Berlin: Take 2

I was lucky to get to explore Berlin on two separate occasions with two equally awesome pairs of people. The first time, I got to experience it with Cameron and James (awesome friends from high school). This time, I got to explore with Cameron and Rachel (my brother and cousin, respectively)! I couldn’t ask for two better groups!

The second time around, Cam, Rachel, and I did a little more exploring into the history surrounding Berlin. We also happened to be there over Bastille Day (a French celebration to symbolize the uprising of their country as it is today), which meant that they were celebrating in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Good for them, bad for picture taking…

Our tour and adventure to the German History Museum will get its own post for those of you who are interested!

However, we also did a lot more than that! Our first goal after the tour: see a little more WWII history. Specifically, we wanted to see the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Some of you may have seen it and know that it is a church that was bombed during the war and half of the tower is missing. It is the perfect remembrance of how the war affected Germany.

Unfortunately, they are in the middle of renovations (it seems like they are renovating everything in Europe), and we couldn’t see anything… Only Rachel and Cam know exactly how upset this made me, but it’s like making the decision to go to your favorite restaurant to have your favorite meal. You sit down, order your drink, and plan exactly how to contain your excitement when you order so the waiter/waitress doesn’t see how crazy you are. You finally order and BAM, she says they are out of what you want… Crying would be socially inacceptable, so you pretend like you have turrets and unleash your anger on the nearest poster or statue or anything that won’t be offended.

To make things worse, the renovations will be complete in the middle of August this year (you know, when I come home). Words cannot describe…

Anyway, we still went inside and could see pictures and the story behind the memorial that we couldn’t see (not that I’m still bitter or anything), and I witnessed something that was at least partially redeeming. I’ve said before that I love being able to read German because it makes many of the memorials more meaningful to be able to read and understand and not have to have them explained. Inside the church is a statue of Jesus, and below him is a stone that reads:

“UND VERGIB UNS UNSERE SCHULDEN,

WIE WIR UNSEREN SCHULDIGERN VERGEBEN.“

If you can’t read it or don’t know what it is, that is The Lord’s Prayer or Our Father. It translates to:

“And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.”

I found it very powerful that they would choose this particular line, and I wonder if it was an addition before or after the church became a World War II memorial.

We also paid a visit to Alexanderplatz, a very popular square in Berlin, and saw the Urania-Weltzeituhr (“World Clock”). This clock shows the time in time zones across the world (as the name suggests), and is also the location of a massive peaceful protest. Many East Berlin citizens gathered with signs reading “Wir sind das Volk” (“We are the people”), which resulted in much police and state security brutality, along with 1200 arrests. Only 33 days after this protest, the Berlin Wall fell.

We also saw the “Rotes Rathaus” (“Red City Hall” – is not as cool sounding when translated), the massive TV Tower, and some Berlin symbols (mostly having to do with bears).

However, many famous academics have completed stints in Berlin. Cameron was particularly excited to see a statue of Hermann von Helmholtz, a man who discovered many of the principles his PhD research revolves around, free energy in particular (I’m pretty sure…).

Furthermore, we hit up MacLaren’s Pub (based off the bar in How I Met Your Mother, which just about everyone in the world younger than 27 knows), old sites of the Berlin Wall, and a giant flea market that was incredibly busy!

Finally, because Cameron was heading to Rome and Rachel was flying home the following day, we decided to splurge on a nice meal together. By that, I mean that I searched food on my phone and we went to the nearest location. Fortunately, it was a great little restaurant that served some of our favorite German foods (glad that worked out)! We all got the same thing: Schnitzel, Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes), cole slaw, and apple strudel! By far the best meal that I’ve had in a German restaurant!