Sept 10-13: Berlin

Thoughts on Berlin from aboard Polski Bus, by Cathy

I’m starting this post from aboard Polski Bus – our tomato-red, double–deck bus (“It’s a coach, Mommy!) from Berlin to Krakow! The first two hours of our seven-hour trip were smooth and uneventful, but at hour three, Wham-O! If I could put a pen on paper right now, it would look like a compulsive liar’s polygraph test or perhaps a 10.0 quake and its aftershocks. Were we on an airplane, oxygen masks would have fallen from above and folks would be praying. Not kidding.Not sure why the previously well-maintained road became rutted and uneven. Mick claims to have seen a “Welcome to Poland” sign, but as he doesn’t speak German or Polish and neither Jeff nor I saw it, I can’t blame the road conditions on Poland (yet). The fact that the highlight of Mick’s day yesterday was discovering, and jumping on, a trio of small trampolines set in the cement outside Berlin’s landmark TV tower and he’s now behind me saying “Whee!” and “I love this road,” is further evidence of this wild ride.

Through the rain out the big window I see almost constant trees – lodgepole pine or something with very tall, uniform trunks and branches only extending from the top quarter. Is Poland a timber exporter? Could the road conditions be from decades (centuries?) of heavy timber transport? German tanks? A 10.0 earthquake and its aftershocks? I digress…

Our time in Berlin was brief, but we learned a lot. We had a great place at Rosenthaler Apartments, near the corner of Rosenthaler and TorstraBe (how do you pronounce that B character anyway?) in what was, not so long ago really, East Germany. The proportion of old buildings to new is much higher on the new, one of the consequences of the war, I’m thinking. The people seem very bohemian, hip, slightly aloof. No longer is everything (but enough) in English. And maybe it’s traveling with a 13-year-old, but I notice a lot of words contain the letters F, A, R, and T.

On Monday, we walked from our apartment to the Brandenburg gate, learned a little bit about its long history and its significance, and then continued on to see the impressive Reichstag building, the Soviet War Memorial, and after a lovely stroll through the Tiergarten, the Victory Column.

Eventually we ended up across from the Topography of Terror Museum (on the site of the former SS & Gestapo headquarters from ’33-’45), where there is a block-long remnant of the wall dividing East and West Berlin from ’61 to ‘89. A timeline of the rise and fall of Nazism, in pictures and text, running the length of the wall remnant, was informative and interesting, the depravity of Nazism and its effects continually shocking. The “the wall,” with its faded graffiti, gouges and holes, and exposed re-bar, is a graphic and moving historical relic.

One of the pictures I took shows a yellow tour bus through a hole in the wall, and if you look close enough you’ll see the flag of Israel and its 6-point star – thought-provoking to say the least.

The Real Meaning of Ich Bin ein Berliner

Less moving and more touristy is Checkpoint Charlie (“Charlie” was for the letter C – there were also Alpha and Bravo crossings), the infamous checkpoint for those going (escaping) from communist East Berlin into West Berlin, now just a place to have a 2 euro picture taken with guys in military uniforms.

[NOTE!! The hour-long bumps have stopped! If my bladder could sing, it would be singing hallelujah!]

We bought a 3-day transit pass, so got to know the underground (U)/Tram (S) system pretty well, particularly Tuesday, when we went in search of the Grafitti Wall of Fame – something we saw in a tourist book and that the front desk person at our apartment building mentioned. Turns out, Apple maps doesn’t recognize “Grafitti Wall of Fame,” but does recognize “Grafitti Wall.” These two walls are not the same and they are not in the same neighborhood. When we eventually found the elusive wall (using Google Maps), our unanimous reaction was, “No, this can’t be it, can it?” but sure enough, it was – Siri (laughing to herself I’m sure) provided us with pictures to confirm. In retrospect, given the amount of graffiti all over Berlin, we could have used our time more wisely.

The highlight of the day for Mick was going up to the top of the Fernsehturm or “TV Tower,” the tallest structure in Germany, to take in the views and discovering the mini-trampoline things, mentioned above.

We finished the day with delicious Italian food (every item $5!) and funny waiters right across from our apartment. We did experience good German food one night at a restaurant called Sophieneck. Jeff had some kind of yummy sausage with fried potatoes and sauerkraut and I had a dish of layered potatoes, sauerkraut and pieces of ham, gratineed with cheese. Mick had a take-out hamburger, German in name only. Onto Krakow, where I look forward to pierogi.