Berlin Undaunted

After staving off my Okto-hangover with some fried schnitzel goodness (and a few hairs of the dog) at the very cool Franzikaner restaurant in Munich, it was off to Berlin.

Berlin is still an evolving city. When I was there in '98, it was completely transforming itself--construction was taking place everywhere, with cranes poking at the horizon in almost every direction. Nearly 10 years later, that is still the case--but it is already a whole new city. Sure, there are still some aesthetically-challenged Cold War era buildings and sections of its infamous eponymous wall up. And as I went by a Stasi prison complex (the one shown in the Oscar-winning movie "The Lives of Others"), I couldn't help but get a little uneasy. But to me, the remnants of Berlin's past simply serve as a testament to its indefatigability.

Berliners just don't seem content to get back to the status quo; to snuggle back into the way things used to be. They remember, they learn, they re-create, they redeem. They seem to want to be better, always.

Nowhere is that more apparent than at the Brandenburg Gate. The square in front of the gate--once vivisected by the Wall--is now home to upscale boutiques, hotels and gawking tourists. The gate was just one of many that marked the border of Berlin at one point. When Napoleon conquered Berlin, he walked through the gate in a symbolic show of power. In an attendant show of hubris, he took down the Quadriga--the four-horsed chariot statue on top of the monument--and brought the pieces of it to France.

Once he was defeated, Berlin put it back together and back on top.

After WWII, the Gate was nearly completely destroyed in the shelling of Berlin.

As with everything in Berlin, it was rebuilt.

Somehow, after all it has been through, this city has retained its dignity. I was impressed by many sights in the city:

• The TV tower -- not the prettiest part of Berlin, but at over 1,200 feet tall, it dominates the skyline and the historic Alexanderplatz where it stands.






• Marienkirche-- anachronistic alongside the Star Trek-ish TV tower, it's a quiet place of stability and tranquility, and the oldest church in Berlin (dating to at least 1292).






• The Reichstag (now called Bundestag)--I was in awe of some of the history that would've taken place here, in public and behind closed doors. It's the most visited seat of government in Europe.






• The Berliner Dom -- beautiful cathedral. Although its reconstruction was only completed in 1993, it still looks like it did in 1900--they made it new without making it feel new.






• The arboreal urban thoroughfare of Unter de Linden--city streets somehow seem less chaotic when they are lined with trees.






• The Berlin State Library--the ivy-covered walls of the quiet courtyard made me want to sit down with a book and a coffee for about 4 hours.

My favorite, though, was Gendarme Market. It was named that because this was where French regiments were stationed in the 18th century, and is supposedly modeled after the Piazza de Poppolo in Rome. We went at night, on a whim, with the moon high and silver clouds moving quick and low across the sky. The impressive, columned buildings on three sides were lit up, and all was quiet.

Almost.

A man, sihouletted under antique streetlamps, stood at the far corner of the square. He was playing the violin better than probably anyone I've ever heard in my life. There were only three of us there--he clearly was not doing this for money. He was just playing. It was a surreal moment in time, when you stop and realize how cool and serendipitous life can be sometimes.

When he was finished, we all clapped and he offered a bow. I could see the bottom of his trenchcoat flapping in the light wind, but I never saw his face. It was just about the perfect cap to my second experience in Berlin.

Special shout-out to Jana--the best Berlin tour guide a person could ask for!!