Day three was even earlier, since we had very little time left. I was to catch my train at 15:30 and we wanted to see more museums. On the way out we actually stopped to do a lot of souvenir shopping. In Berlin one might especially notice that the cross walk signals are different in the East and in the West. The West has this simple (boring) and modern looking green or red man, whereas the East has kept fast to their squat little Ampelmann with his little hat. It's become a cult symbol, and you can always tell when you've crossed over to one side or the other. That's actually one of the ways that we gauged it. There is a store that we went into dedicated entirely to this little man! I bought a pin, but there are cups, shirts, ice cube trays even; you could have little Ampelmaenner floating around in your drink. Unfortunately though there were no flags. Leslie was hoping to find one, I know.
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| Ampelmann |
First we walked to the German Historical Museum, which unfortunately happens to be closed on Mondays, but right next door was the Berliner Dom, and so after a short photo shoot outside of the museum (that building is gorgeous), we went into the church. I found the outside of the Dom already impressive, but the inside was beyond words. That seems to be a common theme here, actually, "beyond words." Words escaped me then as they escape me now, while the majority of the trip was spent ooo-ing and awe-ing. Egal! The inside of the church was very clean and decadent. The inside of the dome itself was beautifully decorated with gold inlay, and everything to the smallest details on the pews was carefully carved out. I'm certain that if I were to go again I would notice more and more that I didn't see this time, especially since my eyes were so hungrily soaking up whatever could be crammed into my brain in such a short period of time. Mass was in session when we first entered, so were required to be quiet while inside the main area of worship, but upstairs is also a very interesting installation detailing the construction of the Dom. I've mentioned my love for architecture before and here I could actually see all of the detailed drawings from the architect, and the small models that they had built to showcase their design in 3-D. Some of these models are over a hundred years old, which makes them that much cooler to see. In this mini museum also is where Leslie and I stopped for a brief moment to sit on a bench by a window overlooking Berlin. We both reflected, or rather gushed, again over how everything had fallen into place for this adventure. I also noted that these floor-to-ceiling windows, and the high ceilings also, are something that I want in my own home (whether I design and build my own house or purchase an old one already tailor-made). I could already imagine myself sitting by such a window with a cup of tea on a cold, rainy day as such, sitting in my own home office/library. I want that moment someday, I really do, and I hope that I will and can then look back to this memory right in the Dom. Al, Leslie, and I were also able to climb, in the most convoluted fashion, up to the top of the Dom itself. Al wasn't too fond of the idea, but Leslie and I "encouraged" him. It was well worth it though; after hundreds of tiny old steps you come out at a veranda running round the outside of the Dom and can see everything, including where our next stop was to be, the DDR Museum. Before the DDR Museum, though, we went into the crypt of the Dom. I'm not sure if people often think to go down there, but it was so amazing. We actually almost skipped that part, but underneath you can find the tombs of several important Germans (specifically the royals). The most impressive was that of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg. Known in our history books as Friedrich der Große (it actually reads that on the large stone coffin; Frederick the Great), this man played a key role in domestic reforms and set up Prussia for elevation from duchy to kingdom. It was unbelievable to stand before where his actual body lays. It was the first time I had goosebumps without actually being cold.
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| Leslie & I outside of Museum |
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| Berliner Dom (on a rainy day) |
The distinction between the East and West naturally goes beyond the Ampelmann. In this tiny museum one can explore said differences, such as the different brand titles for anything from Cola to cars. Actually, inside of the museum is a little Trabant (THE car of the East; the West can be linked to the Volkswagan) that we were able to play around in; these cars are very tiny, mind you. It's interesting to see the distinctive differences outlined, especially to read about the ideal that the leaders of the East had intended to achieve. They appeared to want this perfect people, a society straight out of Pleasantville where everyone loved their country and were respectable and successfull. It of course didn't pan out, otherwise we might have been visiting a very different Berlin, not the one integrated into the West.
Time was now running out. Quickly now we walked over to the Brandenburger Tor, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (where I got artsy with my camera and the cement blocks covered with rain droplets, and where I also attempted to jump up behind and scare Leslie again... no success; she was on to me), and finally the Soviet War Memorial. Then came the time to say goodbye to our dear new friend and travel partner, Al (*tear*), who left on the U-Bahn back to the hostel (his next stop with his mates was to be Poland), and Leslie and I headed towards the nearby Hauptbahnhof for my train; Leslie was to leave shortly after me.
I took the fast train home, which was fine by me because by now I was beyond exhausted. Yet with each passing hour on the train I longed more and more to turn around and run back. If only I had had the means to remain longer, or the time to... if only. But reflecting back I must say that it was one of the highlights of my life; and to think that I almost didn't go, that I almost postponed it. The weekend was full of so many "almost" moments that could have led us in so many direction. What if we had postponed the trip? What if we had never found that hostel and had stayed in the weird hotel? What if we had gone straight to bed insteead of going upstairs to meet other travellers? What is we had actually met up with Jonas (our past German TA who we actually were trying to see at some point while we were in Berlin)? Things really do work themselves out sometimes towards a particular goal, and save maybe for some sunny weather, I can't see how it would have been any better. Even the rain though I didn't mind so much, although right now I have the cold from hell. I just especially like to think about how perfectly everything came together on its own.
September 25th - 27th, 2010, forever the best weekend of my life!
Candles
Great read! Thanks for sharing.
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