GERMANY 2012: First day and a half in Berlin:: 7/31 and 8/1/2012

Tag einen und halben Tag (July 31 p.m. and August 1)

Berlin

August 1 …Guten Abend

So for starters, my German is nil! I actually studied written German when I was pursuing a PhD many years ago for my language requirement… I never spoke a word, and the course was totally how to translate written German into English. As I recall, all the other PhD candidates in the German course were scientists and engineers.  So, now you know not to expect too much from me on this matter. And everyone from taxi drivers to workers to shopkeepers seem to speak English here in Berlin, so you barely have to extend any effort to be polite using German.

After our very very long day yesterday, we walked to dinner to Borchardt — a somewhat upscale, business kind of place that appears to have a lot of history and is probably very busy with business people for lunch. Food was good — much larger portions than we are accustomed to in California… and prices to match the size of the portions! I had the sea bass with tomato risotto and Mike had a veal dish. both were good… not great. We meandered back to the hotel (by now we had been up for about 20 hours.. and I had a bit of work to do, so tack on another two hours.

We were determined to sleep until we got up… and we did! Until about 9:30 am!! — nearly 7 hours.

Started the day at Einstein Café.. a sort of German Starbucks.. nearly a total duplicate. It was close to the hotel and really easy.

We then began our trek… having laid out a walking map for the first full day, last night.

Our total walk was more than 8 miles!! And we strolled lots of neighborhoods from the Mitte to Kreuzberg to a bit of Pankow..  saw the old and the new, artsy areas and totally business political zones and ended up at the Holocaust Memorial which was far more powerful than I anticipated, but more on that later.

The big impressions — unbelievable transit options (although we haven’t used any yet, since we only used our feet which are very tired at this point); lots of parks and green areas interspersed throughout the city; wonderfully defined sidewalks paved for bikes, pedestrians, café outdoor eating; tons of bookstores (which I guess I notice since the Bay Area is now so embarrassingly void of book stores.

It’s been really interesting to see the changes here. Mike and I were last here when the Berlin Wall was still standing (having driven all through northern East Germany (from Sasnitz to Berlin). We actually experienced Checkpoint Charlie (which was removed after the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany; as I recall, it was actually only a wooden hut in the street; today there is a small replica and this fake checkpoint Charlie is very popular with tourists who take their photographs in front of it.)  We also walked for a while on the metal strip that was the base for the “wall”.. It’s lined with a fairly interesting set of historical photos of what the street looked like when the wall was still in existence.. Hard to believe!  Tonight a taxi driver (we were too tired to walk to the restaurant we chose) told us that he was in the 4th grade in 1989 when the wall came down and he remembers that his class took a trip to the Eastern side and they were all told to bring chocolates as gifts for their East German hosts (because chocolate was a rare treat for those kids).

Other than the fact that whenever you approach broad boulevards with about six lanes for cars in each direction — and broad deep sidewalks (mostly treeless) — and bureaucratic looking buildings (remains of the old East Berlin), you really never know if you’re in the old East or in the West side of the city. Actually most of our day was spent in the old East Berlin side.

Eventually — through our very circuitous 8-mile route — (the hotel is actually just about a half mile stroll to the monument) — we reached the Holocaust Memorial.  It’s located in the Mitte section of town… on a piece of land formerly known as the “death strip,” near the Brandenburg Gate —  where the Wall once stood.  Interestingly it is opposite the American Embassy (a new building). It’s a series of 2,711 rectangular solids, all somber gray .. The “pillars” or rectangular solids vary in height but are all the same width and depth and all are lined up in a grid like fashion that is slightly imperfect. The ground is also set at a mildly sloping up and down format.. and as you walk between the rows you are in a rather tight space.. probably about 3 ft apart. In some ways it’s a bit like a cemetery with monuments of varying sizes, all lined up, and based on the age of the monument some leaning. It was a contemplative way to end the day.

We went to a little place called Noto for dinner, in the Mitte… we ate outside on the sidewalk on folding chairs. Super relaxed; great food. We shared their special spare ribs with a slaw salad, and a beef tomato stuffed with barley and goat cheese sitting on top of a fennel salad. The staff was very friendly, and supposedly Brad Pitt eats here when he’s in Berlin. Guess he wasn’t there tonight.. In any case, it’s the kind of place that wouldn’t really do much even if Brad showed up.. It’s just really laid back..

OK.. I’m signing off as it is now approaching that 2 am moment.

Guten Abend..Aufwiedesien

Fern