My Experience in Germany
ABROKYIRE ABRABO
WITH EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE
MY WAHALA IN
I must first say I never planned writing on my intriguing experiences in
The idea popped into my head (or is it out of my head?) after my first night in the German capital of Berlin, where I am attending a two-week course in Newspaper Management organised by the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ) of InWEnt – Capacity Building International.
The urge to write might also be because I had a good night’s rest or rather because I find what I have experienced so far in abrokyire too exciting that they should not pass without comment.
Now, sit well as I recount my life as it unfolds in the heart of Europe –
My Trip From
Starting off from
I arrived for check-in at 6pm but couldn’t go back home, as I stay far from the Kotoka International Airport and going back would not have been a wise decision. So I had to endure over five hours of waiting (take-off of Lufthansa flight LH 567 was 11:30pm – eh! Eye asem oh! Small abrokyire wey man go go and so so wahala! But that was just a tip of the iceberg – wait till you read what I had to endure before finally arriving at my destination.
Soon it was time to board the aircraft at Gate 1 and what gave me just a little company was a call from my old folks and a call to my home and a friend. And yeah! I also met a friend who was also off to the
So soon we boarded the Lufthansa flight straight to Frankfurt and hey, wasn’t I impressed that we actually took off at exactly 11:30pm
We spent six hours in the air, enjoying virtually an uneventful smooth flight from Accra, with the cabin crew making sure everyone was alright, arriving at 6am central time (5am in Ghana).
Arrival At
The landing was smooth and soon we had taxied to a stop and we (passengers) were informed we had been given.....what was that? Well since I have forgotten the exact name, suffice me to say an apron – somewhere far from one of the numerous entrances to the arrival hall, which meant we would be transported by bus to the terminal.
But wait! It was not before a German Police officer – Polizei had scrutinised our passports thoroughly. It appeared that the flight had a clean passenger list, as no one was hauled away for questioning and so we all proceeded to the airport’s arrival hall.
At the Arrival Hall
From the bus, there was another scrutiny of passports by German Immigration Authorities and if any suspicious travel documents was missed by the Polizei at the exit of the flight the immigration officials were ready to mop up.
Further, in view of the hordes of passengers arriving at the busy airport, several queues had to be formed, with passengers belonging to non EU (European Union) countries being separated from those belonging to European countries.
That was not all; on the way to the arrival hall proper, passengers were taken through a very rigid security check, which made many, including myself, miss our connecting flights.
I was fortunate though, to get another connecting flight to the German capital Berlin, unlike others who were raving mad because they were connecting or transiting to totally different countries and had missed their flights. They thus had to wait for several hours before the next available flight.
The security check points were a spectacle of long winding queues and anything that could trigger an alarm such as coins, wrist watches, belts mobile phones and even shoes were removed and passed through a security device.
This was apart from hand luggages of passengers, jackets and laptops, with the arriving passengers themselves going through a detector – and if it was triggered he or she is made to go back and check what caused that and if the security officials are still not satisfied such passenger was frisked with the aid of a security device. I noted that women officials frisked female passengers, while male officials did so for male passengers.
Soon it was my turn and I had to be taken through the same procedure. Fortunately for me though I did not have to remove my footwear – I was in my trainers and was also not frisked. I however had my hand luggage virtually ransacked for any possible threat and asked to remove my laptop for proper scrutiny.
And I couldn’t heave a sigh of relief yet. I still had a plane to catch before reaching my destination and was now faced with the uphill task of locating gate A13 as indicated on my itinerary at the huge airport for my connecting flight.
To my chagrin the monitors at the airport told me a different story – they rather directed me to gate A16, which I later understood to mean I had missed my flight. And I must say I had to pay extra attention to locate gate A16 and had to go up stairways as well as escalators, negotiate some sharp turns and do a lot of walking and sometimes running (even on the escalators) as I found others doing, in order to arrive at the designated gate on time.
All that turned out to be in vain, as I missed my scheduled flight anyway, and in the end had to walk some kilometres – and am not exaggerating here!
At last I was at gate A16 but was told I had missed the flight. I was then asked to approach the transfer desk of the airline which was between A20 and A22 – that meant more walking and I did not have any choice. There, I met some of the passengers who were on the same flight with me from Ghana – I was not alone.
I easily located the transfer desk of Lufthansa and received help from the airline official for a new boarding pass for the next available flight – ‘Ha! Thank heavens I will get to Berlin today’, I said to myself.
Thankfully my boarding gate was A20, just close to the transfer desk and the flight had been further delayed for about an hour. I was there at around 8:30am German time and 7:30am Ghana time. I was then faced with the dilemma of remaining calm and patient till the flight was announced or calling my hosts in Berlin and informing them I was going to delay. I chose the former.
