Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin!

We know, we know. . .we've been getting very slack with our blog posts. Sorry!

Back to our Berlin story. . .on Monday we headed to The Jewish Museum of Berlin, which traces the history of Jews in Germany from the medieval period to the present, with a heavy emphasis on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although its exhibit dealing with the Holocaust itself is rather small (there is another museum in Berlin dealing specifically with this subject, located underneath the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe), the very architecture of the museum forces the patron to consider the profound absence of a minority group whose dynamic culture so indelibly influenced every aspect of German life. The main corridors of the museum, which form three distinct paths, each narrow until they meet in one small, hauntingly vacant space, whereas a bird's-eye view of the museum reveals that the main building looks like a jagged line--some might say resembling a scar. There are also several rooms called "memory voids" that are separate from the main exhibit--one we visited was an art installation where the floor of a corridor was covered by thousands of metal disks of various sizes shaped like faces, which patrons were asked to walk upon until reaching a shadowy alcove at the far end. It was thought-provoking (and somewhat disturbing) experience.

In the main, however, the museum celebrated the life of Germany's Jewish community, introducing patrons to its historical and cultural development. The exhibits are highly interactive and in some instances quite ingenius (I particularly enjoyed a brief role-playing game where you assumed the identity of a nineteenth-century Jewish entrepreneur). There was far more to see than we could do in one day, and as we had to meet our friend Heather we decided to return on Tuesday.

Heather works for a translation company and has lived in Berlin for ten years, making her the perfect guide, which she demonstrated with aplomb after meeting her outside her office. By now the drizzle had increased to a good rain, yet nevertheless our fearless leader took us on a walking tour, where we passed several museums, the Berliner Dom (a large Catholic cathedral), the Humboldt Institute, and two memorials relating to the Nazi period. The first, dedicated to all victims of Nazism, is a reproduction of a statue by Kathe Kollowitz, a brilliant sculptor mostly active in the period from WWI through the 1930s. Housed inside a Romanesque facade, the statue of a mournful woman holding a dead man is lit by an open skylight. The rain falling on the statue added an extra dimension to the experience. The other memorial commemorates the Nazi book-burnings in Berlin. In the middle of a public square there is a clear glass panel, which when looked through reveals a barren, white room lined with empty bookshelves. This was by far one of the best memorials we saw. Its simplicity was most of its genius. No plaque was necessary to explain its purpose and since no marker exists, one can simply be walking across the courtyard and stumble upon the exhibit. Fantastic!

After a bit more trudging we jumped back on the metro and arrived at Heather's apartment, located in a funky part of East Berlin. We have to say, Heather's flat is very nice and comfortable! Anyway, after warming up, drying off, and enjoying some great conversation, we headed to one of Heather's favorite local restaurants for a delicious Italian dinner. A few hours later, and S and I were fast asleep, getting ready for another day.

The first stop on our Tuesday itinerary was a return trip to the Jewish Museum. During the cold, drizzly walk from the metro stop, we passed by a Rossman store (sort of like a CVS, but without the pharmacy) and bought a long-sought-after item: Febreeze! This product is completely unavailable in Romania, nor are any textile-fresheners like it. Considering how impossible it is to go out in Bucharest without reeking of smoke, we've often wished we had some Febreeze, and now thanks to the Germans' stereotypical fastidiousness, we have some! After our successful purchase, we headed off to the museum.

Even after staying at the museum for several more hours we still hadn't seen everything, but decided there were still too many other things on our to-do list and headed on to the next stop. After a bit more sight-seeing we ate lunch at a German restaurant, where I sampled Flamekuche, tasty little treats similar to pizza, but with a cream base in lieu of tomato-sauce. After meeting up again with Heather we walked down Prenzlauerstrasse, a trendy avenue riddled with interesting restaurants and shops. We stopped at one groovy Kaffehaus for refueling (I had a very flavorful chili-enhanced hot chocolate), after which we continued a bit further, passing by a synagogue, the Wasserturm or water tower, once used briefly by the Nazis to house political prisoners, and now the setting for upscale apartments. The Wasserturm sits next to a hill in a park which offers a fantastic view of the neighborhood, but after dallying for a bit it was time to meet Heather's boyfriend Nathan for dinner in a swank little bistro, even managing to score seats by a roaring fireplace. The menu featured nouveaux cuisine; S ordered an odd spinach dish, and I had a curry chicken. We had a wonderful time dining and chatting, and the night passed pleasantly.

Wednesday we got up early, had some delicious Dunkin Donuts, and went to the Bundestag to stand in line for a chance to visit the top of the glass dome, which offers a great view of the city. After about an hour's wait (mostly in some very windy conditions), we rode an elevator to the top and spent some time enjoying the urban landscape before heading off to our next destination: lunch at a brewery. The food was okay, pretty standard German fare, but the beer was great! Thus fortified, we continued on to our last major destination in Berlin: the Pergamon.

The Pergamon is situated on the Museuminsel, or Museum Island, a cluster of five major collections. Given my druthers, though, the Pergamon was the must see. It holds collections of ancient, Near Eastern, and Islamic art, and takes its name from the first major exhibit in the collection, the massive altar of Pergamon, dating from the ancient Greek period. Taken like most of the collections in the museum during Germany's colonial heyday, the altar bears a stunning marble frieze depicting a battle between the Olympians and the Titans. Close to the Pergam altar we saw another marvel of the ancient world, the Ishtar Gate. Built around 575 BC by Nebuchadnezzar II as the eighth entrance into the inner city of Babylon, the towering gate is covered in blue tiles, with alternating depictions of lions, dragons, and aurochs. I had wanted to see the Ishtar Gate for years and years, and to finally be able to do so left me speechless at first, quickly followed by a marveling, stupid grin. After the Ishtar Gate, we walked through the Islamic art collection, the main highlight of which being several prayer niches from mosques from throughout the Muslim world.

The day ended with a delicious meal at Heather's apartment of salad and Flamekuchen. Unfortunately at this point I started to feel sick with what would end up being a nasty cold that would bother both S and I. The next day I woke up with a terrible sore throat, but S was very resourceful and found two things in the airport largely unavailable in Romania: ginger ale and Fisherman's Friend. Even with the cold as an unwanted souvenir, we loved Berlin immensely and hope to go back some day. Until then, auf Wiedersehen!

B and S