When we rode into Berlin, it was cold and gray. Several buildings we passed were run down and covered with spray paint. Art and graffiti mixed over the city walls to create a macabre gallery of sensation. Dust hung in the air, probably from local pollution, while concrete buildings sprouted from the earth like thorns, uncomfortable with their own existence.
Reflections on life tagged to the walls
Even so, culture seeped through the walls of the dreary to form districts of boutiques and specialty restaurants. Classic pubs, trendy glasses, and designer fashion existed amongst the gray and bleak, defiant to the pull of the listlessness that surrounded them. A small entrance off the main road led us to an alley filled with art-graffiti and counter-culture youth in coffee shops. The citizens of Berlin moved quickly during the afternoon and lazily during the evening. Life came out at night with light, noise, revelers, and criminals. Policemen and bands of 45-year-old British husbands roamed the streets while I kept my head covered from the spit of rain.
A bright flag over a gray city
Berlin was deeply wounded from the several wars that it had endured but yet it was still alive. It had survived and even went to far as to thrive. The landscape of this city with its incongruous architecture and ever present construction served as constant reminders of its past. Cranes used to install a new subway system dominated most of the blocks we walked. Purple pipes hung above the pedestrians, signaling the effort and the struggle to put two parts back into one. It has been 20 years since the wall fell, but they told us rehabilitation would require at least two more generations.
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, damage sustained and retained
Berlin with its industry and shades of gray created a stark contrast to the rolling green hills that we had driven through the day before. The countryside of Germany consisted of golden flowers that stretched on for miles, surrounded by yet more dusty emerald shades. Old windmills mixed with new ones, which dominated the land with their sheer size. Quite spa towns and serene lakes lounged between the hills.
The view from the Lutherhaus in Lutherstadt Wittenberg
It was hard to imagine the history of such a place, stretching for hundreds of years. As we rested outside a gas station, I tried to picture the fierce tribes that had defeated the Romans roaming this dreamy green fairyland. I could only see the fierce warriors with knives in their hands and flowers in their hair.
A romantic view from a not-so-romantic German gas station