Ich Bin Ein Berliner

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****NOTE****
I apologize for taking so long to get things going here on the blog. I have only been online for short spurts in Internet cafes. Between the smoke, multiple foreign languages being spoken in the background, and the screwy German keyboards, I have not been able to think clearly enough to read e-mails let alone try to write anything. Plus, since I couldn’t upload pictures until now, I figured the lackluster writing would be even more obnoxious coupled with nothing to look at! Anyway, please bear with the following sum-ups of different cities. The writing won’t be funny, reflective, or overly intelligent. Geez, at this rate you’ve probably already deleted the e-mail notification that told you this piece of crap was online . . .
ENJOY
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Gutten tag!

After a very easy flight into Frankfurt and a very close connection to Berlin, I made it to Germany. The 8 hours from Chicago I sat next to a guy a few years older than me from New York. He left college after September 11th to join the Army and is currently stationed at the U.S. base in Ramstein. After a short leave at home in the States, he said he was actually very happy to returning to Germany, as he loves his job and the country. He told me he’s done two tours in Iraq and assumed he’d be back for more. It was incredibly interesting talking to him about the conflict both in Iraq and Afghanistan. Everyone else I’ve ever come into contact with who’s served has said one of two things - either they are confident in our mission there and think we are doing important work (and making progress) or they are incredibly disheartened by what’s going on on the ground and think the whole thing is a loss. Talking to this guy, I did not get a story so black and white. He spoke of the little victories in different towns, but also said that weeks after leaving, the majority of them had fallen back into chaos. He said he thought we were right to have gone into Iraq but was surprisingly undecided on whether we should stay. He referred to the current situation as being physically and politically a civil war that the United States could not possibly hope to bring an end to quickly. That being said, he thought it would be worse if we left, if for no other reason than it would mean there would be less of a police presence on the streets. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed his company and really appreciated being able to talk to someone who has experienced first hand what is covered and debated on CNN everyday.

So, on to travel talk. Berlin is an amazing city. To be honest, I was expecting something much different than what is actually here. Knowing how hard the city was hit during WWII, I imagined that so much was lost that only a few really old structures would be left amidst a sea of modern skyscrapers. I am really amazed to see that is not at all the case. In fact, while walking around looking for something in particular, it’s pretty hard to stay on track simply because everything you walk past looks so important, you have to stop and figure out what you’re standing in front of just to make sure you’re not missing something. The city is an incredible mix of history that runs back over centuries. From the Prussians to the monarchy, from the Nazis to the Soviets, Berliners have been through a lot.

Since the fall of the wall and reunification, the city has been going though a process of catching the east up to the west while preserving the past. Preservation in the midst of modernization isn’t easy for any city to do, but it is especially difficult in a place like Berlin, where wounds are still so fresh. I am constantly blown away to see modern buildings so carefully mixed into old neighborhoods to complement historic sites on the same block. I took a really great five-hour bike tour all over the city and the guide did an amazing job of telling the story of each stop.

As I know many of you are bored to tears whenever I start in on politics, I will keep the talk of the conference I attended to a minimum. After the first couple of days sightseeing and hanging out, the rest of my time in Berlin has been spent at the ICCEES Regional European Congress 2007. The conferences are organized every couple of years in different cities to bring scholars together from around the world to address issues concerning the European Union. Each day is divided into four separate hour-and-a-half panels made up of a handful of experts. Each member of the panel presents his or her research that is the basis of the paper accepted by the ICCEES. Some of the panels I’ve gone to so far have dealt with the EU constitution, the European Union Neighborhood Policy, the consideration of Turkey for membership in the EU, and the positive role the EU has played in former Soviet states. Needless to say, each hour-and-a-half block is filled with provocative ideas and lively discussion. I really enjoy every moment of it, knowing that I am gaining important insight into the issues I am studying at school, and meeting some brilliant people along the way.

The venue for the conference itself is amazing. Everyday I walk through the main gate of Humboldt University, an amazing building right on Unter den Linden. The university has been home to many of Germany's greatest thinkers of the past two centuries, among them the absolute idealist philosopher G.W.F. Hegel (remember from freshman philosophy, Jordan and Stephanie?), famous physicist Albert Einstein (E=MC2), fathers of Marxist theory Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (The Communist Manifesto), German unifier Otto von Bismarck (Prussian with a great mustache who went on to unify Germany), and African American Pan Africanist W. E. B. Du Bois (civil rights activist, poet, scholar, general badass). I only mention how cool the place is to give you an idea of the rush I get everyday I walk in, knowing how many great minds have done the same for centuries.

