October 18, 2014 — Ah, Berlin. When I started out on this journey, all I knew of you was what David Hasselhoff did to your Wall and Wim Wenders did to your mise-en-scène. Now, after six days living among your Germs, I know so much more about you. Like your obsession with currywurst and the fact that you’re only three hours’ drive from Prague.
Seriously, though, most of my trip to Berlin was work, so I didn’t get to do the explore-the-city-like-it’s-Brigadoon-and-my-feet-are-on-fire thing that I usually do. But did I walk many miles of its streets, saw its Festival of Lights, and visited some fascinating sites that I’ll devote full OTIS entries to at some point, like the Berlin Cathedral (and its crypt full of the elaborate sarcophagi of dead kings and dukes), the Holocaust Memorial (disconcertingly fun to walk through), and the beautiful cemetery where the Brothers Grimm are buried (my favorite moments in Berlin were spent there).
Admittedly, on one of the few free days I had during my time there, we took a day trip away from the city, heck, the entire country. We drove to the Czech Republic to see the nearby Sedlec Ossuary and some of Prague. So I kind of cheated on Berlin. Had to, though. I mean, the Bone Church. That place was a top-tenner on the list of places I want to see before I’m chucked into my own ossuary.
But back to Berlin…
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| Always gotta see something Goethe-y when in Germany. |
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| Holocaust Memorial |
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The Brandenburg Gate. On the other side of this is where David Hasselhoff
did his thing in a piano scarf and light-up leather jacket. |
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| The Berlin Cathedral. We ascended its dome and descended into its crypt of elaborate tombs. |
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| Alter St. Matthaus-Kirchhof, the cemetery in which the Brothers Grimm are buried. |
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Our trip coincided with Berlin's Festival of Lights,
which meant at night they projected lights and shapes on buildings throughout the city. |
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| Also on spooky statues. |
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| Plenty of memorials and artifacts related to THAT war around, like this replica of Checkpoint Charlie. |
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And the Berlin Wall is still standing, just in lots of pieces scattered throughout the city
(and the world for that matter. I feel like I come across pieces of the
Berlin Wall everywhere I go). |
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| Ending with art...I think. |
