How RIAS Fellowship Changed My Life

Self-proclaimed “Best Selfie” of the October 2014 fellows, taken during the last night of the trip, in Bruge, Belgium

Oranienberg is the last stop.

That was echoing in my head as I sat by the window of S1-Bahn train, watching suburban houses and buildings awash with stark graffiti. Three days after our RIAS fellowship ended in Belgium, I found myself heading for the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, an hour north of Berlin. It was overcast late Tuesday afternoon.

Squinting at the small map above my head, I had about 10 more stops before the end of the line. German transit is on the honor system, but the trip was long enough that a random ticket inspection might occur at some point.

This could be a test, I thought, of whether the system actually works. I was up for the challenge because I knew I had a validated ticket in my pocket. But the train passed all the stops and finally reached Oranienberg, and I felt oddly disappointed that no inspection had happened along the way.

My RIAS fellowship has made me learn the ropes of a country I barely knew before I embarked on a two-week journey with 11 other U.S. journalists. Many times during the trip, I was fascinated and puzzled at how an honor system works in a highly developed country, a home to more than 80 million people. I could not help but wonder whether it is something that the U.S. transit system could adapt for major American cities. Truth be told, I wish I would not have to swipe my Metrocard and dash through a turnstile every time I catch a train at home in New York City.

With Tom Brokaw, the first American journalist who reported on the fall of the Berlin Wall

On the first day of the program, I was astonished at the developments in Berlin. Gone were the war-ravaged buildings and desolate spaces that I had imagined still existed. The wide boulevards on the former East-West corner of Potsdamer Platz, with rows of establishments looming on both sides, are now teeming with activity. There are modern shopping malls everywhere, and almost everyone speaks fluent English and seems welcoming to foreigners, from the young ones walking in groups on the streets to the bus driver who took me to Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

In Heilig-Geist-Kirche, a Catholic church located about six stops from downtown Berlin via U2-Bahn, I met with second-generation, German-born men and women of Chinese, Filipino and Thai descent who proudly identified themselves as Germans. But, allow me to generalize, why don’t I hear about any of this cultural and infrastructural transformation in the media? Why, despite all that Germany has undergone, do we seem to focus on the nation’s grim historical past and our negative impressions?

The beer-drinking behavior; uptight attitudes; all cars are Mercedes Benz, BMW and Volkswagen; the harsh tone of the German language — these are some flawed impressions that once stuck in my head. It occurred to me that I had a very limited view of Germany, obscured by stereotypes, personal biases, and ignorance. The fellowship corrected this.

The Berlin Holocaust Memorial

In the days after I came back to the United States, I dwelled on the vivid images of the people we met as memories of the trip ebbed and flowed in my mind. I told my family and friends that I can always go back to Germany and Belgium in the future, but I will never have the same opportunity to meet these people again — this was something that I would only experience once in my lifetime.

The RIAS fellowship was a full-fledged immersion in the current issues and developments in Germany. There is no better source of information, though everything was off-the-record during our meetings, than the high-ranking government officials with whom we talked and shook hands, including the ones from the European Union Commission and NATO. And I could not be more honored to have met journalists working for the biggest news networks in Berlin, Leipzig and Cologne, who provided us with a much more enlightened view of the German media landscape.

As a transplanted immigrant from the Philippines, I knew that it might not be easy to adapt when you look and speak differently from most people around you. So, I was truly inspired to meet German painter Kani Alavi of the East Side Gallery, a 1.3-kilometer section of the Berlin Wall covered with murals — the largest open-air gallery in the world. Alavi, who emigrated from Iran, saw the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 from his former apartment, and since then has devoted his life to the preservation of what remains. Spending an hour with him at his apartment and art studio was an utmost pleasure; I easily fell in love with German arts and culture, so rich and vibrant.

I will be forever grateful to our RIAS hosts — Rainer Hasters, Isabell Hoffman, Lisa Ziss — and Jon Ebinger at RTDNA for taking care of everything for us, from our train tickets, lunches and dinners to bus and taxi fares. They treated us with exceptional kindness, consideration, generosity and respect, and I almost felt like a spoiled child when I was on my own during my extended trip. The day I crossed the German border into Szczecin, a port city on the western edge of Poland, I scrambled because I didn’t have my RIAS support with me. My solo experience was completely different without them, so I only stayed for an hour at the Szczecin station and, literally, I turned around.

