I'd never known much about Berlin (or Germany, for that matter), but today's tours gave me a brief glimpse into the history of this city that withstood two world wars, was separated for 40 years and then reunified just 20 years ago.
Before today, I had only explored the area around our hotel near Kurfurstendamm. And living near the a street comparable to New York's Saks Fifth Avenue made me think that Berlin was just like other big cities around the world. The crowded streets and tourists reminded me of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city in my home country, Malaysia.
But as we walked to the Zoologischer train station today, the upscale fashion shops gradually faded into more drab shopping malls. The streets got narrower and everything just didn't look as new. I first noticed we had gotten to former East Berlin when I saw different pedestrian crossing lights.
Frauke had told me that people tell the former east and west apart by looking at the pedestrian "crossing-men."
West Berlin crossing-men look like common stick figures:
But the ones in the former East, called "Ampel-männchen," look like these:
I read in our guide book that after the reunification, Berlin was supposed to switch all its symbols to the West Berlin ones. But East Berliners got upset and started a campaign to save their Ampel-männchen, and they succeeded. I've seen the design on mugs and T-shirts in souvenir shops, and it seems that the Germans are really proud of them. I think it serves as a good reminder of city's division, and to the German people to not let that happen again.
But the pedestrian lights weren't the only memories of Berlin's past. Through our bike tour, I was also amazed to discover the developments that have been going on since Berlin's reunification. Our tour guide told us that the buildings in the city look old but are in fact recently rebuilt because they were destroyed in World War II. I was surprised to find out that some of the buildings were rebuilt to look older, but I think that's OK if the buildings had actually been that old. But old or not, what beautiful architecture! (Unfortunately, I don't have any photos downloaded from my camera yet.)
The narrow streets and pebbled roads in former East Berlin area also reminded me that although the city is reunified, there's still lots to be done. Certain parts of the city are still undergoing reconstruction. Some streets and areas aren't as clean or well maintained as others.
For now, I think the city seems to have integrate well even though they only started restoring the former East German area 20 years ago. The fall of the Berlin Wall stands as a testament that the city was reunified because the people wanted to be one nation once again.
And Berlin seems to be thriving on its freedom.
2 comments:
It was very interesting to see both sides of Berlin. It is actually difficult for me to tell what side of Berlin I am on at any time. Both sides are very industrialized and filled with shops, restaurants and big businesses. The only big difference I am able to spot out is the street lights Jackie mentioned. This is a testament to the rapid growth east Berlin has had since the wall fell in 1989.
Our tour guide mentioned several times that Germans are very open about what has happened in their city. Through monuments and memorials they choose to remember the past so that it will not be repeated. (This includes the Berlin Wall and the Holocaust). This country has come so far in thirty years.
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