January
27-29, 2016
Guten Tag! (Good
day!) This is my last post from my Europe trip in January. Even though it’s
taken me a while to get around to writing about Berlin, I am grateful that I
have the time to collect my thoughts and process them here. So here it goes.
Like
the previous two cities on our trip, we stayed in Berlin, the capital of
Germany, for two days. This decision was dictated by our university’s draconian
rules, as well as my roommate’s discomfort in crossing the line and potentially
getting in trouble As I mentioned in a previous post, getting permission for
winter break from our administration was an uphill battle. I like following
rules, but I also liking taking risks where appropriate. This is a situation
where I don’t think the world would have crashed had we stayed in Berlin for
four days instead of two. In other words, I don’t think the school would have
cared if we stayed Friday through Sunday, but Alex felt otherwise so we ended
our trip early. The good thing about coming back early was that we got to relax
that weekend. Alas, it is what it is: we stayed in Berlin for two quick
evenings and made the most of them.
We
took an overnight bus from Amsterdam to Berlin. It was Casey’s birthday that
midnight, January 27th, so Alex and I sneakily bought him a cake from
a convenient store before boarding our bus, and surprised him on the bus by
singing him a birthday song and presenting the cake to him. We arrived to
Berlin in the middle of the night, and we stayed with Casey’s friend Jesse who
has been living in Berlin for a few years now. He was a very hospitable host,
offering not only his house but also his time to show us around. We thanked
Jesse with the chocolates I had won from volunteering at the Brussels chocolate
demonstration.
Before
I dive into the specifics of what we did, I would like to say that Berlin was
by far my favorite city that we visited. This is because it had such an
interesting culture of where the past met the future. There is no doubt that
Berlin is a significant historical city, but it is also a city full of
rebellious and defiant street artists who invoke a progressive culture. The mix
of the two was a breath of fresh air. The confusion of the two was just plain
beautiful. I cannot speak any German but if I learned the language, this would
probably be a city I would like to live in one day—or at least visit for longer
than two days for sure.
Walking
Tour
– On our first day, we took a walking tour of Berlin. We met at the Television
Tower (368 meters tall) and were led by a young lady who took donations at the
end of the trip. It was nice to have a really knowledgeable guide who was able
to tell us about the politics of the hip city that is Berlin. We saw a lot of
beautiful street art and graffiti on walls, buildings, and rocks. There was
even one that read “Refugees Welcome!!!” near a river. According to the guide,
there is rivalry between street artists who try to promote their artwork
through expressive and provocative political statements. This “underground”
world fascinated me; even though the government knows about it and has tried to
crack down on vandalism, I think they, too, know that Berlin would not be the
same without these artists. What was also interesting to learn on this tour was
the development f Turkish neighborhoods throughout the city. Turks are
apparently the largest ethnic minority in Germany. This is because there was a
large-scale migration of Turkish citizens to West Germany developed during the Wirtschaftswunder ("economic miracle")
of the 1960s and 1970s. At the time, Germany was suffering from a labor shortage
because of the economic boom, and the West German government therefore
negotiated a trade of labor agreement with Turkey. Turkish workers moved to
West Germany to fill in this void, and worked primarily in factories to do
simple repetitive tasks. I smiled every time I saw restaurants for “Adana
kebab” or “Döner
kebab,”
or I recognized a Turkish word on a sign. As is true with any group migrating
to a new country, it’s only natural to bring your culture to your home. Second
and third generation Turks in Germany, who have never visited Turkey, probably
feel an identity crisis similar to the one that second and third generation
ethnic minorities, who are born in America, feel. Some things in life transcend
national borders, sense of identity is one of them.
Berlin Wall – The
famous Berlin Wall is something, let me tell you. It’s hard to believe that
Germany was actually divided into an East and West side during World War 2. The
pain of separating families and communities by a physical barrier seems like a
ridiculous idea, absurd even. Makes you wonder how crude politics truly can be.
Presidential hopeful Donald Trump promises to build a wall on the Mexican
border and have the Mexican government pay for it. Does history teach us
nothing?! Is the Berlin Wall not example enough for the social, psychological,
economic, and political destruction that these structures can bring? And the
decades-long consequences they bear! Sorry to go off on a tangent, but as I
walked along the Berlin Wall, I could not help but try to imagine life in a war-torn Germany, international turmoil at
the time, and the horrific Holocaust all happening at the same time. Here are
some photos I snapped.
Meeting
Christine – It was such a privilege to meet Christine, my Maine host
parents’ first international exchange student. Christine, who is now married
with two children, went to the United States for the first time when she was in
high school. It was so nice to meet her and learn about her experience of
growing up with Rani, David, and Sarah (Wanda and Erv’s children) at Brunswick
High through her exchange program. We shared stories of the kind-hearted
Snyder’s and joked about my soon-to-be "over the hill" age of 25. The
weather was quite cold, so we enjoyed warm coffee at Wohzimmer Bar, which had a
nice antique feel to it, with colorful couches and chairs from all decades. I
promised Christine I would return to Berlin for a longer period next time,
whenever that may be.
Meeting
other Fulbrighters – Turkey Fulbrighters are everywhere! We ran into quite a
few of them in Berlin. We ate Mexican food in a Turkish neighborhood and caught
up about each other’s lives. Some folks had been out and about for winter break
for over a month, some had just started. My vegetable burrito was delicious!
Famous Tourist Sites – On our second day, Jesse was our personal guide
and showed us Berlin’s famous tourist sites, including the German parliament
building of German Bundestag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Victory Column, and the concert hall buildings of Konzerthaus.
These buildings had architecture similar to the ones we saw in Brussels,
Amsterdam, and Paris. Fair to assume that all of Europe has Roman and Greek
influences of architecture. Jesse is a history buff so I learned so much about
each of these famous buildings and structures. The Victory Column, for example,
was designed by Heinrich Strack, after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory
in the Danish-Prussian War. I’ll try not to sound like a history book, so I’ll
encourage you too look up the other places yourself if you’re interested. Oh, I
forgot to mention that I got my passport stamped with Checkpoint Charlie—what a
souvenir!
Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap – Our
wonderful Berlin trip came to an end on a very lovely note, bringing us full
circle: Turkish food. Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap’s is a very famous food shack located at Mehringdamm
32. It draws locals and tourists alike for cheap yet super delicious döner kebab
sandwiches. The sandwich was more delicious than any döner I’ve had in Turkey
thus far! I got very excited when I practiced my Turkish with the stand owner
who was pleasantly surprised and pleased to acknowledge my attempt. He added
extra döner on my sandwich, smiled and winked at me.
Visiting Poland – On our last evening,
Jesse took us to Frankfort (the town, not the big city) for a small gathering
with his girlfriend’s friends. It was nice to mingle with new people, real
Germans. But the highlight of the evening, in my opinion, was when we crossed a
bridge and touched down in Poland. This was completely unexpected, but at least
now I get to say “I’ve been to Poland!” We took a group picture next to a sign
that read “Polska” in case someone wanted to proof later…you know what they say
nowadays: if there are no photos as evidence, then it didn’t happen.
We
caught an early morning flight out of Berlin, and then an afternoon flight from
Istanbul to Antalya. We crashed as soon as we got home! We used that following
weekend to relax and catch up on sleep as well. I can now check off
“backpacking through Europe” off my bucket list.
