Finding Wisdom in Berlin

A couple of weekends ago, Mark traveled back to Berlin to meet up with friends, KP & JoJo.  Long time readers of this space may remember these two from last year (Happy Anniversary, by the way).  As they are avid travelers, they hopped a plane across the pond and ended up in Berlin.

Once all three Minnesotans (sorry, JoJo, it is accurate) were in Berlin, they took advantage of the beautiful weather by finding a local guide to give them the bike tour of Berlin.  But not just any tour guide would do.  Mark, KP & JoJo were not only looking for fun, they were also looking to learn a thing or two, so they went and found the man with the plan.

Their guide, Mr. Auto, took Mark, KP & JoJo to a few places that most bike tours will not go.  Of course they saw where the Berlin Mauer (that's "Berlin Wall" to the uninitiated) used to split the city.  Of course they saw the stadium and the revelers playing basketball in the court nearby.  Of course they went to Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate.  All of that is a given.  But they also went to look at the bridge where the people of East and West Berlin met up on November 9, 1989.  And it might not even have been planned.  According to the story, the people running East Germany had been considering loosening travel restrictions between the two halves of the city for some time, but had not reached a formal policy conclusion.  At some point on the 9th, the leadership told the spokesperson something to the effect that the travel restrictions would be lifted.  The spokesperson then dutifully went on national television and told all of Germany that the travel restrictions had been lifted.  Whether this was actually what the government of East Germany wanted is still a gray area.  However, within hours of this broadcast, tens of thousands of Berliners (the Germans, not the jelly doughnuts) were ready to cross over into the other side of Berlin.  Unfortunately, no one told the soldiers guarding the bridge that they could take the night off, so a fairly tense scene unfolded.  However, cooler heads prevailed because (and once again, thank heavens that people watch television) the East German soldiers had also seen the announcement on television.  They had not received orders, but the guy on TV said that the restrictions were lifted, so.....

And that is how vague statements and television reunited Berlin.  (or something like that)  Our three travelers had gained a little wisdom already (watch more TV).

I feel like I am learning so much!

After the bike tour, Mr. Auto took the trio to one final stop, the Prater Beer Garten.  Yee-haw!  There are not many things better than a nice hefeweizen after a long day of bike riding (well, at least three hours, anyway).  As it was the middle of the day and the garden was mostly full, Mark asked our guide whether these people were on their way home from work or on their way to work.  And if it were the latter, would that be a problem in Germany?  Mr. Auto then shared another bit of wisdom: "It is ok to show up to work drunk.  It is ok to show up to work late.  It is just not ok to show up to work drunk AND LATE."  Words to live up.

Bottoms up! (.... or what a big, weird nose you have.)

Later, our intrepid trio toured the city.  At the top of this post KP & JoJo are shown in Pariser Platz with the Brandenburg Gate in the background.  This photo was taken on the East Berlin side of the gate, where you can see the faces of the horses pulling the chariot atop the gate.  The view from the West Berlin side, while still of a chariot, is less flattering for the horses (not their better side).

Pariser Platz is a main square in Berlin and many tourists gather there for photos and general revelry.  And whenever you have tourists gathering in one area, you are likely to have a motley collection of pickpockets, salespeople, street performers and imperial storm troopers.   Wait, what was that last one?

"Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?"

After visiting the Pariser Platz, our group of ne'er do wells went for the scheduled tour of the Reichstag.  Tourist note: touring the dome is free, but you need reservations in advance.  No walk ups.

The Reichstag is the building that currently houses the legislative body of Germany called the Bundestag, but it has a long and fairly tumultuous history.  Prior to WWII, it was used to house the German parliament.  It started on fire in 1933 under mysterious circumstances.  During the war, it was not used for any legislative purposes, and mostly not used at all.  The Russian army took control of the building in 1945 and graffiti left by the soldiers is still visible in some places (preserved during renovations).  Then it was pretty much just a big empty building for a long time.  Rev. Gerry Trocinski served in the U.S. Army back in the day, part of his tour in Berlin.  The good Reverend reports that the building was unoccupied back then.  It stayed that way until East and West Germany were reunified, at which point there was a large renovation project, capped off with the construction of a nifty little dome for the top of the building.  After a few years of renovation, it was ready for prime time and opened to the public.

These mirrors are inside the glass dome and serve some sort of climate control purpose (recycling sunshine or something).  It also makes it possible to take a weird looking self-portrait.

Before leaving Berlin, the three managed to visit one museum.  The museum contained the Pergamon Altar, which (as you might guess) is an altar that was taken from a place called Pergamon.  Pergamon was a Greek settlement in Asia Minor (modern Turkey).  The altar was built to honor Zeus and the other Greek gods and very detailed reliefs of them in their famous battles and stories are depicted throughout.  The entire structure was brought to Germany in the 19th century for preservation in the Pergamon Museum (what a coincidence!).  The museum is very impressive, as it houses the Ishtar Gate from Babylon and a large collection of antiquities, but the altar is the main attraction.

If you have been reading your Book of Revelations lately, the word "Pergamon" may sound familiar to you.  Revelations 2:12 references "Pergamos" and something about the "seat of Satan."  So, maybe the huge altar built to the Greek gods was the seat being discussed (maybe not).  In any event, just to be on the safe side, it would be wise to not get too close.

Don't get too close.... oh, too late!