Browsing Berlin

Is being a tourist like being a library user?  Sometimes studying a particular subject or site, and sometimes browsing the shelves or the streets?

I can recommend Berlin (where I spent last week) for both study and serendipity.

For anyone with a serious interest in modern society, Berlin is a must.  The Story of Berlin tells the tale; as from a different, but complementary, perspective does the Judisches Museum where the fractured architecture designed by Daniel Libeskind, and the personal stories of prejudice and persecution combine to chilling effect.  The open air Topography of Terrors exhibition, on the now derelict site of the former Gestapo and Reich SS headquarters, details the horrific story of how the Nazis exterminated their opponents and sought to administer their ‘final solution’ by taking mass murder to an industrial scale.  Perhaps, over time, Berlin will feel ready to build a proper information and documentation centre on this site - to send important messages from recent history to future societies about how a whole nation can slide into a nightmare world of totalitarianism and ethnic cleansing.

Right next to the Topography of Terrors site is a surviving section of the Berlin Wall - a reminder that the post-war partition of Germany and the Cold War stand-off between East and West was played out more dramatically here than anywhere else - from the Berlin airlift of 1948 to the Berlin Wall which divided the city (and neighbourhoods and families) from 1961 to 1989.  The East Side Gallery is the longest surviving stretch of the Wall and is worth a visit not just for its art and graffiti but the also for the powerful impression it conveys of partition and isolation.  The history of the Berlin Wall is well told at the site of the former Checkpoint Charlie where a museum is planned and the hoardings around the building site form an open-air narrative in words and pictures of the rise and fall of the Wall.

After all that history there are only two things to do.  One is to reflect - on man’s inhumanity to man, and on hopes for peace and reconciliation.  Best places?  Peter Eisenmann’s sombrely evocative Denkmal fur die ermordeten Juden Europas (Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe) and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church) which features a cross of nails from the bombed Coventry Cathedral and a new chapel which - in its setting, its simplicity, and the translucent blue light from its stained glass windows - is possibly the most spiritual space I’ve ever experienced.

The other thing to do is - of course – have a stiff drink.  Well, Berlin likes a beer and this is where the browsing analogy comes into play.  The city is brilliantly served by its public transport system and there are zillions of bars and cafes where you can sit and watch the world go by.  Carry on the historical theme with coffee at Café Adler (by Checkpoint Charlie) or a drink in the lounge of the Hotel Adlon (on Under den Linder, close to the Brandenburg gate).  Enjoy the legendary eating and drinking experiences of Berlin – hot chocolate and apfelstrudel at Café Einstein; an outdoor beer and pizza at Café am Neuen See in Tiergarten; ‘currywurst’ at Witty’s imbiss (street food) stand; coffee and cake in the rooftop café of the KaDeWe department store.  If you want to go upmarket, have a drink at Newtons, followed by excellent German cuisine at the next door Lutter & Wegner or fine Italian fare at the nearby Sale e Tabacci.  If you prefer a more informal setting, then try the Prenzlauer Berg district with a bite to eat at Kapele and a late night drink at Café Morgenrot.

Of course Berlin is not all about horrid history and great cafes.  It’s also - like all great cities - about culture and commerce and community and hope for the future.  The view from the observation deck high up on the Fernsehturm (Television tower) shows the extent and variety of the city; the glass and steel structures of Potsdamer Platz symbolise commercial redevelopment; the street stalls in Alexanderplatz or Hackescher Markt suggest a healthy community life; the S-bahn ride between Zoologischer Garten and Ostbahnhof underlines the reunification of West and East; while the renovation of the Reichstag (by Norman Foster) and the opening of the new central station, the Hauptbahnhof (with rail links across Europe between North and South, East and West) show Berlin’s confidence in a future which is open, democratic and inclusive.