For 14 years that I have worked in journalism, I can say that the RIAS fellowship is the most memorable journalism program I have participated in. It was an opportunity to forget productivity for a bit, and to be away from the daily routine in the newsroom, and to still spend time with fellow journalists who were eager to learn from one another and explore new things in places that most of us had never been before.

With Peter Kloeppel, RTL Television

 

Participating in the RIAS fellowship was like reading a book, only that I was included in the story. I arrived in Germany not knowing any of the other characters and feeling uneasy about what awaited me, and how everything would unfold in the next two weeks. And when it finally did unfold, that book was hard to put down.

 

Cologne, Germany

I now have indelible memories and new lifelong friendships. I am not embarrassed to admit that I drank my first beer in 15 years, and it tasted like cough syrup; put duck liver pâté, salami and currywurst cutlets all together in my sandwich, grossing out a RIAS host; had a “blind date” with a local television reporter, arranged by RIAS to help fellows get a better understanding of German media, and he took me to dinner in a majestic castle; laughed more than I can ever recall; and took at least 3,000 photographs, more than in all my past travels abroad combined.

I am very proud that, in the more than 20 years that the RIAS German/American exchange program has been around, I am officially part of it. I’m not sure how many other similar programs will be around in the years to come, but no one can take this privilege away from me.

After I returned from my Sachsenhausen trip that Tuesday afternoon, I pondered how difficult it must have been for this great country to free itself, tacitly promising that what occurred in World War II will never happen again. While I was packing my suitcase, pregnant with Belgian chocolates and German souvenirs, I found that my train ticket had already expired when I was on the train to Oranienberg.

Main entrance to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Oranienberg, Germany

The Reichstag Building, Berlin, Germany

I was nine years old when I first heard Nena’s famous song, “99 Red Balloons,” on the radio. Some lyrics are in German, and I could not understand them. But I remember it became one of my favorite songs. Later on, I saw Nena on television, saying that she and her guitarist friend wrote the song after Mick Jagger released thousands of balloons at the end of a Rolling Stones concert in Berlin. A strong wind blew them over the Berlin Wall.

Recently, I downloaded “99 Luftballons,” the original German version of the song, to my iPhone and quickly realized that my RIAS fellowship has given the song a more significant meaning each time I listen to it. The image of balloons may fade in my mind someday, but the memories of the trip will always be there.

This essay was written three weeks after the RIAS and RTDNA fellowship in October and November 2014.

A Closer Look at the European Union

All-men RIAS fellows in front of the European Building in Brussels, from left: Shawn Flynn, myself, Matt Hilburn, Kevin Beesley, Rainer Hasters, Michael Pope and Jim Rowbottom.

BRUSSELS, Oct. 16, 2014 — When a good friend called me on Thursday night from New York City, and I told her on the phone that our group was scheduled to visit the European Union the next day, she asked: “Why do you have to go to the EU?”

It occurred to me that many Americans view the European Union from the perspective of an outsider. Like myself, the EU in my mind can be a complete enigma or a work in progress.

Well, I have been reading things about the EU, especially before our European trip, but I will be quite honest that I still don’t have a firm grasp on how things work on the inside.

I told my friend that visiting the EU and having access to officials there, who will likely to share with us their insights on current issues in Europe, is an American journalist’s dream. Or, at least, I firmly pondered it is.

All-women RIAS fellows in front of the EU building, from left: Lisa Voyticki, Lisa Marie Ziss, Miranda Dotson, Kate Zickel, Sharon Raifer and Catherine Berger

On Thursday, before 9:00 a.m., we arrived at the main entrance of the European Commission building. All of us were in business attire: men in suits and women in skirt or pant suits with formal tops.

The frontage reminded me of the UN headquarters in New York City. A row of EU flags, showing a circle of 12 yellow stars on an azure background, were flying outside of the building.

Our guide, who was originally from Romania, was with us the entire time — from the security area (two of them) to the meeting room inside. If one of us had to go the restroom, she had to stop and wait until the group was complete.

I felt a bit like I was stepping into an untrodden territory. You know the feeling: Filled with curiosity, there must be a story out there, something new and newsworthy. Who knows, there could be some interesting twists and turns.

The meeting room that we were in, according to our host, was the original room where the EU President and heads of member states used to hold their EU summits, which take place at least twice every six months. The seat of the EU President was literally bigger and taller than others.

As the number of member states increased over the years, our host said that the room had become quite small for the summits. They then moved the venue to a much bigger meeting room in the building.

