Berlin!

THis will be the first of a few posts from Berlin. I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to send comments. It's nice to know someone is reading this...

If you know me, you know I love the city of Berlin. It's an odd thing for a kid from Ohio, but I always have been fascinated by this town. It has changed so much, even in my lifetime, that it always seems to  create itself anew on every visit.

I first came to Berlin in 1980 after college. The city was divided, West and East, free and not free, alive and barely surviving.... at least from our vantage point in the west.

The wall fell in 1989, Germany unified in 1990, and Berlin became the capitol of Germany again. 

As I was strolling around today, I had the happy thought that here is a story we can all feel good about. Germany caused an enormous amount of misery in the 20th century. As I grew up in the 60's and 70's, West Germany slowly rejoined the ranks of trusted, civilized societies. It's reunification in 1990 was not considered a good thing in every corner of the world, let alone Europe. Nor was it a slam dunk. It might not have happened, but for one of the lasting acts of greatness, in my opinion, by the elder President Bush. His unflinching support for German reunification soothed the doubts of other countries fearful of a united Germany. Germany is now a trusted partner throughout the world. It has confronted its past openly and painfully. Berlin carries the weight of German history more than any other city. Ironically, It was always the most liberal, ethnically diverse and free-spirited city in Germany. It remains so.

I was sitting tonight at a currywurst stand, looking about, and realized that I was at a spot that, had it been just over 20 years ago, I would have been shot.... Sometimes the world does get better...

Enjoy the pictures. Thanks for stopping by.

 The only Nazi era building still in use today. It used to be the Air Ministry and Herman Goering had his office in it. Now it houses the office of the German Finance Ministry.

 The Berlin Ampelmann! This is the older version. Berliners love him. I bought an Ampelmann t-shirt!

 Jaunty little guy, isn't he?

 My favorite building in the world, the Berlin Philharmonie.

 The foyer.

 Another view.

 The Philharmonie sits right on the edge of one of the worlds great city parks, the Tiergarten. Ten steps and you are surrounded by trees and quiet walkways.

 Like these...

 Cool Beethoven statue in the Tiergarten.

 Berlin has great museums. This is the central foyer of the  Gemäldegalerie, the Portrait Gallery. No museum I have been in utilizes natural light in such a beautiful way. This central meditation hall connects all the galleries on the outer wings. It's a beautiful room.

 Rembrandt, the original Snoop-Dog. He was the shizzle!

 The "Man with the Golden Helmet"was once thought to be a Rembrandt. Not any more, but I still like it.

 Rembrandt (or one of his students) "Young Jesus".

This is the former Bendlerstrasse site where the leaders of July 20 1944 assassination attempt on Hiter were shot immediately after Hitler survived the bombing and regained control. (The Tom Cruise movie, "Valkyrie" was filmed here. It's good.)  The street is now called "Stauffenbergstrasse". I never sought out WW II sites in my former visits to Berlin. I discovered this was just behind the Portrait Gallery.

 More of the memorial.

 "Here died for Germany on July 20, 1944: General Ludwig Beck, General Friedrich Olbricht, Colonel Klaus von Stauffenberg, Colonel Von Quirnheim, Leutnant Von Haeften."

 Potsdamer Platz  used to be "No Man's Land, between East and West Berlin.

 Things have changed!

 The Sony Center.

 The Holocaust Memorial.

 Another view. It is a very impressive memorial. It is called the "Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe". It sits just to the side of the Brandenburg Gate. It is a poetic place. The Gate has always served as the triumphal arch of the German Nation, even before the Nazis. Now, this monument stands in its shadow, as a reminder and a warning.

The concrete objects are called "stele", an ancient concept of memorial slab. They are of differing sizes, in straight rows, swelling like frozen waves.

There is a beautiful piece of music by the composer Gyorgy Kurtag, called "Stele". It is unrelated to this monument, but the mood of the piece is haunting, and therefore apt to what I am describing. Check it out...

This is a very impressive place. Not 100 meters from the former center of Government for Nazi Germany. It invites you to stroll around, and think.

 The Brandenburg Gate.

 Another view. The "Quadriga", the statue of the horses and rider on top, is very famous. Napoleon took a fancy to it when he defeated Prussia in 1804, and took it home with him to Paris. The Prussians got back in 1814, and its been there ever since.

The Berliner Dom, or Cathedral, at night.