Where it all ends, I can't fathom my friends

So today is the first full day of the conference.

We spent the day with our corporate “host” in Berlin, Drees & Sommer. They are an amazing international developer that call their practice “the blue way.” To them that means they take both the ecological and the economical factors into their projects, to ensure both are prioritized and accomplished.

To get there, I took the train, plus a transfer. I was with a group, so we figured if we got lost, at least we’d all die together down there.

Today we had 5 speakers, without much walking. It was a tough adjustment to go from being so active to just…sitting.

The topics were interesting but I know most of you don’t care, so I won’t go into those details. I will share a few interesting pieces of feedback or conversations I had.

1. One of the speakers was asked in what ways America is further ahead than Germany in sustainability. The speaker laughed…and then realized it was an actual question. He went on to share that Europeans see us like ostriches, with our heads in the sand, pretending we are not in a climate crisis. He said in America we are “shaking our fists at the gods, demanding our American rights to poison our children.” Sigh. (The European Union has a 2055 plan, to be entirely carbon neutral)

2. Another speaker was talking about the diversity in Berlin. They pride themselves on being a city of immigrants; he said the best way to start a fight with an American who calls themselves an “ex-pat” is to call them an immigrant. Americans have such a negative view of immigration that we refuse to admit it, when that’s what we are.

3. Another speaker told me they find visiting America exhausting because we are too friendly.

4. One of the speakers said “we are focused on making Berlin great again!…but it means something different hear. We aren’t welcoming the Nazis back like you are.” Germans have a dry sense of humor, so it’s hard to tell when they’re teasing or when they’re insulting us.

Lunch was a part of the meeting, but a few of us wanted to move a bit, so we walked to a nearby grocery store. It was similar to a small grocery store in America. I mean, except everything was in German, and sausage seemed to be more featured.

5. PEOPLE MOVE THEIR FRIDGES. They’re considered furniture here, so sometimes when an apartment is leased as a “furnished” apartment, that means it includes a kitchen with appliances! And everyone loves IKEA, including this fancy Developer!

6. Someone in our group asked about opposition to ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), and talked about examples like pension funds in Florida that are prohibited from using ESG in their decision making. The Germans in the room (there were about 15) could not understand what we were talking about. They initially thought it was a communication issue because what we were saying made no sense. Different participants kept giving examples of push back in America. Finally, the lead developer for this huge international developer asked: “Do they not understand science?” Sigh.

We had a group dinner, but on the way we actually walked through an area I had also visited yesterday, called Museum Island. Basically, it is 5 museums on an island, in a river, in Berlin. An island in a river is called a Werder – we do not have an English equivalent. I didn’t go in them yesterday (they were closed) and didn’t go in today either. Maybe if it rains I’ll go later this week.

Across from the Museums is the Berliner Dome/Berlin Cathedral. I didn’t go in this either, because I have had enough churches. If I’m not saved by now, it isn’t going to happen. This is a Protestant Church, and was built to “compete” with the Basilica in Vatican City.

The Berlin Palace is also on the same block.

It was the site of the original imperial palace, in the 1600 & 1700s. The building that was there was bombed in the war, so was torn down. East Germany then built a new building, and used it as their parliament building, for their (possibly illegitimate) government. Fast forward, to a few years ago. It was empty, and no one knew what to do with it, since it had a complicated history. It also had asbestos in it, and would cost about $100m to remediate. They said that was too expensive, so they tore it down and rebuilt something that would be more similar to the original palace that had been on the site in 1713. The new building cost $700m. And, they didn’t know what to really do with it once they built it. The reconstruction was finished in 2020, and they decided to use part of it as an additional museum, with art they had in storage. Which is great, especially for Nigeria who was like “wait, you had those bronze statues in storage? Those are ours, give them back, you friggin plunderers.” The courts sided with Nigeria, and their statues were returned – and now a bunch of other countries are also demanding their art and artifacts are returned.

And this is Humboldt University. It used to be the equivalent of Oxford or Harvard, with tons of Nobel winners coming from the school, and Einstein was a professor here. But then, the Nazis.

We had a full group dinner tonight, getting back to hotel after 10:30. I walked back (with a group! safely!) instead of taking the trains. It was a nice walk, and meant I got an evening photo of this thing: The Fernsehturm (Television Tower) It was built in 1969 by East Germany, as both a functional broadcasting facility and a symbol of Communist power. It is the tallest structure in Germany, and the third tallest in the EU.