January 2018.
Berlin was never really in my list of places to go to. Could be my ignorance or could be because all the scenic places always end up topping my list. I love nature. I do. But this time, I did book for Berlin, not really giving it much thought. A weekend away and looking for something different led me to the capital city of Germany – one of the most popular tourist attractions in Europe.
The first thought I had after spending half a day in the city was how big a fool I have been and what a terrible mistake it would have been if I didn’t do Berlin whilst I had my chance.
Berlin in a single word is overwhelming. The mind-boggling history, the sociopolitical scenes that still have got a very strong hold on the current system all around the world, being the pivot of the two ever conflicting social policy of capitalism and communism, it just blows your mind. You feel humble, you feel wise and in a way, the city makes you feel extremely philosophical.
I feel I need to learn a lot more about the world wars. It is not just history. It's interesting how the events of the past have such direct commands on today's socio-economic life. It definitely gives you a much better grip on the worldly affairs (not that I'm consistently interested in worldly matters, but you know what I mean. :))
How the big players in the world wars allied and got divided; how the whole world was a battle field (rather has always been in active terms until recent past. Or is it still on?); How the colonial rules played strategic roles in the world-wide events; How the cold war started and inflated its proportions so much so that not a single country in the world has been free of its impact even to this day. The countries which were under the colonial rules and have been used as the pawns all along still hold those evidences loud and clear in every aspect of their social and political chaos and economic struggle. The bishops and the knights are still in passive preparations while the kings and queens are in diplomatic dialogues.
To go through the events sequentially and minutely starting from the days of Pearl Harbor to the days of surrender by the Soviets and even to this day, everything opens up like a jigsaw puzzle solving a major mystery.
Makes you think if the Iron curtain is really lifted or is it still somewhere lingering in a vague limbo?
In my mind, it does open up new questions. Lots of them. Probably few very naive.
Do the actions of the communists/capitalists hold true to their ideologies?
Are all the parties not equally grey in this big event of war?
What impact do these ideologies had or still have on the countries at the grass root level?
Were the wars at all about an ideology or was it the common interest of power by each stakeholder?
What’s the divide of this ideology in the countries under colonial rule? And how does that shape up?
Is any of it worth? If not, how come the common people react to all such instigation?
And most importantly, are any of these histories skewed for anyone’s benefit?
Scary.
I know. I am just probably feeling a bit hefty after the humbling history overdose over the weekend.
To be fair, there is a lot more in this city than history. There is some extraordinary creativity in terms of architecture, art, diverse industries and impressive technology. Walking by the river Spree into the Museum Island would take you to the many museums in the area. The impressive parliamentary building of Reichstag and the Berlin Dome stand out. The famous television tower stands tall and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. A nice stretch of green in the Tiergarten leading to some beautiful memorials will soothe down your thirst for greenery. To add to all of this, we were also lucky to enjoy an open-air performance by a local music band in the Brandenburg Gate. What a package tour it was!
But what stirred me most were the Checkpoint Charlie and the East Open Gallery showcasing the Berlin wall graffiti and the history behind it all. Stays with you a long time after the trip.
Berlin was never really in my list of places to go to. Could be my ignorance or could be because all the scenic places always end up topping my list. I love nature. I do. But this time, I did book for Berlin, not really giving it much thought. A weekend away and looking for something different led me to the capital city of Germany – one of the most popular tourist attractions in Europe.
The first thought I had after spending half a day in the city was how big a fool I have been and what a terrible mistake it would have been if I didn’t do Berlin whilst I had my chance.
Berlin in a single word is overwhelming. The mind-boggling history, the sociopolitical scenes that still have got a very strong hold on the current system all around the world, being the pivot of the two ever conflicting social policy of capitalism and communism, it just blows your mind. You feel humble, you feel wise and in a way, the city makes you feel extremely philosophical.
I feel I need to learn a lot more about the world wars. It is not just history. It's interesting how the events of the past have such direct commands on today's socio-economic life. It definitely gives you a much better grip on the worldly affairs (not that I'm consistently interested in worldly matters, but you know what I mean. :))
How the big players in the world wars allied and got divided; how the whole world was a battle field (rather has always been in active terms until recent past. Or is it still on?); How the colonial rules played strategic roles in the world-wide events; How the cold war started and inflated its proportions so much so that not a single country in the world has been free of its impact even to this day. The countries which were under the colonial rules and have been used as the pawns all along still hold those evidences loud and clear in every aspect of their social and political chaos and economic struggle. The bishops and the knights are still in passive preparations while the kings and queens are in diplomatic dialogues.
To go through the events sequentially and minutely starting from the days of Pearl Harbor to the days of surrender by the Soviets and even to this day, everything opens up like a jigsaw puzzle solving a major mystery.
Makes you think if the Iron curtain is really lifted or is it still somewhere lingering in a vague limbo?
In my mind, it does open up new questions. Lots of them. Probably few very naive.
Do the actions of the communists/capitalists hold true to their ideologies?
Are all the parties not equally grey in this big event of war?
What impact do these ideologies had or still have on the countries at the grass root level?
Were the wars at all about an ideology or was it the common interest of power by each stakeholder?
What’s the divide of this ideology in the countries under colonial rule? And how does that shape up?
Is any of it worth? If not, how come the common people react to all such instigation?
And most importantly, are any of these histories skewed for anyone’s benefit?
Scary.
I know. I am just probably feeling a bit hefty after the humbling history overdose over the weekend.
To be fair, there is a lot more in this city than history. There is some extraordinary creativity in terms of architecture, art, diverse industries and impressive technology. Walking by the river Spree into the Museum Island would take you to the many museums in the area. The impressive parliamentary building of Reichstag and the Berlin Dome stand out. The famous television tower stands tall and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. A nice stretch of green in the Tiergarten leading to some beautiful memorials will soothe down your thirst for greenery. To add to all of this, we were also lucky to enjoy an open-air performance by a local music band in the Brandenburg Gate. What a package tour it was!
But what stirred me most were the Checkpoint Charlie and the East Open Gallery showcasing the Berlin wall graffiti and the history behind it all. Stays with you a long time after the trip.
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