St. Nicholas' Church and the Berlin Cathedral

Friday morning I decided to visit a few churches, both relatively close to each other. The first was St. Nicholas' Church, the oldest church in Berlin. It was build around 1220, and a number of different buildings have graced the spot as there was need for renovation, replacement from a city fire, etc. The congregation itself no longer exists, since 1938, having merged with the Church of Our Lady (the Marienkirche). This was largely to do residential housing in the area being turned into commercial buildings. The building itself was largely destroyed in WWII: its two tours were devoured in a fire, and the roof collapsed from Allied bombing. It wasn't reconstructed until 1981, when the DDR authorized its rebuilding. So much of what you see is an imitation of what had existed. One note of interest is that Paul Gerhardt, the beloved Lutheran hymnwriter, was a pastor at this parish for a number of years until he was removed by the Elector for not submitting to Reformed theology. After that he lost his wife, having lost a number of his children earlier. He finally took a position in Lübben, where served for eight years. There he died and was buried. I should try to visit his tomb if I can. It's halfway between Berlin and Cottbus. South of Cottbus is where the Wends came from (my mother's side of the family). So we'll see. I'd like to see his tomb. Gerhardt's famous tune writer, Johann Crüger, was the cantor and organist at this church as well.

 
 Paul Gerhardt                                       Johann Crüger

                         

 

Then, I visited the Berlin Cathedral, which IS "Lutheran." For some reason I was under the impression that it was Roman Catholic, until I saw Lutheran symbols and statues everywhere. Then there was a short service, and the preacher was dressed in a Geneva gown with the preaching tabs. By this point I was sure it was a member of the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD). The building was severely damaged in WWII, as you can see in one of the pictures. Nonetheless, like many of the buildings in Berlin, it was rebuilt in the original style. It was very beautiful, and I got a wonderful view of the city.

Luther is standing over the pulpit to the right.

And I think that's Melanchthon to the left.

For you organists out there, here's the gratuitous photo.

 Ah, 'tis good to be king- even buried in a gold tomb!

 

                                                                          The Museum Island, from the top of the Dom

                                          Quite a number of historic buildings, all in one shot!

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A Tour through Berlin: the Results of National Socialism

Goethe Institut offers various programs through the week. Some are presentations by area professors, some are museum visits, and some are guided tours through certain parts of Berlin. So on Tuesday, September 11th, I went on a tour through the parts of Berlin that Hitler had changed during his rise to power. First, we stopped by the Brandenburg Gate. Here Hitler would show off his military strength to foreign dignitaries. The tour guide showed us the plans that Hitler had for the city. One only wonders how different the world could be, had Hitler gone into architecture and city planning instead of to war.

The American Embassy is right there by the Gate, and because it was September 11th, the flag was lowered to half-mast.

After that we visited the Holocaust Memorial. It's an abstract piece of art, with about 2000 coffin-shaped stones with varying heights and on varying grades. In fact, no stone is identical to another. It being abstract art, I suppose you can come to your own opinions about what that means. I don't particularly enjoy abstract art, but I got the feeling that this memorial was trying to give.

Not far away was the place of Hitler's bunker, though there is no sign to attract you to its existence. The tour guide showed us the parking lot under which it was located. Though most of the rooms have been destroyed by the attempts of the Soviets', and more have flooded, caved in, or filled with rock, I think there are still a few rooms that one could go through. I'm not sure though. In the picture below, the bright blue van in the background is where Hitler's body was burned.

Right by this parking lot is a typical East German apartment flat: very plain and made of concrete. As Keaton Christiansen noted, "the power of centralized bureaucracy... what wonders it hath wrought."

Next we stopped by the entrance to Hitler's Reich Chancellery. Interestingly, a Chinese restaurant is located there now. People who wanted to see Hitler had to walk 150m to his office, being surrounded by the best of German art and might on the way. No doubt this was to impress them, but I'm sure it was also a security measure for Hitler.

Then we saw the building that was built for the Ministry of Aviation (Luftwaft) in the 1930s. It's still intact, and the German Finance Ministry inhabits that place now. From what I gathered, the reason it didn't get bombed because it had a lot of anti-aircraft guns around it.

