Berliner Dom

Definitely one of the most beautiful buildings in Berlin (in my opinion), the Dom overlooks a flowing river on one side and the beautiful Lust Garden on the other. The inside of the Dom is ornate and beautiful. The most breathtaking moment, however, is reserved for the view you get when you climb all the stairs, circle the dome, and see Berlin sprawled out before you. >Rachel Schilling ‘16<

“Alternative” Street Art Tour

“Alternative” Street Art Tour was extremely interesting. We walked around the city with a local tour guide who explained street art to us from small stencils to giant images that covered entire buildings. We learned about the progression of street art, from tags (which supposedly began in NYC) to graffiti and eventually street art. Some of the works were commissioned and others were illegal. My favorite was the tag for an artist named Po which took the shape of a bum when she learned what Po meant in German.
>Katie Mooradian ‘16<

It was a three hour walking tour through East and West Berlin looking at the different street art and having its meaning explained to us. We saw both legal and illegal street art, both of which cover the buildings in Berlin. Some of the coolest ones were the art pieces showing a deeper meaning, such as the differences still seen between east and west Germans or the limitations that working a white collar job puts on a person. It was very interesting and a great way to see Berlin by foot. >Cassie Blyler ‘16<

Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery)

© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Maximilian Meisse

I really enjoyed this museum even from the exterior, with the large equestrian statue of Fredrick William the IV. The collections inside were spectacular, ranging from Neoclassical style to Romantic, Impressionist, and early Modernist. I especially enjoyed seeing Romantic artwork in person because it’s actually quite beautiful, but in person I find it a bit kitschy. >Katie Mooradian ‘16<

We visited this museum one morning before the conference and it was really interesting. It is different paintings and sculptures organized by the progression of the different eras of art. My favorite was the room dedicated to Caspar David Friedrich, since in German 210 back at Dickinson we all had to choose one of his paintings and analyze it in terms of Romanticism, so seeing a room full of all his works was really exciting. >Cassie Blyler ‘16<

Pergamon-Museum

Ezra and Rachel (©: all pictures taken by Adrienne)

During the course of a weekend focused on the very recent past of East Germany and the city that was once divided in half, it felt like entering a different world when Ezra and I visited the Pergamon Museum on the Muse- um Island. This museum, despite being under renovation, still housed three exceptional exhibits. Each of the three exhibits, Antikensammlung (Museum of Classical Antiques), Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East), and the Museum für Islamische Kunst (Museum of Islamic Art), contained a gigantic structure of some sort that towered over museum goers. Surrounded by the great temples of ancient history, the “piece” that made the biggest impression on me was the Babylonian Processional Way and Ishtar Gate that was salvaged and reconstructed right in the center of the museum. These walls and their gate were reconstructed in the long entrance hall of the museum and is the first piece that museum-goers have a chance to see. While walking through I tried to imagine the Babylonian people that once walked parallel to these very walls.

The rest of the museum left the same impression on me as I walked down the steps of the Market Gate of Miletus and the Mshatta Façade (walls from an eighth-century “castle” in Jordan). The last exhibit we explored was the Museum of Islamic Art. The art itself was beautiful and also educational (for example I learned about the transition from free flowing designs to most pattern and press oriented ones) but the overall concept of the exhibit and appreciation the museum goers had for the art struck more of a chord with me. I feel that in the US there are so many people with stereotypes, negative feelings, or simple ignorance toward Islamic culture and art. I felt fortunate to not only be able to observe the art in front of me but reflect on my own culture after being removed from it. >Rachel Schilling ‘16<

Alexanderplatz

This was the first place in Berlin where I could feel the energy of the city. Live music, literal carnival rides, Trams begging for the opportunity to turn you into a statistic, Döner kebap and Currywurst stands everywhere, and even people bungee jumping off of skyscrapers; it was surreal. Luckily, Alexanderplatz is a main transit junction and I was able to explore this area multiple times. >George DeRosa ‘16<

Brandenburger Tor

A symbol reminding us of Germany and Europe’s checkered past and also a symbol for peace. It’s very impressive to see at night.
>George DeRosa ‘16<

