Berlin, Berlin. Wir fahren nach Berlin!
Being purely responsible adults is never satisfactory in the long run. This past weekend, Fabi and I felt the urge to get OUT of our little "hometown" and see something new. We both had a 4-day weekend, so we planned to go to Dresden and Weimar. But due to a funeral on Friday, our plans fell through. Then our friend Jessi saved the day by offering us a free stay in her Berlin apartment while she traveled to Amsterdam for the weekend. So we hopped in our car and drove to Berlin!
It rained nonstop the entire six hour drive. And not just a shower - we're talking downpour! Anyone who has seen the weather forecast - or at this point, major European headlines - knows that Germany had extreme flooding this week. In Dresden, college kids have reported their cars being washed away, and some cities have lost power. Luckily, our route took us through and above the rain, but the drive was quite stressful for Fabi. Kudos to him for holding out!
The Berlin Cathedral is another impressive sight. You can't tell in this photo, but it was built on the bank of the Spree river and is only accessible from one side. Across the river from the cathedral was the DDR Museum, a colorful and interactive exhibition of East German life. Everything on display had your typical 1960s-70s feel, but with an added tad of socialist flavor. Very informative, but also very packed with American tourists because...
... it basically rained the entire day on Sunday, and people flocked to the museums! Fabi and I had a large umbrella and layered clothing, but perusing a city is always nicer in the sunshine. We drank lots of coffee to make up for it.
One of my favorite things about Berlin was its rough-artsy flair. There wasn't a lot of grunge per say, but the place looked beat-up in a very organized, meaningful way. Stone pillars were left unrestored with their bullet-holes from the 2nd World War, graffiti was practically everywhere (I thought of how much Caroline would love it), cracked buildings and halves of crumbling churches stood amongst cold, concrete 1920s constructions, modern office buildings, Roman-style museums and Baroque university buildings. Memorials are designed to be stumbled upon by the public, the desired reaction being, "Oh look! I'm in standing an memorial. When did that happen, and what does this mean?" Clever Germans.
One of my favorite quarters was the Hackesche Höfe - a complex of courtyards containing chocolatiers, designers and hat shops. You can meander through the courtyards and look up at the Jugendstil apartments built in the early 1900s.
The Hackesche Markt train station is pictured above. Again, Berliners combined utility and art and turned the archway supports of the station into pubs and restaurants, with umbrellas and outdoor seating pouring out into the streets on either side of the platform. Here Fabi and I enjoyed a "Scandinavian breakfast" - including scrambled eggs with shrimp and smoked salmon on toast! Above our heads we heard the low rumble of the passing trains every 5 minutes or so - not loud enough to disturb, just loud enough to remind you of the novelty that you're eating a fine meal under a train platform.
Of course we saw many other things. Above are just the highlights. Skype me sometime and I'll tell you more! Deal? :)
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