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Published: December 10th 2008
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(December 2nd - 3rd) Not THAT Berlin, but I figured I’d open with that one for you Bunny Cha Cha. Remember the pajama party in high school! Good times . . . good times. Ah Berlin. Berlin was my first experience in Germany, which I’d been very excited to have since we set out on this European adventure. Brian lived in Steinbach am Gland, Germany when we was a little kid so he told me the wonder that is German food, beer, and culture. As always, he did not let me down. This time we stayed at the Circus Hostel, which by far had the friendliest staff we’ve encountered yet. They wanted to make sure we made the most of our time in Germany by giving us maps, places to eat, Christmas markets to see, and great side-adventures to go on.
That night we ate at the greatest hole in the wall German restaurant ever! It took us about twenty minutes to find it, as its name is Sophieneck and its located at the end of a long street on which every other store and restaurant beings their name with “Sophie” as well. Several miss-attempts and we finally found the
right Sophie. Walking into this restaurant out of the cold, crisp German air was like walking into Fezziwig’s party in “A Christmas Carol.” There was a fireplace roaring, dim lighting held to pace with candles atop every table and along the bar counter, tiny round tables with smiling satisfied faces circling round them, and an aroma we smelt from four doors down of something savory and delectable. We drank mulled wine and slurped up a soup made from potato, sweet chestnut, and mushroom before salivating over one of the best bratwursts I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming. Of course with a find this good, we went two nights in a row 😊
The second day we woke up to a full on downpour of snow. Our first real snowstorm since Interlaken. Nevertheless we had places to go and things to see, so padded with enough layers of clothes that I could’ve taken one of girl Cory’s karate kicks to the chest and not felt it, we grabbed our umbrellas and headed out. (Side note: Its weird to me to carry an umbrella for snow. I’ve always considered umbrellas a rain item, but scientifically its just a solid form
of rain. Still odd though, still odd.) First stop, the Brandenburg Gate. The Brandenburg Gate is a massive archway with statues affixed to the top that was brought from France after Napolean’s army was defeated. Ironically the only other leader who attempted world domination (Hitler) used it as his gathering grounds to inspect his ever-growing collection of Nazi troops. The Gate was pretty cool to look at, but sadly Brian was more impressed with the hotel right outside of the gate, which is infamous for Michael Jackson’s “baby dangling” incident. We guessed which window it might have occurred from and snapped a few shots for all of the Us Weekly fans out there. (Yes, yes Sway . . . I do miss trashy magazine time at the gym 😊
Around the corner from the Gate is Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial. At this point, the snow had lightened up a bit, but it still added a very dramatic touch to the already overwhelmingly powerful Memorial. It reminded me of the Giant’s Causeway the way the concrete blocks seemed to grow in size, forming a mountain maze of grave-sized stone slabs. There were no names, no words, nothing but the various sizes
starting at ground level and growing to be overhead. It was extremely quiet and very peaceful as you lost yourself walking amongst all of them. No sign or mention of why the artist had chosen this type of memorial, so I couldn’t help but wonder all the masses represented the number of people who died, a maze of graves representing all of the tragedy, or just a labyrinth of stone so you could lose yourself in your thoughts and reflect on the past. I looked it up after the fact and the designer, Eisenman's, stated that the “stelae” (concrete slabs) are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.
The other amazing sight to see is Charlie’s Checkpoint and the remains of what used to be the Berlin Wall. The too-close to home things for me standing where the wall once stood, is that is was torn down on my Dad’s birthday in 1989 (November 9th), and that when Brian was nine years old, he actually crossed through the Checkpoint with his family and remembers all the guards with guns aimed as
they searched the entire car, even under the wheels and under the engine hood. Many pieces of the wall have been saved because of the beautiful murals painted on the side. Apparently it was ok to express yourself artistically as long as you didn’t try going over the wall. It was definitely weird and again very powerful to know that the wall was standing as a barrier, and eventually came down, during my lifetime.
Although most people travel around Europe during the summer, and I was even advised by several friends and colleagues to do the same, Germany gave me one of the best reasons to travel around Europe during the fall and winter, Christmas. Everywhere there are lights and decorations unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We used to have to travel to the city (San Francisco) to see that kind of fanciful display or deep into the heart of Marinwood to see the Disney house that I only realized as an adult was right across from the school I teach at. Europe is beautiful all lit up and people are full to the brim with holiday spirit as well as holiday spirits. My very first Christmas Market experience
was in Germany and its one that will fill my head with sweet dreams every year that I fall asleep in front of the tree at my Mom’s house clutching my Nutcracker to my chest. I never realized I liked Christmas this much. I’ve always been a Halloween girl, but being away from home and surrounded by so much reminding me of the warmth and love that resides there, really makes me appreciate this time of year. Brian and I have begun watching Christmas movies including “Home Alone,” (which always makes me cry), “The Family Stone,” “The Santa Clause,” and “A Muppet Christmas Carol.” We still have yet to find a decent version of “Love Actually,” and I’m saving “Mixed Nuts” and “Scrooged” for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
When I first entered this particular Christmas market, I felt like I had stepped into a snow globe. Trees lit up, lights and decorations hanging from every booth and tent, people all around smiling, laughing, singing, and drinking mulled wine. It was incredible! Booths containing food, homemade crafts, sweets, drinks, and decorations lined the streets. There were people dressed up as various Christmas characters roaming the streets livening the mood and
getting people to interact with complete strangers. The Dickens Fair in San Francisco doesn’t hold a candle to the markets in Europe. If you ever feel like you’ve lost your holiday spirit, take a December trip to Europe and I promise you it will rejuvenate all of your child-like wonder and delight.
One last thing I highly recommend doing in Germany is drinking a boot full of beer. I know, I know, quite a change from the Christmas markets, but warming in a different way. Once again our hostel kept true to all of our high expectations by hosting a bar downstairs that served beer out of various-sized steins as well as a 2-liter boot. Brian and I decided we had no choice but to conquer the beast. So the amazement of every on-looker in the bar, we ordered, and consumed, an entire boot full of beer. Its true about the bottom of the boot too. Both Brian and I got splashed with a face full of beer as the bubbles built up and sent beer skyrocketing out the mouth. Well worth it though. What’s really nice about this trip, is every place we’ve been to is so unique. Each
culture has something truly different to offer. It makes me even more eager for the rest of the journey knowing we will encounter something new every place we go.
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Cher
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Das Boot!
Did you learn nothing from Beer Fest (the movie, not what we went to in Galway) haha; you must give the boot a quarter turn at the end to avoid the splash... DAS BOOT! Also, I am glad to hear that you have come over to the Christmas loving side. It looks like Germany has accomplished what I never could... Germany 1, Cher, well I still have a million points because it's my game ;-)