I went to multiple Flohmärkte (flee markets) and art markets around the city. They were very interesting for what they were, but mostly because of the sheer number of people that were attending them. My favorites were easily the markets on Museum Island. It’s a very good place to buy books if you want to practice your reading in German! >Katie Mooradian ‘16<

The entire trip was filled with poignant moments of history and cultural difference (especially for me, after being raised in a small town). If I had to select a theme, or a feeling, that struck me throughout the weekend, I would choose the very strong difference between Germany’s and America’s history that could be felt throughout the city. It is easy to take for granted over 200 years of consistent and constant govern- ment. Since the creation of the first German empire in 1871 there hasn’t been a regime that has lasted more than about 50 years. The fall of the Wall was only 25 years ago. The reminders of this unrest, as well as the hope for a steadier time, could be found throughout the entire weekend. From the discussions in the conference, to visiting the Berlin Wall and East Side Gallery, to seeing the ancient Babylonian temple in the Pergamon Museum, to celebrating German Re-Unification Day, Berlin serves as a symbol of different pieces being brought together. The old murals on the Berlin Wall are painted with fresh graffiti, old cathedrals look at a giant TV tower built during the time of East Germany and Berlin, and flea markets are filled with used DVDs and old maps from around the world. >Rachel Schilling ‘16<

Berlin is without a doubt one of the “must visit” cities in Europe. It is densely loaded with history, culture, diversity, liveliness and fun. I was particularly attracted to the aesthetic and artistic displays the city, which are like a timeless collage of different styles. Some great examples of this are the graffiti on the streets, the galleries in the open air such as East Side Gallery, the different architectures in the different neighborhoods and especially between the East and the West and the sudden remnants of older periods such as the Berliner Dom. To finish the recipe there are many modern places such as bars, coffee shops, clubs, restaurants and malls all around the city. Berlin is an incredibly mixed city, but it still keeps a bohemian scent to it, for which I think that it really lives up to the “poor, but sexy” slogan that Klaus Wowereit coined in 2004. >Santiago Princ ‘16<

Santiago, Rachel, and Ezra in the subway (from left to right)

Cells in the newer building of the “MfS-Untersuchungs-haftanstalt.” ©http://www.stiftung-hsh.de/

On the last day of our trip a few of us went and toured the prison in which the GDR police placed citizens that posed a threat to communism. Our guide, who was once a prisoner here himself, reminded us throughout the tour that these buildings aren’t a recreation meant for us to observe and scare us, but instead these cells were used to hold thousands of inmates in horrible conditions. The prison was not only very eerie but extremely eye-opening. >Rachel Schilling ‘16<

We almost didn’t make it here because it’s out of the city and we got lost both trying to find it and trying to get back, but it was absolutely worth the trip. We did the German tour and understood a lot of it, and what we didn’t understand completely was explained well enough in bilingual plaques throughout the prison. This was probably my favorite part of the trip only because I had no idea that anything like this had occurred during the time of the wall, so it was incredibly eye-opening and interesting to hear all the stories of what happened in this prison. It is probably the thing I would most highly recommend next to walking through east side gallery on a trip to Berlin. >Katie Mooradian ‘16<

The German tours of the jail are conducted by old prisoners. My particular guide was arrested for taking a train that traveled too closely to the border of Western Germany and this gave them just cause for saying he was trying to escape. My tour guide was literally arrested for taking the wrong train at the wrong time… The interrogations, torture, and squalor living conditions weren’t able to be muted by my insufficient German. It’s quite shocking when you realize that this ended only 25 years ago and similar events take place daily throughout the rest of the world. >George DeRosa ‘16<

