Berlin Germany with the Zipfs

In mid November we visited Berlin Germany with Stef Zipf (one of Megan's bridesmaids), James Denue, Stef's parents and her brother.  Stef's mother grew up in Germany and her father was stationed in Berlin for a few years during the Cold War, so it was a great opportunity to learn from former locals.  They showed us around to some of the key historical attractions and they taught us about German culture.

Enjoying a beer with the Zipf family!

Us at the Brandenburg Gate

Historical Berlin

It's hard to think of a city more intertwined with the history of the 20th century then Berlin.  It was the capital of Germany during both World Wars.  Following the defeat of the Nazis in WW2, Berlin was divided into sectors and West Berlin would be an outpost of democracy surrounded by communist East Germany.  Berlin was the site of a major blockade/airlift, an infamous wall, many espionage adventures, and the fall of communism.  Walking around Berlin you can see many of the building and landmarks that played a pivotal role in world history.  There are bullet holes from the Battle of Berlin in 1945.  There are still standing sections of the Berlin Wall with varying levels of artistic and political graffiti. There is the iconic Brandenburg gate - site of so much history including the fall of the Berlin Wall.  There is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church - a bombed out building that was left in disrepair as a testament to the destruction of war.  The list goes on and on

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church - left bombed out as it was at the end of WW2

The Berlin Cathedral with a shot of the TV tower to the left and the Altes museum in the foreground.

In addition to the landmarks there are also great museums to see in Berlin.  We visited the DDR museum which shows what life was like under communist rule.  Life under communism started off with optimism and then steadily grew into poverty and despair.  The museum had many interactive components including a driving simulator in a Trabant car, a model communist home, a voting simulation (spoiler: if you don't vote for the communist party it doesn't end well) and a modified foosball game showing the futility of playing for East Germany.  We later found out that the East German secret police (the largest police force ever) would break into people's homes and 1) steal their underwear and 2) move their possessions around to create paranoia and make their victim's questions their sanity.

The infamous Trabant cat - made of plastic, frequently broken and with a waiting list of 14 years!

Modified Foosball at the DDR museum - The East German side
can only defend against the West German side, with no way to score!

Another great museum we visited was the German Historical Museum.  The exhibits were very robust and well constructed.  It was fascinating seeing how Germans portray their role in history.  Besides the museums we took a History Walking Tour.  There we passed by many of the aforementioned monuments and learned more of Germany's history.  It was insightful, moving and thought provoking.  We even learned that the costumed guards at Checkpoint Charlie are actually strippers.

Checkpoint Charlie = tourist trap

New Berlin

While Berlin has a fascinating past, it also has an exciting future.  It's blessed with heaps of amazing art including the aforementioned graffiti.  The Holocaust Memorial is a moving example of great artwork in the physical space.  Berlin also has a thriving technology startup scene.  It's changing industries with new fascinating companies.  The blend of art and technology has created a culture that attract the hip and cool of Europe.

The Holocaust Memorial at Dusk

Another shot of the Holocaust Memorial at dusk.

During our visit the Christmas markets started opening up.  They are a German tradition and although they've inevitably taken a modern slant in terms of goods and availability and location, they still hold some German traditions such as the wood decor and food offered.  It seemed like there were markets everywhere in Berlin and it was only mid November!

Christmas Market at Night

Beer Advent Calendar!  24 days of beer.

Fried Pork Knuckle is fantastic

Berlin has a thriving nightlife scene.  It has both really cool bars and pumping nightclubs.  If you want to party from 3pm on Wednesday night thru 4am on Monday you can do that in Berlin.  Megan and I passed on the club scene though and explored the pub/bar scene.  We sampled quite a few places and they all struck me with their: friendliness - it was easy to interact with locals, beer quality - they had an awesome selection of beers including some from Saugatuck Michigan, music - the music was typically good and always at a perfect volume (not too loud to talk but not too quite that it's awkward) and entertainment - in the form of foosball or shuffleboard or trivia or something else unique and interesting.  Berlin's beer scene was awesome.  Beerlin/Barlin.

German food: pretzels, soups, and sausages with local beer at a German Beer Hall!

The beautiful Brandenburg Gates at night.