Now that we've all returned from our field trip to Germany,
the remainder of our posts will focus on the highlights and content of our
trip. While our trip was organized based on the theme of Germany's role in the
European Union, we were also able to include a few tours and meetings that
covered more localized topics that were relevant to the three cities we visited
(Frankfurt, Berlin, and Leipzig). These have contributed to our understanding
of contemporary German culture and community in some of Germany's cities. Since
most of us were visiting Germany for the first time, incorporating a look at
more localized aspects of German culture has helped us to articulate a more
complex understanding of how Germany operates at both the localized and
international level.
Kreuzberg Walking Tour with Dr. Thomas Bürk
On our first day in Berlin, we woke up bright and early to
meet Dr. Thomas Bürk in Kreuzberg, a working class neighborhood located in the
eastern part of Berlin where we were given an insightful tour which focused on
the ongoing process of gentrification in the city, as well as some of the major
developments that have taken place in the area from the Second World War onward.
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| Oberbaum Bridge |
We started out near Oberbaum Bridge, which we learned was
used as a boarder crossing between former East and West Berlin. Having just
arrived in Berlin the night before, we were exited to have our first glimpse of
the former East/West divide, as this was a major topic of interest for a number
of us when we initially took interest in Germany as the focus of the International
Studies Symposium for 2012.
As we made our way through the
residential streets of Kreuzberg, we learned that the neighborhood was mainly
inhabited by working-class and immigrant communities who have been faced with
the problem of rising rent costs, an issue which has emerged in a number of
Germany cities in recent years, especially those that are located in the former
East. For more information on gentrification in Berlin, here are a couple of
online articles written from different perspectives:
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| Pre-war, post-war, and post modern buildings in Kreuzberg |
An
interesting insight Dr. Bürk noted during the tour was the varied ages and
styles of housing found in the area. The neighborhood was composed of an
interesting mix of pre- and post-war buildings juxtaposed with post-modern
structures. As we were led through Görlitzer Park (where the
scene was somewhat reminiscent of Trinity Bellwoods Park here in Toronto) we spotted families, couples, and groups of young
people relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. We were fortunate enough to
catch a glimpse of what some might call left-wing propaganda in preparation for
the May Day protests, which would be taking place just a few days later.
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| Dr. Bürk and Nancy at Tempelhofer Park |
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| View of Tempelhofer Park |
Our
last stop was Tempelhof Park, a former airstrip used during the Second World
War, which was recently turned into a huge, beautiful community park and is
currently the subject of heated debates surrounding the future use of the space,
much like the rest of Kreuzberg’s neighborhoods.
A Tour of West Leipzig – Art & Reunification, Traces of
the GDR with Dr. Bernd Adamek-Schyma
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| East Leipzig |
During our brief stay in Leipzig we met with Dr. Bernd
Adamek-Schyma, a local cultural geographer who took us on a tour of the western parts of the city. The tour focused on a mixture of reunification, traces of the former GDR,
gentrification, and local art. What was initially striking was how the
developments currently taking place in the western parts of Leipzig seemed to contrast heavily
with those in eastern Leipzig where our hostel was located. While the west was undergoing a process
of restoration and renewal (much to the dismay of some of the area's inhabitants), the east seemed quiet and dismal with its empty
streets and abandoned storefronts.
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| Urban development in west Leipzig |
Dr. Adamek-Schyma’s tour was an excellent supplement to the knowledge we gained during
our earlier appointments with the City of Leipzig and the Helmholtz Institute,
which focused on urban development in Leipzig and the issue of shrinking
cities in Europe (Leipzig is one of many) respectively. Leipzig has been undergoing a heavy
overhaul of urban renewal in the years since reunification took place and has
only begun to see some regrowth in its population since a massive amount of its
former inhabitants migrated to the former West once the border was opened.
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| Interior of a typical Leipzig apartment. |
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| The Spinnerei |
As our tour began, we walked past a local market to a old apartment building in the mist of renovations. Here we were given an introduction to Leipzig’s alternative
art community at a small public gallery located inside. We were fortunate to be able to take a
look at one of the apartments inside the building, which gave us an idea of what it
might have been like to live in a typical Leipzig dwelling during GDR times. As we continued
through the streets of west Leipzig we passed through a community garden, which
sadly will only serve its current purpose until the property it is located on is
sold for development. We then ventured to a slightly more up-scale neighborhood
located along the river and made our way to the Spinnerei, an old cotton
factory-turned art district. Here we were very fortunate to visit HALLE 14, a
not-for-profit art space promoting contemporary art. After a day of meetings
and a long trek on foot the exhibits at HALLE 14 made for an intriguing end to
our study-tour agenda.
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| Contemporary art at HALLE 14 |
While the majority of our scheduled meetings, presentations,
and tours during our field trip focused Germany’s role in the European Union,
these alternative walking tours shed light on the fact that although Germany may hold a strong international reputation of being a global economic heavy-weight
and a central figure in the workings of the European Union, it continues to
experience its own internal difficulties at the local level. Having visited to
Germany for the first time, it was surprising to discover that remnants of the
former East/West divide are not so hard to come by especially in parts of the former East.
The alternative walking tours focused on aspects of contemporary
German society and culture, which might not have been obvious to the average
visitor. They gave us a sense of the existing importance of community
involvement in some of Germany’s cities. They also provided insight to some of
the obstacles faced by of the working-class and immigrant populations in
Germany. For us, this has culminated in a more complex understanding of Germany
at the social level and has allowed us to articulate a more realistic
understanding of German culture and society, which are sometimes overshadowed by a more dominant focus German politics and economics as Germany tries to mitigate some of the pressures being faced by the European Union.
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