Berlin – Newby to Expert Traveler

I love to visit places that are a little different, so when I was trying to find a biergarten in Berlin and came across Klunkerkranich, I had to check it out. The name roughly translates to Jewelry Crane, which is an odd name, but frankly, everything about this place is a little odd.

It is a rooftop bar/cultural center located on top of the Neukölln Arcaden, a shopping mall in the Neukölln neighborhood on the south side of Berlin. It has food, several bars, and fantastic views of Berlin.

There are planters all over the rooftop at Klunkerkranich.

Finding Klunkerkranich was a challenge. I stumbled across it on Google Maps when I searched for biergartens. When we went there, I found the intersection where it was located, but couldn’t find any signs or indication of where it was. I knew it was on the rooftop, so I decided to walk into Neukölln Arcaden to see if I had to go through the mall to get there.

Honestly, I’m not exactly sure how we found it. I know we went up as far as we could inside the mall, then ended up in a stairwell going up another floor, then through a parking garage. Inside the parking structure, we saw a ramp going up an additional level, and on that ramp, we were greeted by a gentleman who was taking the entrance fee. It’s definitely not the kind of place you just stumble upon; you have to be looking for it.

The entrance fee is variable between three and nine euros, depending on what time you arrive and what cultural program is being featured that day. The cultural program on the day we arrived was an EDM DJ, and the fee was eight euros.

Walking up the ramp, you start to get the vibe of the place. There are planters along the ramp that feel like they belong in a hippie’s garden, reminiscent of reclaimed pallet boards and whimsical paint colors. Once we got to the top of the roof itself, I felt a little sensory overload. The bass from the EDM, the views of Berlin, the sound of people chatting, the colors from the flowers in the planters, as well as the countless avant-garde decorations, took me a moment to unpack.

We looked around for a little while and then went into the bar for a König Ludwig dunkel for me and a cola for Alex. We then found a picnic table where we sat and enjoyed our drinks. The best tables along the edge of the building with clear views of the city were already taken.

Seating along the edge of the building with great city views.

For a Wednesday night, there were quite a few people there, but clearly, they could handle a much bigger crowd because only about half of the area was accessible. There was a private party in one section, which I discovered when I tried to walk up there and was sternly reprimanded. Another section, called the Ostflügel (east wing), was also closed off, which I imagine they open when they are busier.

In front of the whimsical balloon statue is the guy who scolded me for trying to get into the section with the private party.

Our plan for the evening was to have a couple of drinks here while the sun set. We had already eaten, so we didn’t have any of the food that was served. Based on the reviews, the food isn’t great, so we ate before arriving. Besides, I promised Alex I would take him for ice cream. Alex and I had spent a week together at this point, and the only way I could convince him to go with me to another biergarten was to promise him ice cream afterward.

The Ostflügel section of the rooftop was closed.

Even though this didn’t look like a traditional German biergarten, it certainly had that same feel. I find Germans to be friendly in biergartens, even though they typically don’t have the reputation for liking small talk. We had a short conversation with a gentleman from an adjacent table, which was prompted by Alex falling off the back of his bench (seriously, he was the only person there not drinking, and he’s the one who fell out of his seat).

Signs pointing to different sections of the rooftop.

I wish we had a chance to visit on the weekend. I have a feeling that the vibe goes from laid-back rooftop biergarten to a more nightclub/rave vibe when it gets really busy. Even though I would definitely rather go to a biergarten than a nightclub, it would have been really interesting to visit it when people were really partying.

We waited for sundown and walked around the rooftop, looking over the city of Berlin. It was a beautiful sunset on a warm and lovely evening. We then decided to leave and worked our way back to the ground level through the parking garage, stairwell, and the mall, and back out into the city. Now we just had to find that ice cream I promised Alex.

If you are going to Berlin, I would highly recommend going to Klunkerkranich. The views over the city alone are worth the price of admission. I really enjoyed the hippie vibes and the avant-garde art. It was a really enjoyable place to spend an evening.

Berlin is the epicenter of uncomfortable history. The city was the seat of power for Germany during World War I and World War II. During the Second World War, many crimes against humanity were directed from this city. It was also physically split during the Cold War.

20th-century German history forces people to confront the worst parts of humanity. This includes the history of concentration camps, persecution of vulnerable groups, and ethnic cleansing. It also forces people to confront totalitarianism and the stripping of basic human rights. It’s a history that confronts each and every individual who learns about it with the worst parts of the human experience.

Berlin could have decided to move on from its history and maybe built some small monuments or plaques to inform people of the past. Instead, the people of Berlin have built an impressive and thoughtful collection of monuments, allowing people to mourn the past and contemplate what it means for the present.

World War II Monuments

There are various monuments related to World War II in Berlin, and many of them recount the horrors related to the Holocaust and the Nazis’ campaigns of ethnic cleansing. There were three in particular that drew my attention related to the persecution of minorities by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Completed in 2004, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was designed by architect Peter Eisenman and artist Richard Serra. This memorial is built out of 2,711 concrete blocks of various sizes arranged in a grid pattern over an area of about 4 acres. The memorial is abstract, and your interpretation of its meaning is up to you.

