Berlin

A note on the trip: I am back from my trip visiting many places in Europe. It was great fun. The kids were a handful and the sights, sounds and smells of Europe were glorious and will stay with me forever. I will get some of the poor moments out of the way now, so that you can enjoy the remainder of my blog posts without thinking about these aspects. While traveling by bus had its ups (I could see the landscape elegantly change through my window)it also had its down. For example, it's a bus. And, we had to stay on the bus, sometimes eight hours at a time to reach a destination. The trip was around 16 days. And then the engine would over-heat (several times.) And we had to stop, get out and wait. And we had to sleep on the bus sometimes on overnight drives (not my favorite place to nap.) And the children were the most ill-mannered and spoiled 18-year-olds I have ever met (one got drunk and threw-up on me in the middle of the night...) That aside, it was a great trip. Europe in summer is amazing, as you will see from the next several posts I will soon compose. Enjoy. -Paula

BERLIN

The next few write-ups will be about Germany. I have visited Deutschland (a border country to the Netherlands) more than any other country this year besides Holland. I still haven’t hiked in the forests of Bavaria in southern Germany, something I have been wanting to do, but I have seen other nice locales: Berlin, Cologne and Gottingen, a university town where my friend lives.

When I wrote about Berlin in winter I described it as austere with lots of concrete—it seemed like an unfriendly city. In summertime, the city’s harshness is helped by more greenery, but it still feels like a jumble of concrete. These thoughts aside, Berlin has some lovely attributes.
There are three activities I suggest if you visit Berlin (not counting eating out a lot, which is cheaper than in the Netherlands. Oh, and consume lots of yummy pastries…)

1. The Berlin Philharmonie (Philharmonic Orchestra)

The best six euros I spent in Germany. All I can say is go to a concert at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Whatever is playing, you will not be dissapointed. And tickets can be purchased right before the show. I have gone twice (neither time did I know ahead of time what I would be listening to) and have been amazingly pleased. Always ask for student discounts. Though they are not always advertised, they are often available (particularly at museums.) This time, I was treated to a swell concert performed by the children's chorus from the Berlin Opera. I must admit, I was skeptical, however, my doubt was insanely misplaced. My jaw was open for nearly an hour and I had a hard time closing it. The children had big talents and their director was magnificent. The group filled the small concert hall with aurias and crescendoes in German, French, Italian, Latin, English and Japanese. It was a highlight of my trip. Sometimes I have to be convinced to appreciate classical music; no convincing was needed with this concert.

2. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

This new memorial is powerful and worth seeing. The architecture is effective, a bit like the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C in its ability to provoke thought and introspection. The memorial consists of hundreds of plain concrete blocks and towers that one has to navigate through. You can climb up and sit on some of the shorter blocks. The land beneath the blocks is tilted. And so you become lost when walking in a grid-like maze of memory, cold air and shadows (and ice in winter.) It is worth seeing and definitely worth walking through (though not in winter.) It makes you think.

3. Tour of the Reichstag Building

Security is high at the Reichstag building and reservations may have to be booked in advance, but the reward--a 360 degree vista of Berlin--is worth it. Climbing a very high ramp in the building’s dom, one gets a great lookout point. This view improved my perspective of the city. First, I visibly saw how endowed Berlin is with historical and cultural resources—the myriad museums, monuments and institutes for history, culture, science and art attest to this. Secondly, from the heights of the Reichstag Building I saw a pleasant mix of green and brown, which is not always visible from street-level. I liked seeing the many green spaces and parks from the air.

A note of history: The Reichstag building was designed to house the German parliament in 1894 until 1933 when it was damaged in a fire. During the Nazi era meetings were no longer conducted in the building. In 1990, the old building was given a glorious facelift. It has an old base with a stunningly new glass dome on top. This architecture mirrors the buildings of the whole city, which combine new and old at every turn. Today, the German parliament, the Bundestag, meets in the building.

German phrases of the month:
Good morning: Gutten morgen
Good afternoon: Gutten tag
Good night: Gute nacht