Adventures in Europe, Part III

Now I find myself doing what I promised myself (and all of you?) I’d never do. I put off writing a post, and now so much has happened that I’m about to inundate you all with a mini-dissertation, and I’m also going to provide you with links to about 330 pictures. My apologies.

-Update- Photos are now on the “Pictures” page. The link is on the right. The page is password protected.

Berlin:

Day 1: My first impression of the city was less than positive. Our hotel was in East Berlin. I later discovered that the East is the place to be in Berlin; however, all I saw was old Soviet architecture and graffiti EVERYWHERE! Perhaps it’s the Californian in me that I see graffiti, and I think gangs; and I see older, uniform, industrial looking residences, and my mind conjures up the projects. The years haven’t necessarily been kind to East Berlin, but that led to the other thing I initially didn’t like about the area I was staying in: it seemed as though every other building either needed to be demolished, was being prepared for demolition, or was under construction (presumably because the old building had recently been demolished.) Construction is not very aesthetically pleasing, but don’t you go to an old European capital to be awed by its beauty?

Then I met up with my friend Vera, a German grad student who was in my French classes in Grenoble last semester, and her boyfriend. I learned to find the evidence of renewal in East Berlin and to appreciate it. They also taught me that the grafiti problem in Berlin is more an issue of angsty teenagers having more money than they knew what to do with and deciding spray paint was a worthy investment. They also took me to this delicious Indian restaurant where I got a huge plate of aloo gobi, rice, and a salad for 3.60 euros! As a comparison, the same meal at cheap take-out Indian place right by the IES Center in Freiburg is 5.70. Talking to the locals (especially an old friend) will definitely take you a long way towards understanding something you don’t necessarily appreciate in the beginning.

Day 2: Wednesday was a long, albeit fascinating day. It began with a trip to the Reichstag (Capitol) to meet with a member of the Bundestag (Parliament- he will be referred to from here on as the “MP,” or Member of Parliament). The day prior, I had seen a picture of the Reichstag after it had been bombed in World War II. The building was still somewhat standing, but it’s large dome had been destroyed. After the war, it was restored- using the original stones (by now covered by American and Soviet graffiti) when possible. The dome, however, was rebuilt in glass. As we were checking in and taking pictures of all the graffiti, Angela Merkel (!!) walks in. She uses the same entrance as the tourists! She looked at our group, said “Morgen,” and walked past us. I missed it! Apparently only 3 or 4 people actually saw this take place, and I was sad to not be one of them. After a tour of the building (where we got to see Merkel delivering a speech to the Parliament), we were ushered into the meeting room of the Social Democrat Party. Our MP then told us we could ask him any question we wanted. He was delightfully frank with us. He told me to “Definitely keep the two-party system because building coalitions is a pain in the ass” when I asked about the benefits and consequences of multi-party systems. He told another person that “Missile defense is bullshit.” And another that “I don’t know what Merkel is saying right now, and I don’t particularly care either.” The last bit really surprised me considering that the Social Democrats are in a coalition with Merkel’s Christian Democrats. I figured that coalition parties should, you know, like each other? Apparently that’s not a requirement.

Afterward, we were given a couple hours to eat, and the group leaders encouraged us to go through the Holocaust Memorial since it was so close. Before reading, take a look at the picture so you can visualize what I’m saying. I promise, this won’t make sense without looking at the picture. So, the picture doesn’t make you think of the Holocaust? Me neither. But I walked in anyways. It seems fairly innocuous at first. The stones come up to your knees, then to your waist. Then the blocks get taller and taller, while the ground starts to stoop lower and lower. Eventually you’re in way over your head, and you don’t know which way is out. I suppose this somewhat mirrors what it might have felt like to wear a star, then move to a ghetto, then to a concentration camp, with everything always getting progressively worse. What really struck me, however, was the flippant attitude most people approached the monument with. You’d turn a corner and find a teenage couple making out. Around the next corner, young kids with soccer balls whiz past you. Tourists would picnic ON TOP OF the blocks. How could you do that, knowing what this is supposed to represent? Do you not understand? Not remember? Or is it so far removed from your own personal life that you just do not care? The attitude with which people approached the memorial seemed more indicative of the Holocaust than anything about the structure itself.

