, bitte..."

If I wasn't mistaken, this hotel was featured in The Bourne Supremacy which takes place mostly in Berlin. I was especially curious to know if the inside was the same as in the movie.... there was only one way to find out...

Luckily I had the soundtrack to The Bourne Supremacy on my ipod so I put it on the track that occurs during this scene in the movie and I crossed the street and went inside the hotel. Sure enough it is the same hotel as featured in the movie!

I started snapping some shots when the concierge started giving me a dirty look and I could see he was getting ready to come over and talk to me. With this music playing on my ipod I was about to give him a karate chop and run up the stairs. But I wisely chose to simply leave before any trouble could be instigated.

I headed further down the boulevard and saw the Humbolt University. This famous university has had such distinguished professors as Hegel, Schopenhauer, Albert Einstein, and Max Planck; and was attended by such students as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and W.E.B. Du Bois. It is home to a whopping 29 nobel prize winners.

Across the street is the Berlin State Opera House.

And a little further up the street and across the river sits the great Berlin Cathedral. Behind it you can also see the famous Berlin TV tower. The weather started getting pretty dramatic at this point, but it made for some great photos. And it never rained.

In fact the sun came out off and on and I had a delightful lunch on the grass in front of the cathedral (a sandwich and goodies packed from Sybille & Wolfgang's house that morning.)

To the left of the cathedral is a huge ancient art gallery that is top on my list of things to see when I go back to Berlin.

This peaceful square where I had lunch wasn't always so peaceful.

After my lunch I headed next door to the German History Museum.

This museum contains artifacts from the early Celts to the modern age of computers and the internet. It is incredibly fascinating. I had intended to only spend an hour or so inside and ending up spending nearly two and still had to rush. It was so interesting and had so many cool things to see that it will be a blog entry itself soon.

After the museum I headed deeper into East Berlin. I passed the City Hall, also built in a Soviet neo-classical style.

Of course you can't have Berlin without the punks:

Soon I found myself right underneath the TV Tower at Alexanderplatz which was another location setting for The Bourne Supremacy. So much construction has gone on in the last few years that it looked like a different place!

Speaking of construction, there are construction sites everywhere you look in Berlin. The city is doing its best to put itself back together and shine as one of the great world capitals. As Rick Steves put it, "A guidebook to Berlin from ten years ago covers a completely different city."

One church I found interesting in East Berlin was this one:

During the early Communist days this church was converted into a "church of Humanism" and inside you find, instead of crosses, altars, and saints, copies of classical statues in "celebration" of the human.

Then I headed to the Genderarmmarkt, a square with two big churches on either end and the Konzerthaus in the middle.

Here is the Konzerthaus where many music performances are held. For those that remember music history, this is where Weber's Der Freischütz was premiered.

Soon it was time to say goodbye to East Berlin and head back to the West.

Berlin is an amazing city. If they ever kick me out of Munich I think I would go to Berlin. I can't wait to go back.

I got back to the train station with plenty of time to reclaim my bag and be ready for my next train.

Where was I going that night to sleep? You'll just have to wait until the next blog entry...

Next time: Sleeping on the floor and singing on stage (sort of), all within a few kilometers of one of the great masters of music!

Berlin Picasa Album:

Berlin

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