What I Learned in Berlin
Well, he did it again. My husband, Marty, convinced me to take another Christmas week vacation where it’s cold. We’d been to London and Paris at year end and swore we’d not go to Northern Europe this time of year because of the damp penetrating cold. BUT…a couple of the people Marty works with had recently been to Berlin and loved it. Also things were supposedly cheaper than other European cities. Marty always takes off 2 weeks at year end so we agreed to go.
Our flight was uneventful and our hotel was luxurious. We stayed at The Regent on Charlottenstrasse in the East. It was gorgeous and the service impeccable. I would highly recommend it. The Germans have maintained their traits of regimen and punctuality. Because of that, services in general are great. There are buses , subways, light rail, and trains, all with time of arrival updated by the minute on overhead electronic signs. Few people have cars because public transportation is everywhere and excellent.
One of the first things we did was take a personalized tour with an expat American who has been in Berlin for 9 years. We spent 8 hours with him and got a history lesson along with the full city tour. He said we walked a total of 4 miles and our bodies felt it the next day. It rained, snowed and sleeted during the day we were out and it was that bone-chilling damp cold that goes right through your clothes. I had on 3 layers and was OK, but my hands and face got cold.
We learned that most museums are centrally located on Museum Island in the middle of the Spree River, which runs through Berlin. We toured a couple later in the week. Our guide took our picture in front of the Reichtag, a building where political gatherings over the years have changed the course of history many times, and where Adolph Hitler convinced the German people to elect him.
Berlin is a city of many contrasts and surprises. What has been saved or restored is magnificent, but the memories of its ugly history are still evident. A piece of the old Wall which was breached 20 years ago still stands.
The old has been preserved whenever possible, and the new is often right beside it. One church was left exactly as it was and the glass tower replacement stands beside it.
One day we went on a walking tour on our own into some of the streets of East Berlin where there still had not been much rehabilitation. It’s where many of the young people and artists live. We saw sidewalk markers in front of homes where people had been whisked away during the Holocaust and never seen again. Memorials of all varieties were on many of the blocks. And in the distance we could see the TV Tower and rotating ball built by the Russians (the tallest structure in Berlin) during the Cold War. At the top is a rotating high-end restaurant that gives a 360 degree view of the City. Another example of the many contrasts in Berlin.
I didn’t see one single family house in Berlin. Housing is six to seven story apartment houses (large and small) and on the upper floors of some of the commercial buildings. Any new construction requires that at least 20% will be dedicated to housing.
The food was excellent and representative of many countries. Of course, German food like wursts and pretzels are everywhere along with KFC, McDonald’s, Subway and Starbucks.
Almost everyone can speak English. It’s been part of the school curriculum for years, as tourism has been a major industry since the fall of the Wall. Even though the weather was cold, the people were warm and seemed to be in good cheer. Maybe it was a touch of the holiday spirit. All in all a wonderful experience.
