The title for this blog post comes from a piece of graffiti I saw scrawled in front of a Communist-era block of apartments along Karl Marx Allee. Even though I didn't understand what it meant when I saw it, I understood that it had a special significance. Perhaps it was just how no other graffiti had been tagged over it, or perhaps it was the striking red, but it resonated with me. I took a photo of it, and I'm glad I did, because when I came back to the hotel this evening and popped it into Google Translate it struck me as being extraordinarily profound. Berlin - anything is possible.
Berlin - anything is possible.And while I'm finding out this is very true, let's back it up a little. I was pretty exhausted last night, so I turned in pretty early after a decent shower to wash the airport grime off me. I slept for what seemed like an eternity, but by 7:30 AM this morning I was ready to go.
Stepping out of the hotel lobby the cold hits you like a sledgehammer. It's like a physical force, a beast with claws scratching at any exposed bit of flesh. The plan for my first day was to explore my surrounds for a bit, and then head off to the Fernsehturm, the TV Tower, and Berlin's tallest structure. Considering everything was closed so early, I instead opted to make my way straight for the TV tower.
Before I go on, let me explain that my hotel is in the heart of what was once East Berlin. It's located on Frankfurter Allee, which is what Karl Marx Allee becomes after it crosses Frankfurter Tor. Karl Marx Allee is one of the main roads which lead into Alexanderplatz, the city center. It was designed by the socialist East German government in the 1950s and was intended to be a flagship project for East German reconstruction after the Second World War. It's sort of a massive, communist perversion of the Champs-Élysées, lined with drab Soviet-style tenements and apartment complexes. It's enormously imposing and oppressive, and makes for an excellent walk. I could see the TV tower off in the distance, so I started off.
It was my first time walking around in the snow, so it was slightly slow going. I wasn't intending to fall on my ass, so I went about it carefully. I quickly discovered where's the best place to walk (anywhere where there isn't ice, or where there is gravel) and the joys of watching people slip on the pavement (only saw it twice, both were hilarious though). There's a lot of interesting sites along the way, so I made my way along Frankfurter and then Karl Marx Allee slowly. I finally found a coffee shop that was open and bought myself a steaming hot cup of coffee (again, hotter than the surface of the sun) and some pastries - two Quarkbällchen, which are basically German doughnuts and a Danish pastry, which are known here as Dänischer Plunder. Both were very, very good.
Quarkbällchen!
Within 3.4 seconds of being outside, my coffee was now at a drinkable temperature, so I headed west to the city center. Along the way, I noted a few things based on my observations of passing Berliners and the city itself. Berliners love dogs. Loads of people out in the snow walking their hounds. Walking anywhere but on gravel is treacherous; humorous for onlookers however. Bizarrely, there are lots and lots of crows in East Berlin. I have no idea what they feed on but there dozens of them on the walk to Alexanderplatz. The streets are filthy, so presumably they scavenge off trash and the occasional dead animal. Seriously though, the streets are covered in trash. It's a big change from New York, where even the streets in the dodgy areas were pretty clean. Having finished my Quarkbällchen and coffee, it's pretty clear why there's so much mess - there's no public dustbins. I walked for three blocks before I found a trash can.
Walking west, one notices that the Soviet-era buildings start to give way to more modern structures, with more shops and boutiques along the way. Strausberger Platz is the last major stop along the way before you hit the city center, and it's beautiful it a sort of cold, imposing way.
Strausberger PlatzOnce in Alexanderplatz I checked out the Berlin wall memorial, which is a series of walls with information on them about the fall of the Berlin Wall. Very interesting. It's also right next to the Urania World Clock, which was also worth a visit. From there, I headed to the TV tower and booked a ticket. There was something like a 20 minute wait before I could head up, so I popped back out into the cold in search of something to eat.
I found a store nearby that served a very good Currywurst, which is in itself, an interesting thing. From what I understand, it's sort of a staple food around Berlin, and is from a social and culinary point of view, to Berliners what Boerewors rolls are to South Africans. It's served in a variety of ways - the one I had last night from a street vendor was not particularly spicy and served in a bun, while the one I had this morning was sliced, covered in sauce and served with a roll on the side. The general vibe is however, a sausage with tomato sauce, mustard and curry powder. It's very good, but even thinking about it objectively, a boerewors roll beats it hands down. Also, Currywurst from street vendor = 1.2€, bought in shop = 2.5€. Just another reason to love street meat.
The TV tower was worth the price of admission (12€) and offers one an illuminating view of the city. It's only about 200m up, so about half the height of the Empire State Building, but I still spent a good couple of hours admiring the views from around the tower.
Once back down, I decided to walk around for a bit to work up an appetite. There's a park near the TV tower which was covered in snow, and made for a good place to sit and watch the people of Berlin go about their business. I found a particularly good cafe (Rathaus Cafe) right near the river Spree, and sat down for a nice lunch. In summer, I'd have sat outside on the sidewalk, but it was so cold they didn't have any outside tables. Regardless, I had an excellent hearty tomato soup for a starter, followed by a monstrous Eisbein with sauerkraut, carrots and boiled potatos washed down with a pint of a black beer (I forget the name). It was a majestic meal, and I suspect it will be hard to beat. It was not nearly as expensive as I would have thought - with tip it came to an affordable 18€.
Rathaus Cafe. The Eisbein was excellent.I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around, looking at the buildings near the TV tower. I initially planned to go check out the Berlin aquarium, but decided against it when I realised it was Saturday and the queue was composed entirely of families with very small children. There's not much in the way of shopping in and around Alexanderplatz - apparently I need to head to one of the more modern areas for that, but it made for an enjoyable way to while away the afternoon regardless. I ended off the afternoon by deciding to brave the Berlin subway system. I bought a one week subway pass for around 33€ and got on the train back to Frankfurter Allee. Somewhat disappointingly, I didn't get lost, go the wrong way or anything. Call me weird, but one of the things I enjoyed the most about New York, in retrospect, was that sinking, mildly terrified sensation of being completely lost in an unknown city. I seem to have learnt a little about subways since then, and made it home without incident. I did however stop at a bakery near the hotel to grab something to drink (minibar be damned) and a hard cookie-style thing, which was not particularly remarkable.
It's now almost 7 PM, and I'm going to turn in. I'm not much for partying, and I suspect tomorrow I'll head for the museums. From what I've been told, they're all located at
Museumsinsel, in English, literally, museum island, an area in the city center. I'm looking forward to it.
