My Walk in Sachsenhausen

Getting a guided tour in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was one of the sombre moments in Berlin (there was also another sombre moments when we we visited the Jewish memorial in the city with Sandsman free walks).

Arriving in Berlin,  you'll find plenty of brochures around that publicizes their walking tours. Pick any, they are all about the same rate, travel by public transport and they are usually conducted by history buffs so you can't go wrong. 

I'm not sure why i feel excited visiting a concentration camp. Perhaps it's because of my Scorpio inclination to all things dark, or maybe i'm only excited because i know i won't be suffering. 

Sachsenhausen was the administrative center of all concentration camps around the area in 1936 and was also a training center for the SS officers. People kept there are criminals, political prisoners and Jews. Among the prisoners, there was even a hierarchy. Rapists and murderers were at the top, becoming kapos (camp leaders) with the nice good men at their berating and torture. The SS made sure that by placing the worst of mankind as leaders, they could keep order and minimize risks of a revolt. 

However, in spite of all the enforced physical and mental primitiveness of the life in a concentration camp, it was possible for spiritual life to deepen, as written by some survivor biographies. 

The Death Strip

Guards were given rewards like extra leave or service by the brothel made of female prisoners if they successfully shot and killed any prisoner who attempts to escape. Female prisoners may sometimes volunteer to be part of the brothel so as to get better food and treatment. 

Sachsenhausen was the site of the largest counterfeiting operation ever. Inmates with profession and skill of a designer were forced to forge American and British currency, a plan to undermine thee economies. 

In Labour, we work to Freedom

Over 8 years, 30,000 prisoners died from exhaustion, disease, malnutrition and pneumonia etc. due to poor living conditions. Many others also died from brutal medical experimentation or made to go on death marches or gassed. However, 3000 inmates lived to see liberation. Was there a trick to staying alive in such dire states?

• LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

I believe man can only live by looking to the future. Holding on to the hope that he or she will once again be reunited with their loved ones. How a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. I feel sorry for the friends who don't have the 'carpe per diem' attitude. They find their future bleak and they find no purpose in living. 

• HAVING HUMOUR

Humor is another of the soul's weapons in the fight for self-preservation. Humor, more than anything else in the human make-up, can afoord an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds. I have been called names in online forums and i found them funny.

• SIMPLE JOYS

The inmates found simple joys in camps, like having fire to keep them warm. Finding tiny pieces of potatoes in their soup (1 per day) or just finding a piece of paper with Bible scriptures scribbled on (found in the pocket of a dead inmate's uniform). 

                           

Most importantly, i think what these 3,000 surviving inmates did, they found meaning in life. They didn't ask themselves "why me" in a sorry way. Instead of looking inwardly and asking what they expect from life, like most people do, they asked what life expected of them. They stopped asking about the meaning of life, instead to think of themselves being questioned by life. Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice. Some thoughts that ran through inmates' minds were, "i'm in here, so my wife and children won't be." I remembered once i wasn't feeling well and seeing the worried and concerned look my ex had, in that fleeting moment, i was glad i am the one lying in bed than it was he who is suffering. 

The more one forgets themselves, by giving himself to serve a cause or another person to love, the more there is to live. Life means taking taking responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfil the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man, and from moment to moment. No one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to them. Recently saw a video that reverbrated this message.

"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."

7 Alternative Things to do in Berlin

Berlin is one of my favourite European cities because its vibe. Where i, with my strange fashion and interests would fit in like fish in water. I don't know if its because of her poignant history that made her to be accepting of all cultures, interests and fetish.

You can join a free walking tour with Sandemans to cover all the historical landmarks including Checkpoint Charlie where for 2 euro you can pose with the guards, or pay 5 euro to get genuine passport stamps that don't exist anymore.

I joked with them, asking if they are full-time models.

 

Otherwise, here are some suggestions of alternative things to do when in Berlin!

1. Trace Mr. 6

The difference between graffiti and street art, both which Berlin has aplenty is that graffiti artists are punks who want to be famous (for getting away with it) while street artists have a message to convey about society. There are some 650,000 sixes scrawled in the city over 18 years but no one knows what is the message behind that 6. Find street art and graffiti in Mitte, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. If not, just keep your eyes peeled as you explore Berlin as you are bound to be able to find something!