It was soon 9:30 and almost all passengers travelling on that flight stood up. After waiting for a while though and seeing no one moving towards the gate I inched forward after reading a notice on a monitor close by asking all with electronic tickets to follow some steps to enter the aircraft (‘Why was no one moving’; I asked myself).
I then proceeded with the instruction and I passed with distinction. It however turned out to be a wrong move because the glass door which was the entry point to the entrance of the aircraft was not yet open – poor me.
Just as the electronic device leading to the exit and entrance of the aircraft allowed me access, the embarrassed ticketing official stretched out his hand asking me to stop, which drew a lot of laughter from the other potential passengers and he kept on watching to see if the automated door which controlled boarding would open. He gave up at a point and asked me to join the rest but the truth was there was no way I could join them – there was no turning back.
Alas! He was saved by the bell when the door finally opened, saying to me “You can now go in what I will call German English. Thus, I was the first to enter the big aircraft to Berlin and was welcomed warmly by some pretty German cabin attendants.
Arrival At Berlin Tegel Airport
The forty-five minute flight from Frankfurt to Berlin was smooth and without event, save that I was the only black on board; but no one seemed to notice me.
My worry on what to do on arrival if I did not meet my hosts was abated when at the arrival hall of the comparatively smaller airport I saw a sweet young white lady holding a large sheet which had on it the inscription InWEnt, in the company of an African and an Asian.
The reaction was spontaneous when I made eye contact with them – they instinctively got to know I was the one they were waiting for. The lady was Sabrina, a course assistant I had been corresponding with before leaving Ghana, the Asian, Andi, a fellow participant from Indonesia, and the African, Louis – the cab driver who drove Andi and I to our residence - a guest house at Zimmererweg (Buckower Damm 91) - forgotten the country he is from but he says he’s been to Ghana (Accra, Kumasi and Cape Coast) and enjoyed the country very much.
I must say here that we enjoyed a kingly ride from the Tegel Airport to our apartment in a Mercedes Benz cab which will be the envy of many in Africa and definitely will not be used as a taxi in Ghana but as a priced possession.
Andi and I arrived at the guest house at approximately 11:00am German time, on a very wet and cold morning (about 2degrees celcius). Louis said it was negative the previous night.
Arrival At Guest House
Andi and I were met on arrival at the guest house by two charming ladies who we later got to know were also course (seminar) assistants known as Antonella and Susan.
The very meticulous ladies made us feel very welcome and showed us to our rooms – Antonella attended to Andi, while Susan attended to me, explaining to us the facilities at our disposal and giving us stuff we would need while in Berlin.
Hei, and I must say the apartments at the guest house are simply cool, with a kitchenette, washroom, big wardrobe, television, bedside radio two writing tables and all that but the less said about the television, the better. Only one of the over fifty channels became useful to me, and that was the CNN Channel – all the rest were completely German stations and my German or deutsch is not all that good; you know.
The Long Wait For My Lugggage
Ei! So I have really arrived at abrokyire so far from home? I soliloquised. Hmm! Yes my new surroundings indicated I had travelled so many miles from Ghana and from Africa.
So I was supposed to take it easy and wait for the next line of action, which was receive my luggage which I had presumably left at the airport because of the delay in my connecting flight from Frankfurt to Berlin.
In fact I wouldn’t have left without my luggage which I believed had preceded me to Berlin if Sabrina who welcomed me at the Tegel airport had not assured me of handling it from there and asking me to go rest and take it easy after my long flight.
But hei, that was another chapter I wouldn’t forget so easily. And it is because I did a lot of waiting before it finally arrived at approximately 6:30pm German time. You can well understand my apprehension when after six hours upon arrival I had still not seen the baggage I packed from home. In those nervy moments I asked myself so many questions and feared the worst.
I am however grateful to Sabine who kept communicating with me and asking for a description of my suitcase, at the end of which she assured that the luggage would get to me about mid afternoon.
I understood the delay later when I received a call on my Germany mobile phone (part of the package on arrival and check in at the guest house which will be returned at the end of the course) and went downstairs to fetch my stuff.
It looked like I was only one of several people who were having their luggages dispatched to them and I heaved a heavy sigh of relief on seeing by suitcase. But then...was everything intact? It seemed so but it had obviously been tampered with – the main compartment locked with a number combination had been opened – how, I don’t know. Perhaps the authorities were checking to make sure the owner of the bag did not have any contraband like drugs. How do I know this; my small gari had been punctured while my cocoa butter pomade looked like it had been stirred. Anyway I am grateful nothing was missing from my items.
Exploring Our Neighbourhood
Hmm! I didn’t tell you this. While I was still wondering what had happened to my luggage, Susan and Antonella – the charming ladies who checked us into the guest house, were back at 2pm (1pm in Ghana) to introduce us to the neighbourhood. That introduction meant we had to take a bus to the nearest central point from our residence – HermannstraBe.
