Up early this morning . . . to finish packing for Berlin. After a quick protein shake, first on our day’s itinerary is to take Zelda and Tejomaya to a hair salon appointment for deep conditioning and consultation. This is a salon, across from the Frauenkirche, that Juli goes to and worked wonders on her hair. So, it stands to reason that mom and sis need to follow suit . . . or do I mean "follow hair?" . . . yea, it's early! |
Meanwhile, being a gorgeous day . . . I head off to look in some of the shop windows in the indoor mall where the salon is located, as nothing is open yet. Then, I begin my typical morning walk — past the Parade of Nobles to the Schlossplatz — along with some new sight-seeing thrown in by way of the Saxon State Opera House (Semperoper) at the Theaterplatz and a peek inside the Hofkirche!
In case I neglected to mention it before, the Parade of Nobles (Fürstenzug) mural is painted on 24,000 tiles of Meissen porcelain — longer than a football field — and depicts seven-centuries of Saxon royalty. The mural was created to commemorate Saxon history and heritage after it became a part of Germany in 1871. The porcelain tiles are all originals from 1907, having survived the Dresden bombing. In fact, when created they were fired three times at 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit, and when they were fired again bring the 1945 firestorm, it was only at 1,800 degrees!
From the Schlossplatz (Palace Square), I walked beneath the elevated passage that connects the Palace with the Katholiche Hofkirche, so royalty could attend mass without having to deal with their peons. This road opens onto Theaterplatz with the Semperoper across the way and the Zwinger to the left. In the middle of the square is an equestrian statue of King John, a mid-19th century ruler who funded the construction of the first Saxon State Opera House on this location and who was a patron of Saxon art and culture. The first Opera House was destroyed by fire in 1869 and the second was destroyed by WWII firebombs in 1945.
Across from Theaterplatz is the Katholiche Hofkirche with its distinctive green-copper, onion domed steeple. Like the Royal Palace, this church was completely reconstructed after the WWII firebombing of Dresden by Britain and America. Though Dresden was primarily a stronghold of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation, when Augustus the Strong died, his son wanted to continue as king of Poland, like his father. The pope would only allow it if Augustus Junior built a Catholic church in Dresden, which he did. |
By far, the most impactful part of the church for me was the Memorial Chapel. Though originally dedicated to the Bohemian Saint John Nepomuk, since the Hofkirche was restored in 1976, it serves as a memory of the victims of the fire bombings on Dresden that killed 35,000 people, on February 13, 1945, and all victims of violence. This amazing memorial was created by Dresden sculptor Friedrich Press (1904-1990 out of white Meissen porcelain. |
An abstracted and sorrowful Mary holds her dead son in her lap (the victims of violence) and offers the crown of thorns (Dresden’s rubble and wreckage of war) to us. Christ’s open heart symbolizes infinite love and shows that reconciliation is more powerful than hatred. “Only love can break the vicious circle of annihilation." Whatever ones' beliefs, the message is universal . . .
A free-standing block altar depicts five heads at the base, from which fire flames arise — reminiscent of the burning city of Dresden. On the walls of the Memorial Chapel are the names of priests who were persecuted and incarcerated between 1933 and 1945.
Back at the hair salon Zelda and Tejomaya are gorgeous, and before we leave set-up appointments after our return from Prague for cuts and color . . . and now we ready to take on Berlin!
A free-standing block altar depicts five heads at the base, from which fire flames arise — reminiscent of the burning city of Dresden. On the walls of the Memorial Chapel are the names of priests who were persecuted and incarcerated between 1933 and 1945.
Back at the hair salon Zelda and Tejomaya are gorgeous, and before we leave set-up appointments after our return from Prague for cuts and color . . . and now we ready to take on Berlin!
Full disclosure . . . I love European train stations. There is something so majestic about the curved ironwork of the ceiling structures and the feeling that adventure is but a moment away. Our trip to Berlin finds us in a compartment with two others. Space is tight, but comfortable for the two-hour trip. Not sitting by a window, I can't bore you with photographs of the passing countryside . . . too bad . . . |
Instead, my time is spent reading Immortal Soul: A Journey to the Himalayan Valley of the Amartya Masters by Aaravindha Himadra, and dreaming of an adventure of my own in that part of the world . . . time passes quickly.
