Berlin, Germany
52°31'12'' N, 13°24'17'' E
“Nobody had forgotten anything here. In Berlin, you had to wrestle with the past, you had to build on the ruins, inside them. It wasn't like America where we scraped the earth clean, thinking we could start again every time.”
― Janet Fitch, White Oleander
We arrived in Berlin in the cover of darkness which we would soon discover as the perpetual state of this city located closer to the North Pole than the Equator. To get to Berlin from Charleston, South Carolina took us 36 hours and truly only cost us time. We booked a flight with Condor Airlines from JFK in New York City to Frankfurt, Germany for $150. The old adage time or money is always true. We spent 8 hours at the JFK airport due to a delay that we later learned involved the police. We were then shuttled down several flights of stairs to a bus that dropped us off outside of an Airbus 330 on a blustery New York evening. We waited on the tarmac to board the plane by a giant staircase dangerously close to the engines. We were assigned seats in row 51 at the gate and not one seat map of an Airbus 330 includes a row 51, so we held our breath for what was to come. We made it. Very late. The Deutsche Bahn agent at the Frankfurt Airport met our weary smiles with the greatest gift: free reassignment on the next train to Berlin.
Berlin is a beautiful and brutal city. You are reminded of the history of terror and evil of the Nazi regime at every turn. The trains today run on the same tracks where millions of Jews were loaded into cattle cars and sent to be murdered. The sidewalks are littered with Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) commemorating the Jews who were taken from the addresses that still remain. We were fortunate to find a lovely flat to rent from a truly wonderful family in the Schmargendorf neighborhood. Near to the forest and close to many bus and train options into the city. A huge shout out to the Berlin Scholars group for being a life line to the incredible people of Berlin. It was truly wonderful to be greeted with the lowest food prices we have experienced so far and a quality that has been unmatched. We spent time with a dear old friend Ben who invited us to see many incredible films including Lukas Dhont’s “Close” which Krystal was able to understand even though the film was in French with German subtitles. Our days were filled with museums and movies, walks on the old cobblestone streets and explorations of the land where elements of unforgettable history leave indelible marks on hearts, minds, and the Earth. Visits included: The House of the Wannsee Conference, Topography of Terror, the gravel parking lot that stands above where Hitler committed suicide, Under der Linden, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and the Museum at the Kulturbrauerei to warm up and learn more about life in the German Democratic Republic.
Memorials to Murdered Jews:
We also had the blessing of quite a bit of down time and fun. We visited many Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Markets), drank tons of Glühwein, and ate many incredible things cooked over fires in small huts. One of our Saturday adventures included a local vegetable market where Krystal had the absolute best flat bread sandwich. Unfortunately, a few days later that proved to be a deadly choice. Krystal survived a run in with an E. Coli infection and we recommend walking away if anyone is ever preparing your food and touching their phone at the same time. Seven days of couch time meant TONS of campy holiday movies and the opportunity to rest and reset on many levels. It also meant we missed our adventure to Hamburg (always buy the refundable tickets) and we missed many days of grand adventures. We will just have to return.
Christmas Markets!
Cake:
In the midst of all of the adventuring Krystal is also enraptured with the search for her great grandmother’s story. A call in the evening from her Great Aunt Janet revealed a key piece to the puzzle. Krystal’s Great Grandmother, Angeline Distefano, was born Emma Gioia in Santa Flavia, Sicily and was taken to the United States in 1919 by Giovanna Mercurio, a woman who presumably adopted Emma and raised her in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The key of her birth name unlocked the ship manifest documenting her arrival at Elis Island. The Milwaukee Historical Society has searched high and low for a Declaration of Intent or Naturalization record for Emma or her adoptive father with no records being found. Stay tuned to see if Jure Sanguinis (Italian Citizenship By Descent) is in our future.
