First published by The Journal Gazette
From 1791 into Cold War era, history recalled
I enjoyed my vacation to Berlin even though in the middle of my stay the omicron variant surprised the world, leading to added coronavirus-related restrictions.
Germany’s capital city has a mix of indoor and outdoor activities. There are over 150 museums, including the famous Museum Island, and there are several popular outdoor monuments and landmarks. At the time of my arrival, I only needed to show proof of vaccination and wear a mask while in places where people gather, but then a few days later, a requirement to have a negative COVID-19 test result that was no older than 24 hours was added. Because there are several COVID testing sites that offer free tests, at no time did the added restriction put a damper on my visit.
I went to the famous Brandenburg Gate. The gate opened in 1791 to represent the end of a boulevard. It grew in importance and became a symbol of the Cold War between the East and West. Now it is a popular tourist spot for pictures.
I checked out Checkpoint Charlie. It is the best-known border crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. It is also a famous Cold War-era setting for many action movies and spy novels where people make mad dashes to West Berlin while trying to avoid getting captured or shot by armed Soviet guards. Today, Checkpoint Charlie is surround by fast food restaurants and museums. Who would have thought that this famous backdrop used in the James Bond film “Octopussy” is now located next to McDonald’s?
I couldn’t visit Berlin without seeing the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall that once divided East and West Berlin is now mostly gone except for a few sections.
The famous East Side Gallery Berlin is a permanent open-air gallery on the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall. It consists of a series of murals painted directly on the Berlin Wall. In another part of Berlin, a section of the Berlin Wall is part of the Topography of Terror. It is an outdoor and indoor history museum and is on the site where the SS Reich Security Main Office was located during the Nazi regime.
With Berlin being the home to so much evil around World War II, I went to see some memorials dedicated to the victims. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. It is covered with 2,711 concrete slabs that are not all consistent in size and arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. The memorial resembles a cemetery, something like you may see in New Orleans where graves are kept above ground. Across the street, at the edge of Tiergarten Park, is the Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism. The sculpture is dedicated to gays who were persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. It is a sobering experience to see these memorials.
I went to the top of the TV Tower. It is the city’s most prominent landmark and the tallest building in Germany. It can be seen almost anywhere in downtown Berlin. Its steel sphere contains a visitor platform with windows all around, a bar and a revolving restaurant. Next to the TV Tower during the late fall and early winter is one of Berlin’s many outdoor Christmas markets. I tried mulled wine (hot spiced wine), drank a lot of beer, and ate a lot of Thüringer Bratwurst (white sausage). My Berlin trip was a success.
It’s well known that traveling during COVID is risky, but if you are vaccinated, use rapid tests before going to gatherings and wear a mask, you can reduce your chances of getting or spreading the virus. The airports are tricky because groups of people wait in terminals, and some people refuse to either wear masks or properly wear them.
But I still travel because COVID has been here since at least the end of 2020 and no one knows when it will end.
I refuse to allow COVID to take over my life.