I am a Jelly Doughnut

For those of you true Berliners you already know that this blog post title is from JFK's infamous attempt at German, declaring "Ich bin ein Berliner" instead of "Ich bin Berliner." Well, Team Mildren-Mueller would like to think of itself as a hybrid jelly doughnut (Mildren)-Berlin citizen (Mueller).

Since Rob is from Berlin (the former Eastern part), we stayed with his family while visiting, which was fantastic. Even though we couldn't understand any German, they took hospitality to a whole new level! Not only did his family offer us a comfortable and friendly stay, but Rob himself acted as an extremely knowledgeable, patient, and interested city ambassador. He answered our million+ questions about the city and its history, took us to see all the attractions, took us to the best authentic döner kebab restaurant in a Turkish neighborhood, and he offered a unique perspective of what politics and city life is like these days. We cannot thank him enough for being so fun and helpful! What a great friend and fun travel partner! Thank you, Rob!!

Rob Mueller
Our beloved best buddy & Berliner :)

Of our entire stay in Europe, Berlin was the most exciting, exhillarating, and eye-catching city of the trip. I am officially claiming it as my favorite city in the world, earning the title after only a short, touristy visit. We also got to visit several museums, which is always a treat in Europe, especially with such giant and profound collections found in Berlin. We saw some amazing collections of classic, modern, and post-modern art!

Rodin's original sculpture of The Thinker

Picasso piece from the Berggruen museum

Berlin gives off the feel of a well designed, cosmopolitan community looking forward to the next big movement in culture and design, while its physical and psychological reminders keep it constantly grounded to its past of opulence, injustice, divisiveness, and war. For those of you jelly doughnuts, there is more to Berlin than the wall that divided it from 1961-1989. [Info mainly from Berlin.de and other sites]

A perfect example of Berlin architecture:
A building that is past and posh!

Berlin was established as a trading center and was ruled for more than 500 years by the Hohenzollern family. Starting in 1740, Berlin became a center for the Enlightenment movement in Europe, and this was when many of Berlin's more eloquent and lasting pieces of architecture were constructed, under Friedrich the Great.

During the 1800s the city flourished as the nation's political, economic, and scientific capital, leading the way in industry, arts, science, business, and research, encouraged by Kaiser Wilhelm I. The first parts of the 20th century were dominated by WWI and WWII.


Hitler's rise to power ended the democratic Weimar Republic and brought the National Socialist takeover and all its horrors: war, concentration camps, massive destruction and occupation of Western Europe, genocide, and totalitarian rule. In 1943, large-scale bombing of Berlin occurred, followed in 1945 by the ravaging Battle for Berlin.

After the war ends on 8 May 1945, much of Berlin is nothing but rubble: 600,000 apartments have been destroyed, and only 2.8 million of the city’s original population of 4.3 million still live in the city. In accordance with an agreement signed by the Allies, the city is divided into four sectors and administered jointly by the occupying powers, the United States of America, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.

An old map of Berlin boundaries, divided by the Wall

Although the intent was for the occupying powers to govern Germany together inside the agreed-upon borders, the advent of Cold War tension caused the French, British and American zones to be formed into the Federal Republic of Germany (and West Berlin) in 1949, excluding the Soviet zone, which then formed the German Democratic Republic (GDR; including East Berlin).

A Trabant ("Trabi"), the standard East German car
Supposedly green Trabants bring good luck!

West Germany developed into a western capitalist country with a social market economy and a democratic government. On the other side, East Germany established an authoritarian government with a Soviet-style planned economy. While West Germany became rich, many East Germans wanted to move to West Germany, so the East German government constructed the Berlin Wall to stop East Germans from fleeing, and the wall remained until 1989.

Red Town Hall
Served as East Berlin's town hall during the Cold War era

During the Wall's time, many East German monuments and buildings were constructed as symbols of the GDR's power and dominance, regardless of its citizens' poor living conditions and access to resources. However, the economic, political, and moral decline of the Soviet Union caused the Velvet (peaceful) Revolution in '89, and soon the Wall came down.

The Berlin Wall's old physical boundaries are still marked throughout the city
It was interesting to see that people lived completely
different lives depending on what side of the city they lived in!

Following the destruction of the Wall, construction in Berlin exploded, and a multitude of new architectural styles and building designs were tested and proliferated throughout the city. Our favorite modern buildings were the innovative designs surrounding Potsdamer Platz. In the 90s Berlin was given back to Germany from the Allied Powers, it regained the seat of the government, began holding congressional sessions at the newly re-designed Bundestag (formerly known as the Reichstag), and the Bradenburg gate was restored.

***

Okay, enough history! But the city's history is so important to its desire to be continually attempting to recreate a new name for itself as a sophisticated and forward-thinking international city capital. While on one hand it does not shy away from its past and publicly acknowledges Germany's past mistakes and struggles, it is also intent on recognition for its current progressive achievements in society. A fascinating city to say the least!

So what were our favorite parts of the city? Well, we walked most of it, and it seems impossible to narrow it down to only a few sightings! But for the sake of brevity....here are our Top 10 favorite attractions. We could have spent an entire day at each one!

