AWFUL: When an icon is closed..... Berlin Siegessäule

OK, so I'm more than partial to this particular landmark, but not for any reason related to the history of the actual Siegessäule itself. Let me explain: A couple of decades ago, filmmaker Wim Wenders released a film so moving, so atmospheric, so beautiful, it only added to my desire to one day visit Berlin and experience this storied place. That movie, the 1987 Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin en Deutsche) is one of those films that is truly 'of its moment'


Its hard to explain the feeling of the late Cold War to those who were not there – that pervasive sense of melancholy, knowing that at any moment the world might literally end. The 1980s were a time of reaction – rejection of the malaise of the 1970s, the cold heart of Brutalism architecture, the disarray of the post-hippie era of institutional destruction. There was a resurgence of industry, finance and culture… What the 1960s & 1970s had destroyed, the 1980s began to rebuild.


So this movie, and this column, in a bleak black and white, centered upon people attempting to live normal lives in an unnatural state – caged by a wall, trapped in a city whose ruins from war still lingered 50 years on… whose scars were as yet unhealed… this movie is my touchstone for that era. The Siegessäule is the unwitting co-star to the ‘angels’ over the city of Berlin.


This landmark has had many lives: Symbol of Prussian military greatness, moved to be a part of Hitler’s proposed grandiose Germania rebuild of the city, then appropriated by Wenders to great effect for his love letter to Berlin. Nick Cave shows up and adds his plaintive voice to the mix, and for some inexplicable reason so does Peter Falk – acting the part of Columbo once again.


So, I got there yesterday… and this is what I found…

*sigh* The Victory Column is undergoing a massive restoration... and I am denied.

20+ years after the fall of the Wall, the column is being restored. There is an allegory here dealing with the resurgence of Berlin after the devastation and destruction that has been heaped upon it over the last few centuries... especially the last one. I'm almost sad that its taken me this long to get here - as if I missed the Berlin I thought I knew... the gritty, claustrophobic city is long gone, swept away in the almost overnight removal of the wall.


Potsdamer Platz, a wasteland in the era of the film, is now a sparkling new place trying to stitch the two halves of the city together again. And yet.... Potsdamer Platz is inauthentic. The 1960s church next to the bombed out Kaiser Wilhelm Cathedral is inauthentic.


Berlin is an ancient organic being with prosthetic attachments that simply do not quite fit.


Time will heal that of course - but between the melancholy sepia toned monochromatic world of Wenders and the shiny bright future to come is a moment when its not yet all working. For me, as a city planner, its a fascinating moment to witness, and yet my soul yearns for  the city on the screen... a city full of memories, scars and decay. The angst has seemingly gone with the zeitgeist....


Of course, I knew full well the changes hat have happened here since 1987 - and was prepared for them all... but this one place seemed timeless - it has survived so much ... I assumed I would be able to climb to the top and commune with that sculpture and privately relive those moments Wenders has immortalized in film. But no, I am to be denied that small moment. And when I return, the column will be all shiny and new - like the rest of Berlin, I feel as if I'm just a few moments too late.


Note: The first photo is not mine, I ganked it from the web using Image Search.

AWESOME: The Ubahn & SBahn

So, for 52€ a month I can go anywhere in Berlin from my home station (above) that I want. How awesome is that? I have noticed that the air smells just like the air in other subway systems I have traveled on. I find it oddly comforting. Kudos to the tagger who was able to stay within the lines.

The trains here really do run on time.

Reading the history of these systems, I learned the Ubahn was originally run by West Berlin, and the Sbahn by the East. When the communists built the wall, that changed of course, and the East also installed a big system of street trams that I have yet to use - but I'm sure that they will rock as much as the ones in Prague.

In the Alexanderplatz station I ran across these images in a connecting hallway. We met Robin van Arsdale back in the 90s - he was selling (through a gallerist friend) some of his collection of Keith Haring subway chalk drawings and my sister bought one. My parents purchased a piece of Robin's at that event. So it was interesting to randomly come across these two murals from 2003. Notice that many others decided to add to the murals.

I guess it is only fitting that taggers should deface the mural of a guy that started as a graffiti artist....

Lots of cyclists in the subway, and lots of crazy tile colors. I couldn't figure out if these were giant concrete block size tiles, or concrete blocks with glazed sides. Assuming that tile is cheaper and easier to make, I'm going to go with tile - but they are suspiciously the exact size of a block - and those curved corners are suspiciously block like. 

Does Bono get a royalty for this line?

AWESOME: Berlin Street Food - Been a while since I posted here...

So, I've been here about a week now and finally over the jet lag. Continental seems to have sucked the life out of the better experience of overseas travel. The seats were no larger than domestic, the food was awful and the drinks are no longer free. *sigh* I miss the old ways.

Oh, and the jackasses charged me an extra 50 bucks for my over weight bag (by 6 lbs). Hrumph. Needless to say, I will check two lighter bags on the way home and they can suck it.

First up on the yummy parade... pomme frites with mayonaise. I cannot explain it - but mayo here is a delight. At home, I cannot fathom the idea of placing our mayo on fries... but these fries are better and this mayo is made with amazing eggs... so there you have it. Damn these are good.

Second stop on the German street food course was the doner kebab. MMmmmmm. Similar to a gyro, but different enough to say I like it better. Heresy, I know. The meat is gamier - probably from being actual lamb, where in the US its mostly beef - the veggies (salat complex) is different (I will eschew the cabbage in the future) and the yogurt sauce too sparing.  (mehr joghurt-sauce next time).

Last up was the currywurst. A fried schweinfleish wurst with tomato sauce and curry powder. I have no explanation for this combination of food products on my plate, but I can report that it was delish. The fries were excellent too. Coca-Cola LIGHT baby. Oh, and every plastic bottle and can has a deposit included and you take them back to big automated machines to get a credit slip at the local markets. Pretty cool system I think. Americans would hate it.