The Berlin Wall

[Spung-Man]

I've often wondered why Long-A-Coming was renamed Berlin. There were a lot of German immigrants in PA. I suspect that has something to do with it.

Actually, I think the name change occurred to entice Germans to settle there. Let me use a Buena Vista Township example. Folsom (a.k.a. New Germany) was probably the earliest ethnic settlement in the Pines (c.1848). It is on the Long-A-Coming Trail. The Weymouth Land and Agricultural Company (Charles K. Landis, Vice-President) laid out roads in anticipation of the Camden and Atlantic (1854). Egg Harbor City, Pomona, Cologne, and Germania – German colonies – are planned along the railroad. By 1873 the northern portion of the original (1867) Buena Vista Township is called Germantown (including Newtonville). Germans were cheap labor for Hammonton until the Italians took on that role by the late 1870s. New Germany ceded from Buena Vista Township in 1906, attributed to bad roads connecting them to Buena, the government seat. The Borough left the Township after the battle of 1949.

Adapted from a slide for Trails, Inns, and Charcoal Stations of Old ​

Buena Vista: Little Known Places. Beers et al., 1872: 110​

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I'm presenting the above Trails talk at the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society on the evening of August 13, 2014.​

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S-M​

 

[Gerania]

Actually, I think the name change occurred to entice Germans to settle there. Let me use a Buena Vista Township example. Folsom (a.k.a. New Germany) was probably the earliest ethnic settlement in the Pines (c.1848). It is on the Long-A-Coming Trail. The Weymouth Land and Agricultural Company (Charles K. Landis, Vice-President) laid out roads in anticipation of the Camden and Atlantic (1854). Egg Harbor City, Pomona, Cologne, and Germania – German colonies – are planned along the railroad. By 1873 the northern portion of the original (1867) Buena Vista Township is called Germantown (including Newtonville). Germans were cheap labor for Hammonton until the Italians took on that role by the late 1870s. New Germany ceded from Buena Vista Township in 1906, attributed to bad roads connecting them to Buena, the government seat. The Borough left the Township after the battle of 1949.

View attachment 5064​

Adapted from a slide for Trails, Inns, and Charcoal Stations of Old ​

Buena Vista: Little Known Places. Beers et al., 1872: 110​

I'm presenting the above Trails talk at the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society on the evening of August 13, 2014.

S-M

 

[Ben Ruset]

Other than work, what did you eat, see, or do while you were there?

Sorry for the delayed response.

Details are a bit hazy, but I definitely sampled some local cuisine as well as visited an Australian restaurant twice, having ostrich and kangaroo and several cans of Fosters.

Another night a co-worker took me to a nightclub in the former East Germany. The transit system from the west stops near/in Potsdamer Platz and you have to go above ground and then back down to transfer. On the western side the system is clean, modern, and efficient. The eastern side was run down, looked very Russian, and rickety.

At the nightclub I listened to loud dance music and sampled weissbier for the first time. It's made me a lifelong fan.

 

[Spung-Man]

I was in Berlin to present at a DFG/NSF scientific conference, Tough Choices – Land Use Under a Changing Climate. Here’s a link to the venue.​

http://usg08.nkgcf.org/Seiten/usg08.html​

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It’s hard to believe that a lot of that city was reduced to rubble during World War II. I liked the German’s creative reuse of old buildings. Our meeting place was a remarkable historically listed electric transformer station built in 1899. It was modernized in such a manner that conserved all the funky old industrial character while creating an energy-efficient modern work environment that was ecological too. Housed within are a restaurant, a music club, a theater, offices, and a conference center.​

http://www.palisa.de/building/en/​

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Another remarkable example of blending the old with the new is the Reichstag. Five percent of its budget was dedicated to art during restoration. For example, Russian graffiti and bullet holes (WWII) are conserved as art in selected locations.​

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Coincidentally a Demitroff, a Bulgarian antifascist, was falsely blamed for blowing up the Reichstag. He’s no relation. Our original surname was Demitrowich (White Russian), which my grandmother chose to shorten during the 1930s.​

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Above is the arsonists' tunnel beneath the Reichstag used for the 1933 fire. The government staff had quite a chuckle to have a Demitroff in house. At first the Reichstag dome seemed out of place to me, until I learned its purpose. It symbolizes an openness and sunshine, built to remind government officials below that the people are watching them.​

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This is the kind of progressive thinking we need here in the Pine Barrens, to preserve, protect, and enhance the character of Pinelands Villages and Towns. Re-adapt old buildings with ecological building materials. Use intelligent heating and cooling systems like geothermal as in service at Batsto’s mansion. Learn from the European preservation model to blend the old with the new.​

​

S-M​

 

[Gerania]

Sorry for the delayed response.

