There's a lot of Art Historian in this photo, and more importantly, two of Monika's good Berlin friends-- Andrea and Babette. We are in the Gallery of the Saarland, which Andrea directs, and where artists from Germany's smallest state (and nearby Luxemborg and the Alsace region of France) can exhibit their work. After our gallery visit, Babette was kind enough to take us on a tour of a few of the sights of "downtown" Berlin.
Because we happened to walk by, we checked out "Checkpoint Charlie," the famous entrance to (or, more rarely, the exit from) the American Sector in post-WWII Berlin and the last, or first, chance, depending whether you are going or coming, to get your KFC, McDonald's, or (unpictured) Hard Rock Cafe, on. There are a lot of Instagram photos coming from this place, where the curious can see vestiges of a key crossing of the Cold War period. But if this seemingly random installation is any indication of the magnitude and ferocity of these conflicting global economic and political philosophies, I'm not sure what to think. Quaint? (I'm sure there are more illuminating places to see the real human costs of the division of Berlin. This was not it.)
We saw cool pipe sculptures, variously pink, purple or blue, all over Berlin. It seemed an unusual quirk of the post-modern architectual landscape until Monika found out that they have a purpose -- draining the groundwater (that lies periously close to the surface in this ancestral bog-land) from construction sites. There are many, many construction sites in Berlin; hence there are many pipes. They are above ground because they are (probably) temporary. They have many joints because it reportedly gets cold here in winter and an uninterrupted straight pipe tends to not last all that long. More than you wanted to know?
As evening came on we walked by the Holocaust Memorial, a corner of the Tiergarten, the front of the Brandenburg Gate, down among groups of people dancing to boombox music along the Spree and finally to the House of World Cultures, donated by the United States and used for exhibitions and events from around the world. Like many other architectual phenomena in Berlin, this, with its unusual roofline has earned it one of two nicknames from affectionate Berliners: "The Pregnant Oyster" or "Jimmy Carter's Smile." I know what Jimmy Carter's smile looks like, so that one works for me; I have no idea what a pregnant oyster looks like, so I'm not a good judge of that one. Babette thinks it looks like the top of the Statue of Liberty. That works too.
Walking back from a decent pizza, bretzel and kleine-Pils-bitte dinner at The Smile, we walked back along the Spree, where we encountered the last few seconds of the "Illumination of the Bundestag." It was less than overwhelming to me, but what was highly interesting (and unfortunately not photographed) was that right near this spot were two large groups of regular people BALLROOM DANCING IN PUBLIC -- one group samba, the other tango. Apparently, they meet here reguarly. Inspired, Monika and I tried our hands and feet at the tango, while Babette filmed our truly exceptional first effort. Unfortunately, this video is much too large to include here. You'll have to use your imagination.
No first wandering of Berlin would be complete without some image of the Brandenburg gate. This photo, in which I am photographing a sign that I think reads something like "Bikes Are Free to Pass" and planning to send to Emily because I somehow think this would be of interest to her. I am relieved to find that I have understood it correctly (rarely the case with my German reading) and some day maybe I will do that: ride a bike through the Brandenburg Gate. No cars, just bikes and people walking.
P.S. Abandon hope all ye expecting a chronological record of this journey!