The univeristy is also home to one of my favorite lesser-known stoies/historic cites of Berlin. After 1933, Humboldt, like all German universities, was transformed into a Nazi educational institution. It was in the school’s main square that 20,000 books from the university library were burned in a demonstration that featured a speech by Joseph Goebbels. The books were written by authors considered degenerates and opponents of the Nazi regime. Today, the square has been renamed “Bebelplatz” and a monument consisting of a glass panel that looks down into an underground white room with empty shelf space for 20,000 books reminds visitors of what happens when government censors the people. A plaque explaining the history of the place bears an epigraph from an 1820 work by Heinrich Heine that reads, "Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen" ("That was only a prelude; where they burn books, they ultimately burn people.") The words are chilling, the empty bookshelves send a powerful message, and the univeristy stands today as a beacon of free ideas. I am floored to be participating in the conference held here.

So, Berlin has been very good to me. Everything I planned to do and see far exceeded my expectations and the atmosphere of the city has blown me away. As I leave Berlin I will be picking up my friend, Alissa, from the airport. She’s also from the journalism school at Drake and has spent the summer in London working for a publishing firm. I convinced her to tag along for at least part of my trip and I am really looking forward to having a travel buddy. Also, for those of you who remember my “Travel Tips For The Complete Dumbass” from last summer, I plan to continue on with that series and hope that at least one of them will be useful to all of you someday. All of that and so much more, soon.

Until then,
PEACE

Travel Trips For The Complete Dumbass #9

“You can have too much of a good thing.” My first afternoon in Berlin I tried an authentic German bratwurst. I honestly only bought one just to say I had tried it, never really expecting to like them. A week later, I haven’t quit eating them. I think in Europe people generally have several smaller meals throughout the day, rather than a couple of big ones at lunch and dinner. Needless to say I have embraced that routine, only for me it consists of having a bratwurst every hour, on the hour. Let me tell you, my gut is paying for it, but I have no intention of slowing down - they are delicious.

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Photos

Historic
Every street is filled with historic structures, all looking important and picture-worthy. Day one I was the typical tourist, whipping the digital camera at everything.

Simple Is Easy
My room at the Heart of Gold Hostel. I was in a very cool neighborhood with interesting hall-mates.

Keeping Its Namesake
Living up to their name, these Smart cars are crammed in everywhere, parking in-between big BMWs.

Berliner Dom
It's been built-up, torn-down, blown-up, and built once more.

Neue Wache
Originally a guardhouse for Prussian troops, the building has been used as a war memorial since 1931, and today remembers all German citizens who have been "victims of war and tyranny."

Sony Center
In former East Berlin, the Sony Center complex and pavilion is state-of-the-art design. The top puts on a constant light show at night.

Freaky
"Die" is German for "the." Even knowing that, this huge billboard of the Blue Man Group was unsettling.

Artistic Expression
Europeans are just smarter, you know?

Wall West
Throughout the city there are pieces of the wall that show the impressive graffiti that covered the Western side of the divide.

Wall East
There is a good stretch of the wall that was never torn down or moved. I have seen sections of the wall in Washington D.C., but it was amazing to stand in front of it where it has always been. This portion of the wall is actually protected by a new glass wall on either side to prevent looting. They had to build two more walls to protect a remnant of the one the world wanted torn down. Beautiful.

TV Tower
The Soviets had the tower built in the late 1960s to be a symbol of Communist power and prestige. They outsourced the design and construction of the job to Swedish engineers. At its unveiling, the sun hit the stainless steel dome just right and projected a huge cross into the sky, something that continues to happen on clear days. The Sweds claimed it wasn't intentional, but locals started calling it "The Pope's Revenge."

Memorial
This is the main Jewish memorial in Berlin. 2,711 concrete slabs (the number doesn't represent anything) of different heights, on uneven ground go on for blocks. It is simple but striking sight.

Government On The River
The official office and residence of the German chancellor - a modern white house on a beautiful body of water.

A Beautiful Day For Political Science
The Reichstag and the grounds around it are incredibly tranquil. I was surprised at how soft the massive building seemed.

Brandenburg Gate
The iconic gate is impressive in the middle of the afternoon and in the middle of the night. Another one of those "newsreel-come-to-life" moments.

Terrifying
The new cupola on-top of the German parliament has this massive solar panel structure that points back down into the building. It is incredible, but also looks like something an evil genius in a Bond film would have in his layer.

Eagle
From the top of the spiral staircase in the dome, you can look down into the chamber itself. There is no missing the eagle from the German coat of arms.

Nerd Alert
Here I am, looking like a total loser in front of Humboldt University. So worth it.

Comments

[Kelly]

Amazing
Another great story with great pics. As always I am very proud (maybe even a bit jealous!) of you. But I always feel better once you are home. Love ya Mom