Sassnitz

These are the images of the our first weekend trip away from Berlin.  It was definitely an unforgettable adventure to North Germany.

The Run

The continuation of a previous post...SASSYTOWN!  The morning starts in the we hour of 4:00am because that just so happens to be the exact hour that the sun begins to pierce through the curtains of my room.  I woke up as if it were Christmas morning with excitement and full of energy.  I begin contemplating on what I should pack for this excursion into the wild of North Germany.  Once again I have no idea what I am getting myself into.  It's getting about 5:30 and it time to meet up downstairs at the corner of wihelmstrasse.  Trey and I head downstairs and patiently wait on the Melissa, Leah, and Lindsay. We all look around and notice one person is missing and its David. Five minutes go by and everyone is getting anxious, so we go to his room.  Much to our surprise we woke up David.  He answers the door in just his boxers asking, "What time is it?"  Trey answers, "Your late!  Get dressed we got to go now!" And David replies,"Oh crap!"  He runs back into his apartment throws on some close and packs his bag.  We then run two blocks passed the British Embassy trying to make up lost time getting to the U55 rail line.  This is where the real fun begins.  We have been in Berlin for 3 days and don't really understand the transit system yet.  As we look down the stairs we notice that a metal gate is up preventing us from reaching the U55.  A complete panic comes over the entire group.  We frantically run to another U-Bohn that we could see but that is closed too.  Next idea keep running until we find a U-Bohn open.  Turns out that morning none of the underground rails have opened up yet for the morning.  Truth to be told everyone tries to figure out how we are not going to waste our money on these train tickets we bought.  Leah out of no where turns around and points.  She says,  "The haupt bohn hoff, it's over there!"  Without a second thought we all run into that direction.  Sure enough we see the train station in the distance.  It's roughly about a half mile away so we just run as fast as we can together.  We get to the train with no time to spare.  And that my friends is just how the adventure began.

It's all about schinkle.

Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.

 In the past 48 hours I have seen 6 different schinkle buildings.  I am schinkled out. 

Architecture in Berlin = Rebuilt History

Sorry I fell asleep when writing this blog and never finished before posting.  I believe it is finished now.

Is their a certain infatuation by man that we must honor the past?  Is their ever a point when our history should be left in the text book only?  Why must we rebuild buildings to evoke the simulacra of a lost era?
Its hard to find authentic Berlin.  Germany has a lengthy history of turmoil, that dates back before the Holy Roman Empire.  Many conflicts have been resolved in the streets of Germany that left it in ruins,such as Franco-Prussian War, World War I, and World War II to name a few.  It's a place where an identity has tried to be forged, but ends just as abruptly as it begins.  Recently we have seen many "historic" buildings, but in reality they are symbolic of the past.  They represent a time line of events that have been intertwined with present day Germany.  These buildings exist today only as replications of the lost.

I'm having a hard time understanding why to rebuild the old.  I feel that one must embrace the past to create the future, but is Germany really doing this?  To me it seems as if they are creating a false identity of a legacy that does not exist.  Better yet recreating a legacy.  These building do not function as part of present day society.  Yes they wonderful to look, but the beauty is only skin deep considering that majority of these building are twenty years old.  They portray a false acquisition of the past.  They don't not affect day to day life of the average person.  They are tourist attractions, landmarks, boundaries, and districts.  Could society function with out these building?  Yes.  I'm not trying to convey that Germany should be leveled, but rather acknowledge your past and create a meaningful place for society today.

The benefit to hind sight is a certain level of understanding for things that have affected or even influenced you life.  After being here for almost two weeks.  I think I am beginning to find an understanding to the German story.  I don't believe its a story that can be told or recreated, but something that you come in contact with.  It's found within every person that calls this land home.  I hate to make this comparison but on certain scale and in the right context its similar to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in South Louisiana to the History of Germany.  And I feel Chris Rose said it best, "We’re a fiercely proud and independent people, and we don’t cotton much to outside interference, but we’re not ashamed to accept help when we need it. And right now, we need it.  Just don’t get carried away."..."When you meet us now and you look into our eyes, you will see the saddest story ever told. Our hearts are broken into a thousand pieces.  But don’t pity us. We’re gonna make it. We’re resilient. After all, we’ve been rooting for the Saints for 35 years. That’s got to count for something. OK, maybe something else you should know is that we make jokes at inappropriate times."..."Everybody loves their home, we know that. But we love South Louisiana with a ferocity that borders on the pathological. Sometimes we bury our dead in LSU sweatshirts.  Often we don’t make sense. You may wonder why, for instance – if we could only carry one small bag of belongings with us on our journey to your state – why in God’s name did we bring a pair of shrimp boots?  We can’t really explain that. It is what it is."

St. Mary's Church 

Carl Gotthard Langhans

Circa 1270

The church is located on Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse  in central Berlin, near the Alexanderplatz. Its exact age is not known.  It was originally a Roman Catholic church, but has been a Lutheran Protestant church since the Protestant Reformation.This building has a mix of gothic and classical elements.  The oldest parts of the church are made from granite, but most of it is built of brick, giving it its characteristic bright red appearance.  Although this building received heavy damage in world war II it still stands today.  East Germany order the restoration in the 1950's. 

