Kassel – a visit with the Brothers Grimm
Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm were collectors of folk tales, but also linguists, cultural researchers and politicians. The museum in Kassel presents their work in multimedia and interactive exhibits.
This museum is located at the site of the former offices of the Gestapo and the SS. The building is as sparse and minimalist as possible. Everything about it screams “THIS IS NOT A MONUMENT”. The grounds themselves are surrounded by a field of jagged stone, as if the earth here has been scorched and salted so nothing will ever grow again. I did not take any photos inside, although they were allowed. It didn’t feel like anything I wanted photographs of. Mostly black and white photos and text, the museum traces the history or the Gestapo and the SS, and by extension the Nazi regime. I found this museum interesting because the symbolism of the place seemed to summarize the attitude the German people have toward the Holocaust and the war. I did not realize how romanticized it was in the States until I came here. We have turned it into a nightmarish fairy tale and the Nazis have become faceless drones that can be killed in video games or film without any remorse. The German people live with the reality of their past every single day. It surrounds them, and is glaring in its confrontation. Rather than feeling guilty or complaining about how they shouldn’t be forced to deal with the deeds of their ancestors (as we so often hear in America), the Germans have taken these reminders as an inspiration to try and be better, to refuse to regress. I found it interesting that during my visit everyone back home kept asking me about the refugees with fear and horror and everyone in Germany asked me about Trump in the same way.
America about Germany: “Why didn’t the Germans stand up to Hitler? They are all guilty because they didn’t make a stand! If everyone had resisted, he wouldn’t have gained power”
America about America: “These people shouldn’t protest Trump, they are just giving him what he wants.”
Germany about America: “Seriously? SERIOUSLY?? *turns to Russia* Were they not watching before??”
Russia: *shrugs* “Don’t look at us. We’ve got Putin now.”
The Altes Museum was built in the early 19th century to contain the Prussian royal family’s collection of art. As lovely as it looks in photos, in real life it is stunning. My traveling companion and I toured the museum for hours, studying the Ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan works. At 6pm the bells of the Berlin Cathedral began to ring the call to Vespers, so we ran outside to listen. Once out there, we saw a Syrian wedding party arrive in the Lustgarten out front. They danced and played music while the crowds gathered around and clapped. Later in the trip, I discovered that this exact location was used by the Nazi’s for rallies during WWII. In the image below, I would have been standing about where Hitler is standing as I filmed the New Berlin being celebrated.
Kundgebung zum 1. Mai 1936 am alten Museum im Lustgarten. Attribution: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-P022065 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Week 4 was officially when I started to spread my wings. I also started drinking, which I don’t normally do but I found actually quite fun in Berlin. The laws here are extremely loose and it is basically treated the same as any other beverage as far as consumption goes. You can drink on the street, purchase alcohol 24/7, and aside from drinking and driving laws you are basically treated like an adult who can make their own life decisions. What a novel concept. Surprisingly, the only time I really saw people drunk in public, they were usually American tourists… embarrassingly enough myself included.
I should go out to Mauerpark today, I really really should. But my feet are killing me and my body is aching. I can’t even find the energy to take a shower right now. Guess I will stay home and try to get some work done here. In other news, when we were sitting in the bar yesterday with Ben, we heard a German version of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, but I could tell the lyrics weren’t the same. I finally found it, and it was recorded in 1972 about a guy who dies of a drug overdose. Because Germany.
***
Emailed German Customs about how to get my new laptop here. The response was nightmarish maze of paperwork and forms and different departments and offices I need to deal with. It prompted me to compose a song to the tune of “Brazil” that included lyrics like “It’s like a Kafka Christmas treeeeeee…. and all the presents aren’t for meeeee…Bur-a-cra-cy… in Ger-man-y…”
Seriously, this is some crazy ass red tape.
Personal Journal: Berlin Diary – Day 20
Why is Der Kommissar in town? Is there a convention? The Boat Show? And why can’t I turn around? Is he behind me!? Should I be afraid? I mean, if he’s just come into town I can safely assume he’s out his jurisdiction, so he can’t arrest me. Is he a ghost!? He’s a ghost, isn’t he! Jeez, man, what kind of messed up boat show has cop ghosts that follow you around? That’s some really over the top security. You know what? I’m skipping this years boat show out of protest. I’m glad that’s settled.
Personal Journal: Strange Dreams
So we went out and had the most awesome and perfect day in Berlin today. Beer and radlers in Viktoriapark, doener at Mustafa’s in Kreuzberg, wandering in a gorgeous old cemetery, buying liqueurs at a small distillery (after liberal sampling of their wares first), a crazy and eccentric book shop run by a British ex-pat who was a total character, pulled pork and sauerkraut at Markthalle IX, gelato for dessert, then off to a totally amazing little bar that was playing incredible music from the 80s for legit absinthe, then stopping for more beer at Gorki Park across the street. Come home and Prince is dead. Well, shit.
This day was totally mental, but in a good way. Went to Museumsinsel, saw some sort of Armenian ceremony thing that we couldn’t actually see but there was singing at St. Hedwig’s. Then went to the Altes Museum (Old Museum) and saw all the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan statues. As we were leaving, the church bells started to ring at the Berlin Cathedral (which is right next to the museum). Then, just as that finished, a large group of Syrians showed up in the Lustgarten to celebrate a wedding with music, dancing and singing. We walked to Alexanderplatz to catch the U-Bahn, and saw a guy with a giraffe head playing the buckets while a bunch of football fans danced and sang “We’re Not Gonna Take It” in German.
And to think, we didn’t even get out the door until after noon today…
Video: Syrian Wedding Party in the Lustgarten, Berlin
Video: Giraffe-Headed Bucket Player in Alexanderplatz
Video: St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, Berlin
Gallery: Altes Museum (Old Museum)
Days like today, where I just stay at home and work on my research, try to plan next year’s class schedule, and make borscht are the days where the homesickness really hurts. Nothing to distract me, I guess.
Berliner Weisse is the shit. 2 Berliner Weisse is even besser.
Signed,
The Girl Who Should Never DrinkAnd now I move on to my first Radler (50/50 beer and lemonade). Jesus Cristos these people know what to do with a beer. And no, this isn’t a daytime drunk, it’s 9pm here
… why is it that the beer that sounded so awesome at 9pm feels so awful at 3am?
Elliott alerted me to a sign he saw advertising a fairy tale festival at a museum that is a recreation of a medieval German village. We decided to attend, and while it was very lovely and fun, it was raining quite hard and the actually storytelling was forced into tiny tents. Rather than elbow children out of the way for my own selfish interests, I opted to wander the grounds and try to talk to the staff. Language proved to be a challenge, because contrary to popular belief not everyone in Germany speaks English, especially older people who grew up in the East before the reunification. However, I did manage to learn a bit about “Schlüsselblumen”, or “key flowers”, which is the flower we call Cowslips. She explained that it was part of the folklore of fairies, elves, and woodland spirits, although I am not certain how. It is also known as the more Christianized “Himmelsschlüsselblumen”, or “Keys of Heaven Flowers”. It was a lovely, if not rainy, afternoon.
