Today, the Silver Whisper was docked in Warnemunde on the northern coast of Germany by Rostock. But many of us got on busses for the four hour drive to Berlin where we would spend the day immersed in the living history of probably what is the most torn up city in the world.
Berlin.
Many of the generation above me can tell you exactly what they were doing when Kennedy was assassinated. Likewise, many people today will tell you what they were doing right before they saw the twin towers fall on 9/11. For me, I will tell you that on November 9, 1989, I was a happy eight year old watching an Adam West Batman movie being played on television when immediately afterwards was an emergency news broadcast showing live footage of people picking through a wall and crying while they were looking through and reaching to the other side. There was something about the sheer joy on that man's face that I have never forgotten. And now, finally, I was going to see that place with my own eyes.
For those who don't know, one of the only times in history when the US and Russia worked together, was to squash the great evil that was Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. The result of that collaboration was a fractured Berlin with the West side being capitalistic and the East enshrouded in the iron curtain and swallowed up by the USSR. The soviets went so far as to erect a wall to keep the East Berliners from escaping to the west. This wall stood until 1989.
Anyway, now that we're all caught up...
Our day in Berlin began with lunch on top of the Reichstag! This is like their congress or parliament building.
Soup and Beer
Lunch
Dessert
On top of the Reichstag
Afterwards, we walked around on top of the Reichstag for a little tour. Like many things in Germany, the original dome of this building was destroyed in WWII, so it was rebuilt in glass.
Victory Column from the top of the Reichstag
I love the German's for this. The owners of this bank in the top left part of this picture hired Frank Gehry to be their architect. Well, as you may or may not already know, Frank Gehry is partnered with this company that provides all the metal for his buildings, so he only has one style which is the sheets of titanium look. Well, these German people told them he wasn't allowed to do that, so he designed what he considered to be a giant metal fish on the roof of the bank.
Brandenburg Gate and Frank Gehry Fish roof from Reichstag
Here we are passing by some museums on our way to church. We're going to the Berliner Dom for an organ concert.
Museum by the water
Looking up at the Berliner Dom
Heroes of the Reformation
The dome of the Berliner Dom
Berliner Dom
Here is that concert:
After our organ concert, we headed over to the Brandenburg gate. On the way we passed a massive Synagogue. You couldn't help but get the feeling like they were making up for something. Then we passed Humboldt University, and the boulevard Unter den Linden, which inspired many poems and songs.
Synagogue
Humbolt University
Unter den Linden
Does this next picture look familiar? If so, it's because it was played non stop on the news the week that Michael Jackson was dangling his son by the leg outside of this balcony window! This hotel is part of the square the touches the Brandenburg Gate.
Michael Jackson's baby dangling window
Remember that bank I mentioned earlier? Gehry, unable to rake in the massive sales to himself by designing another tin can of a building decides to put all of his metal on the inside. Here he goes back to his Jewish roots and keeps with the fish theme, paying homage to the story of Jonah. Keeping Jonah in mind, he gives us the inside of a fish. So if today anyone would like to spend three days in the belly of a fish, they need only to talk to this German bank and work out a deal with security.
Inside the belly of a fish.
On American Soil
There's always a lot going on inside the Brandenburg Gate. Today there was a marching band playing. Here, have a listen. "It's the Final Countdown!"
The Brandenburg Gate
Massive and in the middle of the city = The thing tourist take pictures of.
What followed was an amazing display of architectural planning and symmetry. Here's my panoramic shot of a square with two identical churches facing each other. Just incredible.
Symmetry, I'm a big fan.
The day is not over yet, and we're packing as much as we can into our experience before we have to start our four hour drive back to Warnemunde. So, our next stop is Checkpoint Charlie. Before the wall came down, one would travel between East and West Germany via these checkpoints. Checkpoint C, or Charlie, was the one the American's were in charge of. Today, you can pay about 10 euro and still have your passport stamped to make it look like you passed through checkpoint Charlie (although technically that makes your passport invalid...oops.)
Checkpoint Charlie
This Curry is the Wurst.
And now we move on to a portion of the Berlin wall preserved as a reminder for future generations.
Why indeed
Tom Cruise fans rejoice. I snapped a shot of the courtyard used in the film Valkyrie as we were driving by it.
Courtyard from Valkyrie
The day takes a turn for the somber as we stop at the Holocaust monument. I'm going to show you every picture I took here.
The Reichstag is in the background.
And this video:
What is the explanation of the Holocaust monument? The artist prefers that you visit it, walk around the inside, and then form your own opinion. I can say that when you're in side of it, it's much to easy to get lost and separated from the people you're with. You're quickly swallowed up, and the sound plays tricks on you.
It was then time to start heading back. On our way out of the city, we stopped to look at a palace back from when Germany was a monarchy, and then we hit the road bound for our ship in Warnemunde.
Once back in Warnemunde, all the escorts for the day celebrate together at an outdoor pub.
No comments:
Post a Comment