Sonrise Mountain Revival Berlin Project
Day One
By Kristin Gaffney
I’m writing this as the slow snores echo softly down the hallway. Or, very loud snores. It’s about six thirty in Berlin and we’ve all been up most of the night, for us it’s… 12:30 p.m. or something ridiculous like that and we have been up since yesterday. Almost everyone is asleep or pretending to read in bed and actually asleep – that is the girls are, the boys went out to find some more bratwurst before bed!.
Already we have had an impromptu concert on a balcony, stepped on the very land where Adolf Hitler died, eaten delicious bratwurst, learned many new words in German, had a curious encounter with a person dressed as a gorilla, and generally been far to sleepy to care.
We arrived at around two in the morning for us and eight in the morning in Berlin. Randy Dodd met in the airport, we all found our luggage (mine was dirty and slightly smushed, grr!) and exchanged our money. I had a faint heart attack when I realized I had to cart my giant red suitcase, my duffle bag, and my sensitive camera bag on two buses and countless train rides (There are trains above the roads! You can just get on them and go somewhere! There are millions of them, or so it seems!). Somehow no luggage or people were lost and we made our way to the hotel after taking great care to avoid the bike-sidewalks. The bicyclers literally just fly by as fast as they can, which means avoid them as best as possible unless you want to be run over.
To keep us from collapsing from jet lag, Randy promised to take us on a little tour of Berlin after we got our rooms settled. Also, no matter what Leanna says, she did try and fall asleep and I did have to drag her out of the super comfy bed. A comfy bed which I desperately can’t wait to return to…
So, Randy talked to us, we all listened then it was off to meet up with Randy’s daughter. Because of the amount of expected walking, Dick and Rich stayed behind to practice and then find a place to eat nearby, of which the choices were many. The rest of the team took a train. Then another. Then another. And then I got very dizzy as we went on even another train. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a train before, but I figure that by the end of the trip I’ll have suffered, I mean experienced my fair share.
We came out on this giant railstation that looked vaguely like a cross between Newark Airport, the Palisades Mall, and the Empire State Building. I tried to take several pictures but I could barely walk in a straight line after the lurching of the train and the shock of finding myself on the top of a very tall building (I get scared just walking on the ground in New York City and imagining myself in the tall buildings, stupid fear of heights). But we made out way to a bridge and we met Randy’s daughter Shanda and her roommate – they are missionaries in Spain who came to spend a few days with our team. They tempted us by having coffee, and it wasn’t until much later that we were going to have some.
We walked along for a bit, talking to each other, and saw the German version of the White House and the Capital Building, both very impressive and beautiful. Then we walked around for a long time, desperately tired and hungry, while Randy informed us of all the incredible culture, the differences of West and East Berlin, historical monuments, and don’t worry everyone we’ll eat soon.
It seemed to take forever, but Randy was true to his word and we found our way to a street restaurant and I got French fries (or pomme fritz) and currywurst (a bigger bratwurst that’s cut up and has something to do with whatever curry is). I liked it!
The Brandenburg Gate was in view where we were, and my father told me the history of the gate while we sat facing the former resting place of the Berlin wall and no-man’s land. There were white crosses beside us in honor of people who had died attempting to get to West Berlin from East Berlin, and it was interesting to note the many crosses that the largely atheistic population of Berlin passed by without a glance.
The square in front of the Brandenburg Gate was incredibly crowded, with horses and buggys, a graduating class from a local school complete with robes, Darth Vader and Yoda with giant fuzzy heads, a group of street dancers, and a person dressed as a gorilla. We did learn the lesson that if you take a picture with a person dressed as a gorilla they will expect you to pay them for the privilege. No, we didn’t pay them and yes, we deleted the picture…
Then it was on to the Holocaust Memorial, which was not what I expected in the least. It is a collection of square slabs, varying in height, across a waved floor covering an entire city block. Children and teenagers and even a few adults were around it, eating food, sitting on the slabs, playing games. We walked through, some being somber but almost all of us found ourselves starting to run around, after all, we were tired, this was fun and most of the locals and tourists were doing the same. Randy told us that the creator of the memorial wanted each individual to have a different response, ranging from the somber reality of the tragedy it represents to celebrating the life that exists today.
I somehow managed to be running around trying to scare Leanna and my dad, but then I started to think about the symbolism of the museum. The tall squares loomed, impressive and impersonal, and the sound of laughter, joyous when close, took on a sharper and almost cruel tone the farther away we went. As I went deeper and deeper into the museum, purposely trying to loose myself, it definitely brought a new perspective to me by actually being there. The Germans were profoundly affected by two World Wars, arguably more then any other country as they were the instigators of both. It was the Allied powers which broke up Germany into many parts and then broke up Berlin the same way, as Randy explained to us.
I love history and so it was surreal as we walked along after the memorial, seeing a few slabs of the foundations of Hitler’s headquarters and then the ultimate realization. We stood in the center of the trio of trees that marks the place where Hitler and his wife killed themselves.
Needless to say, we weren’t all somber for long. After a bit, while waiting for others to catch up, we sparked a lengthy and in depth conversation over American Idol that lasted almost the entire way to the Sony Plaza. We petted some adorable huskies (buy me one Mom!), got on another bus, got on another and another train, but then it was only 4:30.
So we got some pastries and coffee to stay awake and then me and Shanda’s roommate saw some boys playing basketball (poorly, no offense to them, but basketball is an American sport) and we decided to join. I admit, that was a lot of fun and it passed the time quickly until we were back at the hotel.
But it still wasn’t time to sleep!
So, Shanda and her roommate had not yet heard Sonrise Mountain Revival in action so Randy and Dad decided to get us all together and play music even though our eyes were falling off and our heads seemed permanently stuck staring at the floor. I was vaguely certain that two or more members of the band were sleepwalking… one of those I suspected was me.
But I sat back and enjoyed the music, sang along a bit, and despite the wretched bags under our eyes it was really good. So then Randy told us to play our last song, I’ll Fly Away, on the balcony in one of the rooms. The instruments all managed to fit (we actually don’t have the bass yet but Mike sang the bass part rather well despite that) and then we started to sing (I joined in. Bluegrass music is infectious.).
A few of us went down to take pictures from the street, and about halfway into the song we began to realize that a woman across the street was standing on the balcony and listening, a father and his daughters had stopped to listen, and a man was standing with his key in the doorway, a smile on his face, beating his head in time to the music.
God really has a plan for us here, I can feel it, I just can’t wait to find out what it is. Or maybe I can. Because I am going to bed now. Goodnight all, and sweet dreams.
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