Time in Berlin
I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of Berlin, but I knew it was going to be a wonderful, hectic and fun place.
We got in mid day and spent the first day walking around a lot. We went to the Victory Column, a massive statue that was built after a war victory in the 1800s and that moved around a bunch, including when it was a symbol for the Nazis.
Then, we went to the Brandenburg Gate, another historical symbol. Right inside the gate, there was a room called the ‘quiet room’ where you could go in for silence to just take everything in, which was a cool, special thing.
Then we walked to the Memorial of the Fallen Jews in Europe, which was a big square with tons of blocks of different sizes that were in the layout of rows and columns. It was a pretty overwhelming, powerful area. At first, I didn’t really understand, but it clicked for me that the seemingly endless blocks were symbolizing the Jews situation during the Holocaust. It felt overwhelming and crazy, a remembrance to just a horrific time.
Then, we walked to the Sony Center and Postdamer Platz for a massive Christmas market. Then to Checkpoint Charlie, a big symbol during the time of the Berlin Wall. After that to the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas market, which was just as massive and exciting as the first Christmas market. Tons and tons of people.
The following day, we started at the Berlin Wall East Side Gallery. It was this massive stretch of wall with panels of decorated art. Tons stuck out, but including one of the ones below that I particularly liked.
There were all kinds of art, from hopeful pieces, to dark and scary ones. It went on and on, and was pretty special to see it all.
Then, we went to Alexanderplatz, another big plaza and market area. It was wild to me that Berlin had so many of these super frequented, populous plazas.
We followed that getting caught in a ton of rain and making it to Museum Island. In this one area, there are 5 massive, historical museums, and you can buy a pass to check out all 5.
We ended up making it inside 3 of them, including one of modern art, one of Egyptian history, and one on Greek and Roman history that also had a wonderful Middle Eastern exhibit.
Those museums wiped us out. We were going to hit the Jewish Museum and then the Reichstag, but were too wiped out, so we took it easy, grabbed a dinner and went back.
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Berlin was another of those massive cities I wish I had more time in. There’s endless history and the history there felt way more tangible to me than much of the history I had seen in other places. Both because of everything related to the Holocaust and because Germany’s history was more recent and applicable to my own life with the impacts of their role in the two world wars and with the Berlin wall.
We were impressed by how international the city felt with its diverse population. It was also easy to get around, and a ton of energy all throughout the city.
