Because It's Berlin

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Yes, I am here studying the peaceful revolutions of 1989. Yes, I also am exploring other aspects of Berlin's turbulent twentieth-century history (a couple World Wars, a pretty hot Cold War, etc.). But all work and no play makes James a dull boy! I am trying to enjoy the simple pleasures of being in Berlin - and trying not to panic that I won't see and do everything I would like to experience before I have to leave in two weeks!

So, as a counterbalance to the more somber entry on the Jewish Museum, here are some unabashedly random photos and observations from my various less-intellectual forays around the city:

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While the (re)building boom following Berlin's reunification has cooled down considerably, there is still plenty of (re)construction going on around the city (one just has to look at the skyline replete with construction cranes and at all the buildings sheathed in scaffolding). Sometimes this redesign takes a particularly creative turn, as with the use of legos to replace missing bricks on the facade of a building near Humboldt University. A little splash of color and humor in a war-damaged building never hurt anyone. At other times it is more serious, as with the brand new American embassy built right next to the Brandenburg Gate in what had been utterly empty space. Symbolic placement? Hmm...

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Although it is a city that can take itself very seriously, Berlin is also one of the most playful cities I have ever visited. It is rife with irrevent signs and comical street/wall art. Even protests can be a bit funny. A Trojan Horse of Environmental Disaster! I should create a coffee-table book.

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One weekend night, several of us from the seminar went out for a taste of Berlin nightlife. None of us are real techno-raver types, so we settled on one of those uniquely Berlin institutions, a "club" carved out of an empty lot along the Spree River, flanked by abandoned buildings and used car dealerships. A single Euro was all that it took to enter. Tucked into the wooded, sandy lot were stands selling beer and food, several pool and ping-pong tables, and a "stage" for live music performances. A beach completed the scene. We settled in to listen to a newly formed band playing folk/rock/country-ish music in German.

We ended up walking all the way home that night, soaking in the quirky night antics of the city. And contributing our own, taking a series of photographs in imitation of mannequins we saw in store windows. I must have been sleep-deprived...

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Another thing I have come to appreciate in Berlin in is its surprising green-ness. From tree-lined streets to enormous parks to the surrounding forests and lakes, you don't have to go far to get a nature fix. Tiergartan, the Central Park of Berlin, has quickly become my favorite, as it somehow manages to be both orderly and untamed all at once. On nice days, it is full of people of enjoying the weather, boating on the artificial lake and sunbathing in the green spaces - even in the nude! I love to see the faces of shocked Midwestern tourists stumbling upon a meadow full of naked Germans!

More to follow as the weeks unfold.

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Comments

[nick]

how jealous!!
hola, well i am just so jealous, i love berlin, there is just so much to see and do, and frankly never enough time. i definitely need to get back there soon, not been in 5 years, everytime i go it has always changed so dramatically. speak soon, besos, nick x

[Zoë]

Great photos!
"White trash fast food" - how does that become a good idea for a restaurant name?! And Who Killed Bambi? Who Let The Dogs Out?... All Hilarious! Berlin's great : )