About 6 acres have been set aside between the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz for the Monument to Murdered European Jews. The rectangular shapes appear to be all about the same height, but the monument is actually situated in a bowl-like depression, so the slabs in the middle are actually about 7 feet tall. I appreciate the plain talk implicit in "murdered," and the monument is just as stark. Simple, moving, and utterly without schmaltz, as the survivors might say. Oh, the Germans. You just can't stay mad at 'em!
Tourist kids use the area to run around, scream, and play hide and seek, which is forgivable. So what's EasyJet magazine's excuse for doing a freaking fashion shoot here? Words fail me.
"Excuse me! Excuse me!" If you respond to this, you'll be hounded by scads of these Gypsy girls running some kind of scam against English speakers. I guess they figure the Germans are hip to it, so they don't bother. If you acknowledge you speak English, they pull out a card and give you some song and dance about their lost sister or some such crap, and how if you give them a euro, you'll be saving a life. I hesitate to tell a Gypsy to beat it, because I'm afraid they'll curse me or give me the evil eye, so I just pretend not to speak English.
Every time I come home from the Mitte on the subway, I get off a stop early and walk, and this is what I see. Berlin's mascot is this cute bear, and he's everywhere.
One of the reasons I disembark at Eberwaldstrasse is because of this place, Ili's. I guess it's my official hangout. They have the best doner imaginable for just 2.50, they leave you alone and always have soccer games on a big screen.
Tomorrow's a big day. The mighty Berlin Philharmonic is performing some Schubert, Beethoven and Bartok at a Kulturforum matinee. Our old pal Zubin Mehta is guest-conducting while Simon Rattle gets a tan in California. If you're up at 3 a.m. Saturday in the Mountain states (5 a.m. Eastern), you can catch the concert at the remarkable Digital Concert Hall (berlinphilharmonie.de). Pinch me; I'll be in the fourth row.
Is that the same cute bear that was in the picture with Armida? I love that bear; he's so dance-y and prance-y!
ReplyDeleteI don't think they're the same. The Berlin bear is always seen in profile. They even make a small car here where he appears on the roof. He's on purses and backpacks, and you wipe your feet on him before you enter a store.
ReplyDeleteWill you bring me home something with the bear on it? Thanks.
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