On Sunday morning's flight to Berlin, I was a bit melancholy at the thought of leaving behind friends and the magical city of Munich. I was cheered considerably by the thoughtfulness of Peter, who called and left a Welcome to Berlin message at my hotel. Paul and I walked from east to west on Unter Den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate, all signs of The Wall gone. So different from thirty years ago, although the Russian Embassy still holds a pretty impressive piece of real estate in the former east.
The view from west to east, this time without barbed wire and tanks, was a wonderful sight. Just a few blocks from the Brandenburg Gate is the new Holocaust Memorial: The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
The 4.7 acre site is covered with concrete slabs that vary in height from 8 inches to about 16 feet.
Although there is some controversy as to the meaning of the sculpture, the interpretation that most resonates with me is that it represents the ordered system that lost touch with human emotion and reason. Walking between the columns is unsettling.A few blocks in the opposite direction is The Reichstag, the seat of the German Parliament.
The glass dome was designed to symbolize transparency in the German government.
After meeting with the program directors at the Freie Universität (FU) on Monday, Paul and I agreed (I somewhat reluctantly) that it was time to return home. Loaded with Lebküchen, chocolate, and gifts from the Weihnachtsmarkt, we flew from Berlin to Frankfurt to Denver to Portland, finally arriving home at 10:30 PST on Tuesday evening. And we were back to work on Wednesday. I was dizzy for several days, and woke every morning at 4 am for the next week. The suitcase is unpacked, the presents distributed, the chocolate eaten ... and the last remaining evidence of my trip is the alarm clock on my nightstand, which still reflects German time. For some reason, I just can't bring myself to change it back to PST.
No comments:
Post a Comment