Dancing Lessons from God

Berlin

Posted on Monday, November 7, 2011 | 0 Comments

Berlin! Berlin! Berlin! Ich liebe Berlin!

Upon arriving in this fabulous city we were dropped off at a portion of the wall that has been left standing. You can walk along the wall and look at the photos and documents pertaining to Hitler's regime and the mistreatment of minorities that he allowed. There was also a museum on the same lot that covered a lot of the same material that is shown next to the wall. This whole memorial was erected and stands on what used to be the Gestapo headquarters during the years of the Third Reich.

Chris sneakin' in on my photo.

We also went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum afterwards. Unfortunately I do not have any photos because they were not allowed, but it was a great experience nonetheless. It's crazy to think how desperate these people were to get out of East Germany. Walking through that museum was yet another experience in which I realized how blessed and grateful I am to be a citizen of the United States of America. I know that sounds super cheesy, but it's true. I really truly feel that way.

The following morning we climbed the Siegessäule (below).

The Siegessäule

Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy, but I still got a halfway decent photo of the Berlin skyline:

One of the things I was the most excited about was seeing the Reichstag. I know I mention it a lot: I'm an International Relations major. I like politics. I like seeing buildings that political goings on occur in. Keeping it brief. Just because I love y'all.

BUT to be not so brief, this building is pretty interesting, BECAUSE, it was destroyed by a fire in 1933. They say that an Anti-Nazi sympathizer wanted to strike a blow against the Third Reich by lighting the place on fire. Others say it was the Third Reich itself that set the scene up so that they could move there seat of power somewhere new, symbolizing their new authority over Germany's past. Who knows. Still interesting.

In 1999 reconstruction of the building, and most notably the new modernized glass dome, was completed and the seat of parliament was transferred back that April.

The Brandenburg gate. Crazy to think that twenty five years ago one couldn't just walk through it as we do today. Another moment of pride and gratitude for my citizenship.

About a block from the Brandenburg gate is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It stretches almost 5 acres and is comprised entirely of large cement blocks of different sizes. According to Wikipedia it says: "According to Eisenman's project text, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason."

Quite like the Nazi Regime.

Labels: History, Study Abroad, Tourism