Berlin Part I

The day before I went to Moldova I decided on a whim to go to Berlin. My mother is on a program there, so for me, it a relatively cheap way to see the city. After work on Thursday I went to the train station and took the transfer to the Airport. This is interesting, as the train actually drops you off in a corn field a few miles from the airport and then a minibus takes you the rest of the way, mostly over dirt roads. I connected through Amsterdam, and made it Berlin that night. Still, I had to get to the hotel using public transportation. Though the signs in Germany are both obvious and active, the actual system is so redundant and complicated that it is harder to figure out how to take unless someone tells you the lines and stops ahead of time. I got off of the subway and walked through Checkpoint Charlie on the way to the hotel. Next day the program my mother was on was going to spend the morning In a conference about the meaning of the Euro to the future. The meeting was right next to the Brandenburg gate, so I went there with the group and opted to sight see. Attractions included the German Parliament, and a piece of the Gdańsk shipyard wall, which was a memorial to the Polish Solidarność movement, for inspiring the East German resistance. I continued down the Unter Den Linden, which seemed rather sterilized and until I reached the Museum Island. The cathedral on the island is world class; it is rather large and very ornate. From there I moved on to the Alexanderplatz and the St. Nicholas church museum. After lunch at a bistro directly across the river from the stunning facade of the cathedral, I rejoined the group for a tour of the former Stasi Prison. On the way the bus passed through the Eastern Gallery and I go to see some actual standing pieces of the Berlin Wall. The actual tour of the prison was very powerful. The group’s guide was a member of the German Parliament. She explained to us the history of the prison under the Soviets, and then took us to the newer Stasi belt complex. Halfway through this tour she mentioned that she actually used to be a prisoner in this building. Needless to say, this was rather shocking. Towards the end of this tour, she also mentioned that the guards and interrogators all still live in the luxurious houses next to the complex which were given to them by the former East German government as part of their job. When questioned about the justice of their remaining in the houses, at no charge, to this day, the guide explained that there is actually a very good reason. “They’d have to go somewhere” she said “what if my former interrogator became my new neighbor? This would not be good for me”. After the tour the most of the group watched the U.S. - Slovenia world cup match. I took great pleasure in rooting for Slovenia. That night the entire group met with German journalists. I tagged along on my mother appointment, which took place at a nice restraint in West Berlin. The conversation was lively and very interesting. Later she drove us around her neighborhood, which is among the nicest in the city. The evening did not end until around midnight, and was thoroughly enjoyable.