Tiergarten, Brandenburg Gate, Memorial

Straddling the border between East and West Berlin is this beautiful corner that includes beautiful monuments new and old.

After getting off the metro we started walking through the Tiergarten, which is Berlin’s version of Central Park. Like most gardens and parks in Europe during winter it was pretty empty with most foliage dead. While walking we passed the Reichstag Building which is where Germanys parliament is located. It has a beautiful glass stone which is world renowned. We weren’t able to visit this time around but hopefully we will have a chance to see it later on.

After walking out the East side of the garden we arrived at Brandenburg Gate. This huge monument was breathtaking. At the gate we met up with Julie’s dad, Anthony, who stood at that very gate the day the Berlin Wall fell. It was truly amazing to learn the details of the scene from someone who had been in that very spot on such an historic day.

Directly next to the Brandburg gate was one of the Holocaust memorials. It consisted of over 2,700 stone pillars in perfect rows. However, as we began to look closer we noticed what looked liked perfection was just an illusion. All of the pillars were varying degrees off center. As you looked down in the rows the ground would rise and fall in random order almost like the ocean on a windy day. The artist gave no meaning to the design but left it up to interpretation.

Our initial impression was that each column represented a number of lives taken during the Holocaust. As we had more time to process throughout the day a deeper thought emerged.
When glancing from the outside everything looked normal and perfect. It looked like every pillar was 3-5 feet tall and perfectly aligned. But as we dig deeper it becomes clear there are major changes and patterns hidden deep within the maze. Sometimes this world just takes a glance at something happening but doesn’t look into the maze to it’s true nature hidden under the surface.Read more