The time in the prison was not pleasant, nor was it meant to be. It began with a 30-minute film outlining the various types of cells used in the prison, the history of the prison, then stories about various prisoners. Our tour began with a soft-spoken man taking us through the Soviet-built older part of the prison. Right at the beginning of the tour, he told us that a State Security guard who would have been around twenty during the time that the newer section was built, if we met him today, would be “ungefähr so alt… wie ich.”//“…about as old… as me.” This intrigued me, and I started thinking about what role this tour guide could have in connection with this prison. When we visited the newer section of the prison, our guide revealed that he had been a prisoner! He had lived in East Berlin and had taken a train which travelled a route within five kilometers (about three miles) of the border to West Berlin. A State Security officer stopped him and convicted him of “a possible intention to attempt to cross into West Germany”, a clearly ridiculous crime. He was 18 at the time, younger than myself and any of the Dickinson students with whom I attended the tour. He had been imprisoned for 10 months on this charge until West Germany bought his freedom. At the end of the tour, he disappeared after saying “Ich würde vorschlagen, ihr macht noch heute etwas heiteres…”//“I suggest you do something cheerful today.” >Ezra Sassaman ’16<

The East-Side-Gallery is not only the longest remaining piece of the Berlin Wall but also the largest open-air gallery in the world. I was able to visit the East-Side-Gallery on October 3rd, Germany’s Unity Day, a national public holiday that celebrates Germany’s reunification in 1990. This was certainly more surreal than the town’s center and although probably imagined, there was a palpable tension still hanging in the air once you stepped over on to the east side. >George DeRosa ‘16<

My favorite cultural activity was the East Side Gallery. […] Each artwork has a deeper meaning about freedom, reunification, and what it meant for the artist to live through the fall of the Berlin wall. As an art enthusiast I really enjoyed looking at these pieces and I feel a sense of luck that I have had that opportunity now, before they are all completely destroyed. It is rather sad that the works have not been preserved like normal artworks. They are a free museum and out in the open, therefore many people have decided to add their own “master pieces” to this great work of art. I was very annoyed to see many preteen girls writing cliché things on the wall such as “peace and love” or “Allie and Johnny forever!”. Hopefully, the work lives on to inspire many other people like it has inspired me. >Adrienne Brown ‘16<

Santiago, Adrienne, Rachel, George, Ezra (f. l. t. r.)

While there were beautiful murals painted on the wall, many were covered in fresh graffiti and people’s names. This mix of old artwork and new graffiti made me think about the meaning the wall might hold for those who, like me, were born within a few years after the destruction of the wall. >Rachel Schilling ‘16<

I was disappointed to see that so many more people had written their name on the monument, but was glad that they do clean them every so often. I really love the idea behind the monument, to take this symbol of war and after it’s served its use, hire artists famous at the moment from all over the world and give them free reign to create what they want. Not only does it help the city, but also gives the artists exposure. >Katie Mooradian ‘16<

Katie and I found this on accident trying to find our way to a flea market at the Ostbahnhof. I’m very happy we did because it was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I love the different paintings on each section of the wall, however I did not enjoy the graffiti all over the art. I do advocate street art, but a teenager writing their name in the middle of a beautiful painting for no reason other than “to have their name on the Berlin Wall” is ridiculous. Other than that, I could’ve spent hours looking at every piece of that decorated wall. >Cassie Blyler ‘16<

Theater Play Die Sorgen und die Macht (The Sorrows and the Power)

A play by Peter Hacks (world premiere: 1959), director: Tom Kühnel, Jürgen Kuttner (premiere: Sep. 4, 2010)

© Arno Declair. Fr. l. to r.: Michael Schweighöfer, Elias Arens, Christoph Franken, Jürgen Kuttner

The first night we were in Berlin we went to the Deutsches Theater to see “Die Sorgen und die Macht” (The Sorrows and the Power) – a special showing to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of the fall of the wall. It was interesting enough to be in a German theater, but it was especially exciting to see Jürgen Kuttner on stage after having talked to him in my German class last year. The play itself was a bit difficult for us to understand because it was frequently referring to German history which I’ve been learning over and over we aren’t really taught in school. That being said, I definitely learned something and enjoyed the performance.
>Katie Mooradian ‘16<

© Arno Declair. Fr. l. t. r.: Claudia Eisinger, Felix Goeser (with Pittiplatsch mask), Susanne Wolff

It was especially cool because the co-director, Jürgen Kuttner, had previously come to Dickinson and he was also a part of the play. Politics are not the most interesting thing to me so there were some parts of the play that went over my head in that aspect, but there were many comedic parts of the play that I really enjoyed, and it’s always confidence boosting to understand a performance in a different language. >Cassie Blyer ’16<

The show dealt with the conflicted feelings East Germans faced during the start of the new communist regime. The show contained advanced German and references to specific points and things in history that I did not understand, however the show itself was portrayed in such a way as to convey the mixture of readily accepting any non-fascist government and doubts about communism understandable to any audience member. >Rachel Schilling ‘16<

© Arno Declair. Fr. l. to. r.: Susanne Wolff, Jürgen Kuttner, Elias Arens, Felix Goeser, Claudia Eisinger, Christoph Franken, Michael Schweighöfer, Gabriele Heinz. In the back: a picture of Walter Ulbricht and a bust of Karl Marx.

