Berlin Reflection
By the time we had gotten to Berlin, the trip was happening so fast that I feel like I barely processed my time there. However, notable events that stood out to me were the Berlin walking tours, “DJing” Delphi’s birthday bash, the DDR museum, and the trip to the Bundestag. To begin, the Berlin walking guide (Matti) was super amazing and engaging. He knew so much interesting and niche parts of Berlin history which was relieving because as I have had to study so much world history, especially the Cold War, I felt that some of the speakers were quite repetitve. However, hearing individual experiences including his own during the cold war was fascinating. It added a human layer to the experience that is often removed in academic studies. Learning about individual escape strategies and how they pertained to the development of the wall was a genious way to engage both macro and micro aspects of history. Similarly, walking back and forth over the ruins of the wall really helped put into perspective just how divided the city was during this time period. This guide was definitely my favorite. I also appreciated how he was upfront about the bad parts of german history and did not simply push them off like some of the other guides had before.
Putting together a playlist for Delphi’s birthday was definitely a stressful experience. I felt a large pressure to make sure I got everything right and I did not want to disappoint anyone. However, throughout the week I had pretty much figured out everyones music tastes and so by the time the party came I felt like I had a decent playlist that would appease everyone involved. It seemed like everyone was really satisfied by the playlist which was super relieving but also made me feel good and like I was able to provide an elevated experience for Delphi. Also, touring the canals of Berlin was a once in a lifetime experience and it was all the better that everyone was having a really a good time, I’m glad that this was the group that ended up going to Germany.
The guide at the DDR museum taught me absolutely nothing, since Matti was such a good guide. He and my major had already taught me everything that she had tried to teach. Which is no fault of her own. However, getting to see a reconstruction of an actual Soviet home was super interesting and gave me that human experience that is so often missing from my studies. I am skeptical if that reconstruction is what life was like for the majority of people in the Soviet Union or if that was the home of a better off family. My bet is that it was the latter.
The Bundestag and its associated office was very interesting. The strong contrast between the modern brutalist architecture and the Bundestag itself was jarring at first. However, as I pondered I thought that this was possibly an intentional way for Germany to distance itself from its dark past. Since I dont understand German I could not really involve myself deeply in the debate itself. However, I noticed that the speaker for AfD spoke extremely similarly to how Hitler had given his speeches, minus the yelling and most of the anger. It alarmed me just how similar their styles were and I wonder if this was some kind of emulation.
Overall, I had a wonderful time in Berlin and could see myself working at the US embassy in the future.
