A Trip to Berlin

By Will Fisher, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The travel options during a year abroad in Europe are practically unlimited. The density and variety of cultures just outside your door practically beg to be explored, and no exchange would be compete without at least a little extra travelling. Over January, me and some of the friends I’ve made in Amsterdam were lucky enough to get a chance to visit Berlin.

Our first day took us to the annual Rosa Luxemburg Conference, the nominal reason for our visit. Hosted over the course of a day, the conference brings together activists and organisers from around Europe, discussing world events and future plans. It was a fascinating and inspiring day, particularly for somebody with an interest in journalism like myself.

Admittedly, having got a solid half-hour sleep on the previous night’s journey, I did feel myself fading a little towards the end of the day. Nonetheless, it was a valuable experience, and one I recommend that future exchange students keep an eye out for next time around.

The next few days were much more typical tourist fare, something I feel embarrassingly at home with. We walked the entire stretch of East Berlin through to the West, stopping to see the East Side Gallery, a long stretch of the Berlin Wall left to stand as a series of murals.

The feeling of history in the city was magnified by walking through the city’s centre, seeing the Holocaust memorial, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Berlin Cathedral, all within easy walking distance of each other. Every city is rich in history, stories and ghosts, but Berlin seemed tangibly tinted by its past in a way that no other city seems to carry as distinctly.

Of course, this is demonstrated most directly of all by the differences between East and West Berlin. It’s not just visual differences – the more Soviet influence in the East contrasting with the cosmopolitan West – but in the spirit of the regions themselves. The East felt noticeably grittier, more artistic, while the West was a little more ordered and commercial. Walking between the two, past all the dramatic remnants of Berlin’s troubled history, brings the city alive around you.

I spent a grand total of four days in Berlin. I left knowing that I hadn’t even come close to scratching the surface of the city. Every bar seemed to invite a stay, every gallery demanded a visit, every conversation pulled me closer towards a culture I had no hope of getting a picture of in my brief time there. I would strongly recommend visiting (stay in the Sunflower Hostel!), but be warned – it won’t be the only time you go.