Here are excerpts of what some of the Dickinson-in-Bremen students said about our recent trip to Vienna.

Margaret:

A Fabergé egg as exhibited at the Kunsthistorisches Museum – only this one is entirely edible

What I enjoyed the most of the activities on my own was visiting the Kunsthistorisches Museum, or the Museum of Art History. By virtue of studying abroad for a full year, I’ve been to almost more museums than I can count throughout the past months. Yet the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna was one that definitely stood out in its singularity. My plans to only spend half the day there were quickly forgotten when I spent the entire morning in the single Kunstkammer wing, a twenty gallery-exhibition similar to a treasury, holding hundreds of years worth of Hapsburg possessions and collections where the unique diversity of the artifacts matches the depth of decades from which they span. I saw busts, paintings, porcelain figures, shimmering gems and jewelry, tapestries, clocks, carved ivory chests, oddities the likes of which I’ve never seen before (such as a giant drinking goblet made of an ostrich egg and carved jade), and countless more treasures I’ll likely never see an equal to. In addition, the museum houses the art collections of the House of Habsburg, filling almost

the entire second floor. As someone who likes to take their time through art museums and give attention to each piece, imagine my struggle upon walking into spacious galleries where almost every inch of the tall walls were covered with paintings. Despite the near impossibility of laying eyes on every single piece, the stunning collections still imparted a lasting impression of the country’s vast cultural heritage.

Devon:

One of the most surprising moments for me was the realization that one of my favorite parts of the trip was the opera. I am very uneducated in opera and have only ever been to one in my life. But our evening at the opera was by far the best experience I had in Vienna. The fact that the script was posted on screens that flanked the stage was extremely helpful, considering I know very little (read as: absolutely zero) Italian. Furthermore, the text did not seem extremely difficult, I certainly understood more than 75% of the words and I knew what was happening throughout. It was certainly a point of pride for me and I felt much more confident in my speaking and understanding of German following the opera.

At the National Library

My time in Austria was well-spent. I saw many sights, many museums, and many animals. But more than anything else, I think Austria strongly benefitted my German. I spoke more in those 4 and a half days than I had since my language-intensive course ended. By the end of the trip, I felt extremely confident in my language and some of my trepidation to speak in public was relieved. It certainly gave credit to the oft-given advice that the best way to improve your language speaking skills is to dive right in; try your best to ignore the voice in your head telling you how wrong you may be or how afraid you are and just speak. More often than not, you’ll do better than you expected of yourself and that is the easiest way to improve your confidence and furthermore, improve your speaking skills. Austria did a wonderful job and that, and the impression it left upon me, won’t soon be forgotten.

Lucia:

In my free time in Vienna I chose to visit two art museums: Hundertwasser Museum and the Belvedere. After taking interest in Hundertwasser’s style and life philosophy in a German course a few years ago, I was eager to see his architecture in person. The Hundertwasserhaus is a perfect example of the architect’s style– colorful and organic in design while maintaining functionality. Moving on to the Hundertwasser Museum just around the corner, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of his works on display. The museum features Hundertwasser’s paintings coupled with architectural plans/models all scattered throughout quotes and information about the artist’s life. The building itself is also one of Hundertwasser’s own design. The floors are uneven and small nooks allow plants to grow up the sides of the walls. I was truly intrigued by the progression of his artistic style and different ideas for functional structures. In contrast, the Belvedere is a lavish museum/palace housing a great variety of art. I had chosen to visit the Belvedere with hopes of seeing some of the Viennese artist Gustav Klimt’s works. Stepping onto the grounds, I was first amazed by the size and grandeur of the museum. Seeing a few of Klimt’s pieces in person (and in such a grand setting) was certainly a memorable experience. Overall I quite enjoyed the differences between the museums and would have loved the chance to spend more time in both.