Details are a bit hazy, but I definitely sampled some local cuisine as well as visited an Australian restaurant twice, having ostrich and kangaroo and several cans of Fosters.

Another night a co-worker took me to a nightclub in the former East Germany. The transit system from the west stops near/in Potsdamer Platz and you have to go above ground and then back down to transfer. On the western side the system is clean, modern, and efficient. The eastern side was run down, looked very Russian, and rickety.

At the nightclub I listened to loud dance music and sampled weissbier for the first time. It's made me a lifelong fan.

You did quite a bit during your stay.

I wonder if we ate at the same restaurant. We went to a place which served only game animals and the like: trout, venison, boar, ostrich.

There is, or at least was, quite a difference between the look and feel of the East and West.

 

[Spung-Man]

Speaking of bucket list, good timing!

The Top 50 Cities to See in Your Lifetime​

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/minube/the-top-50-cities-to-see_b_5547308.html​

Berlin is ranked 29th ("Few cities have played such a pivotal role in recent history as Berlin and its legendary nightlife and vibrant restaurant scene also make it one of the most exciting cities in modern Europe").

Prague is ranked 49th ("An mix of history, stunning architecture, and hearty cuisine has made Prague one of the world's most-visited cities and a must for travelers searching for the soul of central Europe").

S-M

 

[Gerania]

I was in Berlin to present at a DFG/NSF scientific conference, Tough Choices – Land Use Under a Changing Climate. Here’s a link to the venue.

http://usg08.nkgcf.org/Seiten/usg08.html​

It’s hard to believe that a lot of that city was reduced to rubble during World War II. I liked the German’s creative reuse of old buildings. Our meeting place was a remarkable historically listed electric transformer station built in 1899. It was modernized in such a manner that conserved all the funky old industrial character while creating an energy-efficient modern work environment that was ecological too. Housed within are a restaurant, a music club, a theater, offices, and a conference center.

http://www.palisa.de/building/en/​

Another remarkable example of blending the old with the new is the Reichstag. Five percent of its budget was dedicated to art during restoration. For example, Russian graffiti and bullet holes (WWII) are conserved as art in selected locations.

View attachment 5071​

Coincidentally a Demitroff, a Bulgarian antifascist, was falsely blamed for blowing up the Reichstag. He’s no relation. Our original surname was Demitrowich (White Russian), which my grandmother chose to shorten during the 1930s.

View attachment 5072​

Above is the arsonists' tunnel beneath the Reichstag used for the 1933 fire. The government staff had quite a chuckle to have a Demitroff in house. At first the Reichstag dome seemed out of place to me, until I learned its purpose. It symbolizes an openness and sunshine, built to remind government officials below that the people are watching them.

View attachment 5073​

​

This is the kind of progressive thinking we need here in the Pine Barrens, to preserve, protect, and enhance the character of Pinelands Villages and Towns. Re-adapt old buildings with ecological building materials. Use intelligent heating and cooling systems like geothermal as in service at Batsto’s mansion. Learn from the European preservation model to blend the old with the new.

S-M

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church reminds us that the city was heavily bombed.

I took a sightseeing tour when I was there. The stops included Charlottenburg Palace, the Olympic Stadium and the Reichstag. The Reichstag wasn't open at the time, so, sadly, I didn't get to go inside. I did take a couple of nice photos of the Wall. One section was painted white and the large noticeable graffiti highlights were: FREEDOM FOR BALTIC STATES!!!, NYET NYET SOVIET, and a hammer and sickle in black with a red "no" symbol.

The Berliners love their green spaces and (usually) take care of their buildings. While I don't fancy the Bauhaus movement, I at least respect it.

I've been fascinated by old buildings--all of them--since I was quite young. I'm happy that even some of them can be preserved, restored, repurposed.

 

[Gerania]

Speaking of bucket list, good timing!

The Top 50 Cities to See in Your Lifetime​

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/minube/the-top-50-cities-to-see_b_5547308.html​

Berlin is ranked 29th ("Few cities have played such a pivotal role in recent history as Berlin and its legendary nightlife and vibrant restaurant scene also make it one of the most exciting cities in modern Europe").

Prague is ranked 49th ("An mix of history, stunning architecture, and hearty cuisine has made Prague one of the world's most-visited cities and a must for travelers searching for the soul of central Europe").

S-M

Istanbul is #25?

I like Berlin at least as much as NYC, London or Paris.