Berlin - a City of the Past and the Future

By John Callahan - Blog Entry III

Its now been a week since my last entry, and the focus of our visit to Europe has dramatically changed from a regional to a National Focus. Leaving Brussels, we travelled to Dusseldorf, capital of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and then on the German national capital at Berlin.

Since Berlin is one of my favorite cities, visiting is always more than a pleasure. The layers upon layers of history here give one plenty to contemplate, and yet the city is still moving forward. Berlin itself lies in the former East German and Prussian province of Brandenburg, and, contrary to expectations, is nearing bankruptcy. This was illustrated starkly by a discussion I had last night with friends in Prenzlauer Berg, an area far outside tourist zones in the former east. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, billions were spent on modernizing this and other areas across the east. However, little has been done since then to maintain the infrastructure and beauty of the outlying areas, because there simply is no money. Areas like the once central Kurfurstendamm seem to be in a state of slow decay. Of course one hopes that this does not continue.

The level of access to German leaders has impressed me greatly. From Parliamentary leaders such as the head of the Bundestag’s Foreign Relations committee to access into the offices of the German Chancellor and the Ministry of Finance, we have been truly fortunate in who we have met and what we have seen. One topic mentioned frequently and about which I had heretofore heard nothing, is a proposed North Atlantic Free Trade area. This idea fascinates me, and I plan to write about it as my valedictory paper for the course that this European visit contributes to.

We wrapped up the substantive portion of the trip today with a visit to the Foundation for Political Research, located in the Wilmersdorf Section of the City. The Presentations dealt with Germany’s complex raw materials relationship with Russia as well as German involvement and interest in the Arab Spring movement which has swept the middle east since spring 2011. German Russian Relations were quite accurately described as being interdependent, since Russia has a relatively small number of buyers for its oil, and is dependent on them for revenues.

Our final speaker was back at the Adenauer Foundation head office. A representative of the European Affairs Committee of the Bundestag spoke on a wide range of issues surrounding Germany’s role in the European Union.

As the trip comes to an end, we have a free day tomorrow in Berlin, followed by a flight home and a sad return to normal life!