Shameless self-promotion alert: check out my advice for traveling in the Czech Republic on Casey’s blog, True Colours!
Three weeks ago, we spent about 30 hours in Berlin for our visa interviews (you have to leave the country to apply to an embassy…nobody gets this, especially not me, but it is what it is).
I did not expect to like or enjoy Berlin very much. I was looking forward to seeing it, but it wouldn’t have been my first choice to visit for our interview. Since our interview was moved up by two weeks very suddenly (and those who apply to live in other countries know that when this happens, YOU TAKE IT), I didn’t have much chance to do research on what we should do, besides asking for your comments. (Thank you, by the way!).
Instead of finding Berlin a charmless, giant, modern city, I was fascinated. Berlin is a vibrant, fun city full of great restaurants, art galleries, old and new buildings, and especially, history. One reason I came to Europe is the centuries of history you can find around every corner, and the fact that is some places, you can feel the history. While Berlin isn’t full of charming buildings that haven’t changed in 200 years as I am partial to (and this is mostly due to bombing from war), the history here is a living, breathing feeling in the air.
We saw the Brandenburg Gate (bright with images on the Festival of Lights),
Potsdamer Platz during the Festival of Lights with John Lennon playing in the background,
the Holocaust Memorial,
Hitler’s Bunker (which really is just a parking lot…),
and some leftover pieces of the Berlin Wall.
Before moving to Eastern Europe and seeing the Berlin Wall for myself, I never really grasped the significance of this event in history. Partly because I was very small when the Wall fell, and because I feel like it was a part of history barely addressed in my education.
Maybe it was just the area of the world where I grew up? We learned much more about the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, and World War II more than anything else. (side-eye Montana–which is celebrating 125 years today–and it’s obsession with Lewis & Clark).
Or maybe it just wasn’t an area of my interest so I didn’t pay much attention.
I found the Holocaust Memorial particularly moving, as I suspected I would, but I didn’t know I would feel the same way about the Wall.
This is one of my favorite things about travel: the exposure to real life and history is something you can’t always gain from books and the classroom. I’m not sure I would have felt so moved by touching the Berlin Wall in person if I hadn’t learned just how communism impacted Eastern Europe by living here in the Czech Republic. While it’s not necessarily a “fun” part of traveling, it is a real part of traveling.
Today is the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. I wish I could be there to see the illuminated installation that is marking the anniversary, but since I can’t, here are nine surprising facts about the Wall, why it is a somber occasion, the guard who opened the barrier, East Germany today, and barriers around the world.
Linking up with Fresh Face Friday and the Sunday Traveler.
I loved Berlin. What a great bonus with the Festival of lights! It looked amazing.
Don’t you love it when you unexpectedly walk into a cool festival? 🙂
BEST bonus! It’s made me want to see it now 🙂
I think it happens every year ;). There was one in Prague the same weekend, too, so maybe it happens elsewhere in Europe!
LOVE Berlin! And such a great community of expats there 😉
I figured the expat community must be great there–it’s such a vibrant city!
That festival of lights display looked AMAZING! I got chills over the picture of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel painting over the Brandenburg gate. Just, wow. And that last picture of the wall with the writing about many little people, many little things, etc, was really moving, too. This was a great commemorative post; thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post–thank you so much for reading! 🙂 that was my favorite shot, too! well, and the flowers because they were pretty haha. Berlin was so inspiring to me, and it’s amazing to think how far Berlin and Eastern Europe has come in just 25 years…but also, in some places, how you can still feel the scars.
Having been through the same school system I would agree, I don’t feel I know much about it either! But your pictures and your travels there have definitely made me want to learn! I love that aspect of travel, always something new! It sounds like you guys are having a great time and this set of pictures was particularly moving! MISS YOU
Miss you too! I LOVE that you read, it’s my favorite thing 🙂 Berlin was much more moving than I thought it would be. It’s incredible how much has happened that there just isn’t time to learn about in school!!! Especially when your school is obsessed with Lewis & Clark, am I right? 😉 love!
I agree completely – you learn things about history and learn to appreciate the world so much more through travel than any classroom can teach you! I would absolutely love to visit Berlin. It’s high on my wish list! Can I ask why you didn’t expect to like it before you went? Had you heard things that made you feel uninterested or ambivalent towards it? I’m just really curious! Xx
Of course you can ask! 🙂 I’m honestly not completely sure why I wasn’t interested…I think I just kept reading what a party city it is and how modern it is and that didn’t sound too appealing to me at the moment…I’m obsessed with seeing quaint Europe! But, I’m so glad we visited! Like I wrote about last week, I need to let go of any expectations to enjoy places more, I think! In the case of Berlin, though, it was a pleasant surprise. I really want to go back, there is so much I didn’t see! I hope you get to make it there soon 🙂
I fully understand that feeling you have when visiting Berlin. Such a moving place!!
Yes it really was–maybe even more so because I wasn’t expecting it!
I spent about a week in Berlin, and I just did NOT get why everyone raves about it. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t think it was fun or charming. But I do understand why its that way and I appreciate its history. I visited a lot of the WWII memorials/sites like you did, and I’m really glad I got to learn about the history a lot more. I honestly didn’t remember too much about it from high school history class. Learning and seeing stuff that you wouldn’t normally understand from just a textbook is definitely one of the best things about travel!
I think that was my fear about Berlin, too–it really isn’t all that “charming.” I was surprised with how much I loved it, but I really can’t tell you why–so I understand why it wasn’t your favorite! I loved the history of the city, the most.
Thank you so much for sharing your link with me on my blog. I really love how vibrant and alive Berlin looks in your photos, especially those beautiful projections on the Brandenburg Gate. The city has certainly changed over the last few decades. I’ve also wondered how the Holocaust is remembered in Germany, so it was interesting to see your photos of the memorial.
Hi! I’m so glad you enjoyed my post–thanks for reading! 🙂 I think that might be why I loved Berlin, because it’s evolved SO much but there are still little pockets of history left. It’s been through so much and it’s still thriving, and that’s inspiring! I think Germany does a pretty good job honoring the Holocaust, although there should be more emphasis on the victims that weren’t just Jewish, as I think they are often forgotten.
You know I remember my high school history professor talking about a woman (I believe from Prague) who came to the US and for some reason was staying with his family and she literally cried when she went with them to the supermarket because she had never seen choices like that before. I thought about about as long as a 14-15 year old thinks about anything but this post brings me back to that story and I wish I knew more!
Wow what an amazing story. I love learning about stuff like that. With the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution on Monday, there were tons of stories around like that. It really shows you just what the impacts of communism are in real life–it always seemed so distant and not that serious to me. I think, as a kid, the Holocaust seemed like the worst thing in the world and therefore the Cold War following this didn’t seem so BIG. Yet, for people here, most of them are so grateful and they say that Prague came back to life in 1989! So interesting. Thanks so much for sharing that story–it almost made me tear up!
I love your pictures of the gate! and I guess, you can disregard my prev question.
Cool, right? And glad I answered your question, haha, although i don’t really know the answer!