After our introductory session, almost a crash course in current EU members and how the state commission works, our guide led us to a television network studio. Interestingly, we were told that any foreign journalists can use the studio at any time, as long as the coverage relates to European issues.

Then, we attended a press conference with EU journalists.

We were not allowed to ask questions, but it was quite fascinating to observe the dynamics of a media briefing with news outlets from 28 countries, speaking in different languages and having diverse local issues. However, the medium of instruction was done in French and English.

At a press conference, European Commission

With our guide, we left the EU building for a Greek restaurant nearby. There, we had an exclusive lunch meeting with a press officer for the Council of the European Union. We felt like the food being served on our table seemed never-ending.

With Jim Rowbottom

About 2:00 p.m. we headed back to the EU Commission building for our last two sessions.

We met with the communications officer who works on the EU website, pointing out to us the important news links, if we want to do a story or just keep ourselves abreast of European developments.

For me, what stood out was the officer’s story about Conchita Wurst, a transvestite who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 (http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=aaplw&p=Conchita+Wurst+wins). I wondered if conservative America would be ready for someone like Conchita on a live television show, let alone give her a resounding win.

Our last meeting was with three EU officers who talked about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a trade agreement that is being negotiated between the European Union and the United States.

After our EU meetings, Kate Zickel and I posed in front of our hotel in Brussels

Despite some complicated issues, the officers expressed optimism that, by removing trade barriers in a wide range of economic sectors, it would make it a lot easier to buy and sell goods and services between the EU and the United States.

The wind had picked up. And, faintly, the sun was setting against the buildings.

It was another rush-hour in Brussels. We took one last group-photo outside the EU building, before we walked to  the subway station.

In Brussels, Fries are Frites and Peeing Boy is a Famed Icon

 

The Guildhalls on the Grand Place, Brussels

October 15, 2014.

The sun was shining over Brussels, Belgium, when we arrived at the train station there early afternoon. I could not believe we were in another country.

Two more days, I thought with sadness, our RIAS fellowship would be over. But I still was not ready to go.

My first education about Belgium was from our cab driver, who is of Turkish descent. He said that the country is bisected by two main languages: Dutch and French.

That was true.

In the northern part of the country, I found out that majority of them speak Dutch. And in the south, they speak French.

The Grand Place

Because Belgium is near the German border, a small portion of the population also speaks German. Majority of Belgians are fluent in English.

The Brussels Town Hall

Our hotel was located a block away from the Grand Place, the central square of Brussels. Surrounded by lavish edifices, including the Brussels Town Hall, the Guildhalls and the Museum of the City of Brussels, the Grand Place is the most visited destination and landmark in Brussels.

Our entire group walked around the square teeming with thousands of tourists. We followed a narrow cobblestoned trail, with a row of chocolate stores, frites and waffle stands looming on both sides.

It dawned on me that waffles, fries and chocolates for Belgians are like hotdogs, hamburgers and all other fast food treats for Americans. But while one-third of U.S. adults are obese, according to the CDC, and that is partly due to unhealthy eating behavior, how come Belgians seemed to look fit?

Stopping by at a stand selling waffles for one euro each was not accidental. These stands were ubiquitous — and they were absolutely difficult to resist.

Five of us got a variety of flavors: caramel, strawberry, chocolate, creamed banana and kiwi. By the time we reached the restaurant, where we all agreed to meet for drinks, we were already high on sugar.

Waffles, waffles and waffles

The Peeing Boy

We took photos of almost everything.  The festivities of the surroundings carried us away.

Many people huddled together on one corner. We found out that they were there for the famous Manneken Pis or Peeing Boy, the bronze fountain statue of a little boy peeing into a basin.

The Manneken Pis or Peeing Boy statue

For 400 years, the Peeing Boy has been an emblem in the Belgian capital and probably one of the most visited tourist attractions in Brussels. The legend has it that Manneken Pis tells the story of Duke Godfried II of Brabant.

Belgians believe that, in 1142, the troops of this two-year-old lord were battling against the troops of the Berthouts. The troops placed the little boy in a basket and hung it in a tree. From there, the boy urinated on the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle.

Shawn Flynn and myself with a Peeing Boy replica selling waffles for one euro each

The Peeing Boy, however, has been stolen quite a number of times. So, in 1965, Belgian authorities decided to replace the original statue for a replica. The original is now at the Maison du Roi on the Grand Place.

Fruity beer and frites

We gathered at a wooden table, in the back of a traditional Belgian restaurant.

