Berlin

I don't want to use the same verbs for Berlin as I've done for everywhere else.  Somehow magical, amazing and incredible aren't enough to describe what I felt. It has a deep, painful history that's so worth the time and effort to explore. It's not just a city with some big, old buildings and a river to look at, and that's a huge reason why I love Berlin. I'd go as far to say that it was just as good, or even better than Budapest (and if you've been following my adventures, that's pretty big). Berlin made me feel grounded, it reminded me of the destruction and the history that's embedded in Western civilisation. Everything I've ever learnt in high school suddenly became real, clear and prominent. There's no experience like it, so again here are the highlights of my time in Berlin. Please note that many of the things I did were historical related and I highly recommend visiting. However, if you're not into that then maybe this city isn't for you. 

- This is ironic because I've just said I did heaps of historical things, except on the first day we went to the Berlin zoo. It boasts the largest collection of species in the world and many rare or highly endangered animals. Personally, however, I found it a little disappointing. I think this is mostly because of the fact that I have grown up in Australia, learning about weird and whacky animals that are only found in my homeland. I get excited to see a wombat or a platypus or an echidna and that's what I picture when I think of a zoo. The one in Berlin had many more European and American animals, so a lot of deer or elk, goats and horses. Juls and I both agreed that having a love for Australian wildlife definitely made it a little less exciting, but it was still an awesome place to visit for a day. There's also an aquarium attached with three floors: aquatic animals, amphibians and insects/arachnids. I recommend going to both and you can get a combined ticket for €15 (student price). 

- We visited Sachsenhausen  concentration camp on a tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgable about both the place and the history surrounding World War II and the Cold War. I've learnt about the holocaust in high school and watched movies and read books with concentration camps, but I have never been to one. I can't describe it any better than it was the most miserable place I have ever been to. There was just a patch of cleared land and it was very open and exposed. You could feel the elements clearly and the grounds just seemed lifeless and grey. This camp was used by the Nazis to keep political prisoners and after World War II it was used by the Soviets. It was an uncomfortable reminder to realise that those who had survived the Nazi era had to survive the Soviets directly after. This war wasn't something that existed separately, but instead very close together on the historical timeline. The clock on the watchtower is stopped to the time it was liberated in 1945, but as Juls noted, it's ironic because that same camp was used again by the people who liberated it. It's worth the visit if you're in Berlin, and I also recommend doing a tour. Every building and monument erected is explained clearly so you have a much better understanding of the camp and its history. 

- After the concentration camp we went directly to the Berlin Wall. This is where I learnt the most about the Cold War, which I previously hadn't realised existed. The Berlin Wall is just one of those things you have to visit. It's so integral to the history of the city that you have to at least go there once. Basically after the Nazis were defeated, Germany was split into two main occupied areas: The Allies (France, America and Britain) and the Soviets. Berlin lied right in the middle of the Soviet area and the Allies argued that, being the capital, it was too important to just belong to one side. So they split Berlin in half, creating East and West Berlin and erecting a wall to separate the two sides. The wall stood for 28years, dividing people and hindering everyday life until it came down in 1989. People have died trying to cross the border to escape and there are memorials in their honour. 

- I want to talk about my favourite monument in Europe, which ties in with the Berlin Wall and the Cold War. I was watching a video in the information centre of the part of the Berlin Wall I visited. It showed footage of the moment the Berlin Wall came down and people streamed across to the Western border. In that video was the Brandyburg gate. People gathered under it and embraced loved ones, and it was a powerful video of unification. So naturally, we visited this monument as well and I learnt from an explanation sign that the gate was completely inaccessible between 1961-1989, during the time the Berlin Wall was still used. It stood in the middle of a 'dead zone' which was an area patrolled by soldiers and completely forbidden to the public. It served as a symbol of the separation of both Germany and Berlin, and also freedom for the people as the Wall came down in 1989. I love that it has significance and a rich history and something about that video I saw in the information centre made it so powerful. To watch the waves of people celebrating freedom and love after 28years of living under a dictatorship was powerful and moving

- If you walk from Brandenburg Gate to the Victory column in a straight line, you'll pass a memorial for the Soviet soldiers that died in the Battle of Berlin. I just remember having an interesting conversation with Juls about how easy it is to forget about world history. I have friends who have no idea what the Holocaust is, who don't know how many people died in the wars. It baffles me to think that millions of people died, empires fell and rose less than 100yrs ago and there are people who haven't even heard of it. Berlin was just an amazing place to learn about history and gain a better understanding and first hand experience into what has happened in the world's past. 

- We went up the Victory Column which has my dreaded worst enemy: stairs. The view is lovely and you can see many things from the top. Most of its history comes from the Prussian era and it survived mostly in tact during the first and second world wars. 

- Last, but not least, we took a visit to the Holocaust memorial which is quite famous in Berlin. From the top, it looks like level granite slabs just lined up in a grid formation, but as you walk in your realise the ground slides down. So the blocks in the middle are twice your height but gives the illusion of looking level from the top. It's uncomfortable and strange to be there, just a dark, quiet world with grey blocks surrounding you. People disappear between them in the distance and you can hear the echo of alien voices around you. I searched up the memorial after and apparently in the architect's project text he wrote that it's designed to produce an 'uneasy, confusing atmosphere' from a supposedly ordered system that had lost touch with reality. When you think about it, that's how the Holocaust really was and its strange to think of it now 

Berlin is a place of its own and it's amazing for its history and culture. There's no better place to learn about world history than in one of the central places of World War II and people underestimate how powerful and tragically beautiful this can be. If you're in Europe, take a trip to Berlin. It's worth doing, I promise.