Nicholaikirche

Circa 1230

 

 

The Church of St. Nicholas  is the oldest church in Berlin, the capital of Germany. The church is located in the eastern part of central Berlin, bounded by Spandauer Strasse, Rathausstrasse, the Spree River and Muhlendamm, is known as the Nikolaiviertel, Nicholas quarter. The church was built between 1220 and 1230.  The Church of St. Nicholas as seen today is largely a reconstruction, since the original church was reduced to a burnt-out shell by Allied bombing of Berlin during World War II. Three plaques recall the church's history and destruction. After the war the ruins were in East Berlin, and it was not until 1981 that the East German Democratic Republic authorities authorised the rebuilding of the church, using old designs and plans . Today the church serves again mainly as a museum and occasionally as a concert venue.  The Nikolaikiche was also closed the day we toured.

Brandenburg Gate

Carl Gotthard Langhans

Praiser Platz

1791

The Brandenburg Gate consists of twelve Doric columns, six to each side, forming five passageways. Citizens originally were allowed to use only the outermost two. Atop the gate is the Quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory.  The Gate's design is based upon the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens.

Won't you take me to Sassytown!

Part I: The Plan

The night before the excursion a meeting was held on the 6th floor of a building found on 78th block of Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin.  Those who accepted this challenge were David, Leah, Lindsay, Melissa, Trey, and I The contents of the plan went as followed. "Can you bring over my jewelry in your bag?  Bring it over with Trey and we'll go over the what we are going to do for the weekend," Lindsay said.  Well I fell asleep and get there slightly late with the jewelry bag in hand.  The decision has already been narrowed down to a small city on the Baltic Sea called Bergen auf Rugen. A piece of paper is handed to to me with Leah pointing out the location of the city on the map.  Leah says, "Look, this is were Bergen auf Rugen is.  They have cliffs, a national park, and the sea."  I replied, "You mean cliffs that we are going to jump off into the sea." Trey says, "Yeah if you want to die."  I took another look at the map and said, "Ok...I'm in?"  From the other room Lindsay yells, "Hey can you get that black bracelet out of the bag for me."  I replied, "What does it look like?"  "It's the only black bracelet in the bag," said Lindsay.  I begin sifting through the bag using various methods of shaking in order to separate the jewelry to see the contents through out the bag.  The room begins to get usually quite.  You know that type of quite that happens only in the movies right before something goes terribly wrong.  Well something did and everyone knew it but me.   It was Lindsay standing next to me in disbelief that I was shaking her Jewelry bag.  Her eyes were as big as saucers, steam began to curl out of her ears, and fire shot out of nose like a dragon.  At the same time that I found her bracelet, I made eye contact with a person who I thought was Lindsay, but the person who was looking back at me was giving me the look of death...as if she wanted to kill me.  Then from the background,  Mellisa and Leah said, "Uhhh, you shouldn't do that." 

...To Be Continued

What's in Berlin...?

Well our first full day in Berlin we got the crash course on the transit system.  Turns out getting around a city is a lot harder when can not understand the language spoken or know any of the surrounding area.  Then to top it all off Berlin is not orientated in common square city blocks that we are accustomed to in America but rather in a more free form, spontaneous linkages from one major plaza to the next.  Finally at the end of the  day we got to experience some architecture...the Reichstag by Norman Foster.

The Reichstag is located in the Government plaza and houses the parliament.  Historically the Reichstag dates back to the Holy Roman Empire, until the Nazi regime order the parliament to cease as political function of the government.  The function of the parliament was restored by the end of World War II, but Reichstag was left in ruins.  The building was rebuilt to it current condition in 1999.  While Reichstag Dome is the cupola on top of the building that penetrates in to the main meeting room of parliament.  The transformation of the Reichstag is rooted in four issues: the significance of the Bundestag as a democratic forum; a commitment to public accessibility; a sensitivity to history; and a rigorous environmental agenda. Emphasizing values of clarity and transparency, the glazed cupola is a new landmark for Berlin, and a symbol of the vigor of the German democratic process.

Ruston Today...Berlin Tomorow

Departure - Ruston:  
Well there's no turning back I'm going to Berlin for a month.  Day one started off with catching a ride with Lindsay family to DFW airport, but there was a only one catch in this trip...two text books and an elaborate plan.  It all started with Lindsay's sister Emery picking my up from Ruston to go to Haughton to go to a dentist office to go to a restaurant named Pepe's.  Which happens to be a family favorite from what I here. Then from there a transition from one car to another was made and good byes were exchanged.  Next stop DFW...or so I thought.  We had to make a side trip to target, which in its self became an adventure of Texas to pick up some unmentionables. Needless to say the drive was eventful.

 













Arrival - Berlin:
Finally after one road trip and two flights Berlin is on the radar.  To be completely honest I had no idea of what to expect.  All I knew is that I wanted to go.  So my expectations of what it would be like to cross into another country was completely shattered.  There was no barbed wire fence, nor a man holding an aka 47 asking for my passport, nor a gated turn style  with a landmine field in front of it, but rather a grumpy man who looks as if he hates the very essence of life.  As I got my passport stamped I preceded to  the baggage claim which was on the other side of the booth where the grumpy man was located who checked my passport.  The class gathered up and waited on our individual luggage where we all began to chatter and carry on about what was going to happen when it was time to go through customs.  Turns out customs was an automated, sliding glass door , which consisted of roughly 8-12 steps in a smaller room that was partitioned off from baggage claims and the rest of the airport.  Once in customs, where apparently no one works,  you walked out through another automated, sliding glass door door into the joyous freedom of Germany.  Next the bus ride...All I have to say never stand in the accordion portion of the bus.