While I settled for a bottle of sparkling water, everyone got a Kriek lambic, a classic Belgian-style beer. I have never heard of fruit-flavored beers before.

One of my co-fellows had the cherry beer, I remember, and the other tried the plum. I imagined that some of them would taste like a cough syrup.

After our little powwow at the restaurant, we got divided fortuitously. Some hopped to another bar and others went back to the hotel for a nap before our 7:00 p.m. dinner.

Jennifer Feldman, one of our co-fellows, had to go back to the United States the next day — two days earlier than the rest of us — so I decided to hang out with her and four other fellows.

We went to a fries-stand or friterie (as French-speaking Belgians would call it) near the Grand Place. For three euros, we got long strips of crispy Bintje potatoes, served in overspilling cardboard cones and mayonnaise-based sauce.

Interestingly, they also served the fries with tiny forks. We were in Belgium so, of course, we ate the fries the Belgian way!

We said “au revoir” to Jennifer — but not good-bye.

My Top 5 Rarest Encounters in Deutschland

The facade of Berlin’s City Hall with the Fernsehturm Berlin (Berlin TV Tower) in the background

I could always go back to Germany and visit its remarkable sightseeing destinations. And, at any given time, I could try and enjoy the best entertainment and restaurants that this country offers to visitors and tourists from all over the world.

But, if I had not been chosen as a RIAS fellow, there are certain things that I would have not been able to experience in Germany. These are rare opportunities that no travel agency could provide, nor anyone could put a price tag on them.

Many of these memories may not be backed by a photograph because we were not allowed to take pictures. In most cases, we had to give up our passports, cell phones and cameras.

Some of them also happened in private offices — and that we were strictly asked to observe the Chatham House Rule: “Participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”

Whether on the record or off the record, indoor or outdoor, in no particular order, I would like to share my Top 5 Rarest (Political) Encounters in Germany:

1. U.S. Embassy, Berlin. An exclusive closed-door meeting with John B. Emerson, U.S. ambassador to Germany. Wednesday, October 8, 2014.

2. Tom Brokaw, American television journalists. RIAS fellows ran into him at the Berlin Wall Memorial grounds. Wednesday, October 8, 2014.

RIAS fellows with Tom Brokaw

Rubbling elbows with Mr. Brokaw at the Berlin Memorial grounds.

3. Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office), Berlin. An exclusive closed-door meeting with Jürgen Hardt, member of the German Bundestag (Parliament) and coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation. Thursday, October 9, 2014.

Parliament Member Jurgen Hardt (left) and his aide during the meeting with RIAS fellows.

A quick photo-op outside the Federal Foreign Ministry building

4. Rotes Rathaus, Berlin City Hall, Berlin. An exclusive closed-door meeting with Richard Meng, undersecretary of state and speaker of the Berlin Senate. Thursday, October 9, 2014.

A museum at the City Hall of Berlin

Speaker of the Berlin State Richard Meng (right) with Rainer Hasters, director of RIAS Berlin Kommission Fellowship

5. The Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellery), Berlin. As soon as we passed the building security, we saw German Deputy Prime Minister Sigmar Gabriel. From the second floor, we also got a glimpse of Angela Merkel in a press conference. Friday, October 10, 2014.

The Federal Chancellery grounds

Less than 24 Hours in Cologne

A glimpse of Cologne from an old steel bridge

If you only have 24 hours in a beautiful city that you have never visited before, how will you make each hour worth it?

On Tuesday, October 14, 2014, we took the train for about four hours from Leipzig to Cologne, Germany. We arrived around 3:00 p.m. in our hotel, which was situated by the Rhine River that runs through this charming rust-belt city.

We didn’t even have enough time to change our clothes for our meeting at RTL, a private-owned television network in Germany. Fortunately, the television station was walking distance from our hotel.

RIAS fellows with Peter Kloeppel (middle), anchor at RTL television network

Before we had dinner that night, however, we learned that there was another train strike to occur the following day. Instead of staying in Cologne for another whole day, we all agreed to take the 11:00 a.m. train to Belgium, the last leg of our RIAS journey.

So, how did I manage to see Cologne for less than 24 hours?

Jim Rowbottom, Lisa Voyticki and I spent time together that evening. We walked across the steel bridge, past the thousands of love-locks that were affixed to the fence.

It was a perfect night.

Midnight, in front of the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral)

The air was temperate. Many people strolled at the plaza; some biked along the river. We took hundreds of photos of the river, the bridge, and the skyline in the distance.

