Berlin in Sight

By Terje Raa

Berlin is good for your eyes - they are refreshed by its beauty and energy, but also by its contrasts. Attractions stand in line, green expanses alternate with water, the sun and the clouds take their turns, while architectural wonders co-exist peacefully with factory ruins covered in graffiti. The German capital is a melting pot and crowded to the rim.

There are at least two ways of looking at Berlin. One is to bury your eyes in a guidebook, allowing them only short glimpses of the actual sights before hurrying on to the next highlight. At the end of the day, you'll know more about the author than about Berlin, of which you have rather fragmented impressions. Those fragments could form a full picture if you have time enough, otherwise you risk leaving with a feeling that Berlin was too big a mouthful.

A different approach is to let Berlin come to you, simply by permitting your eyes to wander around, focusing on whatever they like, sure to reward you with new ideas and useful contacts. You need a suitable location, though, and why not go for the number one Berlin attraction: Brandenburger Tor, between Unter den Linden and Tiergarten. It's a triumphal arch carrying the bronze Quadriga; a goddess bringing the message of peace, on a four-in-hand. The adjacent Pariser Platz is ideal when all you want is to lean back and watch.

Entertainers of varying caliber appeal to your generosity. Standing on small cases in fluttering chiffon, their hands and faces painted the same color, they simply assume a funny posture, adjusting it whenever a tip occurs. The Soviet 1945 takeover is exploited by a guy in full uniform parading the Soviet flag. More authentic is an organ grinder, his old-fashioned costume so elegant and his tunes pure nostalgia, unaffected by a demonstration moving past, its banners demanding German soldiers out of Afghanistan.

Easy Transport

Bored by a repertoire repeating itself, you're ready for side trips into the surrounding Berlin, very easy from a transport point of view. You can choose between cycle taxis or rickshaws, U-Bahn, S-Bahn, busses and trams. Two of the bus routes, 100 and 200, will keep you on the track, always on their way to yet another major sight, number 100 follows the northern side of Tiergarten, 200 the southern. All transportation is covered by one single ticket, a special tourist ticket valid for one, two or seven days, not to be mistaken for the more expensive Berlin Welcome Card, which includes reduced museum fees.

Do not underestimate, however, your own feet, their pace ensures that apart from seeing things, you also get a feeling of them. The first sight, an incredible collection of coffins in grey-black granite, threatens to produce tears in your eyes. It's the Holocaust Memorial, representing a forever open wound amidst government institutions. To get the granite out of your eyes, you should lose yourself on the lanes of Tiergarten, leaving the human race behind, except for an occasional jogger and a few ladies taking a break from their Nordic Walking, now using their poles for stretching exercises.

Tiergarten is surrounded by a chain of tourist jewels, the newest is the Hauptbahnhof, an airy glass construction stronger than iron trains. Der Reichstag, the parliament building, is exposed to pressure, too. A constant line of people waits to ascend its glass cupola to experience an overall view and the fusion of new and old architecture. The nickname of Kanzleramt opposite, "the washing machine", has nothing to do with the present resident, Angela Merkel, although she's busy polishing the German image.

You suddenly discover an open air museum, so naturally located that you have to look twice: 90 gas lanterns originating from German and European cities, shown to their best advantage after dark. Less secretive is the southwestern corner of Tiergarten - the starting point of Kurfürstendamm, the longest and most fashionable boulevard, to many the epitome of Berlin, whether the theme is shopping, accomodations or fine dining.

The wildest place in town, Zoo, has a local train station next door, Bahnhof Zoo, underneath which lies an oasis of hygiene and high-tech, accessible for 1,10 Euro. It's an example of a public toilet policy favoring few but luxurious establishments. Cheaper is a City Toilette, fancy yet sporadic structures, often in combination with a kiosk. The undersupply of toilets rubs off on cafe owners, many of whom consistently turn away needy tourists who are not proper customers.

Ostalgie

Eyes have a weakness for squares - because they broaden the view, slow down traffic and inspire people to take a rest. Berlin abounds in squares, and you might expect a major one where the Ku'damm takes off. However, the nearest is Breitscheidplatz, the home of a war monument held together by metal bands: Gedächtniskirche. The rainbow flags on Nollendorfplatz, in the Schöneberg district, suggest it's a gay area, confirmed by a plaque at the local U-Bahn station; it commemorates 5.000 homosexuals killed by the nazis.

The grandest square is in the east, Alexanderplatz or just Alex, more large than intimate. If eyes were able to speak, they would ask for a ticket to Fernsehturm, the TV tower, in order to view Berlin from four sides, preferably after dark. Restored intimacy is waiting in the neighborhood: Scheunenviertel, the Jewish quarter, sporting pubs or "kneipen", restaurants, shops and galleries, centered around Hackesche Höfe, lively day and night. A bit further lies Prenzlauer Berg, or simply Prenzelberg, an eastern working class area growing trendy - one obvious reason is the verdant Kollwitzplatz, lined with tables and baby carriages.

Although your eyes serve you well, you might get a deeper understanding of things if you were allowed to touch and examine them, though strictly forbidden around the famous Museum Island. There is actually a tiny museum quite near, DDR Museum, where you are prompted to take things in your hands while proceeding through a typical DDR home. Opening drawers, sit on the family sofa or study their Trabbie, simultaneously doing a little Stasi eavesdropping - that's sheer "Ostalgie". The future looks bright for the surviving Trabant cars, already employed in Trabant Safari.

Potsdamer Platz, the landmark of new Berlin, is a collection of skyscrapers in glass and steel, furthermore a monument to architectural daring. In the roaring twenties, Potsdamer Platz was boiling with traffic and nightlife, became after the war a deserted noman's land, whereas the reunion turned it into the busiest construction site in Europe. The result is staggering, as is the lift sending you to the top of Daimler Chrysler, 100m in 20 seconds, to a complete Berlin panorama, including the Sony Center's artistic white roof.

It's a surprise finding Marlene here, her portrait drawn in black on a steel-grey sign: Marlene Dietrich Platz. Her background, Spielbank Berlin, the casino, appears most suitable, and so does the modernity, a symbol that Marlene even belongs to the future. She will go on singing about her last suitcase: "Ich habe noch einen Koffer in Berlin!" Implying with her world-weary eyes that we all have a mental luggage marked Berlin.