(Thursday, Sept. 10, Berlin) Today we were tourists for only a short while before becoming “locals” for the rest of the day. After breakfast, we walked a little less than ten minutes to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. This 19th century church was blown to bits during World War II. Berliners chose to leave it in a largely ruined state, with its once large round stained glass window blow away, to serve as a reminder of the cost and folly of war. A new “cinder block” church was built just yards away. Inside, a striking, almost Chagall-like crucifixion hangs over the altar, with Christ arms spread wide as though he was flying up to heaven.
In a show of bad taste, the Berliners allow food and souvenir vendors to set u p stands in the small platz between the two churches. The dried fruit vendor was doing big business when he wasn’t busy using a long vacuum hose to suck up Yellow Jackets swarming around the fruit.
Our next stop was the huge Kaufhaus des Westens (better known here as “KaDeWe”) department store a few blocks from the church. Rick Steves says that its six floors (the seventh and top floor is taken up by the sky lit Wintergarten restaurant with views to the busy shopping boulevard below) offers 380,000 different items for sale. We enjoyed a stir-fry Chinese lunch while watching the street scene below, and then went shopping.
First, we checked out the sixth floor which is one giant food mart offering fresh seafood and produce, Godiva chocolates, exquisite cakes and pastries, wine (its California selections were poor), cheeses in a case stretching beyond the horizon, and jars of condiments (including products from Dean & DeLuca). Like a 750 ml bottle of Johnnie Walker “Blue Label” scotch? Just pony up 2,800 Euros (around $4,000 USD, give or take a few hundred bucks). Berliners were having lunch at counters scattered throughout the food emporium. All of the merchandise in the store is top-quality. Cindy bought a scarf and also a washcloth (European hotels usually don’t put that item of bath linen in guest rooms).
We weren’t quite dropping when we finished shopping, so we joined families of Berliners at the nearby zoo. The place is a little rundown, but it has the standard exotic animals like vicunas, hippos, chimpanzees and orangutans that you’d find in most U.S. zoos. But these animals are clearly not happy in their new homes. One polar bear, apparently gone made from long incarceration, took two steps forward, and two back,then two forward, and two back, bobbing his head from side to side.
Tonight we’ll dine at Restaurant Marjellchen which specializes in East Prussian cuisine. Rick Steves says to be sure to sample the Konigsberg meatballs. Tomorrow we’ll spend one last day sightseeing in Berlin, and then pack our bags for Saturday’s long train ride to Munich.
