This year, 2019, was eventful for me. I graduated with an MBA – another masters. I went to Europe and visited 4 capitals in 12 days, I then went to Meghalaya – a place I’ve been thinking of for at-least 2 yrs now. Then Coca-Cola India, where I was going to join, decided to take all its employees to the ICC World cup matches. Which means the big city of London that I missed out on, thanks to Brexit, was going to be off my bucket list.
In all the travels, there are only few moments which are etched in the mind. They are hardly related to the must visit and must do lists. They are all stories and people. And somehow the city where I stayed the shortest, impressed me the most. Berlin.
When we got to the hotel in Berlin, we instantly saw the difference in culture. They where strict. Their instructions were detailed so there is no chance of misunderstanding. They basically asked us to be good guests, while looking at us with stern missionary school sister eyes. The rooms were functional – nothing fancy. But who cares about it on a budget trip!
We went off to first check out the Berlin Wall and maybe walk towards Alexander Platz. People want to take so many pictures – and then they want to also see how the pictures came out. Eh. I just can’t. I first needed to not feel alien in this new city. The street art on the wall, thanks to google translate, was the first thing that impressed me. Deep meaningful lines right there on the wall. One of them is this (The image is only one half of the real thing but hey, it’s mine. I’d rather use this)
The English translation of what was written across the painting is “the spirit is like the tracks of birds in the sky”. Deep. Doesn’t that say a lot about the city. It isn’t film posters or ‘don’t pee here’ warnings in different languages, no political slogals or symbols, nothing conventions like ‘save the trees, save the planet’. It’s about spirit. I loved it.
We walked and walked and finally settled by the river Spree (just googled the river name btw). I had Jack Daniels with coke in a can. Note to self: amazing product idea. Whenever I see pictures of this moment, I remember this story our tour guide told us. In Berlin, Street art is Legal and Graffiti isn’t.
Street art is full sentences and Graffiti are meaningless words or phrases. A few years ago, an artist started to write the work ‘JUST’ across huge buildings.. which was graffiti and so the police was looking hard for him. In a moment when they thought they got him, he added ‘do it’ to his work and told them that Nike commissioned him and disappeared. The police checked. Found out he lied, arrested him and put a heavy fine on him. The entire city of Berlin raised that money in 2 days and got him out. Yep. The city that loves crazy! How can you not love that!
The next day, we went on a cycling tour with just the sweetest guide, who actually was a street artist for 10 years. He took us to places which had significant meaning and by the end we could understand the philosophical change people in Germany went through post war. There were monuments made to remember the inhuman depths Germany had touched and lived through. The Government building now has 2 parts connected by a bridge and you can see the Reichstag from this bridge that politicians cross everyday as they think about public policy. This design was meant as a reminder to never go in that direction again. To never slip. There are many such signs and there is an overall intolerance towards violence and the idea of separation . I don’t think this is proof that everyone and everything is perfect but the attempt to accept what happened and determine to not see difference in other people – that’s commendable.
After this amazing ride we found an Indian restaurant, Himalaya, where the Dal Chawal and gulab jamun quenched the hungry Indian in us. There were so many stories I heard during the ride, so much history that was protected, the implication of it all on the culture. For example, I heard about the electronic music scene in Berlin and I could see people with hair that’s blue, green, orange, red and violet in my 1.5 day stay! And the extreme freedom they have with street art. One reason I found out from discussions with the tour guide is this. After the Berlin wall came down, nobody wanted to stay in East Germany. The houses there were empty and hence became hubs for artists who couldn’t afford rent. This encouraged the presence of artists in the area and hence many events. So the city, without any such plans, accommodated such talent. And it explains the culture there now. Fascinating. Cheap real estate put in a time capsule for 20-30 yrs and voila!
We heard about Berghain that day. The hardest club to get into. Each of us did some research about it. Found out that the bouncer there is the only one in the world with a manager! People wait for hours in line to get in and get no entry AND no explanation and have to return back and maybe buy a t-shirt that says ‘I did not get into Berghain’, to feel some victory for the time spent. I did not try it but I wanted
to atleast see how this crazy famous club looks from the outside. So at 10 am the next day after breakfast, when I realized I was living 5 mins from the place, I rushed to catch a glimpse. It was in a deserted area – just a simple 4 storied building with 1-2 people sitting around alone who seemed to be trying to recover from their ‘Berghain experience‘. That’s me in front of the building. There was an art work on a concrete slab outside the building that was made out of broken tiles into the form of a cat. Someone really made their time in the line useful!
That was the last thing I did in Berlin. I have many more things I saw that I remember to be very interesting but.. they aren’t enough data points for me to draw a conclusion and gain insight. When I visit again, I hope I have the time and the luck to hear more stories!
I have got to end with this quote, which translates to
‘You’re crazy my child, you must go to Berlin’
Good day!
Fresh Epiphanies 
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