A pretty day in the capital

Sunday, May 3, 2009
Strolling the city

l spent a few hours today planning my next few days of activities. Shortly after I arrived in Berlin, Martin and Corinna prepared me by getting me several fares on the transit system and getting me a “Berlin Welcome Card,” which provides 48 hours of unlimited transit use and discounts at numerous museums, venues, and restaurants. If I am to get optimal use of the welcome card, then I would have to plan it out.

I read through the booklet taking notes on any of the places I thought I might like to go, recording the opening and closing times, the locations, and how to get there. Then I figured that if I activate the card right after class tomorrow (my last day of language class), then I can be finished with it on Wednesday late afternoon. The reasons for that schedule include the following:

• the BVG (transit company) has a 7-day pass that's very reasonable, and that would work for Thursday through next Wednesday when I leave.
• Several of the places I want to see are open late either Monday or Tuesday.
• It's supposed to rain Tuesday and Wednesday; perfect for museums.

However, I also wanted to go on a river cruise around the city. We'll see what happens.

In the afternoon I spent several hours strolling in the Tiergarten, Berlin's equivalent of Central Park or Piedmont Park. It's a heavily wooded park adjacent to the Zoo, the Landwehr Kanal on one side and the Spree River on the other side, and the Stadtmitte on the east side.

The Tiergarten is full of streams and lakes. People were rowing in the lakes, biking through the park, and strolling on the paths. I finally came upon the Cafe am Neuen See (New Lake), the intermediate goal of my walk. I sat in the garden and drank a half liter of beer with a soft pretzel. It was not difficult to sit there for an hour or so.

Moshe mentioned that the view in Google maps shows that Berlin is a green city with many trees. That's true, and the Tiergarten contributes to the tree population. During the war, the bombing tore up many of the trees in the city. The typical picture of streets in Berlin after the Allies entered the city was shells of buildings and piles of rubble in the streets, not a tree in sight. After the war, especially in West Berlin, where the Tiergarten would have been found, there were several periods of fuel shortages, and many trees were cut down for heating fuel. Most trees in Berlin are less than 64 years old.

I had asked Martin and Corinna to dinner a few days earlier, and we agreed on Sunday dinner. Martin called to suggest that we meet in Prenzlauer Berg, near some landmarks with which I am familiar, like the Rykestrasse Synagogue. We met there at 6:00; having a cell phone is very convenient.

Before dinner we walked the neighborhood. This is the area (in the erstwhile East Berlin) where Martin and Corinna lived when they first married, and for several years until the “Wende,” the time that the Wall came down. Artists, writers, some dissidents, often lived in the area. Today it has become a prestigious address, and apartments are out of the reach even of a doctor like Martin. They pointed out to me something I hadn't noticed previously: some buildings have either plaques or paving stones at their entrance with the names and some information about the former Jewish residents that were forced out of these homes.

During dinner we talked briefly about Corinna's impending departure to be with her daughter in Chicago for her graduation. Martin and I planned vaguely to meet again with Sascho and Regina at least once before I leave. They also surprised me and gave me two CD sets, about which we had talked several days earlier. One set is Jewish songs and melodies; the other is a set of Locatelli violin pieces.

It drizzled a little bit during dinner. Starting to get cool tonight.