We then went to the foreign ministry to discuss the Lisbon Treaty and European integration. I was not in a good mood. My feet were killing me. High heals + hours of walking + cobblestones suck. I didn’t think I had a choice though; my suit had been altered to fit me in heels, not in flats. Girls were miserable and grumbling before a young (and rather attractive) bureaucrat came in for our lecture. The difference between the speech patterns of an elected official and a bureaucrat are huge. A girl asked whether he thought Turkey could ever join the EU. He went on forever about the many laws and reforms Turkey needs before this is possible, then a task force would evaluate whether it had met the requirements. “So a very small amount of people would decide whether or not it can join?” More blah blah about the task force. Finally I decide to make him cut to the chase. “I understand that Turkey would need to pass a number of reforms to join. But every EU state would need to sign an accession treaty, and at least two states would require a referendum on this treaty. Is it likely that every country would sign that treaty?” THEN he gave us an actual answer: “In 5 years, no. In 10 years, doubtful. But who knows what the circumstances will be in 20 years?” I was very grateful for my debate experience- I was able to ask the question in a way that even he couldn’t dodge it! He also made me angry by saying that Ireland didn’t really need a referendum legally, it’s more of a tradition than anything else. Hmmph. If you don’t think a Supreme Court decision is legally binding, you probably shouldn’t be in government. Hmmph.

Back to the hotel to change out of those $#@% shoes. Out to find the Jewish Museum, but we got lost and instead ate a traditional German place with a really kranky waitress, then got cocktails at a Mexican restaurant and sent obnoxious text messages about having “sex in Berlin.” (A really fruity, yummy cocktail.)

Day 3: We went to the German Bundeswahr and listened to really interesting lectures about Germany’s view of a common European security policy and on Germany’s role in Afghanistan. One thing I found especially interesting is that when German soldiers are deployed, the army officials need to seek a new mandate from the Bundestag every year. The official told us that he thinks it’s a good policy, except he’s writing the report to distribute to the MPs now in support of the mandate, so he currently thinks it’s a “pain in the ass.”

Then a visit to Checkpoint Charlie. Nothing terribly groundbreaking, so just see my pictures (which I will eventually caption…)

Then we caught our flight to Estonia. I didn’t much care for not having assigned seats, but Easy Jet isn’t a bad way to go on a short flight.

When I arrived, they didn’t stamp my passport. That was the stamp I wanted most! Hmmph.

Day 4: I love Estonia. I got to walk around early because our tram to the local university was not working. This city is so interesting. You’ll walk through a super modern section that could just as easily be in LA, then a section that looks like the Soviets are still in control, then the Old Town that’s been around since the Middle Ages.

Our first lecture came from a university professor who told us a bit about domestic politics. Their government is heavily dominated by the center-right and libertarians, which makes for an interesting and much-studied tax structure. However, something is off. Since joining the EU, their prices have risen to EU levels (so much for cheap shopping), but wages are still 1/3 of the EU average. Trickle-down is not serving them so well.

Then we received our task for “Tallinn as Text,” an oddly-named discovery activity IES has us do in new places. My group’s job was to go explore the park that Peter the Great of Russia built, see his old summer palace, and find out what the new palace is used for. The park was gorgeous (see the pictures), the old summer palace was pink, and then we came to the new palace. We had no idea what it was, but our job was to find out its current use. So two girls go up to the armed guards, who bang their rifles on the ground and yell something in Estonian. Then my friend looks up and sees a sign that says “Presidential Palace.” We were at the Estonian version of the White House. Ooops! Did I mention this presidential palace is PINK?

Then we went to the Baltic! I touched it! Then the Old Town, where you have one beautiful church after another. It’s very quaint and beautiful.

Day 5: More in the Old Town. I think you need to see the pictures because I’m tired of writing, I’m generally tired, and I worry of boring you.