As I was walking through the memorial, it became very clear to me just how difficult it is to visualize large numbers. There were an estimated six million Jews killed during the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis. That is a number that becomes incredibly hard to visualize. However, as I was walking among the concrete blocks, seeing 2,711 blocks, and that, if divided equally, each block would represent more than 2,000 lives lost, six million becomes an unfathomable number.

People have commented that the design is meant to be disorienting, with the varying heights of the blocks and the fact that the ground they sit on is not flat. To me, instead, it felt like a place for reflection. Once you get into the sea of concrete blocks, the distractions of the city vanish, and you are only left with your thoughts.

Monument to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism

In the Tiergarten in Berlin is the Monument to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism. It was officially opened in October 2012 and was dedicated to the estimated 250,000 to 500,000 Sinti and Roma who were killed by the Nazis.

Monument to Europe’s Sinti and Roma Murdered under Nazism

The monument consists of a dark pool with a triangular-shaped stone, which signifies the badge the Sinti and Roma were forced to wear in the concentration camps. The monument also contains a large exhibit that describes the story of the persecution and genocide of the Sinti and Roma.

Memorial to the Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism.

The Memorial to the Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism looks like a plain concrete cube, similar to the concrete cubes in the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe. There is, however, a window in the concrete which, when you look inside, displays a short video of two men kissing. Every two years, the video alternates between two women kissing and two men kissing.

Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism in Berlin

This monument is in Berlin’s Tiergarten and was opened in May 2008. I thought the monument was a great depiction of how members of the LGBTQ+ community had to live their lives in secrecy to avoid persecution.

Monuments to the Berlin Wall

From the end of World War II in 1945 until reunification in 1990, Berlin was essentially split in half, with the western side part of West Germany and the eastern side part of East Germany. West Berlin, however, was essentially an island as it was completely surrounded by East Germany.

In an effort to stop people from defecting from East Berlin to West Berlin, a wall was constructed in 1961. This concrete and barbed wire wall completely encircled West Berlin. From the construction of the wall in 1961 to the fall in November 1989, a total of 171 people were killed attempting to escape East Berlin. Approximately 5,000 East Germans were successful in escaping East Berlin during that time.

East Side Gallery

Many sections of the Berlin Wall are left standing throughout Berlin. The East Side Gallery is a large portion of the Berlin Wall painted by a series of artists. It is a large open-air art gallery with over 100 unique paintings from across the world.

It is impressive in its size and artistic diversity. We spent a couple of hours walking along the wall, admiring the artwork.

White Crosses

Walking into the Tiergarten, we came across a series of white crosses that were placed to commemorate the people who died attempting to cross from East Berlin to West Berlin. The stories of some of the 171 East Berliners who died trying to cross the Berlin Wall are displayed on these crosses.

There were over a dozen at the location we saw at the northeast corner of the Tiergarten, but there are also 8 additional crosses along the Spree River behind the Reichstag building.

Remnants of the Berlin Wall

Remnant of Berlin Wall with peace sign sits along a thin line of bricks and stone signifying the location of the wall.

Throughout Berlin, you will see reminders of the location of the Berlin Wall. In some cases, it is a piece of the wall. In others, it’s a brick line in the pavement that marks where the wall had been. It is a constant reminder to the citizens of Berlin of when and where their city had been split for the duration of the Cold War.

Much of the location of the Berlin Wall is marked by brick lines in the pavement

The city of Berlin could have chosen to completely remove all of the Berlin Wall and turn the page on a horrible part of its history. However, they left scars throughout the city as a reminder of the trauma of the past.

Addressing the Past with Clarity

In the United States, it has been 160 years since the end of the Civil War. Even after that much time, we lack a cohesive narrative about the end of a horrible chapter in our past.

Throughout much of the Old South in the United States, there are still countless monuments to Robert E. Lee. People still proudly wave Confederate flags. For some people, the teaching of the history of slavery, segregation, and the Civil Rights movement in America is labeled ‘Critical Race Theory’ and demonized. Even after more than a century and a half, we cannot come to terms with the sins of our past.

The city of Berlin addresses its past with clarity. You will not find statues in Berlin commemorating Hitler or any of his generals. Nazi flags are illegal in Germany, and you will not find many people who defend Nazi Germany. What you will find are thoughtful monuments to their victims. The message is clear to visitors and Berlin residents – we made horrible mistakes and are committed to not repeating those mistakes.

Germany does not hide from its past; it addresses it head-on. Unlike the United States, it does not confuse or excuse its immoral actions but instead addresses them with clarity. That is the best way for a society to move forward from its mistakes.

We should not shy away from things that make us uncomfortable. Discomfort is the fertile soil where wisdom grows. It is not our responsibility to bear the weight of the sins of our fathers. It is, however, our responsibility to not repeat those sins.

Tag: Berlin

An Evening at Klunkerkranich

Berlin’s Lessons from a Troubling Past