Goodbye Berlin

Saturday 23 March 2013

Our last day in Berlin was proceeded by a night of minus 10 degrees and heavy snow.  The locals were calling it winter wonderland, a little tongue in cheek since it was meant to be spring. 

The main feature of the day was a visit to the Jewish Museum, which is impressive as much for its architecture as for its content.  I can’t describe it, you just have to experience it, but one of the stated objectives of the architect was to create the feeling of disorientation to reflect the 40 years wandering in the wilderness from the Old Testament.  He managed to achieve that.  The museum is refreshing because, while it does have a section devoted to the Holocaust, the majority of the exhibition is dedicated to the history of Jewish people in Western Europe, focusing for once on the extraordinary contributions to European culture.

The Wall

On the way to the Jewish Museum, we stumbled onto a preserved remnant of the Berlin Wall, along with several thousand other tourists, and realised how divisive it had been, with bridges cut off and homes of former neighbours suddenly on different sides of the wall.  With that experience, it is sad that another wall is being built in Jerusalem – seems history is not a good teacher.

After the museum, we took a detour to see the famous “Checkpoint Charlie”.  I recommend that you don’t.  A not very impressive reproduction of the checkpoint is the highlight, the nadir is the huge amount of cheap unimpressive rubbish available for sale to anyone who might wander along.  The lows easily outweigh the highs.

Bundestag

We finished the day admiring the new main railway station, the renovated Reichstag (aka Bundestag) and experiencing the luxury of the first class Deutsche Bahn waiting room, heated to a life saving 22 degrees.

If I were asked to sum up my impressions of Berlin, I would have to borrow from Harry Seacombe who, when asked what he thought of Sydney in the 1970s said he expected it would be very nice when it was finished.  It is not possible to walk for more than a block without being diverted by some construction work, whether it is renovating old buildings, building major developments to replace some of the East German era structures, or dredging the river to increase the berthing areas.  Everywhere there is building.  The sky is full of cranes.  However, if the quality of building so far delivered is any indication, it will in fact be much more than nice when it is finished, it will be extraordinary.

The Sony Centre