Europe Day 54 of 59, Berlin

For our first full day in Berlin, the sky decided to let it rain.

This beautiful street, Unter den Linden, often gets compared to Paris' Champs-Élysées. I get the comparison. It ends with an arch, and as you walk along it there is high end shopping, museums, and cathedrals.

I do not know if it is a personal issue, but much of Berlin and Germany seems inspired by other parts of Europe. You see both hints of Greece, Italy, and France everywhere you look. Which makes me compare it to the USA. Think of it this way. In the family metaphor, the USA is the ultimate example of the son of a great artist who went on to be far richer and more important than the father, yet the father's artistic accomplishments were never quite equalled. We got to the moon, but no city in the USA can truly compete with Paris, London, or Rome. (OR my new favorite, Madrid.) Germany is the same. Most of what you see in Berlin is inspired by other great European cities, yet Germany is in fact the richest and most successful country in Europe, and that is in spite of being split in two for half of the last century.

The Brandenburg Gate is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin. It is pretty tragic to think that there were once several of them. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built from 1788 to 1791.

Talk about history. Napoleon entered Berlin through this gate, yet even that seems insignificant next to this Gate's 20th Century importance. The Berlin Wall literally curved around this gate to lock it inside East Germany, and this is where President Kennedy visited in 1963 and the Soviets hung large red banners across it to prevent him looking into the East. And, of course, this is where President Reagan said in 1987, "Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." (If you think I cannot wait to talk about The Wall, you're right.)

The Reichstag building, home to Germany's parliament and site of much history. The Nazi party actually did not make much use of the building. There was a fire that damaged the building in 1933; an "attack" which they used to suspend most rights provided for by the 1919 constitution in the Reichstag Fire Decree.

The super-modern dome was completed in 1999, 105 years later than the building first opened. The dome is open to the public for free at all times, and from there they can look down upon their parliament. Normally I do not embrace adding modern elements to classic buildings, but talk about symbolism. That dome is a physical CSPAN.

For the record, the Brandenburg Gate was once in East Berlin and its neighbor the Reichstag building in West Berlin. There are many, many ways to look at the division of this city and the Wall. Barbie first came here in 1991, soon after the Wall fell, and she simply does not recognize this city. I doubt anyone would. But here is how I suggest we look at the division. A city is alive, and the Wall was a wound, a cut through the skin that went deep into the tissues. But with time, the wound has healed and now almost all traces of it have disappeared.

Schloss Bellevue, the residence of the German President.

The Siegessäule, which sounds better than the translated Victory Column, was designed to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War. By the time it was inaugurated in 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). They were kind of on a roll.

I learned in Munich that the German states united under the Prussian King at the end of these wars. I cannot figure out why this monument does not symbolize the unification of Germany. You would think they would be into unification monuments around here.

The Schloss Charlottenburg, completed in 1699, is the largest palace in Berlin and the only building in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family. This family can trace their rule back to 1061, when this area was under Roman control. Dang.

If we had more time in Berlin, we would tour this Palace. Berlin is definitely a city that deserves a few weeks throughout your lifetime. And, the way the city is rebuilding the old and building the new, I would recommend visiting at least every 10 years.

The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, a definitely highlight to the city. Deep in what was once West Berlin, this once large, beautiful church was heavily damaged in World War II. Brilliantly, they decided to let it remain as a monument to the destruction of war. Had this been on the other side of the wall, I suspect it would have been demolished.

In pictures, it is hard to get a sense of the damage. (I recommend a right-click "open in new window" right about now.) In person, you absolutely feel the amount of force it would take to do this.

Where stained glass was broken by the force from bombs, they have left the gaping hole.

Inside, they show you a model of the church before the war.

And a model after. The buildings around it are a new church, which I honestly wish was never built. The new buildings, built between 1959 and 1963, absolutely detract from the site. But I will give them this; they were in West Berlin, cut off from their great cathedrals on the other side of the Wall. Perhaps rebuilding a modern church next to the war ravaged remains of another church was a healing moment.

A photograph taken soon after the war ended.

A photograph taken before the war.

Inside, they make a point of saying that they left this damaged statue of Jesus Christ in its place. I tried to get a pic with his missing arm and the rubble outside at once, but the angles just did not work.

This pic does a better job communicating the damage.

As an amateur linguist, I would like to point out that the word Kaiser comes directly from Caesar. (So does Tsar. You really cannot underestimate the reach and influence of the Roman Empire.)

The sun came out, giving me an even better picture than before. And, as long as I've said they shouldn't have built it, can I just say what an awful example of 1960's architecture that new Belfry is? Man, it reminds me of the ugly buildings one sees being replaced in Los Angeles. I'd criticize the 60's more, but kicking a dead horse is pointless.

No Joke. Next to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche today the NBA and EA Sports had the "NBA Jam Van," a traveling exhibit to promote NBA Basketball and a video game to European innocents. They had kids shooting free throws, an announcer babbling on, and people playing video games... next to the bombed out remains.

Across from the previously bolded, "bombed out remains," we stopped into KFC for a quick lunch.

There it is. The Wall. The Berlin Wall. The call the people who constantly pick at it, "woodpeckers." In truth, so much was taken away by souvenir hunters and people who thought the rubble would have value on ebay that this remaining stretch of Wall is now protected as a monument.

That would be all that is left of The Wall.

