If it's Wednesday, it must be Berlin!

January 16-22, 2017

Monday and Tuesday are filled with last minute preparations and packing for a business trip to Berlin. I was part of a CFIA delegation to the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) that was headed for Berlin to have bilateral discussions with some of our trading partners. Fast forward and it’s Wednesday and I’m in an Embassy car headed to the airport armed with a binder filled with briefing materials.

The Aeroflot flight to Berlin is uneventful so it’s into a cab with my luggage and off to the Ritz Carlton Berlin to find the rest of the delegation. After a quick check in, I am back in the lobby thinking about stretching my legs but I run into colleagues from Ottawa in the lobby and plans change – time for introductions, briefings and a quick bite at Starbucks. Canada’s Minister of Agriculture is also in town for meetings at the GFFA with a contingent of staffers and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada folks so we all get together for dinner at the Marriott across from the Ritz Carlton. The food was nothing special but it was great to meet the big boss and have a casual evening.

Thursday morning and I join the gang in the restaurant at the RC and a buffet breakfast; something the Europeans do very well. The offerings include anything you would want for breakfast and then some – I am very focused on the tables laden with great cheese, beauteous fruit and flaky croissants – things that are in short supply in Russia. I am in heaven and there is not much chance of reversing the direction of the scale this week! 

Sated we all walk over to the Canadian Embassy for a meeting with the Ambassador. The hotel is located just east of where the wall once stood while the Embassy is in no man’s land with a clear view of where the “western “wall once stood.  After a successful meeting, it’s off to City Cube for the Kick Off Event for the GFFA and to check out the meeting facilities for some of ministerial bilaterals.  

Navigating the grounds while the vendors are setting up Green Week is an eye-opener. The site is huge with exhibits and stands from 70 counties. On our walkabout, we run into a retired German bar owner who is featuring all things Canadian including Moosehead beer, Crown Royal. Her booth is decorated with moose and buffalo heads, a bear hide and all manner of Canadiana. Too bad we won’t be back to check out the crowd when the exhibition opens.

Back to the hotel, I grab a quick nondescript dinner at the food court in the mall before heading back to the grounds for the Reception for Foreign Guests later that night. Even though we had found the building where the reception was going to be hosted in the daylight hours, we wandered about for a while before arriving at the right building. Lots of German and Hungarian food, wine and beer and a room stuffed with folks from 70 countries though there were a lot of Germans in attendance. It was hard to find folks you were looking for so we gave up and enjoyed the music and a second dinner ‘hobbit-style”!

After another amazing breakfast, Friday was spent at briefings and tweaking the materials for bilateral meetings.  After our last meeting, we headed to a traditional German restaurant where I opted for the schnitzel and spätzle washed down with some red wine.  Others tried variations of the German theme including fairly unsuccessful napkin dumplings and a successful sauerbraten plate. Overall, it was a lovely evening with great company.

Schnitzel and spätzle

With some last minute changes to our schedule, Saturday was more or less free. Sadly, I had some stomach issues that limited my opportunities for tourism. I did manage a bit of a walk about and ran into two groups of protestors in very short order.  The first group was protesting to support German farmers and the second was protesting against Mr. Trump’s presidency.

Power to the Bauer!

World's First Traffic Light

Pieces of the Wall (in situ)

 

 

Anti-Trump Demonstration

After a day of recuperation, I was well enough for a final dinner with the crew. I sampled the goulash while others tried the schnitzel, spätzle and sauerbraten. The food was good and as usual we had a lovely evening.

After a quicker (but not lighter) breakfast Sunday, I headed out to explore a bit of Berlin with one of my Canadian colleagues. 

First stop was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe; a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The site is covered with row after row of concrete slabs or stelae arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. The monument is located a block from the Brandenburg Gate on the former location of the Berlin Wall, where the “death strip” once divided the city; a stark reminder.

Our next stop was the Brandenburg Gate a symbol of the tumultuous history of Germany, but also of European unity and peace.  

From there, we headed to the Reichstag to check out the seat of the German government, Platz der Republik and surrounding area.  The Spree River provides a pretty backdrop for what look like government offices; a nice place to work indeed!

We followed the Spree River and eventually ended up at the train station where we found the sculpture – Trains to Life – Trains to Death a memorial to the Children's Transports during the Nazi Era. 

The seven boys and girls in the sculpture represent the Jewish children of the 1930s. The arrangement of the group reflects the contrasting fate of the children in the Nazi era. Five figures in grey bronze look to one side, symbolizing the suffering of those deported to concentration camps to meet an early demise. Two lighter bronze figures, however, gaze in the other direction. They represent those Jewish children whose lives were saved by the Kindertransport to England. The sculptor, Frank Meisler was one of the lucky few who travelled on a 1939 children's transport from Berlin-Friedrichstraße to England (10,000 were saved and more than 2,000,000 perished).

We continued along the Spree River through flea markets and art sales until we arrived at Museum Island. Museum Island hosts five internationally significant museums, all part of the Berlin State Museums.

No time for dallying, so we continued on our way eventually finding Checkpoint Charlie (aka Checkpoint C) the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991). Got to love the brand positioning of the iconic American company – McDonalds!

Soon enough it was time to head back to the hotel and grab a cab to the airport for the shortish flight home to Moscow. The flight was uneventful but the crazy Moscow traffic meant it was almost midnight by the time I arrived home. Berlin definitely requires a return trip as a tourist!