Berlin (Germany)

Amy At The Brandenburg Gate

Even when I was out in New Zealand, some two months earlier, the planned trip to visit Germany's capital (Berlin) was already being talked about. The reason for the trip however, had somewhat eluded me at the time and it wouldn’t really be until we got off the plane at Tegel Airport that it would all start to make some sort of sense. And so, a few weeks after returning back home to London I was packing my bags once again and jet-setting off, this time to the very centre of Europe’s domain. Berlin was a family trip, with all but my father taking the leap across the North Sea. After some breakfast in Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food Restaurant, located in the very heart of Heathrow Airport’s - Terminal 5, we caught our early morning flight.

Quite some time ago, a German named Gunter Demnig came up with the idea that he would create small brass plaques, about the size of a beer mat and then lay them into pavements, cobbled paths, driveways and squares all over Germany. On each is recorded the name of a victim of the Nazis - usually, but not always those murdered in the Holocaust. The idea grew, with over 20,000 of the plaques now crafted by Demnig to date. Their reach has also expanded, with the small brass stones, now being laid in cities all over Europe.

The idea is that the stones are laid where the victim lived or grew up as a child, before their devastating outcome of horror. The scheme is called Stolpersteine or ‘stumbling stones’, with the catch being that each is laid a little unevenly, so that one stumbles over them, catching your attention, for acknowledgement that on that spot once lived an individual among the millions, a particular and personal story that might otherwise have been lost. The commemorative idea is widely accepted by German locals and other countries where the stones are being laid, despite the potential health and safety issues that stumbling stones may frequently generate.

Demnig and his growing team research widely before creating the stones and often contact family members of the individual who may wish to be present when the stones are laid. My grandmother had been contacted a while ago about laying two stones for the parents of my grandfather. This was the main reason for the trip to Berlin, but our four days here would also be used as an opportunity to explore. For while I had been to Germany on a number of occasions I had never visited the countries historic capital.

The first thing you notice when you arrive in Berlin is just how green the city is. I’m not really sure what I was expecting but for some odd reason, green just wasn’t it. There are numerous parks and rivers dotted all over the place and it appears that at every available space were planted yet more trees. We were staying in a hotel near the famous Kurfurstendamm or Ku’damm Road, in the western portion of central Berlin and which is renowned for shopping of all kinds but particularly of designer and hence expensive items.

This family trip would also extend across the Atlantic pond, with cousins Sharon and Vic coming over from America. My Cousin Rachel and Aunt Susan were also joining us. I hadn’t seen Rachel since my travels, so that was a nice surprise. To say that our 4 days was busy would be downsizing the scale of the trip somewhat. We crammed huge amounts of sightseeing, walking and most importantly – eating, into our 100 hours in Berlin.

On our sightseeing days, we ventured across the heart of the capital. We travelled across the communist designed Alexanderplatz, past the giant (365m high) television tower and through the Central Mitte Park where statues of Marx and Engles stand tall. We walked past the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) and continued down the famous Unter den Linden. This wide, cavernous road stretches for 1.5km and is lined with interesting and historical buildings. The road extends from the Schlossbrucke Bridge to the incredible site of the Brandenburg Gate. Considered the city’s most symbolic landmark, the Brandenburg Gate is a triumphal arch, which dates back to the 18th Century and since that time has played an important location for historical events. Hitler and Nazi soldiers paraded with torch-lit marches through the gate and after being cut-off to the people of Germany for 28 years, locals of East and West met at this spot for emotional celebrations on October 3rd 1989, when the Berlin wall was finally brought down.

We immersed in the history of the city further, by taking visits to the interesting Jewish Museum and to the museum of Checkpoint Charlie. Both museums where fascinating and provided a real insight into the life of those living in the Berlin during difficult times of the 20th Century. The museum of Checkpoint Charlie lies next to the actual site itself, its name given by the western allies to a crossing point between East and West Berlin during the cold war. The museum describes the many ways in which people were smuggled across the border for the hope of a better life, some being miraculously successful while others were less fortunate.

We also visited part of the Berlin wall too. Not much of the wall still stands, but there are parts, where pieces of the wall are still visible. Boarded and fenced away, the wall covered in graffiti and based by flowers, still forms a reminder of this cities difficult past. We walked along the shopping Street of the Ku’damm Road and explored the Harrods of Germany known as KaDeWe, a huge shopping centre with a food section that would blow your mind and your wallet at the same time. We explored the Turkish sections of Berlin too and headed out to East Germany to catch up on some personal history, visiting the site where my grandfather used to live and go to school.

We crammed in a trip to the Reichstag too, an immense building, which was constructed to house the parliament of the German Empire. Built in the 19th Century, the building has been of significant importance during the last 100 years. In 1933, a fire ruined large parts of the structure before it was rebuilt again in the 1960’s. The old, architectural piece now has a huge glass, modern dome standing tall within its centre. Finished in 1999, the dome provides a 360 degree view of the surrounding Berlin landscape and provides a sharp contrast to the parliament house of which it sits in, yet nonetheless doesn’t oddly appear out of place. We took a trip up through the dome for great views over the city, despite the initial long queues to get in.

Our evenings in Berlin were equally as busy. Last April, I was working in Dunedin in New Zealand’s South Island. I stayed in a cool little hostel, where working behind the desk was a young, ever-happy young German named Kassandra. I got to know Kassandra quite well as I stayed in that hostel for some weeks. She said that if I was ever in Berlin, to give her a call and she would take me out for a drink or two. So that’s what I did. My sister and I met up with Kassandra and her friend Tessa for a night out which was somewhat a unique experience for us both. If we were tourists on our own – we would never have found this place. You need to be in the know to go to a place like this and that meant being a local. We were taken to a student Pre-Oktoberfest party. High up, with fantastic views over Berlin, a mass of students gathered, wearing lederhosen and drinking beers bigger than the Hubble Space Telescope. They smashed their glasses together, dancing on tables and listening to a live band playing very German, glass smashing hits. By the end, despite the lack of costume, we were up with them on the tables, bashing our beer glasses till we could physically bash no more. It was a great night and a (very German) fabulous experience.

Among the Berlin parties and sightseeing, we were also in the city to lay some stones. We stood outside the place where my grandfather and great-grandparents once lived. It’s now a hotel. Gunter Demnig turned up and started to dig up the pavement. There is no ceremony, no words said – the stones say it all. Often German school kids turn up to see the event take place and understand this part of the countries history. The whole thing was over in a few minutes but hopefully the stones will remain for years to come.

After a manic but enjoyable few days in Berlin, we headed home to Autumn England. I had had my fun, now I needed to get a job……..