CITY
OF TEMPTATION
BERLIN
by Rich Rubin
Some cities are all about sightseeing,
rushing from museum to museum, monument to monument. Some,
on the other hand, are about life. Berlin falls into the
latter category. Not that there aren’t sights and
museums, for there are plenty in this dynamic and ever-changing
metropolis. Ultimately, though, what you’ll love
about Berlin is the capacity of its residents for indulgence.
Berliners are all about the good life: shopping, eating
out, going to a concert, play, or ballet. Strolling down
Unter den Linden, from the grand Brandenburg Gate, toward
the Opera House and Museum Island, I notice a sign: “Good
girls go to heaven. Bad girls go to Berlin.” That
sums up for me the way Berlin sees itself—as the
perpetually tempting city of indulgence.
Open Siegessäule, the “queer
Berlin” magazine, and you’ll see under “Bars
and Cafes” 129 listings. Add in 40 or so regular
or occasional parties, and you can see what an overwhelming
task it is to explore the nightlife scene in Berlin.
Gay life here isn’t all about bars and clubs, though.
How many European capitals have an openly gay mayor?
A monument to gay/lesbian victims of the Holocaust?
A gay museum? The GLBT presence here is so strong, so
integrated into the fabric of the city, that Berlin
has become Europe’s new gay mecca. You’d be
hard-pressed to find an area of Berlin (and I’m
speaking not just geographically) that doesn’t
have a significant gay presence. The city’s gay
population is thought to number over 300,000. There’s
even an imbiss, or fast-food stand, with a rainbow flag
on it; where but in Berlin would you have a proudly
gay-owned kiosk selling French fries and currywurst?
As we prepare to explore the city, let’s
first orient ourselves to Berlin’s many neighborhoods.
With distinctive personalities and atmospheres, the
city’s different areas make a trip here like a
visit to many worlds in one. Twenty years after the
fall of the Wall, what was formerly East or West hardly
makes a difference, though it’s a convenient starting
point.
You’re likely to spend a lot of
time in the Mitte, the center of Berlin’s
arts and culture and a former East Berlin nabe. (We’ll
orient ourselves from this section in the city’s
center as mitte means “middle.” To the north
of Mitte lies Prenzlauer Berg, a once-alternative
and now increasingly upscale neighborhood full of bars,
restaurants, and shady plazas. To the south of Mitte
you’ll find Kreuzberg, home to much of the city’s
Turkish population and more than a few gay night spots.
To the west of Mitte is Schöneberg, which
is traditionally considered “gay central.”
When the Wall fell, the action moved
to the former East Berlin (not surprisingly) as rents
were cheap there, attracting artists and bohemian types.
Twenty years later, things are starting to even out,
and you’ll find some of the more voguish areas
springing up in the West as well. To add to the confusion,
east and west were always boundaries that were more
political than geographic. Parts of Kreuzberg, for instance
(which was in West Berlin) actually lie to the east
of the Mitte. Confused? Don’t be. It’s easier
than it sounds, and a truly spectacular network of subways,
buses, trams, and trains makes journeys within the city
easy.
So let’s check in. Berlin is well-known
as among the most affordable of European capitals (though
that’s starting to change), and a nice hotel room
here can be had for a fraction of the cost of a similar
spot in, say, Paris or London. Even the Adlon Kempinksi,
right in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate, with its
luxurious rooms, Michelin-starred restaurant, and roster
of mega-celebrities, can be booked without tremendously
serious damage to your wallet. I also love Lux 11, with
apartment-style, high-design lodgings in a perfect Mitte
locale (it’s a member of Design Hotels). Ackselhaus,
a newer entry in the design sweepstakes, is on lovely
Kollwitzplatz and features themed rooms from “Maritime”
to “Rome” to “Movie.” Alexander
Plaza’s simply-designed and comfortable rooms
are complemented by a super-friendly staff and great
position on a quiet street right off Alexanderplatz,
making it a winner for convenience and low-key comfort.
One of the latest exciting developments: the “hetero-friendly
gay hotel” Axel, which many know well from Barcelona,
has opened a spot in Berlin. Located in the middle of
Schöneberg, it has the modern look and a friendly,
helpful staff. If you need a break from the bustle of
the city, check in at Schloss Cecilienhof, the
last royal palace built in Germany and now a lovely
hotel located in Potsdam (just 45 minutes from Berlin).
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Once you’ve checked in, don’t
linger, for there’s far too much to see in Berlin.