Joan:

We began Tuesday with a visit to Schönbrunn Palace, the former imperial palace in Vienna. It was a beautiful palace and quite interesting to wander around and learn about the different Kaisers who lived there, especially Kaiserin Maria Theresia. After the audio tour we went behind the palace, through the gardens, to the stunning gloriette where we ate at the café there and enjoyed the beautiful day. After that, Anna, Lucia, Paul, Sean, Shuwei, and I headed to the Hundertwasserhaus, an apartment building designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. I remembered learning about Hundertwasser in my 201 class, but I forgot that some of his buildings were in Vienna, so when I learned they were

Touring the State Hall of the National Library

nearby, I made sure to go see them. We then walked a few blocks to the KunstHausWien, another building designed by Hundertwasser that houses a lot of his artwork. Going through the museum, I never realized what an environmentalist Hundertwasser was. He reminded me of a 20^th century artist version of John Muir. The great thing about KunstHausWien is that the building was designed by the same artist whose artwork is on display, so there is a real continuity between the art and the building. The only thing that threw me off was on the top two floors were an exhibition of large, mostly black and white photographs. It was a nice exhibition, just the stark contrast with the rest of the building made it hard for me to get out of the Hundertwasser mindset while looking at very different art. On the first floor of the museum was a vegetarian restaurant (also designed by Hundertwasser) where we had dinner. Afterwards we went to the Wien Konzerthaus and were able to get student tickets to see Bach’s “Johannespassion.” Our seats were right in the front middle of the balcony, so we could see and hear really well. There was an orchestra, four main singers, and a boy’s chorus. All in all, the concert was great!

Paul:

Guided tour of Vienna

One thing that was immediately apparent to me during my visit to Vienna was how intentionally the city itself was structured. This intentionality was manifest in the regularity of the buildings, their almost overwhelming whiteness, and in the way they were honeycombed around the Habsburg edifices. The place really looked like the seat of an empire.
I think that these observations helped me to appreciate my favorite Vienna experience – my visit to Kunst Haus Wien, the Friedensreich Hundertwasser museum – even more. Don’t misunderstand me, the dominant rococo and baroque architecture was beautiful and impressive; but Kunst Haus Wien, which Hundertwasser himself designed, exhibited the same level of intentionality while preserving the organic beauty unique to Hundertwasser’s artistic and philosophical outlook. I had heard of Hundertwasser in classes at Dickinson, and I had also seen a number of his prints, all of which I thought were really beautiful and unique. It turned out that some of the other Dickinsonians had as well, so we decided to visit the museum. The building’s face is divided into irregularly shaped, colored blocks. Its pillars and entranceway are littered with varying mosaics. When one walks through the door, he is struck by the fact that the floor itself is not flat. Instead, its clay exhibits undulations and repeats the mosaic motif. A sign on the wall indicates that Hundertwasser made this choice because the earth’s unadorned crust actually presents us with the same sorts of rises and divvies, and further because they can serve as a source of excitement for the feet. So, even on the first step through the door, one sees (and feels) Hundertwasser’s back-to-nature, organic vision. Kunst Haus Wien often presents the organic world even more directly: the place is a veritable forest. And then there are all of Hundertwasser’s incredible paintings, woodcut prints, and architectural models. The models represent more ambitious imaginings of the themes expressed in the museum’s architecture. Hundertwasser had planned whole communities with his ideals in mind. In these communities, the line between artifice and nature is constantly blurred. Streams and roads take similarly meandering routes around homes constructed in hills. Trees abound. The windows and walls that one does see have the color and irregularity of all of Hundertwasser’s work. This might sounds like chaos, but I was really struck by how functional and logical these communities looked. Utopian ideals are often accused of impracticality, but I’d have a hard time lodging this complaint against Hundertwasser. His work didn’t look contrived or forced, but rather exhibited the same kind of beautiful regularity we find in the natural world, in tree rings or spider webs or even frog spawn. And I appreciate this kind of regularity and beauty much more than the silk, gold and marble of Schönbrunn.