Meanwhile, it was still very cold from the day’s showers and that day we were told, was exceptionally cold – what a welcome. Although I was glad it was an opportunity to meet most of the participants who had also arrived, it was very inconvenient for me because I was only in a polo shirt and a jacket I thought was very heavy until that moment – come see Ghanaman wey dey shiver for Kwesi Broni abrokyire cold inside but I no fit show am – for show say I be man from Africa – Mamei!
I had to quickly pray some special prayers for us to return quickly to the guest house and thank God we did so in good time before I started shaking like a leaf on a tree during harmattan.
The Welcome Dinner
After that scare the night passed quickly and soon it was day – first night in a strange suburb – Zimmererweg and to be precise Buckower Damm. So even though I left Ghana on a Tuesday my first day in Germany actually begun on Thursday and it was in the evening of this day that InWEnt had scheduled a welcome dinner for all participants.
After finding the weather so unfriendly the previous day and also to adjust to the different time zone I remained indoors sleeping all day till evening which had been scheduled for a welcome dinner for participants of the Newspaper Management course.
When it was 5pm our chaperons, Susan and Antonella came to pick us to the welcome dinner at the Merhaba which turned out to be a Turkish Restaurant.
Strange Meal
At the restaurant course participants introduced themselves to course staff minus the lecturers. After introduction and serving of drinks the meal, a buffet was served and mine it was an interesting combination. I wouldn’t dare to mention what was on the menu, for I will fail miserably.
The only familiar food was rice. The stews were strange as well as the soup – which tasted good though. In all we enjoyed a good meal and thanks heavens it did not disturb my stomach
First Day At IIJ
After having a lot to eat and enjoying a fairly good time, majority of the participants clamoured to return to the guest house, as we were still a little tired from our long journeys from our respective countries and were also still trying to adjust to the very cold weather.
Moreover, we had to prepare for the first day of the course, which was the next day. Friday finally arrived and we all gathered in front of the guest house at 8am to be taken to the IIJ facility where the course would be held by one of the hardworking assistants – Susan.
The Journey to IIJ
The journey to IIJ, which took approximately 40 minutes was very intriguing as well as adventurous and I must add that it was all confusing.
First we had to take a bus which we were all getting familiar with – M44, to HermannstraBe but the tricky part was with the trains we had to connect to school. First we had to board a train to Sudkreuz, then on arrival, went downstairs to board another one going in the direction of Anhalter Banhof , made sure we came off at that stop, then climbed upstairs from the tunnel to the institute.
We were not enthused at all when we were told we would have to make the trip on our own on Monday. But how for do? We decided to leave the guest house together as a group so we wouldn’t miss our way.
At The Institute
All was already set when we opened the door to what will be our lecture hall for two weeks, with every participant’s name tag showing also the country positioned where he or she would be sitting, plus a file, scribbling pad and a pen, which were all branded. In all we were supposed to be fifteen according to the placings but were thirteen (13) on that first day. We later gathered that Joseph from Nigeria would be joining us at the weekend, while Anastella from Tanzania had cancelled her participation at the last minute due to some family problems.
Although we were told the first day was just to introduce us to the course it was a kind of baptism of fire as we spent the whole day being introduced to one topic after the other, after all 13 participants and two lecturers Tatiana and Peter had introduced themselves one to the other. Though it looked like a marathon session, the introduction had adequately prepared us for what lay ahead for us.
A Visit To Checkpoint Charlie
After lectures on the first Friday we were taken to a historic site – a famous check point of the Berlin Wall when it was functional known as Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie, as we were told, was a very important check point for the allied forces during the time Germany was partitioned into East and West.
Checkpoint Charlie, along with Glienicker Brucke (Glienicker Bridge) was the best known border-crossing of cold war days. The sign, which became a symbol of the division of cold war Berlin and read like a dire warning to those about to venture beyond the wall – YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE AMERICAN SECTOR –in English, Russian, French and German – stood here.
It is today an iconic marker of territorial boundary and political division. Until the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, it signified the border between West and East, Capitalism and Communism, freedom and confinement.
Historically, the site is important because from 1961 to 1990 it functioned as the main entry and departing point for diplomats, journalists and non-German visitors who used to be allowed to enter East Berlin on a one day visa after exchanging their Deutsch Marks on a one-to-one basis for East German currency.
More dramatically, US and Soviet tanks had a close encounter here in October 1961 when J.F.Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s tanks faced each other in an acrimonious moment feared around the world as a possible lead up to World War III.
The wooden barracks where visitors to the Russian Sector (East Berlin) were once obliged to pass through for vetting was removed. Reconstruction has included a US Army guardhouse and a copy of the original border sign.
The original white booth which served as the official gateway between East and West can be seen in the Allierten Museum in Berlin-Dahlem. Cobblestones mark the exact spot of the former border and the poignant and the poignant photography by Frank Thiel of an American and Soviet soldier can be seen here.
