Berlin

I did some travelling over the summer in Europe, mainly to places that I’ve already been to, but it was my first time in Berlin! I initially added it to the list because I have a friend who currently lives and goes to school there, but I am very glad that I went since I ended up loving the city much more than I thought I would. Unlike Munich, Berlin has a very modern feel, you can practically taste the energy in the air.

One of the first places I went was to the Brandenburg Gate. It’s very impressive, I would just caution any tourists as this is where the scammers and such seem to hang out. Just on the other side is the Tiergarten, a huge park in the middle of Berlin. It has more memorials and such within it, but makes for a very lovely stroll within the city itself. Also nearby is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. I think this is certainly worth the visit, it is very well designed and gets at the horror of the genocide very well in my opinion. First of all, it’s huge, takes up about a city block. The memorial itself consists of gray blocks of stone slowly rising from the ground as the floor drops down and forms these hills. The effect as you are walking through is incredible in how it isolates you from the others around you, and causes you to descend into the ground.

Another area of note is Museum Island. This island in the middle of the Sbree river has multiple museums on it, as well as the Berliner Dom. All of them are kinda expensive, so I only went into the Pergamon which focuses on ancient art. Unfortunately the museum is undergoing renovations currently, so only part of it is open to the public. The section that is currently visible primarily focuses on Islamic art which was all very cool. There’s the famous Babylon Gate that was brought over in pieces and reassembled in Berlin, as well as the Aleppo Room. The Altar Room is currently closed, but to make up for that, there’s Das Panorama down the street. The Altar Room houses the Pergamon Altar from Ancient Greece, and is the museum’s namesake. Since it’s closed, the museum now has a panorama of Pergamon, including the altar, on view along with selected statues. The panorama is huge and an incredible work of art. In particular, I quite liked how the lighting and music changed to reflect different times of day.

My favorite aspect of the city though is all of the street art. Primarily there is the East Side Gallery, where the remains of the Berlin Wall have been graffiti’d on to turn them into art. Nearby is the Wall Museum, a small museum, but it gives some social and political context for the wall and its eventual fall. I doubt that I’d return to the museum, you have to pay to get it, but it was useful. The East Side Gallery extends for quite the distance, but there is plenty of street art everywhere around the city. There’s Graffiti Corner and numerous buildings covered in art. All of the art around is partially why the energy feels so different and current, the other reason is all of the smashed beer bottles around from the vibrant night life. But I didn’t participate in that so I can’t comment on it haha!

To sum up: Berlin is both a historical and a contemporary city that has plenty going on. I liked it much more than I thought I would, it has a very inviting atmosphere that is hard to replicate. I would love to go back and see more of it sometime!