Stories from the Reichstag & the Brandenburg Gate

One of the great things about where I was staying in Berlin this summer was that it was so close to so many famous places. I was just a quick bus ride away from both the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate, two of the most recognizable symbols of Germany. And when I began to think about it, some of my best stories happened in those places. So let me share those with you. I have some photos and a video to show, too!

So Close, And Yet So Far

Our typical schedule on this trip had us working all day (either being trained to teach or actually teaching English), and in the evening our in-country team leader would take us to see something in the city. But things didn’t go exactly according to plan the first night we tried to go to the Brandenburg Gate. We arrived to find the entire area closed off and barricaded by police. We found out there was so sort of heads of state meeting going on in the Reichstag that evening. So, as you can see, I was only able to check out the gate from a distance. Note the officer impeding my progress.

It had actually been quite an ordeal just getting as far as we did that night. The bus ride there, which as I mentioned is typically a quick one, took us at least a half an hour. So, not wanting to repeat that process again, our fearless leader tried to come up with a new route home, one that wouldn’t take quite so long. As you can see in this video, the rest of us were not much help.

Let’s Try That Again

The next evening, while the majority of the group went to see Checkpoint Charlie and the Topography of Terror, my teammates Ken, Linda, Carly and I decided to make a second attempt at seeing what we hadn’t seen the day before. This time we had no trouble getting there, but we weren’t able to go inside the Reichstag due to a ridiculously long line. (Let’s put it this way: the people at the front of the line were sitting down.) Still, I’m glad I went back, because they’re really quite impressive.

Here’s the Reichstag. And my attempt at being artsy. You have no idea how stubborn that flag was being. The wind simply would not cooperate that evening.

This is my teammate Ken and I sitting in front of the Reichstag. This was shot by Ken’s wife Linda, who is very sneaky.

Check out the Brandenburg Gate at sunset. A photo really doesn’t do it justice.

I’m particularly fond of this next shot, even though it may seem unremarkable at first glance. The former location of the Berlin Wall is marked off throughout Berlin by a small two-brick trail. I was walking across the street to get a better shot of the Brandenburg Gate when I saw that this trail was actually in the crosswalk. My mind was blown by just how casually I’d crossed from east to west. When the light changed, I took a photo of the trail with one foot on either side.

The Final Evening on the Green

My third and final trip to the area was by far the most memorable. It was my final evening in Germany and the entire team had gathered together on the green in front of the Reichstag for our last team meeting. It was a beautiful evening with absolutely perfect weather. That time spent with the team was bittersweet. I had just survived two extremely challenging weeks in Berlin and was so thankful to have witnessed all the good that had come from English camp. God had been very faithful to me, to all of us. We each had our own stories to highlight His goodness. But at the same time I knew this would be the last time we’d all be together on this trip.

Here’s where things get crazy. As we were winding down our time together, a German teenage boy (not someone from English camp, but someone we had never met) suddenly jumped into the middle of our circle and began to dance while his cellphone played a pop song. Roughly twenty meters away (that’s right, I went metric on you) we could see a group of four other teenage boys, each doubled over in laughter. I’m guessing they had dared their friend to do it. After what seemed like quite a while our guest made his way back to his friends. Not to be outdone, one of our teammates thought it would be great if we all ran over to these boys, circled around them and sang our camp song (complete with its accompanying dance). My response? No. Not a chance. But at least two-thirds of our group thought this was an outstanding idea. So they ran over and performed two verses for these bewildered kids. And yes, it attracted a lot of attention. They even received some applause from random onlookers.

In the aftermath of this event, one team member participating in the song and dance has, um… “strongly suggested” that anyone who may have caught this event on video should, er… “exercise wisdom” in what’s done with that footage.

Ahem. Moving on.

After all this commotion we tried to take team pictures, which by my understanding would only include team members. But our new friends didn’t see it that way. We actually don’t have a shot of the whole team from that night that doesn’t include them.

I present to you the boys from München, in all their glory. (Another photo taken by Linda.)

This wasn’t actually the last we saw of these kids. When we got on a bus to head back to where we were staying, those of us sitting on the top deck were surprised to find the boys were sitting only a couple rows further back. I was up there with them and got to watch a video made by one of them with his cell phone. (One or more of us may or may not have showed them our videos, too.) Then, when we thought we’d seen the last of them, we passed by them sitting in a Dunkin Donuts as we walked through Alexanderplatz. (At that point it stopped being funny and started getting a little creepy.)

I still can’t believe the whole thing happened. What a strange, wild way to end such a great trip!

The München boys didn’t manage to get into every shot. Here’s a great one of just those of us from Wildwood Church standing in front of the Reichstag.

More Photos: From the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate or all my photos from Germany
More Videos: All my videos from Germany