Infamous Berlin wall

Building spotted while walking around aimlessly

2. Bearpit Karaoke
Every Sunday afternoon at 3pm, Joe rocks up to the stone circular amphitheater in Mauer Park with his makeshift outdoor karaoke set. This was my favourite thing to do in Berlin as i thought this was an ingenious entrepreneurial idea!

Brave members of the public can plan or spontaneously take up the microphone and unleash the inner star or banshee in them. The singers don't have to pay to sing, but Joe goes around every now and then with a can for donations. Everyone generously gave because they were all having such a good time. The atmosphere was contagious.

If everyone gave 1 euro, i reckon Joe makes at least 300 a Sunday without even performing!

 

People use bearpit karaoke as a wedding proposal ground,  a bachelor's dare or a hen's night out. There are the occasional eccentric characters who amped up the entertainment value. When i was there, there was a kid who dressed like an Undertaker complete with a flowing trench coat but had great showmanship. There was also a girl with blue pixie hair dressed like a cat, complete with whiskers drawn. The friendly crowd's roars and applause sometimes removes the inhibitions in people, like tearing open his shirt of gyrating sleazily. 

You have to be there seated among the wild crowd to feel emotions stirring inside you. Certainly inspiring.

Mauer Park also has a regular market selling wares, food and all sorts on Sundays. Highly recommended.

3. Party in Unexpected Spots
Berlin has such large empty spaces with an attitude that "anything goes" that allows many pop-up clubs or secret parties. I did not attend any when i was there, but i have heard stories with awe. Like the party which you enter via a real man-hole, and that party a friend discovered by chance because she found it odd that people were queuing for the toilet of a kebab shop. It was the entry point into a tunnel under the bridge. As a tourist, it may be hard to be in the know of such unexpected party spots, but you will fare well in the regular clubs. It is the only party city in the world where you can enter on Thursday and not leave till Sunday. You can literally party till you drop and they wouldn't throw you out. You can sleep inside the club, wake up get breakfast and party again. Stattbad Wedding is a permanent club in a defunct 100 year old swimming complex.

4. Eat Under a Railway
Burgermiester located under railway Schlesisches Tor is surely worth a hunt. So is the best kebab i've eaten (next point).

 

We arrived at night and a queue was snaking, club music was thumping and everyone was pumping mayo and ketchup on their fries. The buns were toaster to perfection with the beef patties succulent. The burger is about the size of a large man's fist. I had the chilli cheeseburger while my friend had the bbq. For a beer, 2 burgers and one serve of fries, it was 12 euros.

5. Eat the Best Kebab and Currywurst
I've never been quite a fan of kebabs but i've eaten kebabs in Singapore, Australia, Greece and Belgium. None of them tasted as good as Mustafa's Kebab at Mehringdamm 32. There was a 30 min queue wait but this is no deterrent for Singaporeans. They were so good that we thought of doing a takeaway for breakfast (kiasu) or even detour for kebab rerun the next day! It was THAT good. The secret is in the mint sauce, hummus, feta cheese and fried capsicum plus aubergines inside. All for only 3-4 euro!

Further down the same street is another famous stall Curry 36. Apparently a signature of Berlin, currywurst is deep fried sausages drenched in ketchup with a generous sprinkle of curry powder. I personally felt it is not a great miss if you didn't eat it, but you'll feel you haven't fully experienced Berlin if you didn't taste it. The secret is in the ketchup and curry powder. If the tomato sauce is home-made and if the curry is spicy enough. We ate 3 different stalls and Curry 36 is indeed the best. It felt like a recipe i could replicate at home though.

6. Take the smell of Berlin home with you

Frau Tonis Perfume is located near Charlie Checkpoint and i happened to walk past it. My scent was finishing and i thought maybe i would indulge and go for something uniquely me. In a store completely decked out in white, pale yellow and white liquids in laboratory bottles lined up in the middle for you to sniff. Push the bottles that you short list forward to make a selection that you can then blend to create an individualistic scent. It was pretty pricey and i didn't find the salesgirl very helpful although she is friendly. The clinical atmosphere was also intimidating. However, i know i will be walking the streets of Singapore smelling uniquely me.

7. Leave your Mark
While you take the scent of Berlin home with you, you should also leave your mark in Berlin to fully experience being a Berliner. Visit an abandoned building and bring a toolkit along!

In an abandoned ice factory