The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is ginormous — Europe’s largest — with five-floors with escalators and elevators connecting them. It is light, airy and bustling as both long-distance and city S-Bahn trains meet here. Once on the street, it is easy to hire a taxi to take us to our home for the three nights — Regent Hotel — in what was the former East Berlin and now considered Berlin-Mitte.
The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is ginormous — Europe’s largest — with five-floors with escalators and elevators connecting them. It is light, airy and bustling as both long-distance and city S-Bahn trains meet here. Once on the street, it is easy to hire a taxi to take us to our home for the three nights — Regent Hotel — in what was the former East Berlin and now considered Berlin-Mitte.
After checking-in, being shown our rooms, and freshening up, we four Nuest'as are ready to hit the pavement. Located on Charlottenstraße 49, the Regent Hotel is 1-1/2 blocks from Unter den Linden, 1-1/2 blocks from Bebelplatz and Humboldt Universität, 2 blocks from the Konzerthaus, and an easy walking distance to Museum Island, Brandenburg Tör, and many other places on my list!
With Juli as our guide and map in hand, we head to Unter den Linden and walk towards Pariser Platz, which was named after the Prussians defeated Napoleon in 1813, and Bradenburg Tör (Arch of Peace), stopping to take photographs and eat brats with beer.
On Pariser Platz, a demonstration is going on against sexual violence and a group of Korean woman dancers are performing to drumming music.
Next, while walking through the Tiergarten towards the Reichstag, we pause at the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Murdered under the National Socialist Regime. Dedicated to the memory of the 220,000 - 500,000 people murdered, this memorial was designed by Israeli artist Dani Karavan and officially opened in 2012. It consists of a dark, circular pool of water that has at its center a flat, triangular stone that symbolizes the badges worn by concentration camp prisoners. A fresh flower is placed on the stone daily. Surrounding the edge of the pool is the poem “Auschwitz” by Roma poet Santino Spinelli. Frosted glass panels surround the memorial and provide a chronology of the genocide that took place.
After photographing the Reichstag and seeing the long queue of people waiting to get in and go up to the dome, I determine not to waste the precious few days we have here in that manner.
Instead, we head back towards the Bradenburg Tör to the Holocaust Denkmal, which is a memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. Designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold, it is a 4.7 acre sloping site, across from the U.S. Embassy and on the former location of the Berlin Wall, where the “death strip” once divided the city.
The monument consists of 2,711 concrete stelae arranged in a grid pattern of 54 rows (north-south) and 87 (east-west) at right angles set slightly askew. Walking through these long, strait, narrow alleys of varying heights of concrete stelae set on undulating ground is an extremely moving experience of canyon-like claustrophobia, solitutde, introspection, timelessness, hope. and despair (seemingly at night when there is no blue sky or sunlight above. The fabrication and installation began in April 2003, took 20 months to complete, and was opened to the public in 2005. According to the Eisenman’s project text: “The stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.” No matter what experiences one brings with them to this memorial, it is powerful and offers plenty of room to create ones’ own meaning!
The monument consists of 2,711 concrete stelae arranged in a grid pattern of 54 rows (north-south) and 87 (east-west) at right angles set slightly askew. Walking through these long, strait, narrow alleys of varying heights of concrete stelae set on undulating ground is an extremely moving experience of canyon-like claustrophobia, solitutde, introspection, timelessness, hope. and despair (seemingly at night when there is no blue sky or sunlight above. The fabrication and installation began in April 2003, took 20 months to complete, and was opened to the public in 2005. According to the Eisenman’s project text: “The stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.” No matter what experiences one brings with them to this memorial, it is powerful and offers plenty of room to create ones’ own meaning!
Feeling peckish and a bit tired from a long day of beauty, travel and photography, we head back to our hotel, stopping first at the U.S. Embassy across the street. Retracing our footsteps back to Bradenburg Tör, stopping to photograph in the "golden light," we continued up Unter der Linden to Friedrichstraße, then right on Französischestraße — all the time window shopping.
Needing a pick-me-up, we ducked into our hotel's Charlotte & Fritz restaurant for prosecco and desserts to share — Charlotte Royale and a sorbet and ice-cream potpourri. Still not satisfied, we headed to the Regent Bar for a light meal and another glass of prosecco . . . cheers!