That first night, we wanted to see the Topography of Terror, which is located on the site where the SS Headquarters used to stand. After walking around for an hour, none of the locals seemed to know where or even what the Topography of Terror was, so we decided to enter the Communications Museum and ask someone for help. Upon walking into the building, however, we were leered at by at least 50 different people all wearing the same suit and ear pieces, and feeling as if we just walked into the German equivalent of the CIA, we rushed out and decided to find it ourselves. After walking around for about another hour, we found a reconstructed building where Checkpoint Charlie used to stand, one of the checkpoints that helped separated East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War Era. It was amazing to learn about the history of Checkpoint Charlie, which included a Mexican standoff between American tanks and Soviet tanks. We met a guy from Denver who was able to point us in the direction of the Topography of Terror.
Once we finally arrived, we were greeted by the last remaining portion of the looming Berlin Wall standing in its original spot. We continued to tour the Topography of Terror until it closed, and it was fascinating, yet very sad, to read about the SS and their thought processes that led to the actions that they took. We finished off the night by going to a very appropriately named club district called RAW, which was just as sketchy as it sounds. We were greeted by a very dark street and an eerie setting, and so, we found the club that was playing the loudest music and decided to go inside. The only problem was, the place was completely dead on a Saturday morning at 12 am. A few people tricked in, and we made the most of the situation by trying to enjoy ourselves and dancing to the music.
The next day, we went on a free walking tour through the city. We met a couple of American study abroad students from Barcelona and Berlin, as well as a professor from Ireland, and we were amazed by the friendliness of everyone. We saw the Berlin Dom, several French and German Catholic Churches, Checkpoint Charlie, the Memorial to the Fallen Jews, the Parliament Building, the location where Hitler's bunker used to be, and many other things. My favorite thing to see was the Memorial to the Fallen Jews. It was a vast area that was covered in 2 by 4 foot blocks of stone of varying heights. Interestingly enough, a very controversial decision was made to allow the company that manufactured the gas used in the concentration camps to produce a protective coating on the blocks to prevent graffiti from sticking to it. The height of each stone is different, and the architect of the Memorial refuses to talk about what it means, opening it up for interpretation. Gunnar and I have a theory that each stone represents a different city and the height of each stone represents the number of Jews from that location who passed away during the war due to the Nazi party.
Due to the crazy school schedule that we were going to have over the next couple of weeks, we decided to take a short homework break before going back out. Gunnar and I decided, interestingly enough, to go back to RAW and give it a second chance. We waited about 45 minutes in line to enter another place, and we actually managed to enjoy ourselves this time. I had to get up super early to catch a train back to Bonn in the morning, so I unfortunately did not get to see as much of Berlin as I would have wanted to.
Overall, Berlin was my favorite place to visit so far, and the only place in Europe that I could see myself living in the future. It was so welcoming, beautiful, and fascinating, and I was amazed by the diversity of the city. I would like to visit again before we return back home because I find myself at home in such an amazing city. As JFK famously (and incorrectly) said, "Ich bin ein Berliner", and I believe that this quote applies to me at heart.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from Berlin:
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