Blown Away by Berlin

Literally and figuratively. What a fascinating city.

We decided, once again, to road-trip it to Berlin instead of taking the bus. With nine people this time, there was no way we could all fit into Paul's car. Hence, four of us rented a wee Škoda Auto for €100. It's unnerving to power through the Autobahn with its unlimited speed limit in a Czech-made car that translates into "Damage Car". But with three guys and a truck stuffed full with luggage, I barely felt the speed of 160 km/h.

It was a wintry Friday morning when we set off into the heart of the city. We've all heard good reviews about the free walking tour offered by Sandemans New Europe and decided to check it out. Our guide was a contemporary dancer who used to study Math and Physics in Columbia University. His enthusiasm and excitement was contagious. His guided tour, brilliantly done. In fact, it was so good that a friend and I decided to join the Cold War Tour the following day - this time, by an incredibly knowledgeable Englishman.

Most people connect Germany's turbulent history to Hitler and the Nazis. But when one thinks of Berlin, the Berlin Wall comes to mind. I cannot imagine the devastation of being separated overnight from your loved ones by barb wire and fierce gun-toting guards.

“

On August 13, 1961, Berlin was cut in two by a concrete wall. The purpose of the wall: to hinder the people of socialist East Germany from fleeing into the normal world. The wall was constantly perfected and strengthened, transformed from a normal wall into a system of impassable technical hindrances of traps, elaborate signals, concrete shooting cells, watchtowers, anti-tank tetrahedrons, “hedgehogs” and self-firing guns, which killed the fugitives without the intervention of the border guards. But the more work, ingenuity, money and steel the communists allocated to the further development of the wall, the clearer it became: human beings can be kept in a totalitarianist society only by impenetrable obstructions, barbed wire, dogs and by shooting in the back. The wall meant that the system which the totalitarians had built attracted no-one. It repelled.

”

The death strip in between the Berlin Wall(s). The Communist Regime gave explicit orders to shoot and kill attempted defectors. Here, you can see the (now crushed) electric box standing in the middle of the strip.

"In rural Germany, two men dressed up as a cow - one the head, the other, the ass - and successfully mooed their way across to the west."

- One of the many escape stories told to us by Patrick, our tour guide -

Various graffiti on the Berlin Wall

A quick pitstop in Dresden en route to Prague

Yay Arsen...I mean, Slavia Praha!!!

I started watching football when I was nine. Dad was (still is) a supporter of Manchester United, and I followed suit. Sir Alex Ferguson had a brilliant team back then. I still remember being enthralled by the outstanding partnership formed between strikers Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. The other reason, obviously, was David Beckham. He was quite the hottie.

"Football Brothers" Andy Cole & Dwight Yorke with yummy-lookin' David Beckham

Manchester United still has some excellent footie going on even after the great team of the late 90's was no more. Likewise with the boys.

Hello there, boys.  Cristiano Ronaldo & Alan Smith

Anyway, the Slavia Praha - Arsenal FC match was to be my very first experience watching live football, and the weather was atrocious. The first half of the match was just occasional spitting every ten minutes. Just as the whistle blew for half-time, it became this torrential, pouring rain - the kind where if you're out in the open for five seconds, you'd be drenched to the core.

I was having this Which-Team-Do-I-Support Crisis. Here I was, all decked out in red and white in support of Slavia. After all, Prague is home for the next six months and it's a home game. On the other hand, having grown up watching the English Premiere League, I know Arsenal better than I know the home team. Red and white happen to be Arsenal's team colours too.

(The odds of Slavia dominating the match was slim since Arsenal had trashed Slavia 7-0 two weeks prior. It's more fun to support the winning team, but I digress...)

I decided that the best thing to do was to cheer (and jeer) for both teams. In Mandarin. That way, the locals won't be able to figure out what I was yelling. There were some exciting moments and a couple of close calls here and there. But the game ended in a goalless draw - and it was to be Arsenal's first failure to score in the season. One goal. I wanted only one goal.

I squelched home that night, soaking wet and feeling just that little bit discontented.