I was in Berlin just 3 days. In that time I got a sense of the city, more like a glimpse actually. Berlin is a big city with a big history, and there is so much to explore. Three days was not enough time to discover Berlin, I think that you would need at least a week for that, however, I had a great time there, and here are some of my experiences and impressions of this fantastic city.

I stayed in East Berlin, and even today you can see the contrast between East and West. During the cold war the Soviet East was much poorer than the US/French/British alliance of the West which prospered economically on the back of post war reconstruction.  One example that has become an icon of Berlin is the traffic signal found in east Berlin of the walking man with top hat crossing the street.

In Berlin, one thing I found particularly noticeable was the amount of street art. It seems that art is a big part of the culture here.  There is a lot of street art and graffiti that can be seen on a many of the public walls, buildings, and particularly on what is left of the Berlin wall. One section has been named the East side Gallery.  The art takes on many forms - sometimes ugly, sometimes humorous, at times politically motivated and other times beautiful, clever and creative.

One afternoon whilst exploring on foot, I came across a public art exhibition by the bridge near the Eastside Gallery. The bridge was closed off from vehicle traffic, and both sides were lined with many small stalls with local artists displaying their talents. In the middle of the road was a long strip of wide paper spanning the bridge from one side to the other. Along the entire length were many small pots of paint and brushes, being used a number of children who were busy joyfully transforming it into a strip of vibrant colours and pictures.

Another aspect of Berlin that I was keen to explore was the nightlife, as I had heard they have some great nightclubs here. Going out on Saturday and Sunday night, I found it very easy to meet people as they were in general open and very friendly. I discovered some great venues with good vibes, and fantastic music to dance the night away to.

Visiting the Jewish museum was very worthwhile.  It was unlike any other museum. What I found very interesting was the creativity that went into the architectural design of the building. There are no square geometric shapes anywhere, instead, everything is angular and it also has several large empty voids throughout the building, symbolising the absence of Jewish people in the German community.

I also took the time to visit the recently built holocaust memorial. It consists of a large area covered with rectangular shaped grey concrete pillars of varying heights, arranged in a grid pattern. Walking through them is a strange experience. There is no definitive way to walk through, rather an endless possibility of routes you can take - left, left, right, left, right, right, left etc..  as you work your way from one side to the other heading in a general direction until you  find yourself on the other side. The memorial has become controversial however, because for children (and some adults), it serves as the perfect playground to play hide and seek, which is not appropriate considering it is a memorial symbolising a human tragedy on an immense scale.

Last update : 15-09-2008 10:25

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