We walked to Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral). It was grand and majestic.

I was not surprised that the Cathedral — which was first constructed in 1248 — is Germany’s most visited landmark, drawing in more than 20,000 visitors a day.

We took photos again and again; perhaps a hundred more. Some of them were rudimentary “selfies.”

And when we realized that the shops were starting to close for the night, we rushed to the famed Original Eau de Cologne 4711 store, named after its location at Glockengasse No. 4711. I bought some souvenirs for my family and friends.

Thousands of love-locks are attached to the bridge fence

We checked out a few more stores, buying magnets and other knick-knacks. Before 7:00 p.m., the three of us took a cab to meet Lisa’s friend at Roonstraße synagogue — the largest religious and cultural center for the Jewish communities in Cologne.

After being burned down by the Nazis on November 9, 1938, the Roonstraße synagogue, according to its website, was rebuilt between 1957 and 1959.

It was my first ever visit to a synagogue.

By the time we started heading back to the Cathedral square, we were all hungry for Japanese food. Sushi, sashimi, edamame and udon were a major detour from German sausages, curry wurst and meatballs.

The City of Cologne by the Rhine River

While crossing the bridge back to our hotel, we ran into our group. They told us that they all went up to a tower that overlooks the city.

It was already past midnight, and I had to pack again my luggage. “Brussels,” I thought, “here I come.”

Train Strikes Urge RIAS Fellows to Leave Early for Leipzig

Riding the rail: With Jim Rowbottom, Lisa Voyticki and Rainer Hasters

There was a train strike that day.

We learned that the German trains were going to stop running at noon. So, avoiding the possibility of getting stalled in Berlin, we decided to leave for Leipzig early morning.

Some of us took a cab to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the central station, after meeting at the hotel lobby. I took the local bus with our RIAS hosts, Rainer Hasters and Lisa Marie Ziss, and three other fellows to the station.

Arrival at the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof

Germany had not seen successive strikes that affected public transport in years. According to Reuters, “millions of passengers were left stranded across Germany” that weekend.

The strikes were staged by train drivers and engineers at national railroad Deutsche Bahn’s cargo and passenger services in a dispute over pay and negotiation rights.

Still, for us, we had to leave as early as we could.

It was the first time that we packed our luggage, after spending a week in Berlin. But I already felt as though my suitcase was a lot heavier than on the first day I arrived in Germany.

We took ICE 209 train from track No. 2, car No. 24. I mentioned this because we almost occupied the entire car.

With Lisa Voyticki at the plaza

The ride was a breeze. It took us just an hour to get into the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof. The station had an old clock and a cathedral-ceiling, and marble arches and steel beams that added to its industrial, rustic feel.

Since we got there earlier than the original schedule, we had a chance to roam on our own around the plaza. Most of the streets were cobblestones, and there were still buildings that have been completely preserved since the Second World War.

We had coffee and desserts at the Bach Cafe, located right across from the Thomaskirsche (St. Thomas Church), where the famous German composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a kapellmeister. His remains were also buried in the church.

 

Dinner with former German RIAS fellows: Shawn Flynn (from left), me, Julia and Lisa

The Nikolai Kirsche (St. Nicholas Lutheran Church)

—–

The following day we had a private tour of the Nikolai Kirsch (St. Nicholas Lutheran Church). We learned that 25 years years ago,  on October 9, 1989, East German citizens marched to a prayer service at Leipzig’s St. Nicholas Church.

The tour guide told us that there were about 1oo,000 marchers in the streets of Leipzig that night. Communist East German officials waited for the green-light from Berlin to subdue the crowd, but it never came.

Two weeks later, the Berlin Wall fell.

 

Before Leaving Berlin, A Half-Day Tour of Wannsee and Potsdam

It was our first Saturday together. After we had breakfast at the hotel, a private bus took us to Wannsee and Potsdam, located about an hour-and-a-half ride from Berlin.

It was quite embarrassing to admit, but I only learned about the historical significance of Wannsee when our bus pulled over by the entrance of an old house, known as the Wannsee Villa.

The Potsdam Conference took place at the Cecilienhof Palace

On January 20, 1942, senior officials of Nazi Germany held a meeting at the Villa, where they finalized their plan on how European Jews would be rounded up from west to east and sent to extermination camps, where they would be murdered.

It was heartbreaking to read the manuscripts at the museum.

Then, after about an hour, our bus drove us to the city of Potsdam, which was the residence of Prussian kings and the German Kaiser. The whole area was surrounded by parks, castles, lakes, palaces and windmills.

