Berlin - St. Hedwig Church, Checkpoint Charlie, and La Traviata

On Sunday we met in the lobby of the Pfefferbet Hostel at 10am and took a train to Alexander-Platz. From there we hiked to the St. Hedwig church and attended a Catholic mass…in German! It felt pretty special because this was the day that it snowed in Berlin. As we walked outside we could see buildings, cars, bikes, and trees covered in a sheer layer of snow, changing the normally mundane objects of the city into the more seemingly fantastical items of a winter wonderland. As we trekked along the streets in our newfound winter, we could hear the bells from the church ringing in the distance. The church itself was dome shaped and inside there were seats on every side all facing toward the center. Off to our right there was a grand organ whose melodies reverberated beautifully throughout the room. There was also a quaint choir of singers whose lyrics I could not understand, but whose sound was quite lovely.

Later that day Lyndi and I stopped at Balzac coffee and picked up some drinks and snacks before heading over to Checkpoint Charlie. Across the street from the museum there was a free outdoor informational exhibit about the Berlin wall which featured some of the stories of those who had both successfully and unsuccessfully made it to West Germany to escape the communist oppression of East Germany. There were stories of people who had used fake passports and military uniforms, hidden themselves in secret compartments of vehicles, attempted to dig tunnels, and others who had simply climbed the wall and snuck across the border at hours when no security was watching. What really astonished me was that lots of these stories were from the 1970s, the same years that my own parents were in middle school, which made me realize that these events had not happened all that long ago. The museum had some of the actual vehicles that had been used in escape attempts as well as some makeshift scuba gear. There was also tons of information on different nationalities and how they were each affected by Nazi Germany. One of the coolest parts of the museum was a book of information on the fates of people who had been separated from their families. It was incomplete, so there were forms asking for your help in documenting what you might know of family and friends who had been lost.

That night we went to see the opera “La Traviata” at the Deutsche Oper. This was the first professional opera that I had ever seen and all I can say is WOW! What an amazing production! First, the singing was phenomenal by all the cast members, but I was especially impressed by the final dramatic aria sung by the main soprano! The way she hit those high notes and the intense feeling with which she sang was incredible. Other highlights were the gorgeous costumes, detailed set pieces, and of course the amazing orchestra! Overall it was a great production and a nice ending to our day.