What is most fascinating about the wall is that it was built not to protect East from West but to contain East from West. From 1945 to 1961, 2.5 million East Germans fled to West Berlin. Is there any more clear appraisal of governmental systems than this fact? East Germany was going to end up bankrupt and empty if they did not physically prevent their own people from leaving. Fine, I am biased. But how can anyone, even Putin, deny that social democracy, with protection of individual rights, is the best form of government man has yet to create? Any government that has to wall in its own people to keep them from leaving has no right to exist.

And this is Checkpoint Charlie. It gets more attention than it deserves, but there was a moment when tanks lined up on both sides of this street, facing each other. And not just any tanks, but tanks representing two nuclear armed superpowers.

One of the cooler signs one will ever see. Meaningless today, but for a 45 year period it literally meant, "Seriously. Think about it. Walk that direction and life quickly becomes hell."

The Fernsehturm, or TV Tower, is the 4th tallest tower in Europe at 368 m (1207 ft). You can see it from almost anywhere in the city. I really, really, really wanted to go up there and check out the rotating deck. Maybe next time. By the way, this tower was built by the inappropriately named GDR, German Democratic Republic, or East Germany. (Cooler in German, DDR, Deutsche Demokratische Republik, but still the biggest lie of a name ever.) It is a cool tower, but I also credit the East German government for sticking an eyesore in the background of many a good picture.

Here we are at the Berliner Dom. I love, like all caps LOVE, this cathedral. First of all, bigger is better. From Wikipedia: At 114 metres (374 ft) long, 73 metres (240 ft) wide and 116 metres (381 ft) tall, it was much larger than any of the previous buildings and was considered a Protestant counterweight to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. On February 27, 1905 the present building was inaugurated.

There you have it. They said, "Fellas, let's take on the Vatican?" There had been important churches on this site since 1451, three before this one, but if you ask me this Neo-Renaissance styled building is a masterpiece.

This pic does the room no justice at all. Sometimes you need a super-turbo-wide-angled-lens.

No justice, I tell you. This dome is awe inspiring. And it was apparently the only part of the church to be damaged in the war. It took the East Germans until 1975 and it was not completed until 1990.

As I took these pictures, I got the Peter Gabriel song "Big Time" in my head, which is odd because I have not listened to it for ages. But there I was taking pictures with Peter's voice singing, "And I will pray to a big god, As I kneel in the big church."

Look, the Vatican is the Vatican. St. Peter's Basilica is bigger and fancier and has more history to it, but the Berliner Dom is a beautiful church that certianly is a successful Lutheran "counterweight" to St. Peter's. And no man or woman on Earth can prove that when you die God does not greet you with folded arms and ask, "So, tell me, how big a church did your people build for me? How many meters tall was the dome? I'm all about the dome!" And that's when the Catholic's will reply, "It was Michelangelo's fault! He didn't think the St. Peter's dome should be larger than the Pantheon! We would have gone bigger but he wouldn't let us!"

I took this picture focusing on the Altes Museum, not the Lustgarten in front of it. A beautiful example of Neo-Classical architecture, that honestly looks better than anything you'll see in Athens.

The Berliner Dom borders the Lustgarten to the right of this picture.

The Third Reich chose to pave the Lustgarten, so that they could have larger rallies in front of the Altes Museum, bringing in vehicles and such. And the 45 years that this area sat behind The Wall it remained paved over. In 1998 they restored it into the lovely park you see today, which is actually a shadow of its former self.

The Lustgarten in 1900. "Lust" means pleasure in German.

The Berliner Dom from the Lustgarten, with that pesky TV Tower peeking over it.

From the steps of the Altes Museum, looking out over the Lustgarten, I choose to bring up that in February 1933 demonstrators AGAINST the Nazi Party and their policies gathered here 200,000 strong. Can you imagine? Maybe I daydreamed too much in school, but I am pretty sure that nobody ever taught me that as late as 1933 as many as 200,000 German citizens demonstrated against Adolf Hitler. So you can picture the Nazi rallies in this spot if you like, that is fair game. I will picture the opposite and note that today their spirit has reunified Germany and ended totalitarianism in this land.

Behind the Altes Museum is the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), which honestly is so close to the Parthenon of Athens that I wonder if it is measure for measure a direct copy.

The back of the Berliner Dom along the bank of the Spree.

The Neue Wache (New Guard House), along the Unter den Linden, at first looks like a standard Neo-Classical building. Luckily, Barbie chose to walk inside.

From Wikipedia: After German reunification in 1991, the Neue Wache was again rededicated in 1993, as the "Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Tyranny." The GDR memorial piece was removed and replaced by an enlarged version of Käthe Kollwitz's sculpture Mother with her Dead Son. This sculpture is directly under the oculus, and so is exposed to the rain, snow and cold of the Berlin climate, symbolising the suffering of civilians during World War II.

"For the Victims of War and Tyranny." This is a very special building.

Unter den Linden. Imagine what this would have looked like before reunification?

Our hotel.

A Goth Girl! In Berlin! Yay Goth Girl!

Directly next to our hotel is St. Hedwig's Church. This building is as close to the Pantheon as I have ever seen. There you have it, Berlin offers a Pantheon and a Parthenon within a few hundred meters of each other. When is Vegas going to get more ambitious?

Inside St. Hedwig's. Go back to my pics from Rome, inside the Pantheon, and you will see nearly the same pic.

Inside, St. Hedwig's is quite unique. The pulpit is recessed down steps, not above the congregation.

The view from the Hotel de Rome's rooftop terrace. You see St. Hedwig's right next to us, and the Berliner Dom in the distance.

That was a whole lot of Berlin. I know. And there is more. Amazing city.