Memorabilia includes the nearby Cafe Alder (eagle), a hotspot for journalists and spies in the past where informers met their counterparts. The Museum, known as Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, contains the best documentation available on the many escape attempts from East to West. The original Checkpoint sign is exhibited here.
Ironically, the new Berlin has turned this area into an entry, rather than a departure point, to a new kind of American sector. Today’s FriedrichtraBe, with its Manhattan style office district, its new buildings by international architects such as Philip Johnson, who created the American Business centre, is the fruit of the millions in corporate investment which rebuilt this central part of East Berlin in the 1990s.
Visiting Checkpoint Charlie, which is just few minutes walk from the IIJ institute was a very exciting experience and the guards on duty at the gate were exceptionally friendly. Anyone who wanted to take a shot with them was allowed to do so but at a token fee of one Euro (The hordes of tourists we met there though, suggests they make a lot of money each day.
Exploring Shopping Facilities
The next item on the carefully thought out IIJ programme was an exploration – more or less window shopping at shopping facilities. And my, what beautiful things we saw on our excursion.
But hey, that is a smart move by the Germans. Despite the fact that everyone who visits abrokyire would like to take back home a thing or two, I see it also as a way to boost their economy by ensuring you spend some money before you live – what better way to ensure much needed Euros remain in the country.
So it was that at exactly 2:30pm our chaperons came for us to show us the places we could shop if we needed anything.
We took two buses – the now well known M44 and headed in the direction of Buckow-Sud, Stuthirtenweg and alighted at Alt-Buckow. We then took another – our first time of boarding a different one apart from our favourite M44. This time it was bus M11, which was headed for S Schoneweide and alighted at “U Johannisthaler Chaussee.
Still At The Shopping Centre
After few stops we arrived at the huge shopping mall – the Galeria Kaufhof with a chain of shops just as we have at the Swanzy Shopping Arcade in Ghana with the main difference here being the fact the Galeria looked bigger with a floor or two.
The interesting here is that one could stay in the building the whole day shopping without even realising it with the mail wahala being that all inscriptions on goods are in Deutsch and shop attendants basically Deutsch speaking. Thus, our attempt to purchase some items was very difficult and we had to figure things out for ourselves – eye nsem pii.
I remember much much later that this wahala came to bear when we shopped for some food items and basic necessities. Apart from the fact that we could not get the right things we needed – I bought some margarine I couldn’t use because it was without salt and was thus tasteless, a colleague had to use a showering gel as pomade for some time before realising it was not the pomade he thought it was. It actually did the reverse of what he wanted (made his face drier instead of making it moist to withstand the cold and dry weather) before he realised something was wrong.
The Intriguing German Metro Bus
But this snag in shopping notwithstanding, let me tell you about some very intriguing aspect of the bus we took most of time which I noticed in no time and found very amusing. It is the fact that every bus tilts to the right on stopping at a bus stop, to enable passengers alight without difficulty (or having to jump) and also board without the least struggle.
Also noticed was that all the buses have been designed to accommodate the physically challenged or those using wheelchairs – there are slabs which are lifted onto the pavement by bus drivers to enable such people climb the buses without sweat.
Moreover, there are no bus conductors as we have on the metro buses in Ghana. The bus driver himself issues out tickets to passengers when they board the bus without one and gives them change by means of an automated machine on the bus. Others like us had seasonal tickets – that is a ticket for the month of November, which we only needed to show to the bus driver on boarding a bus, which usually received a nod.
There are no queues to board buses and one needs only to be at a designated bus stop at a convenient time and wait for a bus to arrive depending on destination. There are normally also pasted in the bus the various stops of the bus, in addition to the fact that every stop is digitally shown in the bus before the bus arrives there and in addition announced by an automated system and a passenger only needs to press the nearest stop button which also shows digitally and the driver will stop.
After spending few days in Berlin, colleague course mates all agreed that the transportation system in Berlin was very efficient. No wonder it was confirmed by one of the seminar assistants as the best in Germany.
I could go on and on but time and space would not permit that. However I would briefly touch on the train system as well, which is also very efficient. There is the normal underground train which we use everyday both to and from the IIJ institute and the speed trains which connect people to other German towns and cities.
They operate on similar lines as the metro buses, save for the fact that they work according to specific time schedules and the good thing is that one is always made aware of the arrival time of the next train to a particular destination, which most times is 15 minutes. The display also includes the various stops along the way as well as the particular train.
Albeit, despite all that plus maps that can always be found in the trains, we’ve always had to check and cross-check the particular train we need to board because it is sometimes so confusing – sometimes we need to climb up, sometimes down and other times we need to be on the same floor where we came off the train and cross over to connect another train.
Indeed we had to come off a train on our way to a programme because we missed the direction, even though we were being led by a seminar assistant and she confessed that it was sometimes very confusing for even them.