You might start at the Museumsinsel, the island
in the Spree River that holds an enviable selection of
museums. I could spend all day (and I actually have) in
the Pergamon. Its collection of archaeological
wonders is unrivalled, lit in soft, filtered natural light
and labeled with (mostly) bilingual signage. You’ll
see Roman mosaic floors, ancient pottery, bronze and alabaster
statuettes, glass vases, gold, silver, and bronze jewelry.
The true showpieces are the room-sized displays: the amazing
Ishtar Gate, with its deep blue tiles bordered in gold
and green and a series of prancing animals, and the Pergamon
altar, painstakingly re-constructed from the many fragments
found in this ancient Greek city. It’s far from the
only museum on the island, though, and you’ll want
to take in everything from the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian
collections of the Altes Museum to the classical
and Byzantine art, and coin collection of the Bode Museum.
Meanwhile, the Bauhaus Archive
pays tribute to this influential design movement that
began in Germany ninety years ago. It features models
and photos of Bauhaus-influenced buildings and a wonderful
collection of design objects from starkly functional
chess sets and a 1922 brass candelabrum to a series
of alternating shelves designed by Walter Gropius (the
father of Bauhaus), and a Mies van der Rohe chair of
tubular steel and wicker. You’ll also want to check
out the Museum at Checkpoint Charlie, at the point where
one passed (if permitted) between East and West Berlin.
In this twentieth anniversary year of the Berlin Wall’s
fall, there’s a special poignancy to the stories
contained in the museum, which you can take in before
experiencing the many other displays and tours around
town devoted to the anniversary.
Berlin also has the only Gay Museum
I know about, and it’s a fascinating collection
of the often-troubled GLBT life in this country. Historical
panels teach us that homosexuality was punished by death
in this area until 1740. We learn about Karl Heinrich
Ulrichs, who coined the term “Uranian” and
wrote tracts on homosexuality in the 1860s. We read
about the first gay organization founded by publisher
Max Spohr and GLBT history giant Magnus Hirschfeld.
We see Berlin’s eminence as “queer capital”
of Europe in the 1920s, the crushing effects of the
Nazis, the reawakening of the movement and gay subculture
in the 1950s, and the eventual abolition (in 1968) of
Paragraph 175, which had outlawed homosexuality. It’s
an interesting and educational glimpse into the waxing
and waning of GLBT culture in Berlin.
Also in the Kreuzberg area is the stunning
Jewish Museum, which is housed in a spectacular
Daniel Libeskind-designed building. The museum tells
the story of Jews in Germany and worldwide with an inventive
and striking series of exhibits, including holographic
displays about Jewish life. From the famous philosopher
Moses Mendelssohn, grandfather of the composer and a
great scholar in his own right, to the great 18th-century
salons for artistes hosted by Henriette Herz, the Mendelssohns,
and others, it’s a comprehensive display of Jewish
life. As I read the long timeline of indignities (philosopher
Immanuel Kant’s 1798 declaration that Jews are
“vampires of society,” composer Richard Wagner’s
1850 statement decrying the “Jew-ification of modern
art,” 1882’s first International Anti-Jewish
Congress in Dresden, twentieth century movements by
student fraternities to ban Jews), I’m amazed at
the boldness in presenting so brilliantly this sobering
history.
Berlin is not a city to shy away from
its unsavory past, and as I walk down the street from
the famous Brandenburg gate I encounter a field of stelae
that comprises the block-long Holocaust Memorial.
Set unflinchingly right at the heart of the city, it’s
an almost unbearably moving monument: narrow walkways
rise and fall among the stones, with room enough for
only one to walk (it was designed that way to make you
contemplate the horrors in solitude). It’s amazing
that the city used an entire city block for this stunning
monument, which achieves its power by removing you from
the modern world around you, surrounding you with starkness,
and making you think.
Just across the street, at the entrance
to Tiergarten Park, you’ll see a slightly
off-kilter cube set by the side of the path. Read the
sign, which proclaims that this newest of memorials
(inaugurated in 2008) honors the GLBT victims of the
Nazis and stands as “a lasting symbol of opposition
to enmity, intolerance, and the exclusion of gay men
and lesbians.” Look through the window cut in the
cube’s side. A video shows two beautiful young
men standing in front of a tree-filled background that
could be the very spot where you’re standing. The
blond one whispers in the darker one’s ear. They
smile. They kiss, lightly at first and then deeply,
romantically, passionately. As I watch this beautiful
video, I remain fixed in place as if I too have become
the stone from which these two stirring monuments are
carved.
Continued
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