Berlin O philia

The East-Side Gallery is the only part of the original Berlin Wall that is still standing, relatively unharmed, with its beautiful historical graffiti on. Located in Friedrichshain, near the Ostbahnhof railway station, it is about 1,300 meters in length (0.8 miles), covered with over 100 paintings, some of which are real masterpieces.

When we went to see it, we were amazed at its poor condition, though. As it happened, except for a partial restoration project in 2000, the leftovers of the Berlin Wall and the East-Side Gallery were seriously neglected. Vandalism and corrosion did the rest. Read the rest of this entry »

Germany’s largest synagogue (Jewish prayer house), Rykestrasse Synagogue, reopened last Friday in the Prenzlauer Berg district in Berlin. The synagogue underwent a few years of renovation, following decades of neglect.

The event was hailed as a symbol of the revitalization of Jewish life in Germany, and even referred to as “a miracle” by Rabbi Chaim Roswaski, a native of Belarus who came to Berlin in 2000 as part of an influx of Jews from the former Soviet Union, that has made Germany one of the fastest growing Jewish communities in the world (and were they smart…).
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