So it happened that when a colleague and I took a train headed for our destination – HermannstraBe and realised though we were at the right place we had lost our bearings as we had arrived at another side altogether, we believed it was no big deal. In fact we considered it an adventure. We then realised there were more than two exits from the underground to the bus stop where we connect to the guest house daily. Hmm! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
The Tour Of Berlin City
Well, so much for the transport system in Berlin. On the 8th of November, 2009, which happened to be my first Sunday in Germany, we left the guest house at exactly 2pm for a tour of the city that was hosting us – Berlin, according to the programme lined up for us the course participants.
We travelled by bus, through the length and breadth of the beautiful city of historical Berlin and were shown many places of significance like the Holocaust Memorial ground and shown the remains of the Berlin Wall which partitioned Germany and Berlin into East and West Communists and Capitalists and my, what rare opportunity.
We were not only shown the places of interest, but the tour guide gave us more insights into the composition of Berlin, such as the fact that it is bigger in area size than New York, though New York’s population surpasses that of Berlin.
We also gathered that the area closest to then East Germany was mainly inhabited by Turks and other nationals from other countries because many did not want to get close to the Eastern section, despite the fact that the rent for apartments in that area had been slashed to attract them.
So it happens that even this day after the unification of Germany, many Turkish people, Arabs and what have you, who came to Germany solely to work and help rebuild Germany after the second world war in the 1970s and 1960s, got integrated into the German society and their descendants are now Germans. They also form part of the about 220,000 Muslim community in Berlin.
It is thus no wonder that there are now many Turkish restaurants dotted all over Berlin, which are dishing out many Turkish delicacies such as the doner kebap (which somewhat became the saviour of moi and other course mates) to restaurateurs.
My Experience With The Doner
The doner kebap.....in fact let me tell you how I got converted to become a staunch follower of the doner. There was one night I was so famished that I needed to get something to masticate instantly, other than going to prepare something in my kitchenette and my Anago friend mentioned it to me.
I was however almost disappointed when I finally landed one (one goes for Two Euros and Fifty Cents) because when he mentioned it I thought it was the same kind of khebab we know in Ghana which is also referred to as chinchinga or sweya.
To my utter surprise I realised it was rather a sort of toasted bread which is stuffed with some turkey and/or chicken flakes as well as grabages such as sliced cucumber, lettuce , tomatoes and other such leaves which I am not familiar with, plus a choice of sauce – chilli my favourite, spicy sauce or mayonnaise.
I enjoyed it though, in spite of my initial disappointment but couldn’t finish all because it is a very heavy meal. In fact, I never was able to finish a doner at a go save one lunch break that I thought because I was very hungry I could finish it all. At the end I paid for daring, with a bloated stomach – Oh wey kind wahala be this?
Back To Tour of Berlin City
So as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by the doner kebap, we combed the Berlin City by bus and were shown interesting land marks such as the site of Adolf Hitler’s bunker, a monument placed at the centre of the city state of the German capital, the offices of both the President and Chancellor, Bundestag (German Parliament), Brandenburger Gate which is the symbol of German unity, which reminded me so much of our own Independence Arch and many more interesting sights. Watch out for some interesting sights of Berlin in coming days in The Ghanaian Observer.
During the tour, one of the remarks of the guide I found very interesting was that Berlin now has an oversupply or surplus of office space and accommodation and this came about after the wall was brought down as many developers rushed to put up buildings to develop the city.
My brothers and sisters, it is no wonder that Berlin now has many office and accommodation spaces unoccupied because almost all buildings – 95%, are very massive edifices. What I also found intriguing is the difference in the architecture of buildings in the Eastern and the Western sides of Berlin.
Further noticed during the city tour, were preparations being made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as the excitement of the Germans as they waited for the ‘D’ day.
According to the guide, remnants of the wall as it stands now was not the true picture, and that there was an outer as well as inner wall built by the East Germans to further secure their territory. There was also a no man’s land, which was a security strip between the two walls.
He said between 150 and 300 people were killed during the 28 years that the wall partitioned Germany. “Between 150 and 300 people were killed because there was a so called shooting order by the East German Government. If you see anyone who wants to cross the border without any proper document, shoot him,” the guide narrated.
He attested to the fact that Germany experienced a very difficult period after the atrocities that were meted out to fellow Germans, as many of the perpetrators were not sent to prison but given a sort of bail which came out of a commission like South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the overthrow of apartheid.
The tour of the city was a great learning experience and a rare opportunity to go round the city in just about three hours without sweat.
Celebration of Fall of Berlin Wall
Next day after our city tour was the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and 1,000 pieces of dominos had been arranged round the city where the wall stood. The plan was to push them down to signify the fall of the wall that separated Germany and the city of Berlin into two and thus divided families for several years.
