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Berlin/Potsdam

"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words: Ich bin ein Berliner." - John F. Kennedy

It's hard for me to describe Berlin in one paragraph. It's a city that has undergone so many changes, so many facelifts, yet it never makes me feel indifferent. Berlin is what I call my second home ever since I stayed there for two months to study, back in 2003. On the train, as I approached the city, the sight of the Hauptbahnhof (train station), the Reichstag (parliament), Friedrichstraße, a building of Humboldt University... and my friend Robert were so soothing. He and his boyfriend Georg (who is actually from Austria) are great hosts and made me feel at home in their cozy apartment in trendy Prenzlauerg Berg. Since I had seen Berlin twice before, we focused on Potsdam, as well as some parts of Berlin I hadn't seen before, so I apologize in advance if you don't see pictures of a lot of major touristy sights!

Bundesrat (Upper House of Parliament) - On my day of arrival, the Bundesrat had an open house, and even the seats of the Members of Parliament were open to the public. Solo at the Bundesrat - So, of course, Solo felt like he had to try out the seat of MP Michael Möller! Solo and the Bundeskanzleramt - This is German Chancellor Angela Merkel's little lair. I love the color of the sky on this picture! Georg (left) and Robert (right) - My two wonderful hosts in Berlin. Don't they make a beautiful couple? Holocaust Memorial - 2,700 stone slabs, scattered near the Brandenburg Gate. It's one of the new things since I came here in 2003. At first, I thought the symbolic of it was simply to portray tombstones. Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) - I had been here countless times before, but I couldn't resist the temptation of posing in front of this majestic building that has captivated my mind ever since I heard of the Berlin Wall. Lufthansa Airbus A380 - The national airline had a small, but free exhibit about the jumbo airliner. It was my small consolation prize for leaving Berlin too early to attend the ILA (Berlin Air Show) at Schönefeld Airport. Giant aspirin - If you thought this is what it looked like at first, bingo! You are right! This is part of a series of monuments around Berlin, called "Germany, Land of Ideas." Can you see Robert and Georg on the bottom right corner? Bebelplatz - Another "Germany, Land of Ideas" exhibit. This is where the Nazis burned more than 20,000 books in 1933, and where there is a plaque with Heinrich Heine's famous quote: "Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings." Football bears - The bear is the animal representing Berlin. You can see these statues all around the city. And it's no surprise you can spot these football-playing bears at the Friedrichstraße train station, right as Germany prepares itself to welcome the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Neue Garten Potsdam - This beautiful park is located in Potsdam, in the suburbs of Berlin. Boats pass by the Havel nearby, families go have a picnic, and even vendors offer you Weißwürste for cheap! Neue Garten Potsdam - Don't disturb Solo as he meditates. Busy shopping streets - It was Sunday. Shops were supposed to be closed in Potsdam too. But since it was also Mother's Day, I guess businesses felt they had a large niche in the last-minute Mother's Day gift-givers! Serbian Dance - I hope I'm not mistaken when identifying the nationality of these dancers. Maybe they were actually from Montenegro. This was part of a multi-cultural festival in Potsdam, organized by an anti-xenophobia group. Block Buildings - On the left you see ready-made buildings made out of giant blocks of concrete, that you could almost assemble as a Lego construction set. This picture makes me feel as if I wasn't in Germany anymore, actually, but some East European city some 30 years ago, wanting to give itself a modern look. Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) - It was built under the Nazi regime... and it shows. It is nevertheless a very impressive building! Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) - Robert, baking under the sun, in one of the 76,000 uncomfortable seats. Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) - Robert is probably still wondering why we paid to even get in, and only see the stadium? All the exhibits were closed due to the preparations for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Or maybe he's wondering if we look like the "Men In Black"! Adalbertstraße 61 - This was my apartment building back in the summer of 2003, when I studied in Berlin with my university. The sight of what was my street, in the eclectic Kreuzberg neighborhood, was a little bit emotional. I felt 21 again.

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© 2006, Sergio Ortega. Last update: 2006/06/24.
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