der Fremdenverkehr - tourism

most expensive snack ever!

today sara, dan and i played tourist again. we took our roles very seriously today and headed for checkpoint charlie. i was expecting the touristy stuff to be more intense here than elsewhere. i was not expecting to feel as cheap and exploitative as i did.

for a city that consistently impresses me with it's self-awareness checkpoint charlie was disappointing at best. and it wasn't just the "snack point charlie" that made me cringe. there is a real effort in berlin to preserve significant historical areas or buildings but nothing about the this felt authentic. the little building may have been a part of the original large complex that made up the original checkpoint but the famous sign is a replica. the museum is disorganized and frustrating, offering little history, relying instead on the many versions of escape methods to entertain tourists. the second floor seeks to address the political and religious climate but by that time i was so annoyed that i didn't care anymore. i was expecting a more thought provoking experience but i left feeling like i had just been invited to gawk at a freak show.

on an up note we did find a life size fussball game played with the city's buddy bears (the berlin equivalent of the painted cows in chicago and the like). a tiny girl, no older than 6, was tending goal, which meant she was responsible for turning a wheel as big as she was to move the goalie bear. it was pretty awesome.