It was all excitement Monday, when the first set of 1,000 dominos representing the infamous Berlin Wall, were pushed down after 8pm Central Time (CET) at Reichstagsufer to mark the fall of the wall exactly two decades ago in a celebration dubbed “Festival of Freedom”.
The dominos were arranged over the 1.5km stretch at the exact spot where the original Berlin Wall stood between East and West Germany, and were all painted by school children and artists from all over the 16 federal states of Germany and other countries and were arranged in such a way as to allow all in the row to knock each other down.
This arrangement was described as a work of art and science and though some were sceptical that all the pieces might not fall, all actually did when the first on the row were pushed.
They were arranged in three segments and also knocked down in three stages – the second was just about an hour after the first at Potsdamer Platz, which was the fall of the longest row of dominos, almost all the way to the Brandenburg Gate, accompanied by the band Stamping Feet.
The third and last, which was closest to the popular Brandenburger Gate, took place before the dignitaries present few minutes later to shouts of excitement and lovely fireworks to complete the commemoration. This was however after the rendition of the hymn “We are One” by musician Paul van Dyk.
The collapsing of the dominos, which represented the fall of the notorious Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 and thus the fall of communism and the iron curtain, was witnessed by thousands of Berliners, Germans and foreigners who defied the very cold and unfriendly weather just to witness the memorable occasion.
They came from far and near in their thousands and even included the aged and babies in prams covered in waterproof material and were prepared to endure the very cold and wet weather even hours before the function took off.
It was all a sea of umbrellas of different sizes and colours, which showed the determination of the German people to partake in the entire commemoration. It also showed that they indeed valued the freedom they have enjoyed for the past twenty years after the fall of communism and oppression.
Indeed, all Germans in the days preceding celebration of the 20th anniversary looked forward to it in all eagerness and couldn’t wait for the day to arrive. It was little wonder therefore that despite the cold showers the entire day and the early nightfall on Monday, which brotherman from Ghana and Africa could not stand, the crowds were overwhelming.
I was not the only one squirming under the biting and freezing cold abi; all of us from the hot continent of Africa were trying very hard to brave the cold, and in fact one of us remarked that if the occasion was being held in Africa no one would attend; especially when it was also raining all through.
Gracing the occasion were French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Premier Gordon Brown and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton among other dignitaries. Earlier on before the symbolic fall of the wall, US President Barack Obama saluted the people of Germany on their anniversary through a video recording.
A Visit To Estrel Berlin
So following after the globally accepted axiom that “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” the course organisers made sure to incorporate some cultural activities into the packed two-week programme.
One of such programmes which was enjoyed by all course mates was a visit to Europe’s largest convention centre Estrel Berlin and a subsequent world class music show dubbed “Stars in Concert.
Our visit to Estrel Berlin, happened in this wise – As already planned, after hectic lectures (SWOT Analysis and Search Engine Optimisation) on Wednesday November 11, 2009 during week one of the two-week programme, both lecturers (2), 14 course participants and two seminar assistants left the IIJ centre at approximately 6pm German time to the famed hotel.
On arrival, the team was welcomed warmly into the edifice, taken to a room where we dropped off our jackets and bags and then were shown round by Miranda Meier of the hotel’s Press Department. We first went up some rooms and then were shown its very large event halls with state-of-the-art equipment – How impressive.
It was after we had been given a brief history of the hotel and some very important personalities it has hosted, that we were ushered into one of the many large auditoriums for musical events named the Estrel Festival Centre to be part of the programme of the evening – Stars in Concert.
Let’s however look at the very imposing Estrel Hotel before we delve into what happened that eventful night during the concert.
I must begin that the large Estrel building is shaped like a ship. Under the motto: “Meeting, Living, Entertainment – Everything under One Roof”, the Estrel Berlin, Europe’s largest convention, entertainment and hotel complex, offers guests unique conference possibilities in its multifunctional Estrel Convention Centre, and a four-star plus service at the hotel, which is Germany’s largest hotel with its 1,125 rooms and suites.
The hotel, which boasts of high performance in gastronomy and logistics service has become an important calling card of Berlin and has long made itself a name in the international conference business.
For the combination of convention, entertainment and hotel, the hotel owner, Ekkehard Streletzki received the industry prize “Hotelier des Jahres 2000” (Hotelier of the Year 2000). This is a coveted annual award given out by the publishing group Deutscher Fachverlag (publisher of the business trade magazine “Der Hotelier”) to honour those “who have rendered outstanding services to the German hotel business”.
Also in 2000 Estrel was the first hotel in the history of the German hotel business to break the limit of 100 million Deutsch Marks in turnover. Since then, the Estrel Berlin has continuously held its leading position in annual turnovers within the German hotel sector.
Moreover, Ekkehard Streletzki was awarded the “Verdienstkreuz am Bande” (the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon) by the order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in November 2005 in honour of his lifetime achievement, his social commitment and his work for the city of Berlin.
