Before coming to Ireland, I had no intention to visit anywhere in Germany. It’s not that I held anything against the current generation, but as a Jew, part of me just didn’t want to go. Neither Munich nor Berlin struck me as interesting or fun cities–regardless of their sinister histories. But after talking with a few people who raved about Berlin, I decided to go. I’m glad I did.
My first impression of Berlin, especially after coming directly from Paris, was that it looked very much like an American city–especially Washington. Some street corners looked identical to blocks in D.C., which makes sense considering America’s post World War II influence in the city. As for the people themselves, they couldn’t have been nicer. One of my travel mates spoke rudimentary German, which may have made Berliners especially friendly, but I doubt it. Another one of my first impressions was that everything in Berlin cost about 1/3 as much as it did in Paris and, in the case of beer, about 1/4 as much.
We stayed in a four-star hotel for about $130 a night for each room, which meant I paid $65 a night (each room had two beds). Better yet, it was a three minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie (look it up on Google or Wiki if you’re unfamiliar) and a 10 minute walk from the Brandenburg Gate (which I had never heard of prior to my visit, but was very impressive in its own right). My friend (Richard England, a junior at GW) found it on Expedia and it couldn’t have worked out better.
I said I don’t think Rich’s attempt at German made much of a difference on how the locals treated us because the city is covering in signs praising Americans, from both the World War II and Cold War eras. One sign about the Berlin Wall near Checkpoint Charlie called Americans “protectors of freedom and democracy” (an approximate quote) while completely trashing the Soviets as freedom-haters. Perhaps it is true what they say: history is written by the victors.
Another thing: unlike the U.S. which considers its World War II-era soldiers “The Greatest Generation”, Germans are downright ashamed of what their people did. They seem to go out of their way to denounce the Nazis (and rightfully so). While standing on ground that the former SS headquarters building was built on, it really hit me. You can read and watch shows about something day and night, but until you’re actually there it doesn’t hit you. I imagine visitors to concentration camps feel something similar, to a much larger degree.
I struggle with how to feel about Germans. On one hand, what their ancestors did was appalling, inhuman and unforgivable. On the other hand, the current generation seem to be genuinely ashamed about what happened and do as much as they can to prevent a repeat, even going as far as to make Holocaust-denying illegal. Because they are so remorseful and kind, most of me tends to give them the benefit of the doubt. They are, however, probably the most powerful nation in Europe and that makes me feel slightly uneasy. They’ve tried to take over the world twice within the last 100 years. Can we really afford to let our guard down completely? I don’t know.
On a different note, one last thing: I’ve now been to Ireland, England, Spain, Italy, and France (I’m lucky, I know). What struck about Berlin was the diversity of food there, even within restaurants. In those other countries, the vast majority of restaurants serve only traditional food, with the addition of Chinese and maybe something else, like Indian in England. Just like the others, Berlin did have its traditional sausages-and-sauerkraut restaurants, but most places seem to have a variety of everything. I had excellent paella the first night and a burrito/enchilada the last night, at separate restaurants that had a little bit of everything. I’m not sure why that is or whether it’s worth noting, but I found it interesting. Perhaps it’s the American multi-cultural influence?
Anyway St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow, so I should get to bed in preparation.
