An evening in Berlin

This has to be the fastest time to blog on travelfrreak ever 😀. I came back from Berlin on Friday and here is the blog on the following Wednesday. I had to go to Berlin on a work trip for two days and at one point was planning to stay back given I have never been there before as well as have heard great reviews about the city. But looking at the cold winter temperatures (ranging between 2 and -2 degrees!), I decided not to stay back the weekend, and only spend a couple of hours on Friday evening to explore the city. And I think it was a great great decision in hindsight.

Bridge on river Stree

I was staying at the Nhow hotel on the river Stree for the two days. And the hotel was a revelation, not what I would expect in the serious Germany we always imagine. It was the most colourfully decorated hotel I have ever stayed in. There was graffiti on the walls and pink paintings everywhere - on the corridor walls, near the elevators, around the bar seating areas, the reception and so on. The rooms had a pink theme too, on the floor, the bedsheets, the cupboards and so on. I was shocked by it all totally, it was quite loud for anyone's taste, at least anyone I know. But I guess, it was in keeping with the hippy image Berlin has.

The weather the whole weekend was very very cold. It was cloudy and foggy the whole time. Definitely not the best time to explore a new place. Over the two days, I saw a bit of the city and formed a perception based on the little I saw. There were loads of old buildings around, some from the Soviet era too. They all had quite a monotonous feel to them.

The roads everywhere were very wide and lined with trees on both sides. And the city felt very open. Also there were a lot of green areas and parks around. Right now some of them had fall colours, but a lot of the trees were already leafless. There was lot of graffiti across town, everywhere. On walls, buildings and anywhere else it was possible. This was definitely something different from usual cities. I also noticed a lot more non Germans around than most other German cities have been to. The whole city overall felt deep and peaceful, I liked that.

I had a couple of hours on Friday and visited the Berlin Wall, Alexanderplatz and the Brandenburg gate as well as walked around a bit. And I was only moderately impressed with the touristy side of the city, though it had more to do with the weather.

Wall paintings

The first place I walked along was the East side of the Berlin wall. It has now been made open to street artists to paint and is a sight to behold. All along the long wall you can see paintings ranging from the modern to abstract to simple to graffiti to social messaging. I walked an hour or so along the road and loved it, even without being an art lover. Can only imagine what someone who understands art would feel looking at it.

Wall paintings

I also noticed an important aspect of the wall. When I was walking along it from the other end, a lot of the paintings seemed completely new to me! It was almost as if looking at it from the other side sent a completely different message and was completely different. Also all along the way, there were loads of Arabic men playing games - under which of the three matchstick boxes is the paper ball. And so many people were playing it, losing and winning all the time. It was fun to watch.

The wall today is what it is, a remnant of a difficult past. And its been shown in a positive light. But I don't think people like us can even imagine what it signifies... Imagine a wall drawn in the middle of a city, ONE city. Imagine having to live like this, after having lived your entire life like one. It is so cruel, I can't even envisage living like this. I think over the past century, our world has really changed towards a peaceful tomorrow and I think we should be more grateful for it than we are.

Wall paintings

Wall paintings

Wall paintings

Wall paintings

Our second spot in Berlin was Alexanderplatz. When I had done a Google search for top things to do in Berlin, Mitte walk and Alexanderplatz had come on top. So we went there anyways. And I was surprised why this place turned up, as it felt like just a market square with lots of shops. And a Christmas market which was closed at that time. There was one of the popular towers of Berlin right there but it was hidden in the fog, so I don't think going up would have helped in any way. So given there wasn't much to do there, we started walking towards the Brandenburg Gate. However, we had put the wrong location on Google maps and ended up walking 30 minutes to reach the Kulture Brauerei!

Winter streets

The walk was great though. I think we walked through a very nice part of town, with its huge stone houses with some sculptures but charming in its simplicity and a bit of colour, roads lined with treeless trees, small parks, some shops and cafes, views of small historical monuments and so on. It was also our chance to experience the cold European winter in a way that I noticed the hidden beauty winter can have. I liked the vibe I got of Berlin. Of a very open and widely spaced city. A city which has an underlying beauty and character about it which defines it...

We next took a cab to Brandenburg gate and on the way, passed the official Berlin Wall memorial. It had a lot more photos on display which talked about the history of the wall. The wall had been 70 kms long. And 136 people had been shot trying to cross it, over the years. I think I want to go there once later for sure to learn more about it.

Brandenburg gate

Our last stop of the day was the Brandenburg gate, which looked nice in night lights. However, I think we had had enough of the cold by then, and after a quick coffee, I was ready to head back. When one of my most bizarre experience of Berlin happened! I tried calling Uber thrice and every time the driver would go to some wrong address. And calling and talking to them did not help as they did not know English either!

Anyways in half an hour, we managed to get a cab which finally took me to the airport. The driver was from Iraq and quite talkative. He was also a lover of Bollywood and sang a few songs he remembered - 'Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja' and 'yeh dosti hum nahi chodenge'. I was surprised by it and the chats with him were quite entertaining, all the way to the airport.

The airport was another different experience altogether. It is still an old one, and was supposed to have been replaced with a new one in 2012 which isn't ready yet. So the current airport is continuing in its broken down state till that happens. Each of the airport gates have their own security and immigration which creates long queues. There was no fast tack. The lounges were before security and passport control, so you had to leave early for the gates. And turns out that the lounges also did not have any toilets. All in all, a terrible experience.

But I enjoyed what little I experienced of Berlin. I would definitely like to back here, during warmer temperatures...