Overall, the Estrel Complex employs 550 permanent staff members, including trainees plus around 150 staff members from outside companies.
Estrel Berlin: The Hotel
With its over 2000 beds, the Estrel Hotel has carved a nitch for itself as the largest hotel in Germany, which position it has maintained since 1996. This is also certified by its entry in the Guinness Book of Records.
Further, shortly after its opening in 1994, the Estrel was awarded the title “Best Business Hotel in Germany” by the Diners Club.
On entering the 13-meter-high, glass-domed atrium with its colourful ceramic fountain designed by French artist Gilbert Portanier, with its tall trees as well as restaurants and bars opening up onto the inner courtyard, guests feel transported onto a Latin piazza.
The atrium connects the four wings of the hotel which accommodate the hotel rooms, each one individually styled in classic elegance.
Every room has a living space of between 27m2 and 34m2 (suites up to 120m2), a comfortable bathroom, desks as well as access to very modern communication tools.
There is also a presidential suite with a space of 250m2 comprising three bedrooms, three luxury bathrooms, living quarters, a pantry and a conference room.
For the appliances in the disability-friendly rooms, the Estrel received the award “Goldener Rollstuhl” (Golden Wheelchair) in 1995.
Also at the Estrel guests can experience the service idea of “Everything under One Roof” in the sauna and fitness area, the mini mart, the Sixt car rental station, the atrium bar and the Crystal Bar for nocturnal revellers, the underground car park with around 450 parking spaces and 24-hour security service.
Further, in five restaurants and a beer garden, guests can choose their favourite culinary delights a la carte from Italian, Asian, “rustic” Berlin and international cuisine.
There is also a Business Centre that offers guests professional office technology where they can use modern PCs with up-to-date operating system and office applications in different user languages or separate internet connections with their own notebooks.
In addition, all guest rooms are equipped with ADSL-Internet connections, while WiFi is available in the entire atrium, the restaurants and event rooms on the ground floor of the Estrel Hotel as well as in the entire Estrel Convention Centre.
Transportation
Estrel is very well connected to public transport with the urban railway station “S-Banhof Sonnenallee” lying just 250 metres from the complex.
Also, the bus line M41, stops right outside the hotel and is on hand every five minutes during the day and every ten minutes during the evening. The bus line enables guests to directly connect to the underground network and also to Potsdamer Platz.
As if that were not enough, the hotel has its own railway station, which enables guests to arrive and depart with chartered trains from Deutsche Bahn from any city in Germany.
Guests can also use the railway station right behind the Estrel for chartered train trips into the surrounding region. To make the stay of guests more enjoyable, Estrel, in cooperation with a boat company – Stern-und Kreisschifffahrt, offers sightseeing tours and boat trips through Berlin, leaving from the hotel’s own pier in the beer garden in front of the hotel, several times a day during the season. Independently of the regular trips, guests can also charter boats for special occasions.
The Estrel Convention Centre
Overall, the Estrel Convention Centre (CC) hosts around 1,800 events annually, which is not very surprising, because it provides ideal space and technical facilities for conventions, conferences of any type and size.
The multifunctional, fully air-conditioned Convention and Conference Centre was opened in 1999 and with its overall floor space of 15,000m2 offers space for events including international politics and economic summits, trade fairs and exhibitions for companies and associations, as well as gala events and concerts of international stars.
The Convention Hall in the Estrel alone features event space for up to 6,000 guests and easy access to the hotel and a further 60 conference rooms is provided by the Estrel Saal (1,050m2) by the “rotunda”, which is a giant glass bridge. Again, a spacious Foyer 1 links the Estrel CC to the Festival Centre, which is the showroom for the musical programme – Stars in Concert.
Estrel CC’s is equipped with the latest communication, event space and stage technology as well as innovative media technology that can be set up in individual modules according to client’s precise wishes by professional in-house event technicians.
Not only that; the right lighting, sound and transmission technology required for different events is also available in-house, while concerts of international stars as well as political party summits, TV shows and mega events can be hosted with in-house technology, which is ensured by sophisticated sound and lighting technology, including special effects which bring about the desired ambience.
For the more technically inclined, the acoustics at the Estrel CC can be adapted to each variable room’s size, so that every room size is fully functional whilst providing the required seclusion at the same time.
Further, mobile technology, such as rigs with coverable traverses on the ceiling with the appropriate flexible cabling and connection options as well as a big sinkable hoisting platform, enable quick conversions into the required type of room.
Estrel’s Events Portfolio
The Estrel CC can boast of high profile programmes it has hosted in the past such as the ZDF show “Wetten, dass?” with Thomas Gottschalk, the Bambi, the German TV awards ceremony which has taken place three times already at the Estrel as well as the German music award ECHO hosted in 2005 and 2006.