Finally, we walked to the Topography of Terror, which described the rising of the Nazi Party and the events surrounding WWII. Honestly, I couldn't take a lot of photos, because they just wouldn't do justice to the horror that was depicted. One picture in particular caught my eye, and I think you know why. It's of Bonhoeffer, because he was arrested and executed for being a part of a plot to kill Hitler. He spent a while in prison, from which he wrote many letters, but he was killed within days of Allied forces reaching his prison.

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Limlingrode, Eisenach, and Wartburg

This this past weekend I visited Thuringia, in central Germany. The trip there didn't take very long, only a few hours, and it was nice to travel through the German countryside. We arrived that afternoon to a farmyard in the village of Limlingrode, which is barely a dot on the map. There was some really neat traditional Fachwerk ("framework") in the buildings around the village. Here's three pictures of the barn. You can see my full album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151143820568788.470703.500163787&type=1&l=aaa701a5d6

After an afternoon break for beer/coffee/kuchen (the British call it "afternoon tea"), we went for a walk. Note to self: walks in Germany are not just plain walks. Not only was there the beautiful countryside, but soon the farmer who was leading us around pointed out the furthest that the East Germans could walk; 500m later was the border to West Germany. The farmer (Helmut) told a few stories about life during the separation. Apparently, some of the locals could pass through to move flocks around, but they had to be from the local area and have a reason to come back (a wife and children). Nevertheless, anyone sneaking around in the dead man's land was not safe from the border guards.

Going past the 500m marker, he brought us to a well, out of flowed a small stream of water. Someone had brought a water bottle, so we filled it up and took a drink. It wasn't particularly cold, nor particularly different in taste. Nevertheless, I wish I could've taken a picture of it.

Next, we took a different route back, and he showed us a ditch which was manmade. Along the sides grew trees, and it really didn't make much sense why the long ditch was there until he showed us three stones, each about 100m (110 yards) apart. They only had a few letters on them, but signs nailed to trees above each one gave information about them. One stone in particular said "KP" on one side and "KH" on the other. Does anyone have any guesses? The 'K' stands for "Königsreich" and the 'P' and 'H' stand for different kingdoms. Still nothing? Ok, "KP" is the Kingdom of Prussia, and "KH" is the Kingdom of Hanover. The otherh two differentiated between other older, smaller kingdoms. I can't exactly remember now. We found a fourth stone on which was a six-spoked wheel, probably the coat of arms of Mainz. But Mainz is all the way across the other side of Germany! Explanation? The Archbishop of Mainz no doubt claimed this territory as part of his electorate and control. At one time he would have been in charge of all area north of the alps, as the primus Germaniae, but I'm not sure when he lost control of his territory in Thuringia.

The walk ended with picking some early plums, a bit larger than grapes, and they tasted pretty good.

That evening the Germans grilled out, and boy was it good! There were grilled sausages (sigh..."brats" for you Americans), sausages with cheese inside, and pork strips. Everything was greasy and delicious. Of course I washed it down with the regional beer. Unfortunately I can't remember the brand, but it was a weak stout, more fitting for the summer. I've had stronger stouts in the US, but still, it tasted very good and went well with the food. If you ever travel Germany, I encourage you to ask for the regional beer; it's a great way to get along with the locals, who have a lot of pride in that brewery, and you get to try a wide variety.

That night after supper, a neighbor took us to the village church, since she had a key. Unfortunately it was dark outside, so I couldn't get any pictures, and the ones inside were a bit dark as well. Oh well. Again, you can see the full album at the link above.

The next day we traveled to Eisenach and the Wartburg. Eisenach is the birthplace of JS Bach, and the childhood home of Luther (but not his birthplace, as I mistakenly mentioned in my post a few days ago). We really didn't spend much time in Eisenach. I'll have more time later to find the places that I want to visit. We did go up to the Wartburg castle, which was quite awesome. We all know it as the hiding place of Martin Luther when the Emperor had put a bounty on his head. He masqueraded as Junker Jörg, or Knight George, and it was there that he translated the New Testament into German. But this isn't all it's famous for: the castle had been built in the late 11th century and is still very well kept up. Furthermore, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, known for her charity, was sent there as a girl to eventually marry the King of Thuringia, which she did at age 14. She was widowed at 20 and died at 24, but she was most well known for setting up hospital in Eisenach and distributing alms to people in her husband's territory.

