A Tale of Two European Cities: Berlin & Paris

January was a month of new discoveries with short visits to two different European cities - one new city for me and one new city for Chris. I'm always fascinated by visiting the "classic" European cities because, up to this point, I've always felt they never really change. The sense you get that they've stopped in time is so appealing because you know exactly what to expect, what to love, and what to hate every time you visit them. However, this preconceived notion I have always carried around with me completely changed after visiting Berlin for the first time and returning to Paris to celebrate our anniversary at the end of January.

Berlin

With my friend Angie visiting from Vancouver in the middle of January, the two of us decided to spend a girl's weekend in Berlin during her visit. It was a fairly last minute decision which really made no difference in the middle of January when train and hostel prices were at their very lowest. Arriving in Berlin, after an uneventful 5-hour train ride, we quickly realized why. It was exceptionally cold (yes, even though I'm Canadian I'm allowed to complain about the cold!). A thick layer of snow covered the entire city and with a temperature of -4 degrees Celsius during the day, and -10 at night, it was nowhere close to warming up.

Regardless, we decided to put on our "big girl pants" and leave the warm confines of our hostel situated in the Mitte area of former East Berlin. Our first event was to join one of the city's famous walking tours, which came highly recommended, and wander through its fascinating streets learning about its culture and history as we went along. Highlights of the walking tour included the Berliner Dom, Babelplatz, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin Wall remains, former site of Hitler's bunker, Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburger Tor, and the Reichstag.

The rest of our time was spent visiting the Hamburger Bahnhof Modern Art Museum, the ultra modern Potsdamer Platz in former West Berlin, shopping in the myriad of unique and reasonably priced boutiques in the Mitte neighbourhood, and dining in a fantastic area made up of hundreds of cafes and interesting restaurants known as Prenzlauer Berg.

One definite upside of visiting Berlin is the middle of winter was that the city possessed a grayness and eeriness that seemed to reflect its sordid past. It almost felt appropriate that the sun wasn't shining, the trees weren't green, and the streets were bare, as a way to help us remember the horrific events that took place in Berlin over the past seventy years. That being said, it was also very clear that Berliners are working hard to ensure visitors are not only left with that sentiment after visiting their city. There is an obvious desire and energy being placed on returning Berlin to the positive global status and reputation it possessed back in the Golden Twenties.

For example, since the majority of Berlin's old buildings were bombed during the Second World War, building cranes now dominate the city's skyline. There has become room and acceptance for modern architecture and the emergence of diversity, tolerance and alternative culture. Graffiti is still found on the majority of buildings which gives the city an edginess, and also acts as a form of communication for protesters and a public canvas for local artists. The legalization of squatting is another symbol of acceptance and tolerance as old abandoned buildings in favourable areas of the city have now been occupied by squatters and transformed into communes and ad hoc art galleries (for a good example see the photo of the Art-Centre Tacheles above). These cultural "marks" on the city continue to demonstrate the desire of Berlin's current generation to progress forward, re-invent itself, and not be shackled by its powerful history.

Four days was definitely not enough time to experience all that Berlin has to offer. However, it was enough to give me a taste and a longing to see and experience more - hopefully next time in some warmer weather!


Paris


Our long weekend trip to Paris at the end of January was in celebration of our first wedding anniversary. What better place to do that then in the city of lights and love, right? It was Chris' first visit to Paris and I was excited to show him the sites including where I lived and worked back in 2004. Reasonably priced train tickets and the ability to do a home exchange with a couple we knew from Vancouver, currently living in Paris (we stayed in their flat while they stayed in ours!), allowed us to stay for three days and take in the very best of the city.

Although cold, the weather still cooperated with clear blue skies most of the weekend and we could easily visit all the famous sites including Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower, L'Opera Garnier, Place de la Bastille, Le Marais, Musee D'Orsay, Musee du Louvre, Musee Rodin, Notre Dame, Le Quartier Latin, Parc Monceau, Arc de Triomphe and Avenue des Champs Elysees. Paris was as aesthetically pleasing as always and once again my breath was taken away the first time we caught a glance of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. It does that to me every time.


Visiting Paris also meant that we could converse in the local language again. It was so nice not to have to constantly say, "Sorry, I don't speak Dutch" every time someone tried to speak to us. Although I found my vocabulary was a little rusty to start, I was determined to speak as much French as possible throughout the weekend and refused to switch to English - even when locals would switch first. I found red wine was particularly helpful in loosening up the tongue. Thankfully, finding a good glass of red wine in France is never a problem!


Of course, a visit to Paris can never go without sampling some of its incredible food. Our mornings always began with a cafe au lait and a baked item from Paul, a local bakery chain. Daytime meals were quite informal as we would either grab paninis, sandwiches or headed to Rue des Rosiers in the Marais for the most amazing falafel schwarmas in the world (and that's not an exaggeration!). Our evenings were spent enjoying typical French meals including crepes in the Quartier Latin, gigantic salads with mounds of goats cheese on "small toasts" at my favourite restaurant, Quincambosse, and an anniversary dinner consisting of traditional french onion soup, steak frites, and decadent profiteroles au chocolat at Cafe du Commerce. It is possible to have a bad meal in a Parisian restaurant; however, by returning to some old time favourites, our stomachs got along just fine!

While visually Paris has remained unchanged, and is as beautiful as ever, I ended the weekend feeling quite certain the city had changed for me. It seemed so much busier, noisier and dirtier from what I remembered living there. The streets and metros were jam-packed with people all the time and it seemed as though we were constantly having to go underground in order to get from one place to the next. At first I couldn't put my finger on it. Why had my feelings about my beloved Paris changed so much? As our train pulled into Amsterdam's Centraal Station to finish off the weekend, I knew what it was. Paris wasn't Amsterdam.