"MERLIN'S BEARD IT'S COLD!" exclaimed Megan as she walked along the East Side Gallery, wondering what she'd have for breakfast. She only knew she wouldn't be eating here:
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| Beginnins of the East Side Gallery...obviously |
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| Pretty cool |
The East Side Gallery is the longest part of the Berlin Wall that remains intact
Megan and Nicole had been in Berlin for less than 48 hours, but already the two had determined this city was one of their favorites. The day previous, the two young lasses took the free Berlin walking tour and had a crash-course introduction to Berlin history. The tour began by the Brandenburg Gate, which was built in 1791 and modeled after the Acropolis in Greece (wasn't Megan there a few weeks ago...?).
The gal sitting atop the chariot on top of the gate was the keeper of peace in Berlin, meant to assure harmony in the city. Oops. Napoleon would later take Berlin's peace-keeper, and upon her return from France she would be re-christened and put in charge of ensuring victory in Berlin. Oops.
Brandenburg gate, y'allllll
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| Our tour guide breakin' history d.o.w.n. |
Berlin, the tour guide said, was unique in that it wears its history on its sleeve. Megan couldn't help but compare this to Salzburg, a city that seems untouched by WWII despite the Anschluss in 1938, that commemorates its Jewish victims with small gold plates on the sidewalk, a city that still has publicly anti-Semitic politicians. While in Berlin, Nicole and Megan walked through a fascinating outdoor exhibit telling the stories of actors, scientists, writers and the like who were persecuted during the reign of the Third Reich:
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| Nicole in the exhibit |
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| This lady wrote a fake suicide note and escaped! Creative, no? |
Megan and Nicole then went to the Holocaust Memorial and Museum. The Memorial was an entire square filled with different sized cement blocks, some as tall as 10 ft. The blocks were arranged in such a way that they created waves. The American designer of this memorial, when asked what it signified, said to go there yourself and tell him.
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| Sunset in Holocaust Memorial |
When I was in the memorial, I walked a little ahead of Nicole, and soon we were separated. I walked through the memorial end-to-end looking for her, and regretting not setting up a meeting place for when we were done. The memorial is incredibly quiet, all the blocks block out the noise of busy Berlin traffic. The museum underneath the memorial was also powerful, yet simple. Letters from victims were on display on screens on the ground--some were painfully direct: "We are being deported tomorrow. I will never see you again." The museum also had an empty room with screens on all four walls. On the screens was projected the name of a Jew who died during the Holocaust. A recording played first in German then in English stating the name of the victim, what was known about them, and how they died. It would take over 6 years to hear every person's name.
Back to third person!
Megan and Nicole concluded the evening by walkg around Tiergarten. The Garden was incredibly quiet and peaceful, and MASSIVE. Someone had posted a sign stating they had lost their key...good luck, buddy. You ain't gonna find nuthin' in that ginormous place, knaw mean? Lovely walk, lovely sunset, but sooooo cold.
That night Megan and Nicole checked out some of Berlin's famous bars, staying the longest at Roses. 'Twas Megan's favorite bar! Her favorite bar of all time, forsooth!
Retiring that night, Megan and Nicole looked very much forward to a good night's sleep. The night previous had been spent in an airport, and 'twas a long day indeed...unfortunately there resided in the 20-person hostel room a fortissimo snorer. He unleashed upon the room a snore so loud that one could feel their inner-organs vibrating along with the deep grunting. Megan and Nicole took their leave 'fore 7 am, unable to continue their slumber.
THE NEXT DAY...
Megan and Nicole checked out the East Side Gallery and looked for breakfast (this is where I started, remember?). Now, a word on Berlin dining
Megan:Berlin :: God:Jesus
That's right, in Berlin Megan was well-pleased. Well-pleased, indeed! Vegan restaurants abound in Berlin, and the awful joke Megan had made on the plane from Munich to Berlin was quite unwarranted:
A vegan going to Berlin? What's the wurst that could happen?
I know, it's terrible.
BACK TO THE STORY!!
Megan and Nicole dined in a quaint cafe, and moved on to Museum Island. Berlin is spread out--not centralized like most European cities (this is due, of course, to the prior separation of East and West, and new sections falling in and out of style)--one of the districts in Berlin is Museum Island. Exactly what it sounds like. Museums.everywhere. COOL.
So many museums beckoned the two girls, it became quite clear only a select few could be visited. But which ones? The modern art museum woud certainly be trendy, but the Pergamon was calling!, the German history museum sounded great--but was it as good as the Berlin history museum?, a modern science museum had an exhibit on prosthetics...LIFE WAS SO HARD FOR THE YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENTS...!
Eventually Megan and Nicole decided on the Pergamon and the German History Museum, because they are wise beyond their years.
PERGAMON:
Spy Nicole? This place was HUGE
Wood-work-whoa
The Pergamon was super cool for two reason. First, the building was constructed around the GIANT architecture that had been stolen taken without permission from other lands. The pieces we incorporated in the actual museum. It felt like being outside almost, because the pieces were clearly originally outdoors. The Pergamon altar was from Greece--it was SO cool seeing the piece after visiting Greece.
GERMAN HISTORY:
Germany has a lot of history, in case you didn't know.
Nicole is ALL about solemn figures in painting
German courts loved little people
Discord in marriage-LOVE it
Adorable children's doll
So.hipster.
The museum also had a fascinating display of WWI-Cold War stuff. The layout of the exhibit was chronological, very nice to explore.
Brandenburg gate at night
Pieces of the wall on display
TV Tower
After their time in the museums, Megan and Nicole went to find some dinner. They walked around, in search of vegan food, and stumbled upon Vietnamese food. Well, not exactly "stumbled". The easiest thing to find in Berlin is Vietnamese food. Not the Brandenburg gate, not TV Tower, not the wall and not even a toilet. If there is one thing you will see in Berlin it is a Vietnamese restaurant. Nicole and I went and had one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my entire life. It was 4 Euro.
I will write another blog post of things I forgot//pictures as they are uploaded to facebook//the like. Too busy to edit this post, sorry it wasn't ideal. Mountain of homework awaits, and I have an interview for another job tomorrow via skype! Wish me luck, or don't--I won't really know either way. Kbye.
