BERLIN FOR EVERYBODY From Berlin’s new airport, which is named after Wi- lly Brandt, a quick and easy train ride took us to Berlin’s central station, or Hauptbah - nhof, which is a word I sim - ply can’t memorise. We cro- ssed a huge square and a small bridge that offered us a hint of the kind of beauty awaiting us in Mitte, the cen - tral part of what was former- ly East Berlin. Reichstag The first stop was the Rei- chstag and its glass dome, because they were the clo- sest to us, and the other attractions of that part of the city aren’t far from the- re either. The building of the German Parliament was bu- ilt between 1884 and 1894, because the 1871 proclama- tion of the formation of the German Empire made Ber- lin the capital city and the
newly formed parliament needed a seat of govern- ment. A monumental buil- ding was constructed and combined architectural ele- ments of Renaissance, Ba - roque and Classicism. The inscription “Dem Deutschen Volke” (To the German Peo- ple), which remains in pla - ce today, was only added in 1916. The building was bad- ly damaged during the war, only to be partially recon- structed at the end of the 1950s, even though it wa - sn’t actually in use. When it was decided that the federal government would relocate to Berlin, the time had come for the Reichstag building to be reawakened from its long slumber. It has since been completely modernised, whi - le the glass dome was on- ly added during the second reconstruction that began in 1994 and concluded with April 1999’s first session of the Bundestag. You can ob- serve the hustle and bustle of the city from this massi-
ve glass structure. Entry is free of charge, but you must reserve your visit (www.bun- destag.de). The Reichstag is otherwise surrounded by a park, where people are very relaxed in enjoying the lawns – as we will see again later. It wasn’t as cold as it is now at that time, so lounging in the park was possible. This huge city centre park led us to the next stop. Brandenburg Gate When we stopped in front of this gate, then passed throu - gh it to the beautiful Pariser Platz and took a seat on the first free bench, we were re - ally overcome by that speci- fic sense of joy that you feel when realising that you’re no longer in Kansas. That’s be- cause I’ve seen that gate so many times before, on TV and in pictures, and it has always represented a dire- ct association with this ci- ty. And I now found myself standing in front of its mo- numental columns, imagi -
BERLIN ZA SVAKOGA Sa novog berlinskog aerodro- ma, koji nosi ime Vilija Branta, brzo smo i lako vozom stigli do centralne berlinske stani- ce iliti Hauptbanhofa, što je reč koju nikako ne mogu da zapamtim. Prešli smo preko ogromnog trga i mostića ko - ji nam je dao da naslutimo ka- kve nas lepote čekaju u Miteu, centralnom delu nekada Istoč - nog Berlina. Rajhstag Prva stanica bio je Rajhstag i njegova staklena kupola, jer su nam bili najbliži, a odatle ni ostale atrakcije tog dela grada nisu daleko. Zgrada nemač - kog parlamenta građena je od 1884. do 1894. jer je proglaše- njem Nemačkog carstva 1871. Berlin postao prestonica, a no- voformiranom parlamentu bi- lo je potrebno sedište vlade. Podignuta je monumentalna građevina koja je kombinova - la elemente renesanse, baro- ka i klasicizma. Natpis „Dem Deutschen Volke” („Nemač -
kom narodu)“, koji i danas po- stoji, dodat je tek 1916. Tokom rata zgrada je bila teško ošte- cena, a onda krajem pedese - tih delimično rekonstruisana, mada zapravo nije ni korišce - na. Kada je doneta odluka da se savezna vlada preseli u Ber- lin, došlo je vreme da se zgra- da Rajhstaga ponovo probudi iz dugogodišnjeg sna. Od tada je potpuno modernizovana, a staklena kupola dodata je tek u vreme druge rekonstrukcije koja je počela 1994, a završila se prvom sednicom Bundesta- ga u aprilu 1999. Iz masivne staklene konstrukcije možete da bacite pogled na gradsku vrevu. To se ne plaća, ali mo - ra da se rezerviše (www.bun- destag.de). Rajhstag je inače okružen parkom u kojem ljudi, kao što ćemo kasnije ponovo videti, veoma opušteno uživa - ju na travnjacima. Tada još ni- je bilo ovoliko hladno, pa je to bilo moguće. Ogromni park u centru grada odveo nas je do sledeće stanice. Brandenburška kapija Stvarno, kad smo stali pred kapiju i kroz nju prošli na le-
pi Pariski trg, pa seli na prvu slobodnu klupu, obuzela nas je ona specifična radost koju osetiš kad shvatiš da više nisi u Kanzasu. Jer tu kapiju sam toliko puta viđala na TV-u i na slikama, i uvek je bila direk- tna asocijacija na ovaj grad. A sada sam stajala ispred njenih monumentalnih stubova za- mišljajući kako je to izgledalo kada se posle pada Zida tuda prošetao Helmut Kol idući u susret svom kolegi iz Istočnog Berlina Hansu Mudrovu. Veličanstveni neoklasicistički spomenik iz 18. veka izgrađen je po naredbi pruskog kralja Fridrika II Velikog i u početku se zvao „Vrata mira“. Ironija je što je Napoleon tuda trijumfal- no prošao ponevši suvenir u Pariz. Skinuo je sa kapije bo- gove mira koji voze kočiju sa četiri konja. Prusi su mu uslu - gu vratili kada je pao sa vla- sti, pa su kočije u Berlinu, gde im je i mesto. U prošlom veku kapija je dugo stajala između dva podeljena sveta simboli- šući sve osim mira. I konačno, snimak Nemaca koji se grle na vrhu Berlinskog zida u no- vembru 1989. dok se u pozadi-
Veličanstveni neoklasicistički spomenik iz 18. veka This magnificent neoclassical monument dates back to the 18 th century
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