forget-me-not

You may never forget the moment you start every journey. The feeling is a mix of an excitement and some kind of hidden magic. It is a cold spring night when I notice my yellow bus to Berlin approaching. I see my hands shivering a bit as I enter it.
Even the start of my journey is good- I got to talk a lot to a guy from Ukraine who sits next to me. ‘Simple express’ buses are quite comfortable, but not a sleeping paradise anyway. Therefore, when the night takes over, I don’t even understand If I am sleeping or not- probably just somewhere in the middle. Passengers remain quiet and the bus moves gently so I hear how the bus drivers start singing something in Russian.
Only at the midday of the next day we reach Berlin. I manage to fall in love with German metro ‘U-bahn’ at first sight. The system is both easy and turbid, but I find it cosy. Actually, people seem to be the most interesting object- in every wagon, wherever you enter, there is at least one person with an extraordinary appearance.
It is the whole city running this way. Nobody cares what others do. Some of the remaining parts of the previous Berlin wall are covered in chewing gum. The whole city is a big construction site, coloured with graffiti images or inscriptions. My favourite one is the famous ‘How long is now?’, written on a shabby building that actually was a shopping complex at first, later the Nazis took over the place and the building became a central office of the SS. Who could have thought just by passing through? This iconic place now offers bars or exhibitions. I also like ‘Und jede deiner Lügen ist wahr’ with the meaning of ‘And every of your lies is truth’, written somewhere close to the first one. I was looking at the words for some time, trying to come to the right meaning for it. Can you?
Berlin is not only untidy, but also a great wonder of architecture. I like the way pigeons explore history in the carvings of the most well-known buildings of the area. When getting further from the very centre, the city turns to be simple. I still go to Prinzessinenstraße (Princesses street) only because it is called this way.
Whatsoever, Berlin is a wonderful city, and I’ll never forget the time I had there. It is a place of contrasts, a paradise for artists and wanderers who are looking for themselves or freedom. It provides tolerance and lets people be whoever they are. To be honest, it gives you whatever you were looking for when you started the journey…