July 23rd - Visiting Berlin

Today is an important day for it is the day that I returned to my senses.

Made possible by a good night's sleep that I had the night before, me and the others set out to explore Berlin with the rare luxury of eyes that are not blood-shot. The various monuments, sights and general street life of Berlin is really impressive.

The Brandenburg Gate was really amazing and it had the same effect on me as seeeing the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Speaking of which, both times I was really surprised of their size; they're both incredibly big structures, clearly postcards and pictures don't do them justice.

The second sight I visited was the huge Reichstag parliamentary building. I wont attempt to shed any light on its history for the simple reason that I'm completely oblivious to it. But what I can say is that I plan on learning more about it. That and that it's huge, square/rectangularly shaped with a huge dome on the top and an overall intimidating presence.

The fact that I was intimidated by a building is a perfect example of how Berlin's taboo history (Hitler, WWII, etc.) still continues to influence its people. It's no doubt that monuments and buildings from that period such as the two I've mentioned do nothing to help Berliners forget their dark history. But whether or not people should try and forget it is a controvertial matter in itself. Personally, I believe that it is crucial that we, as a planet, share the responsibility of never becoming ignorant towards the terrible crimes of the Holocaust. All countrys, in a sense, are partially to blame for not having attempted to intervene before military intervention was necessary. It pisses me off the think that the entire nightmare of the holocaust could have been prevented, yet we did nothing while we had the chance.

The scares are deepest in Berlin, I would think.
When I stop to think about it, the history of Berlin is indeed a very dark one.

This seems as good a time as any to speak a little about the Berlin wall.

I saw many different segments, each very well preserved, seemingly intact, scattered throughout Berlin.

Most of them were covered in graffiti. And messages and slogans were scribbled all over every square inch of some of the more drawn-on ones.

It was crazy, seeing and touching the Berlin wall. It's a subject I've heard about all my life but never actually seen or understood.

It scares me to think that the exact same thing that happend in Berlin all those years ago is happ ening as we speak with the Israel - Palesting wall. I guess we never do learn from our mistakes. Ignorance and oppression do not make a conflict dissapear, they strengthen it. And building walls is just one giant catalyst for more anger, more resentment and ultimately more violence. But that's a whole other story.

Speaking of which, I may have to cut this one a little short. I'll be sure to update it later. I have a train to catch early tommorow and guess where it's going.

Your damn right....

Amsterdam.