Berlin Day 8

Yesterday, we started the day at Mauerpark Flea Market. Navigated by Greg and August, we arrived at the market filled with vendors and food stalls, adjacent to a city park with children running on grass and playing on swings. 

Mr. Feldmeth tasked us to find an object of Berlin's past, photograph it, and learn its story. While doing this, we were encouraged to look for souvenirs for family members at the market, something they would greatly appreciate, something meaningful, something that didn't simply say "Berlin" on it. We encountered people selling antiques, post cards, and even passports from the former East Germany, along with previously owned possessions, such as silverware, clocks, clothing, and jewelry. While we were there, I thought of my family the entire time and the countless Sundays we've spent at Smorgasburg in Downtown Los Angeles; the atmosphere of the flea market felt almost identical to the one at home, yet my family wasn't there to make the feeling complete. 

For lunch, we all picked different foods from various vendors and sat in a circle on the grass as little kids near us played with balls and ran around. 

During lunch, we ran into rising sophomore Anya, who was visiting Berlin with her family! The Poly community followed us on our travels afterall. We spent another 40 minutes walking around the market, exploring and purchasing goods from local artists, chefs, and antique shops. Afterward, we walked to the Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles statue at Marx-Engels-Forum, once situated in from of the backdrop of the Palast der Republik (the Peoples' Palace of East Berlin) recently replaced by the Humboldt Forum, we had visited earlier in the week that fuses modern museum architecture with a facsimile façade of the former Berliner Schloss (Berlin Palace) where Germany's royal family resided until the structure was ultimately destroyed during WWII on this very site. We reflected on why so many communist memorials are still left in Berlin. What are the impacts of these memorials and how did they once shape the city? We also passed under Berlin's iconic TV Tower. 

Next, we made our way to a small cafe to enjoy some afternoon treats, such as lattes and cakes, situated directly across the street from the East Side Gallery, a stretch of the Berlin Wall adorned with murals completed by young artists in 1989-90 and refreshed upon the 30th anniversary of the Mauerfall. 

We spent a while walking and looking at the paintings created by artists to commemorate the falling of the Berlin Wall, some filled with quotes about humanity and others conveyed political cartoons meant to memorialize German culture. A couple of walls were left empty with white paint against the wall, and I wondered why these artists didn't want to leave their mark on the city. However, instead of only seeing a painting, in those spaces, I saw a tall wall that divided families and homes. Maybe the artists' intention was for people to see the wall as it was instead of only seeing the art that now adorns the memories of the past?

With a long day of travel ahead of us, we headed to dinner at a burger restaurant near our hotel. 

Then, to reflect on our day and trip as a whole, we each shared photographs of our found objects and explained how our objects reflected Berlin's past. My object was a postcard of a woman writing to her sister in 1914. I thought of how communication had rapidly changed in just a few short generations and wondered whether I could have waited months to hear from my sister when today I can get a response in seconds via SMS. Other objects we found were street signs from old Berlin, metals, passports, cameras, postcards and small statues. When we finished sharing, we each got a Haribo gummy of the Brandenburg Gate (from our trip to the Haribo store earlier this week) and counted off for the last time as a full group in German, including the chaperones, so that they knew how much we appreciate them caring for us, learning with us, and experiencing Berlin with us. 

Sadly, we then said our goodbyes to Alex and Charlie as they were picked up by their families, and we wished them a safe travel to their next adventures. As we headed to bed, our very last day in Berlin, I thought of how excited I was to see my family again but also how we built a family bond while on this trip. 

As sad as it is to leave the experience behind, all of us agree we've learned so much in just the short week we spent exploring Berlin. Many cultures and stories are recorded in the city's history, and now our memories are recorded in these blogs and the many photos we took. 

We'll see you all very soon in Los Angeles!

-Alyssa '25