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| A rare sight: No one taking in thr East Side Gallery |
When
I checked into my Berlin pension, the desk person told me I was the only one
staying in there that night. Travel restrictions were still in place, so you
could only book a hotel room if you were on business, which meant budget lodgings, like my pension, in the
heart of Berlin's touristy shopping district wasn't a a big draw.
Just
outside, along the shopping strip in Charlottenburg, shoppers ignored the 1.5
meter of social distancing to line up in front of their favourite brand name
stores, which still had to maintain a capacity limit inside. Some shoppers wore masks, but a freakish amount of
people didn't bother with masks. For someone who had been locked down for two
months, this was disconcerting.
That Saturday was
the first day that Berlin loosened its quarantine laws. It was also a warm,
sunny spring day. A powerful combination for people cooped up for two months in
their flats. So people gathered outside in the parks and patios to walk, drink,
flirt, and simply walk around.
Yet, the country was
still locked down, even as restrictions were lifing in Berlin. This meant the
city belonged to the Berliners. They sat along the Spree and sipped beer in the
sun. They shopped, or at least they lined up to shop. The crowded onto patios
to eat burgers and kebab. The tourist spots, on the other hand, were deserted.
On my way to an
apartment viewing, I walked along the East Side Gallery. Usually there are
hoards of people snapping selfies in front of the murals on the old sections of
the Berlin Wall. I had the gallery to myself. The Berliners had no time for
something they see every day.
Later I came back to
my lodgings. The desk clerk had already left for the night, leaving me alone in
the dim pension (unlike a hotel, there's no 24/7 staff on-site).
In the
morning, I ate breakfast in the grand old dining room alone - the old hardwood
floor creaking loudly underfoot as I refilled my coffee. Through the tall
windows, the city was already coming to life. Chairs and tables scrapped
pavement as they were being laid out in the cafe below, currywurst stands were
opening, and traffic was humming along.
Inside,
the pandemic seemed like it still was going on. Outside it seemed like it was
over.