Sean:

Two places I chose to visit in the allotted free time were the Kunst Haus Wien and Belvedere Palace. Both were important destinations for me because of my love for Friedensreich Hundertwasser und Gustav Klimt, whose works were displayed in the two locations respectively. Kunst Haus Wien had an incredible amount of work by Hundertwasser and a unique layout and floor plan that made the experience even more interesting. Most notably was the unevenness of the floor. Hundertwasser wrote that:

 “An uneven and animated floor is the recovery of man’s mental equilibrium, of the dignity of man which has been violated in our levelling [sic], unnatural and hostile urban grid system. The uneven floor becomes a symphony, a melody for the feet and brings back natural vibrations to man. Architecture should elevate and not subdue man. It is good to walk on uneven floors and regain our human balance.”       Hundertwasser, April, 1991

The second place I visited was Belvedere Palace. Belvedere Palace was a great experience for two reasons: the location was incredibly interesting and rich with history and the palace also housed several of my favorite paintings. After spending a considerable amount of time wandering the palace admiring the works of art from different eras, I ended in the Gustav Klimt room. I have been a fan of Klimt’s for some time, especially of his most famous work The Kiss (Lovers). Never before was I unable to look away from a painting for so long. Klimt managed to capture an amazing moment of intimacy in the painting, which elicited a response in me I haven’t experienced with a painting before. Overall, it was an extremely rewarding experience.

Shuwei:

Touring Stephansdom

Our trip to Vienna was amazing! We’ve been to many great places, including Stephansdom, Schönbrunn, Mozarthaus, National Bibliothek, etc. What interested me most is the music culture and history in Vienna. Before going, my impressions about Vienna were all about music. It is the city where many masters of classic music had worked – Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn… We visited Mozarthaus in which Mozart lived for three years, and two of his most famous musical operas, “Don Giovanni” and “The Marriage of Figaro” were written during this time. The museum displayed many original musical scores, documents and also furnitures about Mozart, trying to show Mozart’s personal life and musical compositions in Vienna. Although some details are vague today, I can still imagine how Mozart was enjoying his time in this house. There’s also many documents showing Mozart’s close friendships with other musical masters in Vienna. Reading through these documents, it’s not hard to imagine the prosperity of music in Vienna during that time. After visiting Mozarthaus, we went to the Theater an der Wien for his opera “Don Giovanni”. This is probably the best live opera I’ve ever seen. The music, the singers, the setting of the theater and even the audiences were gorgeous. No seats were empty, and thinking of the other two nights when we had concert and drama, the houses were also full. It surprised me how Vienna people enjoy going to concerts and theaters. Through these music activities and experiences, I felt really close to this city and learned more about its culture and history.

Joan Smedinghoff ’15

“I painted over the wall of shame so freedom is ashamed no more. Inferno ruled too many years, until the people chose the light. I put my faith in you, Berlin, and give to you my colors bright.”       – Fulvio Pinna

On our second day in Berlin we went to the East Side Gallery, which is a section of the Berlin wall that was left up and artists have painted murals on it’s eastern side. It’s spectacular and stretches on for a few blocks. There were many different kinds of murals — some with beautiful scenes, some with messages of peace and togetherness, and some about Germany’s past or future. They were so intriguing that I found myself stopping and taking pictures at almost every mural.

One of the things I found myself thinking a lot about was the difference between pictures take from the western and eastern sides of the wall. In pictures from West Berlin, the wall is covered top to bottom in graffiti. In East Berlin, though, people were not allowed to come near the wall, so it stayed barren. In West Berlin people graffitied everything from their initials to anti-communist slogans, but the people of East Berlin did not have that outlet to express their frustrations because it, like so much else, was cut off from them.

After reunification, the East Side Gallery finally became a place for people to paint their images of protest and peace. The Berlin Wall represents a difficult time of separation in German history, and those two very different pictures of the graffitied and barren sides of the wall represent the the free speech that was lost in East Germany. However, I think that the East Side Gallery now stands as a representation of that free speech being given back to the people of eastern Germany.