And, like Wannsee, another historically important meeting also happened in Potsdam, known as the Potsdam Conference.

With Miranda Dotson

 

From July 17 to August 1945, the presidents of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States gathered at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, and agreed to administer punishment to the defeated Nazi Germany.

It also was during the Potsdam Conference where the three presidents outlined the terms of surrender for Japan during World War II in Asia.

We came back to Berlin around 2:30 p.m. Some of us went directly to a shopping mall; others walked around the nearby botanical garden. I went back to the hotel and took a nap.

It was the last day that we were in Berlin.

East Side Gallery: ‘It Happened in November’

German-Iranian painter Kani Alavi, against the backdrop of his mural, “It Happened in November.”

Painter Kani Alavi watched the fall of the Berlin Wall from his former apartment near the Checkpoint Charlie, the border between the Russian Zone and the American territory during the Cold War.

East Side Gallery

Looking from his window, he recalled that during that night, he saw thousands of people from the East climbed up the wall and crossed into West Berlin.

A few months later, Alavi felt honored when the local government gave him the permission to paint on the remnants of the wall, which is now known as the East Side Gallery — the largest open gallery in the world, with 1.3 kilometers painted segment of the Berlin Wall.

On Thursday, October 9, 2014, our RIAS group met with Alavi on the East Side Gallery. Against the backdrop of murals, he told us his stories as an artist and an immigrant from Iran.

Since the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989, he says that he has dedicated himself to preserve its remaining pieces.

RIAS fellows, with Rainer Hasters and Kani Alavi

Today, he is proud that the East Side Gallery has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Berlin with almost one million visitors a year.

He also said that his famed painting, Es Geschah im November (It Happened in November), showing a wave of faces on the Wall, is now under heritage protection.

After the East Side Gallery tour, we had a special opportunity to visit Alavi’s apartment/studio. I believe most of us bought some of his paintings, books and postcards.

We ended the night eating curry wurst at the world’s famous Curry 36 Berlin, which was a walking distance from his current place.

A Memorable Lunch Near the Famed Brandenburg Gate

Tourists visiting the famous Brandenburg Gate

On Tuesday afternoon, our group visited the Brandenburg Gate, an 18th century monumental arch that has become Germany’s symbol of peace and one of the most recognizable landmarks in Europe.

The sun struggled to shine over Berlin. It was windy and cold, but it did not deter us from enjoying the historical site.

The Brandenburg Gate has witnessed some of the remarkable moments of modern history. Four U.S. presidents — from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton to Barack Obama — delivered a speech under the Brandenburg Gate.

And, in January 1933, when Adolf Hitler rose to power, it was at the Gate where the Nazis held their first large-scale propaganda as they took control over Germany.

Now, like Times Square in New York City, the Brandenburg Gate has become a major hub for tourists. Teemed with restaurants, souvenir shops and street performers, we were told that the area has become a place where Berliners would try to avoid.

_____

We had lunch at a charming restaurant with Ali Aslan, a television anchor for Deutsche Welle, and head of the media work group at the Federal German Islam Conference.

The restaurant was next to the Brandenburg Gate. The first thing that came to my mind: “This is über fancy.”

RIAS fellows meet with Ali Aslan (fourth from left)

A German of Turkish descent, Ali shared his experience as a prominent journalist with “a migrant background” and his insight into the German and Islam issues. He told us about what makes Berlin unique, socially and economically, as compared to other German cities.

It was one of the best sessions that we had.

The Berlin Wall and Today’s Silent Struggle for Freedom

The Berlin Wall Memorial

The Berlin Wall was torn down 25 years ago, marking Germany’s reunification. A small segment of the wall on both the West and East side was placed at the memorial grounds   — a stark reminder of Germany’s grim past.

But while the Wall can no longer be seen, we were told that the divide in the minds of many Berliners – and Germans in general – remains palpable. For me, that was moving and, at the same time, disturbing.

Before we met with our tour guide, we took the train and got off at Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station. We learned later that the Berlin Wall ran through that train station.

Between 1961 and 1989, Nordbahnhof was one of the stations that was closed down. Although the station was heavily guarded, some Eastern Berliners used the underground passageway to defect to West Germany.

I touched the remnants of the Wall. It was an ordinary slab of cement and cable that rose above the ground.

But I thought of the families and loved ones who were separated by the Wall, those who perished by attempting to escape from the East, and the impact on the lives of the present Germans.