The East Side Gallery

By Brandon Klein

One of my favorite parts of Berlin came in one of the non-structured activities. On the last day in Berlin after we visited Angela Merkel at the Parliament building there were two groups that were splitting off to go explore more in Germany. One went to the Berlin Zoo and the other went to the East Gallery. When making my decision is was rather tough, I didn’t know whether to see a bunch of animals I could see in any zoo or to experience a famous part of Berlin that I might never be able to see again. Surprisingly unlike you may be lead to believe I decided to go to the East Gallery.

            The East Gallery is a section of the Berlin wall that has been preserved and artists from around the world have come to graffiti on it. Since only days after the destruction of most of the wall, people have come to this particular area of preserved wall and painted on it. The “graffiti” (paintings) present on the wall as of now date back only to 2009, and have been done by largely by internationally renowned artists.  Overall the wall has just over 100 paintings by 86 artists and each one is more beautiful or creative than the next. (East Side)

            The East Side Gallery was a great way to spend my last hours in Berlin. Getting to see the transformation of what was once a symbol of exclusion and sadness turned into something so beautiful was great. My favorite part about the gallery was that it was, as the name suggests, on the east side of the wall. I like that they chose the east side over the west side because the side that was made so beautiful was the side that had seen the worst of conditions. I would imagine that going back to that wall years after being liberated from communist Berlin that it would be refreshing to see such a horrible thing that plagued my days, become instead a symbol of hope and accomplishment.

            If not for anything else I can say that the East Side provided for some great photo opportunities. Whether it be the copious pictures I took of the murals alone or the seemingly innumerable amount of picture I posed for, trying to make it seem as if I was actually a part of the painting. My favorite picture that I took however had to be one where I got on the back of Matt Mislan and acted as if I was trying to escape to West Berlin.

            Overall I loved my trip to Berlin. From the tour of Berlin, to the tour of the German Parliament it is safe to say that I had a great time. Ending the trip with an excursion to the East Side Gallery could not have been any more perfect. This excursion brought me one step closer to accomplishing my goal of seeing as much as possible while abroad. Taking the initiative to see something that I otherwise would not have been required to see is something that I hope to continue in the future, making the most of my experience.

Bibliography

East Side Gallery Berlin. (n.d.). East Side Gallery Berlin. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.eastsidegallery-berlin.de/