It’s strange to walk through the city these days. Guides stand in the middle of the sidewalk, bike tours race by, people have cameras around their neck and the terraces are full of people having breakfast, even on a weekday. Tourism is returning to the streets of Berlin. It’s minimal, but it’s obvious. A lot of Germans come to check out their own capital, but there some people from further afield.
Sunday started out as an incredibly hot day. Even when I biked through the quiet streets at 9AM, it was already hot. But it was also windy. A change was coming. I decided it was about time for me to explore my city a bit more as well. I chose a small museum that perhaps isn’t visited so often by first time visitors. From my home I walked through the Mauerpark, where cheers were coming from the karaoke stage and people flocked the flea market. On the other side I joined a the constant stream of people moving, in my opinion way too slowly, down the pavement. I zigzagged through until I reached the Kulturbrauerei.
On Sunday afternoons the Kulturbrauerei hosts a food truck market. I’ve been a few times and it never really seems too busy, so it’s very enjoyable. This time I kept going, past some kind of alternative church service, past the group of Dutch people starting their bike tour, to the end of the old brewery. In the corner is the entrance to a free museum and at the moment their exhibition is about living in the GDR under the rule of SED, the socialist unity party.
The exhibition looks very good, like a more adult version of the DDR museum. From what I can remember from the DDR museum, it covers the same topics; working, living, school, shopping… The displays are visually very appealing and interactive. There are screens where you can watch old videos, ranging from company holiday houses at the Baltic Sea to an all women’s company. You listen in through some sort of telephone. Someone is walking around cleaning and disinfecting constantly.
I loved seeing the old videos, particularly those about the inventor of a roof tent for the famous trabi. I would not have thought a trabi could support much weight at all, but the roof tent became popular with people who could afford it and could fit 2-3 people. I also learned about the Tramper, hitchhikers or Blues freaks. They were on the state’s naughty list since they rejected all socialist ideas and traveled from village to village, visiting secret concerts. The hitchhiker’s calendar was shared by word of mouth.
I think I spent about an hour at the museum, although you could spend much more time if you read everything and watch all the videos. I think I left just in time, for when I was walking back thick drops of rain started falling. It was actually quite pleasant. But a bit later the sky opened and it and it started pouring, alternated with the rumbling of thunder. It was nice to be back in the comfort of home.