Also, national SPD party summits as well as special party meetings of other federal factions have been hosted several times, plus sports events with great boxers such as Vitali Klitschko and Dariusz Michalczewski among others plying their trade in the Estrel boxing ring during numerous professional boxing world championships.
Moreover, the Estrel Convention Centre has hosted events including the corporate fusion between Aral and BP, the Siemens management convention, the MLP sales and office conference, international product presentations by Puma and Adidas, the introduction of new fuels by Shell, the management summit of Deutsche Bank and the ESA Forum.
Further, car manufacturers including Daimler Chrysler, Opel, VW, Suzuki and Toyota have presented their latest models at the hotel.
More in next entry.
With its 1,120 m2 space, the Estrel Festival Centre, which can be easily accessed from the Estrel Hotel through the glass rotunda, is one of the three pillars of Estrel Berlin.
Since 1997, the reconstructed factory hall has been hosting the successful Las Vegas live show “Stars in Concert” as well as other productions of Estrel entertainment every night.
With a concert stage that was renovated for more than 400,000 Euros in 2007, the Estrel Festival Centre managed to achieve such a high standard that it fulfils the requirements of international top stars effortlessly.
The new stage and lighting design as well as the further perfected sound, enables audiences to enjoy an even more impressive show experience. By the aid of three projectors, the stage set can be changed within seconds, and changing projections open up new possibilities in terms of using the stage in different show productions.
Now, although the stage looks a lot bigger than it used to be, its actual size has remained the same. 800 spectators all around tables, can still be placed in the hall. Together with Lighting Designer Patrick Murray and Artistic Director Paul Langley, Producer Bernhard Kurz chose the modern and flexible stage technology to make sure that the attractive event venue is equipped with absolutely top-notch technology.
However, it is not only the audiences of the daily shows who benefit from the various possibilities – the hall can also be used for every other type of exclusive event. Furthermore, it is possible to book individual elements or entire shows of “Stars in concert” in the Estrel Festival Centre for individual event programmes, which can be accompanied with gala buffets or menus for up to 1,000 people before or after the show elements.
The Show Productions of “Stars in Concert”
The productions comprise the flagship programme “Stars in Concert” which is a live show that takes its audiences on a time travel through music history, from Elvis Presley to Madonna and, from Louis Armstrong to Whitney Houston, “Thank you for the music” which features ABBA (Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid) and stands for hits such as “Thank you for the music”, “Mamma Mia”, “Waterloo”, “Fernando” or Dancing Queen” and “I’m a Soulman” performed by the Blues Brothers, who are Chris and Geoff Dahl representing the original Blues Brothers Jake and Elwood.
The show productions also include “Elvis – the Show”, a terrific homage to Elvis Presley of blessed memory performed by Grahame Patrick, “All you need is love” performed by “Twist & Shout” the most famous band of the world in yesteryears who deliver to perfection more than 30 of the greatest worldwide Beatles hits, and also “The Beatles go Philharmonic”, which is classical music in connection with hits of the Beatles.
“All that swing”, a trip down memory lane with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis jr, “Swinging Ballroom” where well-known entertainers accompanied by the Savoy Dance Orchestra present classics of the swing era and “It’s all musical”, a musical gala that presents the musical highlights of the most famous and successful stage productions ends the list.
Stars In Concert At Estrel
I really had an unforgettable feel of music legends at the Estrel Festival Centre on Wednesday November 11. Six legends or rather their exact replica on one stage in one night will certainly blow away any follower of those legends and love of good music.
It is not only the likeness of the artists to their idols that amazes people but the similarity of their voices, which gives the audience the impression that the originals are actually on stage before them.
Videos of the original artists are actually shown simultaneously to the audience and my word, it is sometimes very hard to tell the difference as they are clad in very identical costume. What’s more, everyone sings live and the performances are accompanied by beautiful dancers and an excellent live band. This production was the commencement of Producer Bernhard Kuz’s successful tribute shows, for which he has already received several awards.
What a night of good music very well delivered
So it happened that I was one of the fortunate few to be at such a wonderful event, thanks to IIJ of InWEnt and wonderful seminar assistants Susan and Antonella.
That night, legends who had their look-alikes on stage were Tom Jones, Don Cher, Diana Ross, Louis Armstrong, Rod Stewart and Elvis Presley.
Accompanied by the dexterous band and sometimes some four dancers, Tom Jones set the tone for a night of good and scintillating music interspersed with dances from the professional dancers.
He was followed in no particular order by Cher, Diana Ross interestingly played by Roz, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley and Rod Stewart. All the artists performed about four songs when they mounted the stage, effortlessly giving an impeccable delivery of the songs of the legends.
Although all the artists sung very familiar tunes, the ones that I remember are Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Up”, Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas” and my toast of the night Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World”.
After having our fill of good music we took some pictures with the look-alikes and had some autographs signed, then proceeded to the guest house for some contented sleep and prepare for the next day’s lectures.
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