From there, we traveled back to Berlin in the dark. The ICE (Inter-City Express) was very fast; it would be nice to have that sort of public transportation in America. The only problem is that no one would use it, because everyone has cars or is used to flying to places to which they can't drive.

My classes are going well. I got a '2' ('B') on my first self-evaluation test. Basically, we took a test, and the teacher graded it, but it doesn't count for anything. It does give one an idea of what to practice, though, which was good.

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Homework on the train

Don't tell a German teacher that you did your homework on the train. She'll be happy that your homework is done, but she'll draw a picture of you sitting on top of a train, with the whole class laughing. I guess the English expression "on the train" doesn't translate very literally into German. "In the train" is preferred.

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The Brandenburg Gate, Soviet Memorial, Victory Tower, and Goethe Institut

Well, this post has been overdue, especially since I've lost the entire thing twice. Both were on my iPad, and I think the post was too large for the app to handle. 14 pictures isn't too much, is it? Anyway, now I'm using my reliable computer (PC), praying nothing happens to it in the next hour.

So last Tuesday, I decided to visit the Brandenburg Gate area and eat my lunch there. I arrived and was utterly astounded by what I saw. The number of tourists and their behavior was appalling! Most were high school or college students just fooling around, taking pictures with the many people dressed up in various costumes, from two Darth Vader to a German Mickey Mouse. It was obvious that no one was paying attention to the Brandenburg Gate or even caring about its history or significance. I only took two pictures quickly before any gypsies or beggars could accost me.

See the Iron Cross on the standard? That was added after the Germans got the Quadriga (the four-horsed chariot) back from France, who had stolen it when Napoleon stormed through Prussia, triumphantly walking through the Brandenburg Gate after his conquer of Berlin. In typical German style, having won it back, they decorated the Brandenburg Gate, put the Quadriga back up on top, and partied. The Brandenburg Gate wasn't damaged much in WWII, but it was restored in 2000. It was pretty much ignored by the DDR, who put up the wall on the wrong side of the Gate, blocking it from West Germany. It became the place of celebration when the wall came down.

Next, I went to the Soviet Memorial. The Soviets put it up right after WWII in memorial of the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who died taking Berlin. A few thousand are buried nearby.

 While I was there, I looked down the street and noticed something golden, so I decided to check it out. It was about a mile away, but it took awhile with a short trip through the Tiergarten, which was very beautiful. It turned out to be the Siegessäule, or the Victory Column, which Prussia put up after defeating first Denmark, then Austria and France. (Good time to be Prussian, huh?)

Inside was a small museum that had information and models of towers and monuments from around Germany, then Europe, then the world. It was quite interesting and unexpected.

I kinda ran out of time, because it was already 12:30, and I needed to be at Goethe by about 1 to see where I got placed based on my test. To get there, I had to go 1.3 miles (again stopping by the Tiergarten) to the train station, where I had to get on a train only to get off at the next station to switch trains, going again one stop before getting off and running to Goethe. After checking my placement and where my room was, I slinked into the room a bit late, just in time for the students to introduce themselves to everyone. I justify myself, though, that I wasn't the last person to show up. Shame on that person. Yeah...

<A distraction attempt, using a picture from the Tiergarten>

Back on topic, I quickly found out that the class was easier than I had expected, probably as a result of the writing portion of my test, which I didn't do well on. Anyway, I asked the teacher to advance to the next level, so after the next class day on Wednesday, she moved me up a bit. I like my new class and teacher, and I can tell that it is a bit harder, though that is a good thing. I don't feel like I'm a 5th grader in a 2nd grade class anymore. I still feel like a 5th grader in German, though. I've got a lot of learning and practice to do, but I'm looking forward to another three weeks.

My teacher loaded us down with homework, which I'll have to do on the train, because tomorrow (actually today, by the looks of it) the Müllers and I are going somewhere. I can't remember the name of it, but Benjamin said it was a small town that didn't have much. We're going to visit Eisenach and the Wartburg Castle on Sunday, so I'll have some pictures and stories to share on Monday.

Until then!