East-West: Berlin

Torn by historic animosity between east and west, wrecked by the German and Soviet armies during the death throes of WWII, encompassing the grandeur of communist and fascist dreams, Berlin today is thriving. Not economically per se, where unemployment hovers around 18% throughout the city, but in terms of being the most happening art hub in the world. In a city where rent is cheap (if not free in the countless squats that house entire artist colonies), making art is still not only possible but also probable. From street art to spontaneous performance, from “civil disobedience nests” in the park to thriving gallery collections, we finally made it to the artists' Mecca.

We landed ourselves in Mitte at the center of the city and began our exploration of the city's main museums, where five enormous museums have been constructed on an island in the center of the Spree River. We immediately decided to enter Pergamon, where German archaeologists have taken and reconstructed some of the several most impressive monuments from ancient Greece to Babylon (my mother was also blown away by the depth of the collection, saying it was even more complete than what she's seen in Greece or at the British Museum). When you enter the museum through a small door you are immediately confronted with an entire ancient Greek temple with a larger-than life characters from its frieze circumventing the space. Intimidating steps invite you to climb the stairs of the temple lit by natural skylights, and to turn and look back on the massive room housing the entire structure. From there you can enter another room, housing two more temple facades, and enter the third largest room through the original gate to Babylon, the Ishtar Gate. The gate is made of gorgeous blue tiles that rise to a formidable masterpiece. The museum was incredible, albeit stolen (or “acquired”) treasures from the ancient world, and three of the best exhibitions I’ve seen all housed in a single building.

After museuming during our entire first day (and meeting up with an old friend in the hipper part of town of Kreuzberg), our second day was dedicated to seeing national monuments and contemporary art. We made our way through the surreal Berlin architecture, passing from modern feats of glass and steal to classic European styled domed cathedrals, enormous beaurocratic buildings that later housed the Nazis, and, of course, the Wall. At the end of WWII, during the German’s last stand, 22,000 Soviet soldiers, 20,000 German soldiers, and 30,000 Berlin citizens were killed in ten days. It was only later that the liberating army became Berlin’s next oppressor, creating the infamous boundary between east and west; the Berlin wall.

The sense of Soviet occupation, the horrible atrocities orchestrated against European Jews from the Nazi capital, of the incredible suffering on the part of Germans on both sides of the Wall following WWII, and celebration following the collapse of the Soviet Union all hang on the cold, crisp air of Berlin. Enormous streets throughout the city, which have been pounded by the boots of countless soldiers from several countries over the past one hundred years, remain largely empty, the grandeur of the city underscored by empty sidewalks and sparse traffic. The people you do meet are incredibly friendly, and we spent the last half of our day visiting local galleries and looking at thought provoking artwork from the thriving art community. Some wine and food with my good friend Fox topped off our stay, having seen just about all we could see in the blur of a two-day visit.