Ich Bin Ein Berliner
Germany on September 20, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I took a number of pictures with phone today, I say a number like I took a lot, but it's more of a handful. Been using phone more than actual camera. I think because Im writing about it I only feel the need to take semi supporting images. Check out others I took today here.
Day started off cold like 35 degree cold so I waited last minute to checkout. Got to platform as train pulled in, almost looked like I knew what I was doing. Picked up jacket in Berlin.
Walked in tried one on and bought that one. Maybe 3 minutes in and out. Woman tried to bag it, "um…I'll be wearing it out."
I think I might pass for German now or at least European now I got their gear. People have asked me for directions in Spain, France, and Germany so I don't look like a total tourist or I look like a tourist less lost than them.
Walked into a 3 star hotel because those are usually priced normal, not this one. I'm in a 4 star that was around corner that was 40% cheaper.
If it hasn't become apparent yet I am not roughing it.
On the way to Checkpoint Charlie I kept passing police blocking off a route so I'm thinking, "I'm either walking into something very scary or festive."
Was some protest march. It was about Afghanistan. I would have walked with it and talked it up with the younger people because most high school/college kids speak English, but they appeared very pro communist. The picture of Che and a sign, "Marx is muss 2008," tipped me off.
Never heard of Checkpoint Charlie before today. It's a famous crossing point apparently. Significance wise it's cool, but the place itself is only eh.
Then down the road is the second largest section of wall. I only know that because my ears tune in on all English conversations.
The pic is of that section, below it is the foundation of an old SS building and where they managed concentration camps. Did I mention there's not a whole lot of old buildings in Berlin.
Then there's a brick line that shows where the wall use to run that I walked. It's almost exactly like the freedom trail in Boston, visually, but almost exactly the opposite symbolically/symbolicly? I don't know which to use and there's no spell check on phone. It'll try to finish words for you not fix em after.
There's a towery thing that I'm gonna check out tomorrow and I'd like to find where JFK threw down.
I thought I'd be interested in seeing the wall but when I got to the section I quickly had enough of that. No need to have sad Dan walking about.
For that same reason I'm interested in visiting whatever may be left of a concentration camp, but Im avoiding them. I may actually throw up if I did that. My imagination is a bit overactive so I'd picture it all and then I'd be all sympathetic and then the sympathy pain would set in and then Bleh!
Anne Frank's was not on that level. I've read her diary and most of the stuff on the walls are direct quotes and the rest is talking about how her writing was so grown up. But these other places it's like how do I act? Shocked? I certainly knew what was here that I came to see. I wasn't told we were coming to Disneyland and got dropped off at SS headquarters. Should I be all swagger because we bombed the shit out of you?
And in a way me and anyone else visiting these sites are getting an amount of entertainment out of being there and that's fucked.
If you look at the other pics check out that pillar thing. It's such a weird use of a large area. How can we take all this open space and make it useless? I would like to see people line up on the west and south sides and run full speed across see who manages to make it.
If you speak German let me know what linke with an accent of sorts on the i means. The protesters had signs that said "Die Linke."
Heard a German woman tell her daughter gah-zoon-tite and in my head I did a triumphant fist pull.