Why I love Berlin

FINALLY!! A computer with free access, and a normal, happy keyboard.

I shall answer the above.

I love Berlin because:
1. It's an exciting city with a lot of developments, architecturally, and economically. This makes it a place for exciting opportunities. There are many contentious issues with these developments as well. How do you merge two cities, with two different identities, and two very different recent histories?

1a. Berlin is a great place to develop. It's built on a marsh, so you have to build out, not up which makes it a sprawling city, bigger than Paris. Becuase so many buildings were bombed, or are now in a dreilict state there are many places to be torn down and rebuilt. There are also places that need to be preserved. Who makes the call? There is a war been sentimentalism and capitalism.

2. Their independent art scene is amazing. There are hundreds of small caches where artists live, work, or decorate. The city is filled with graffiti. That in itself is a contentious issue. Even Banksy has graced a wall with his giant astronaut graffiti. (Google Bansky if you don't know who he is. He's unbelivable)
The artists themselves, and that scene is so well connected. It's what is lacking in Toronto. There is a real sense of a unified community there, and it's not hard to get into that community. That scene in Toronto is exclusive and snobby.

2a. Tachelese art garden. Tachelese means 'Speak Truth'. It was an old shopping centre from the early 1900s that got bombed out. After the wall came in, painters and sculpters came and squated in the building. They lived there, and used the space as a workshop. The building is covered in graffiti, and it houses not only workshops but a modern dance studio. (It would be a wicked place to see a dance show)
Of course, the capitalists want to tear it down for office space. Unfortunately, the building is on a plot of land too expensive for the city to buy.

2c. The city actually would have bought Tachelese. THey support them now, through a cheap rental contract (1 euro a month) and pay their electiricty and gas bills. Even though I'm overseas, I still know that Steven Harper is a douche bag, and that he's insulted all 'normal people' everywhere. Berlin supports the growth of culture, and helps to sustain what is already there.

3. The German language is beautiful. Their metro system is wholly navigable. When people don't understand you, they enjoy watching you mime what you want. They're so nice.

4. They pay homage to their errors. The 'Holocaust Memorial' or really 'The memorial for the Jews murdered' is a sign of penance. It is itself surrounded by arguments, but at least the citizens are thinking about. The monument is perfect for me. It invoked a feeling no sculpture that size has ever done. Whether or not the monument is effective is irrelevant though. The fact that they admitted a huge error, and gave an exorbitent amound of money and a valuable plot of land to remember it, is astounding.

5. They've come through so much. There is a chip on the city's shoulder, and they bear it really well. This city could be the only authentic emo kid I've ever met. And I love it for that.


So Berlin was amazing. The first day I had completely to myself. OUr hostels were in the heart of East Berlin, so the area is up and coming. Some buildings are disgusting, but other are lived in, and cozy. I walked down the East Gallery - the longest remaining part of the Berlin wall that has been muralled and graffitied. Then I walked over to see the Berliner Dom. This is a giant ostentatious cathedral. IN the basement is the crypt. I've never seen one before. Buried in the crypt are several prince and princesses of Germany. It's a weird feeling. I wouldn't want to be the night guard!

After that, I just sort of sauntered around the Gendarmarkt, and then back home. I always walk too far the first day.

Because we only had a short amount of time, the next day, my fellow travellers and I did a tour of the modern art scene. This tour wasn't about the history, but about the neighbourhoods and hidden gems. I loved it. This is where we saw the Tachelese, and other alley ways that lead to cool places. I saw a bombed out train station. Beside it was a place where you could rock climb, or skateboard, or come for a drink. It was built amongst the ruin, and it's a cheap place to have fun.

The next day we did another free tour. This one covered the history and architecture. The guide was supposed to take us out for hours, but instead it took us about 5. He was so smart, and had so much to say. I think I need to read more about this cold war business from a non-American perspective.

At one point, we were standing in this parking lot, surrounded by fancy communist housing blocks. (The luxurious ones) The guide told us, that we were standing over Hitler's Bunker, where he'd killed himself. The site is obviously unmarked so that neo-nazis can't have a shrine. The bunker has since been dismantled and covered up. But to not know where you are standing, and then to be told....is a really crazy feeling.

The best monument that I saw, was not the HOlocaust memorial, but the memorial for the thousands of books the Nazi-Students burned. On the site of the burnings, is a hole in the ground covered by a piece of glass. Inside are whitewashed book shelves. They're empty.
By it is a quote from a Jewish author, written in 1820. Roughtly translated it says: "Where they burn books, they also burn people."

The city didn't feel too touristy. There were definitely bits swamped by tourists, but they didn't overtake the city like they do in Edinburgh. I think the city has managed to keep its identity that way. So I managed to feel included, but not invasive. I like that.

Anyway. That's all I have to say about Berlin!