Today we visited the last few things on our list. Whatever we missed will have to wait until a future visit 🙂
We got an early start and set out at about 7:30 to walk to the Eastside Gallery. On the way we were looking for a coffee shop to get a cup ‘o wake-me-up and some breakfast. We found the Kaffeebar and each ordered a coffee and spinach-gorgonzola quiche. It was very tasty!
The Eastside Gallery is a long section of the Berlin Wall preserved–graffiti and all–as a monument to the city’s divided history. We started at the beginning and walked the entire length of it, taking in all the art and trying our best to interpret the messages behind it all. While I’m sure none was without meaning, most of the images spoke of suffering and pain while others expressed the happiness of liberation. At one point there was an opening in the wall and we walked to the other side of it. It was sobering to think of a city, of families, divided by that wall and of how many were killed in attempting to cross over it.
More sobering by far was our next stop, the Memorial to the (6 million) Murdered Jews of Europe. It’s an extremely large area of concrete blocks (called stiles), raised to varying heights, with rows between them in which one may walk back and forth, from one side to the other. At first, the blocks are short, 12-24″ tall; but then, as you walk on, they get taller and taller, as your path declines lower and lower into the ground until suddenly you’re surrounded by towering concrete blocks. Everywhere you look in this direction or that the rows go on and on and you feel the overwhelming presence of these silent, cold, nameless, unmarked blocks. We walked silently through it, around to the side, and through it again, trying to take in and experience the deep and sobering impression it was meant do effect. Like the literature says, it’s impossible to get one’s mind around “6 million Jews;” but the memorial definitely helped you get a sense of the great loss which it represented. Though we can be sure that great persecution yet stands in the church’s future as Paul’s man of lawlessness is set loose (Rev 20), it made me wish that such a thing would never happen again. I long for the peace and reign of our Lord on the earth when His glory shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
After taking in the memorial, we entered the Information Center underneath it. Here, with the help of an audio guide and pictures and text on display, we spent an hour and a half learning of the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis, when it began, how it increased, how and where it was carried out, and even some personal stories of several families who suffered in the various concentration camps. It was so overwhelming and sad that I couldn’t listen to all the audio and had to turn it off. I walked through the remainder of the rooms and waited for the girls. I comfort myself that God will soon right all wrongs and make clear the perfection of all His works in the inexplicable twists and turns of His providence.
We stopped for lunch at the Bella Italia near the Memorial and Schylie and I ordered curry wurst while Christie ordered risotto con pollo. Both dishes were a nice treat. With lunch finished, we walked over to the long promenade which led us to the Brandenburg Gate. It was an impressive sight. Once again I thought of how terrible it was that a gate which connected two sides of the city was cut off during the war and what a joy it must have been when it was opened up again. Several pictures and captions on display boards nearby helped us grasp what we were seeing and what it was like when it was different.
From there we walked to the nearby Reichstag, the headquarters for the Third Reich. It was a beautiful building with a glass dome protruding up from the center of it. One can ascend the steps in the dome and get an impressive view of the city. We opted not to do so and instead walked around in the Tiergarten and then to a store where Christie could grab a gift for someone back home. At the store we were able to catch the M147 bus to the S5 train and to the U240 bus, which brought us back to our apartment around 4PM.
Having put another 6 miles on our pedometer today–in 95 degree weather, Christie immediately passed out! Meanwhile, Schylie’s catching up on emails and I’m blogging. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time in Germany and Holland. It’s been great to see friends (and family) and it’s been a real blessing to visit some of the historical sites here in Berlin. There is so much more we didn’t see, but we’re thankful for the time we had together and for all that we did enjoy here.
Please keep us in prayer as we’re all catching a taxi to the airport at 4:30 AM. Christie’s initial flight to London-Boston was cancelled but they’ve successfully rerouted her through Madrid with no delays. My and Schylie’s flight seems to be on schedule, leaving for Rome at 7:30. We should arrive in Rome at 9:40. I’ll attach some pictures below.
We’re heading out for dinner tonight. Not sure what’s on the menu except that we’re on the lookout for apple strudel and ice cream 🙂
Every blessing,
James, Schylie, and Christie
