Our excursion to Berlin was a sunburned whirlwind. Two long days of marching through the city, from one significant site to the next. However exhausting it was, though, I learned a lot about Germany's recent history. A few of the more interesting places: the holocaust monument, the Berlin wall line, and the East Side Gallery.
The holocaust monument is experiential. Walking through it, I was quickly separated from the rest of the group and the noise of the city faded away. The repeating patterns of shadows made me feel insignificant and disoriented. The narrow spaces were oppressive. Looking up, it was difficult to imagine a way out of the stone landscape.
A line runs through Berlin, signifying the location of the former wall. It disappears under buildings and cuts streets in half.
The East Side Gallery is a collection of paintings by international artists created directly on a still-standing portion of the Berlin Wall. Here are a few of my favorites:
As we were walking along the gallery, there was a sudden gap a few hundred feet wide. It afforded access to the river, where boat tours were taking off. Across the street from this gap was a huge indoor arena. Apparently, even though the East Side Gallery is a protected historic monument, the City of Berlin agreed to move a section of it in an agreement with O2. O2 wanted to develop the area for more tourism. The move was very unpopular among residents - across the river from the arena you can see graffiti reading "Fuck O2." This image sums it up pretty well: