At the beginning of our tour earlier in the day, Pop Pop and I noticed the Friedrichstadt Palast, a performing arts center. We decided to check it out on our way back and we ended up buying tickets for the show called “The Wyld,” at 7:30 p.m. This gave us an hour and a half to get back to our hotel, shower and change, and take the metro back to the center. With a small hold up on the metro, we made it to the show with minutes to spare.
The show was…interesting, spectacular, full of energy…wild. It is described as “as wonderful and quirky as Berlin” and is set on the biggest theater stage in the world. The show had a production budget of ten million euros, and one could tell. There were strobe lights, intricate outfits, rising stage sections and trap doors. I am not sure if there was a set storyline in the show, as it was mainly dance and acrobatics set to song and music. Surprisingly, many of the songs were in English. Some scenes consisted of biker girls dressed up in cute biking outfits and a professional trick-biker, a museum of ancient Egypt and outer space. There were showscases of strength and flexibility. There were synchronized dancers under water. There were flips through the air. It was incredible. It was controlled chaos. It was impressive. Apparently, this is a New York Times Top Ten “Must See” in Berlin. I would definitely recommend it.
When the show was over, we still had some daylight, so Pop Pop and I decided to hop off the s-bahn on the way back to our hotel and see one more sight. We visited Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was bombed during WWII and only partially rebuilt. Half of the spire is missing and some pieces of walls are simply not there anymore. Now, people can see it as a museum and a devastating reminder of what once happened in the streets of Berlin.
As we were walking around the corner from our hotel, I noticed another marking of where a Jew once resided. He was taken to and died at Auschwitz. Here I was, staying in a nice, developed area of Berlin, yet there is this gut-wrenching reminder of history.
This was an astounding day in Berlin, and I hope I can come back one day and see the sights that I have not had the time to visit. I would like to come back to Germany in general and visit different cities and sites as well. Maybe one day, if I can build the confidence to navigate the region and language on my own!
sarawhitmanythoughts 