"Letzte Tag" - The Last Day
For a little more than half the price of the Estrel, the Generator wasn’t bad at all … AND, if I had someone staying with me, it would’ve been even cheaper. Its gotta be the most unique hotel/hostel I’ve ever seen. Yea, its cheap, but they try to make it look cool by bringing a futuristic/electronic theme to the place - it kinda reminds me of the Regal back home. There’s neon-blue electronic lighting EVERYWHERE. In comparison to the Estrel, although it is inferior in comfort, space and looks, it is by FAR superior in convenience, cost, personality, and accommodation. They had a bar, an internet lounge (the Estrel couldn’t top that!), and free breakfast (although very cheap) in the morning (but that’s really all I need anyway). The guests were much younger and liberal than at the Estrel - good for socializing, but not so good when I want quiet, alone time.
I started my day off by going to the Ku’damm (Kurfurstendamm) to see the Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church. The original building was destroyed during WWII by bombs; however, the tower survived the conflict. The citizens of Berlin voted to keep the tower as a way of remembering the event - to me, that is a sentimental, yet somewhat of a self-deprecating/morbid gesture. Still, it has meaning for them and it is QUITE the sight to see! Its in a very interesting spot, or should I say that the environment that was built up around it is not very fitting to the effect that the church produces. In and of itself, the remaining church tower is a fairly haunting structure that presents a grim image of the past. Oddly, one of the most popular shopping districts (along the Ku’damm) built up around the area. Grim and old meets lively and new. If it wasn’t for its size, you wouldn’t even know that the church is there - everyone is buys shopping, socializing, or rushing to work.
*Probably my favorite part of the day: I came across a beggar and gave him a loaf of break that I bought the day before. He happily and thankfully accepted it, and I felt good about helping someone who looked as if he was genuinely in need. I’d rather give food over money any day - when they actually take it, it makes me believe that they’re actually asking for help in order to survive, rather than asking for money for alcohol or drugs. Then, I browsed outside a few shops and found a real bargain - a nice shirt marked down from 80 euro to 15 euro (that’s $120 - $22.50)!! After that, I found a coffee shop and wrote in my journal about the day before.
Next stop - Schloss Charlottenburg - the palace of King Frederich of Germany/Prussia. Anyone who likes fancy, classical, architecture, shiny bobbles/trinkets, and royal luxuries would appreciate this place. I liked the experience of actually having strolled through a palace. After walking through a few rooms, however, it all felt the same to me. The exception (for me) was the Cathedral within the palace - the altar and statues within it projected a sense of power and royal status through religion (which is not how I think spirituality should be presented/represented, but hell if it didn’t look cool!) The artwork on the ceiling illustrated swirling clouds centered around a bright white sparkling light - almost as if you were staring straight into heaven. After a very boring and OBNOXIOUS one hour tour, and a sweet encounter with two FLAMING men from Texas, I took a stroll through the palace courtyard.
By this time, my feet were killing me, but I had more on my agenda. I wanted to go see the German art museum (Gemalgaderie), but I got into a predicament when trying to hop on the correct train to get there (specifically, I took the WRONG train) so I stayed in Nollandorf Platz because it is known as the gay district of Berlin. I checked out their gay resource center and book store (both of which were mainly for gay MEN - this is a problem!) Then I located the Gay History Museum (yes, a gay MUSEUM) and rushed over there before it closed at 6 (too bad, cuz I only got to look around for 10 minutes). Most of the exhibition included artwork by gay German artists and actors (and all of it was in German). Its small and probably runned by volunteers, but hey, at least they have one! If Berlin is Europe’s gay mecca (and in general, Europe is more accepting of GLBT culture) and this place is small, what does that say about the potential for a Gay History Museum in the USA? Currently, I’m not sure if there is one (although I’ll have to check on that), but we NEED one.
As I said I would, I ended my day in Nikolaiviertel and treated myself to a nice meal. I spent about 20-30 minutes going around to each restaurant, looking at menus and translating them for myself … it wasn’t easy and I’m sure I stood out w/ my phrase book in hand, intently looking back and forth at the menu and in the book. Eventually, I decided on a classy, yet low-key restaurant by the church, called Kartoffell Laube (Potato ______). Every item here included something made out of potatoes, including the desert. I ordered potato noodles with pork and mushrooms … I thought I was going to get something that looked like linguini (but made from potatoes) with meat and sauce. Instead, my meal looked more like fancy French fries with a side of pork nibblets. ON the inside of these “noodles”, they looked a bit like gnocchi - some kind of dough made out of potatoes. I’m not knocking this, or saying that this was bad … it was actually VERY good … its just that I didn’t expect to get something fried and because it was, I didn’t eat all of it. But that, combined with a full liter of beer and a cup of coffee, made me quite the happy tourist - not to mention relaxed and ready to pass out. My next highly anticipated stop was my little hostel bunk-bed.
On my way home, I finally witnessed the S-Bahn officials check passenger tickets and catch someone without one. I had been wondering how regulated this system was, but I hadn’t seen any regulation of this sort all week. Agents - they’re like secret agents. They ride around in casual clothes like regular passengers. Once they get on, they call for tickets as they walk down the middle of the car. If you don’t have a ticket, you apparently get a big fine and public embarrassment (but I didn’t see any ridicule in this situation).
Although I didn’t get to see Danny, I called him (on a phone that cost 2 euro for 2 minutes!) I thanked him for the experience and wished him well for the rest of his time in Berlin.
I could live in this city … and if Danny teaches me the language well, maybe we will.