My visit to Berlin (2012)

November 9th 1989, the wall of hate crumbled with an almighty roar, FREEDOM!

East and West unite. Grandparents see their children for the first time. Popping of champagne, laughter, tears, hugging. Over 600 people were killed trying to escape during the years 1961 and 1988. Some were shot on the spot, others drowned, suffered fatal accidents, or killed themselves when they were caught. They tried everything to escape, a popular method of escaping was by digging tunnels underground, others hid in vehicles behind the cushioning of the seats.

Has much changed today, only 23 years on? A wall, a physical division, blocks of hate cemented with fear, fear of the unknown and change. Our world, our countries, villages, towns and ‘back arse of where’s’ still have their own ‘walls’. Whether it’s the colour of your skin, cultural differences, religion, gender, sexual orientation, appearance or race, barriers of hatred still exist today, unfortunately.

So what's Berlin like in 2012? Well, first and foremost not much of the original Berlin wall still exists today, everyone wanted their piece of history, literally. Ironically they built a wall around the wall to preserve it! I’m trying to think of the best adjective to describe Berlin, dynamic, modern, expressive all come to mind. However HUGE is the most appropriate, Berlin extends over 889 square kilometres! I should mention at this point we didn’t get lost, not once! (Sat-nav-Sarah in full swing, yeooow! )

Brandenburg Tor

The Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburg Tor) is the focal point of Berlin, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, London has Big Ben, Dublin has well erm... that needle in the sky The Spire. Ok, tax payers money aside, in all fairness it does reflect the light beautifully on a summer’s evening?! Right? The Brandenburg Gate was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans in the classicist style; in 1793 it was complemented by the Quadriga, the triumphal statue of the winged Goddess of peace driving a four-horse chariot.In 1806 the Quadriga was stolen by Napoleon following the occupation of Berlin by the French army and it was removed to Paris.

It was returned to Berlin in 1814 following Napoleon’s fall from power, and the statue’s olive wreath was exchanged for an Iron Cross. Intimidating in it’s size, it's the gate of a gate! Above the columns high sits Victoria the Goddess of victory in her chariot in the sky. A birds eye view of Berlin, the wind of change has whispered in her locks while the threatening clouds of years gone by have casted a shadow on her frozen face. Stereotypically the Germans aren’t known to have a great sense of humour. However, the Germans positioned the Goddess of victory overlooking Paris square, this serves as a constant reminder of their victory. Ironic, aye?

Winston Churchill once said “The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic”. This entered my mind as we visited the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. The Holocaust memorial is one of the most visited places in Berlin, composed of 2, 711 grey stone slabs that bear no markings, such as names or dates. These cold, grey slabs mark as a reminder to all the souls who were killed during the Holocaust. An uneasy feeling of claustrophobia and disorientation comes over me instantly staring at these crowded cold grey upright slabs. Everyone can interpret their own meaning on what these physical slabs represent.

These slabs of different heights reminded me of a huge bar chart, perhaps one representing the increase of antisemitism across the world at that time. Other people believe that the slabs are similar to the carriages on the death trains which transported Jews to the concentration camps. While some believe that the Memorial resembles a vast field of nameless tombstones and captures the horror of the Nazi death camps. It is believed that the architect Peter Eisenman’s inspiration came from the overcrowded Jewish cemetery in Prague. The undulating slabs are as if the surface below is overcrowded with bodies. The memorial museum is also located here, a moving exhibition to say the least. The room that I found most chilling was a room containing copies of real letters written by the victims. It sent chills to the core of my spine by just reading these letters, probably the last pen they put to paper.

Footsteps from this memorial site is an unassuming car park; beneath this car park is the bunker where Hitler committed suicide. Before Hitler ended his own life he got married on the 29th of April. On a different note, did you know that William and Kate got married on the exact same date! Strange!

A trip to Berlin wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the open air flea markets. It was the best open-air market that I have been to so far. Vintage handbags, nick-nacks galore and antique junk or treasures at every turn. There was this lovely little hidden quirky outdoor garden space for eating, needless to say our taste buds gorged on an oven stone baked rustic pizza. An open air amphitheatre style arena was located just beside the main market stalls. Live karaoke and other entertainment takes place here during the markets. Spectators looked on in anticipation at this petite entertainer, one question was on everyone’s mind... ’will she fit in that small suitcase? ’

East Side Gallery

East side gallery, a walk to remember. 1. 36km and over 106 paintings from artists from over the world. The largest open-air gallery in the world. Typically the heavens opened when we were there, not very convenient to say the least. It pelted down like an army of bullets, leaving potholes on our paths. However, us troopers marched on admiring the murals as the rain trickled down over our weather beaten faces.

Hmmm, so... is what being ’cultured’ is like?! Like drained rats we eventually ran or scuttled for cover in our base camp, none other than McDonalds! The neon ’M’ in the sky, that one familiar friend (or foe) in every country we set foot in. Although us Irish will agree that nothing compares to your local chipper and a batter’d sausage to soak up that ahem... one pint! One home comfort we did find was kerrygold, in none other than Lidl. #BestBuyEver

No amount of rain however could dim the radiance of these brightly coloured murals. Swirls of colour dancing on the artist’s canvas, hues of red and orange warmed the soul. Inspirational quotes and words of wisdom contribute very aptly to this memorial of freedom. One simple caption on a mural stuck with me, ‘Get Human’ it read. Effective in its direct tone. The East Side Gallery reminded me of Prague’s John Lennon Peace wall. After the fall of communism people started to decorate this wall with murals and messages of this peace. Lennon was an icon for many here, during the communist era Western music was banned, especially songs about peace and freedom naturally. The police tried to white wash this wall on numerous occasion but gave up eventually! Whenever you visit the John Lennon wall one leaves with a lifted spirit and a positive attitude. (Unfortunately this only lasts momentarily).

Berlin also has it’s own TV Tower, a grotesque piece of architecture some may argue. The Germans, predominantly a non- Catholic country were very unimpressed with this TV tower as when the light shone through it sometimes reflected a cross on the city below. Instead they decided to agree that it wasn’t a cross at all but in fact none other that a plus sign! Aren’t they a funny lot the Germans, mad as a bag of spiders!

Being a tourist can be draining, we slept like babies on the first night. Fresh as daisies the next night we decide to head for a bit of a rave, in a club nearby called Trés Or. NEVER AGAIN! An underground warehouse or prison, thumping music or ahem techno techno techno heaven! An underworld for the mad beans, dancing like duracell bunnies on speed into the wee hours of the morning. I swear to God I wasn’t sure if some of these mad beans were dancing or having a fit at times! I presume this is the first sign of getting old, complaining about loud music and shouting make it stop, the strobe lighting that is! On the bright side, this rave club sells TOASTED HANG SANGWICHES, who would have thought?!

Photo gallery