Berlin
Mark and I arrived in Berlin, Germany, two mornings ago and have already been impressed with the city. Our hotel is in the center of what was old East Berlin, and we began our time here with a three hour tour with Bianca who grew up in East Berlin and was not allowed to come to West Berlin until 1985 at the age of 21 as a journalist. The Berlin Wall, something we grew up hearing about, came down finally in 1989, and there is now a unified Germany. We saw Checkpoint Charlie (entry spot for West Berlin) and No Man's Land, the space between the walls created by both West and East Berlin. There is a memorial to all the East Berliners who lost their lives crossing into the West, and of course the wall was created in 1961 to keep East Germans from coming over to the West.
The city buildings are relatively new for such an old city, but Berlin was decimated at the end of WWII and so started over again, trying where possible to rebuild the way it was before the war. We see bullet holes in buildings, especially in the old parts of town. So history comes alive for me, not without some emotion.
Berlin is also a city of new architecture; in Potsdamer Place, there are several buildings, the Sony Center designed by H. Jahn and an adjacent building designed by Renzo Piano. We went yesterday to the New Museum to see works from the Brucke group of four main artists who painted from 1910 to 1921. A truly fascinating exhibit!
One stop on our tour was the Olympic Stadium built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympics--from a tower nearby we saw the three swimming pools (still being used) and the refurbished stadium with 75000 seats (where World Cup soccer events will take place) and in the entrance, we saw a motorcycle training school using the massive plaza leading into the stadium entrance. As we traveled along Jesse Owen's Alley, I recall reading about that emotional time of personal prejudice against Black athletes and in our own dilemma of whether to participate when some had objections to Hitler's government.
We will make our way back to some of the sights which was the idea of the tour. Today we will lunch with Jerry's artist friend and his wife, see the Bauhaus Museum (we always loved the Mies Van der Rohe museum in Chicago), and as we do every day, walk around.
Berliners are tremendously helpful and the cab drivers immensely polite. The food we have had in restaurants recommended by our hotel has been excellent and if you know us at all, you know that food plays a central role in our travel. I will spend some time reviewing some of the dishes that appear to distinguish the German food, although as we all know, food travels across borders so there is Indian, Indonesian, Mexican, and even McDonald's and Subway here.
This is my first blog, an idea from my daughter, and a great way to communicate with you all. I will not post any pictures, but perhaps I can persuade Mark to do so.
More later. Love to all, Kathy
The city buildings are relatively new for such an old city, but Berlin was decimated at the end of WWII and so started over again, trying where possible to rebuild the way it was before the war. We see bullet holes in buildings, especially in the old parts of town. So history comes alive for me, not without some emotion.
Berlin is also a city of new architecture; in Potsdamer Place, there are several buildings, the Sony Center designed by H. Jahn and an adjacent building designed by Renzo Piano. We went yesterday to the New Museum to see works from the Brucke group of four main artists who painted from 1910 to 1921. A truly fascinating exhibit!
One stop on our tour was the Olympic Stadium built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympics--from a tower nearby we saw the three swimming pools (still being used) and the refurbished stadium with 75000 seats (where World Cup soccer events will take place) and in the entrance, we saw a motorcycle training school using the massive plaza leading into the stadium entrance. As we traveled along Jesse Owen's Alley, I recall reading about that emotional time of personal prejudice against Black athletes and in our own dilemma of whether to participate when some had objections to Hitler's government.
We will make our way back to some of the sights which was the idea of the tour. Today we will lunch with Jerry's artist friend and his wife, see the Bauhaus Museum (we always loved the Mies Van der Rohe museum in Chicago), and as we do every day, walk around.
Berliners are tremendously helpful and the cab drivers immensely polite. The food we have had in restaurants recommended by our hotel has been excellent and if you know us at all, you know that food plays a central role in our travel. I will spend some time reviewing some of the dishes that appear to distinguish the German food, although as we all know, food travels across borders so there is Indian, Indonesian, Mexican, and even McDonald's and Subway here.
This is my first blog, an idea from my daughter, and a great way to communicate with you all. I will not post any pictures, but perhaps I can persuade Mark to do so.
More later. Love to all, Kathy
posted by Kathy Sohn | 9:30 PM
3 Comments:
nice work mom! i'm so excited that you're doing this, it will give you something to do and educate the rest of us about berlin and the other places you're going. i'm not sure how easy it is for you to post pictures and you're writing is so descriptive you don't really nead them. have FUN+.
ps--you need to go to your settings or profile and click the button to allow anonymous comments before people can post anonymously.
Kathy, tried yesterday to send a message but it failed...so I am trying again! I so enjoyed your ongoing comments, as if I were there. It is fun to hear what you are doing right away. Berlin sounded terrific. Now you are hiking, right?
Keep us posted.
Love
Pat
Kathy, sounds like lots of exercise!! Have fun!
Love
Pat
Post a Comment
<< Home