Brandenburg Gate
For its simple beauty and political role


Potsdamer Platz
for its architecture and modern feel

Neptune's Fountain
for its awesome sculptures!

Neptune sits atop the fountain,
praised by animals and sirens beneath


The Bundestag (Reichstag)
for its old-meets-new/East-meets-West symbolism


You could walk up to the top of the glass dome,
which sits inside of the old Reichstag building


Berliner Dome
for its symmetrical and spiritual beauty


Pergamom Museum
for Ishtar Gate and its relief collection

Part of Ishtar Gate


Schloss Charlottenburg
for its astounding, sprawling palace gardens



Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche
for its representation of Berlin's bombing and subsequent recovery

The church did not get restored as a reminder of the bombing
The tower looks so incomplete!

Unter den Linden
for its vibrancy and historical buildings along the promenade
Equestrian Statue of Frederick the Great

The Berlin Bear never looked so frightening (or fun!)

James found a Bugatti store along the Unter de Linden

Checkpoint Charlie * Berlin Wall * East Side Gallery
For its (almost) unbelievable history of a separated city

Parts of the wall are displayed throughout the city

Checkpoint Charlie

A famous graffiti part of the East Side Gallery,
thee longest standing stretch of the Berlin Wall

Supermercado Sweep

Of the many, many cultural aspect of Guatemala I love, one of my favorites is going to the Market (mercado or mercadito). While I have not been seriously shopping to a mall in nearly a year (other than Christmas in the U.S., and European stores), I have come to love going to Guatemalan mercados! There are many things I love about market shopping, and I just had to share them.

Textiles

At first, James and I both found the bright and patterned cloth from Guatemala a bit tacky or overly colorful for our polite color choices in our home. Before becoming a fan of the Guate textiles, I more enjoyed soft colors like light green, tan, or white. Putting something wildly colorful on the table or wall seemed too bold. Now that I have seen all that goes in to creating these textiles, I am in love with them all, and love looking at them at the markets! Not a mercadito trip goes by without discovering a new beloved pattern, color choice, or item covered in the textile that I would like to own.

Everything can be purchased with some sort of textile on it: purses, CD cases, headbands, photo frames, notepad covers, shoes, belts, etc. Whatever you would like, you can get. And if you can't find it, you can just buy the cloth yourself and make it at home! Our good friend Kari loves to sew, and she is currently in the process of making us something out of colorful cloth we recently purchased.

In the States, it seems everything is becoming so similar...you can go to Kansas City, Little Rock, Chicago, or Joplin and find the same stuff in the same stores or restaurants. Kohl's, Wal-Mart, Target, Gap, Starbucks, Applebees. Borrrinnng! In Guatemala, each indigenous group and/or department (sort of like a state) has their own textile design and colors that they wear and use in their decorating. At the mercado, you can see and buy from all of the different geographical areas and indigenous groups that are very distinct and therefore very fun to look at and choose from when you shop! For example, my favorite department's designs/colors is the Todos Santos part of Guatemala. I love the bright blues, pinks, and purples, and the stripes/geometrical designs.

Bargaining

Part of the fun of the market is knowing that you can bargain on everything. Everything! James and I have been here long enough to know what a fair price is for different items, and so we are good at getting that price. It's fun to use our Spanish to bargain, and fun to shop around and get the best deal possible at the market. It's also fun to get even better deals based on the more you buy at one stand. Wouldn't it be nice in the grocery store or mall if, when you bought more you got everything at a better price? It's fun at the market!





I was trying my hand at selling this bright
blue fabric...I think the owner was much
better at his craft, but it was fun to try!

Myriad of Markets

Not booths sell the same items, either....

Spices & Peppers


Flowers

Fabric

Leather Goods

Masks

Wooden Toys

Beans
(protected by statues of saints no less)

Fruit & Veg

The Sightings

Every visit to the market is different. You are bound to see something you have never seen before, and may never see again; market visits never fail to create an adventure! Some of my favorite sightings are the following:

Dyed/colored baby chickens being sold like goldfish. When a Guatemalan buys one, the chick gets put in a small plastic baggie and tied up to be taken home. We never quiet figured out why the chicks were dyed different colors.

The blind man with a clairvoyant snake:
He can tell you the date you'll die or what you are eating for lunch.

An entire stand dedicated to selling fried food.
We can't believe there are that many foods that can be eaten fried!

Women walking around with anything you can imagine on their heads.
A classic: enough taquitos to feed an army

Something for Everyone

The main cathedral at the Zone 1 Guatemala City market square

Que rico!
Lunching at a market food stand
(some things are worth the risk!)

One of the best parts about going to the market is that (whether you were planning on it or not) you will buy something. If you are like me and don't like to walk away from your shopping experience empty-handed, you will also love the market. Even if you only have a few quetzales, you can find something to purchase. Each time I leave the market, I look to add to my growing collection of Guatemalan memories of the market! It's a really fun way to shop and see the creative and colorful talent that Guatemalans have to offer!