Berlin's Festival of Lights

We finally got back outside around 21:30, stepping into the clear, crisp night. The smell of something apple-cinnamon was in the air, and then the earthy smell of fallen leaves. Scarves and mittens were secured and snug as we made our way to the S-Bahn station. Down to Franzosische Strasse first.

The plan was to see just a few of the participating buildings in Berlin's sixth annual Festival of Lights. From October 13 to October 24, scattered about the city are over sixty landmarks, government buildings, train stations, hotels, and other prominent buildings that become lit up in a variety of colors using a variety of methods: color LEDs at the base of columns, filtered spot-lights from across the street, through the windows of the buildings themselves.

Our original plan was to check it out last Saturday night, but Berlin's first bout of October rain put a damper on those plans. We only saw the buildings near Alexander Platz before our socks were soaked and we decided to check out a brauhaus instead.

For the rest of the sights, we opted for Monday night, a clear, 30-something degree Fahrenheit, pretty much perfect fall night.

We emerged from the station at Franzosiche Strasse after a quick ride to Mitte. Orienting ourselves after coming out of an S-Bahn or U-Bahn station is the first task where ever we go, and it's nearly impossible, if you've never or rarely used that station, without a map or compass. I have the map; Karina has her keychain compass.

When we were paring down our packing list before we left the U.S., the compass was a candidate on the list of things to leave home. It's not like we're going on an orienteering camping trip, we figured. But, since it's size and shape were rather incidental, we brought it along. Little did we know we'd use it on a daily basis. "Which way are we facing?" I'll ask with the map in my face. I'm glad I ask, because it usually saves us a block in the wrong direction. I like to rely on intuition with direction, and that seems to work out okay; that is unless we're surfacing from a station several meters underground with little sense as to which direction we happened to find a staircase.

The first sight was a plaza surrounded by three stately buildings, all lit up in different colors: the Franzosischer Dom, Konzerthaus Berlin, and the Deutscher Dom.

We were among many others with cameras - it was nearly impossible to not walk in front of someone taking a picture - and seemingly in the minority group of amateur photographers without a tripod.

The colors, the chilly night, and the festive attitude made us think about the holidays. Which, as opposed to the annual mid-October tradition of seeing the beginnings of the Southdale Santa Village, was a good feeling that didn't feel too soon.

Then it was toward Unter den Linden, the tree-lined boulevard that leads directly to the Brandenburg Gate, one of the more popular participants of the Festival of Lights. Along Unter den Linden, many of the trees were lit up with filtered lights, accentuating their fall colors.

And then it was the arguable star of the Festival, the Brandenburg Gate.

Then it was on to Potsdamer Platz, where more hotels, streets, and city buildings were lit up.

It was well after midnight when we decided to head back. It had gotten significantly colder, but the S-Bahn's heat was on full blast, really cozying up our ride home.