Berlin Graffiti

A special note must be made to the Berlin graffiti - they are as much of a city landmark as the Brandenburg gate! Either political, along the remains of the Berlin wall, or just artistic, along ANY wall, or even on cars, trains and pretty much any surface that qualifies, the graffiti are a show in and of themselves.

Berlin stories

While I was in Germany, I took advantage not only of the great library of the Eckiert Institute, but also of the opportunity to visit some popular spots. I could not possibly skip Berlin, especially since Roman , our good friend there, was kind enough to extend his hospitality for a couple of days.
Berlin is a fascinating place, full of history but also full of life, not stuck in the past but growing into the future. And this shows not only in people's attitudes, but also in urban planning.
advantage not only of the great library of the Eckiert Institute, but also of the opportunity to visit some popular spots. I could not possibly skip Berlin, especially since Roman , our good friend there, was kind enough to extend his hospitality for a couple of days.
Berlin is a fascinating place, full of history but also full of life, not stuck in the past but growing into the future. And this shows not only in people's attitudes, but also in urban planning.

The emblems of Berlin: the East Berlin TV tower and a construction crane

Just outside the Berlin Dome there is a "Lustgarden" which sounds pretty funny for an English speaker :) Lust and the Germans...

Roman is so very tall that this is the only way both me and him can be in the same picture without cutting either our heads or our legs off.

The memorial for the victims of torture (if I remember correctly), stark and impressive. The whole in the ceiling lets in the elements to rain or shine on the statue.

Another typical Berlin melange between the old and the new, the History museum which hosted at the time a great photo exhibition.

A real Berliner, at least according to me (it would have been funny to ask him where he's from and his answer to be Poland or smth like that)

Inside the glass coupole that crowns the Bunderstag - a modern gracious construction on top of the classic power-architecture type of building

The Holocaust Memorial

The Prussian Berlin is illustrated well by the Charlottenburg Palace, built at the end of the 17th century for the wife of Frederick III

And in contrast with the above, see here a very striking happy-colors kind of building

Martin and Roman in the square where the book autodafe took place in 1933

The weather was cold in March-April, so we even got the chance to see the city under a layer of snow

Hannover views

Braunschweig Mix

Contrasts

Braunschweig architecture

Finally pictures from Braunschweig!

Since Braunschweig is known as the City of Lions, the main theme of the current post is, as you guessed, lions... The old buildings in the town are either reconstructed or brought in from the neighboring villages, as 95% of what used to be here before WWII was destroyed by bombs.

Holocaust Memorial, Berlin

I must say I am quite disappointed by the new Holocaust Memorial inaugurated recently in Berlin. First, it is a bit sad that the only victims commemorated are the "murdered Jews" - there are so many left out, the political adversaries of the Nazis, the Gypsies, the homosexuals, so it feels incomplete and exclusivist.
Second, from an artistic point of view it is a disaster... I don't know what is the logic of memorial buildings, but I think an esthetic element should be at least partially considered (and they surely left that out for this monument!). I know that one is not supposed to feel elated at the sight of a monument erected in the memory of a barbarian event, but nevertheless one should not feel apalled by it - otherwise people would not want to look at it closely, they would be pushed away, rejected... Or maybe this is the point, that visitors should be disgusted by it?
Finally, the memorial is so ugly that it really spoils the central Berlin landscape. Could not have they made it something better? Something that would address the sad memories without being an eyesore?