Orange Town

柏林圍牆舊址附近的新規劃模型，叫靠近的這些大樓群就是波茲坦廣場，遠方在河南岸的就是以德國新議會為中心的政府區。



柏林新規劃的首都重建大計劃對我而言真的是太冷了，在過去最大圍牆控制閘口布蘭登堡大門的南邊波茲坦廣場現在變成了柏林的新興商業區，以和法國La Defense、Rotteredam等城市一樣邀請了這些在世界跑來跑去的「國際大師」設計了一棟又一棟的總部和大樓，作為其城市新形象與吸引企業投資。新力的SONY CENTER就是其中最著名的。而在布蘭登堡大門西北方的是德國新的國家議會，亦是邀請了各國大建築師來參與競圖，最後是由英國建築師Sir Norman Forster中選，其特殊設計號稱生態概念的空調與太陽光照明系統是最特別的地方，有著一個透明的頂。環繞著新國家議會的就是新興的政府辦公區，靠北方的河邊有還在進行的德國新車站，再往西邊去就都是新的各國使館區，另有一些使館分佈在布蘭登堡前東德區域內，譬如英國、美國、法國。

德國新議會前的超大草坪

這個區域的尺度十分驚人，廣場大、柱子大、房子大，所以風也很大。冬天在這裡散步簡直是種折磨。在不解這種過大尺度的規劃的同時，從統一後急需認同的標誌的觀點來看，也許可以稍稍體諒這樣的規劃，不過這種極其紀念與宣示性的計畫竟然還會出現在2004年的今天，真是讓我十分驚訝。其宣示性也未免太過強烈，讓我不禁想到了戰前的德國。一個過去肅殺氣氛如此濃厚的老城，在牆倒下後，所進行的計畫竟然是這番面貌，人們是否真的需要這樣的一種宣示呢？中央的、巨大的、紀念的。人們熱切的擁抱在一起只是因為他們是同一個種族、同一個國家，或是同一種自由？

只是不解。

柏林市波茲坦廣場前的「牆痕」

大概是因為冬天去的關係，這個城市給我的感覺好冷，彷彿那堵牆還在那邊一樣。

從巴黎回來後，不到一星期又出發去了柏林，在這麼短的時間內連續去了兩個歐洲大城，感覺十分強烈，截然不同的兩種氣氛，難怪有人說，柏林即使到了今天，仍然十分的有肅殺氣氛，這也是我最感到不解的地方；在十五年後的今天，柏林市如火如荼進行的重建，竟然也讓人感覺到如此之「冷」。

這次去柏林扣除掉第一天的長途火車，大概是四天半的行程，這四天裡，除了去了布蘭登堡大門和德國新議會廳外兩個觀光客必去的景點外，絕大部分時間都在不同的觀察柏林市的重建脈絡；波茲坦廣場的新興辦公大樓商業區、東柏林市郊的社會住宅更新、西柏林的創意社會住宅。而在這中間的下午時間，也在柏林市規劃局聽取了他們規劃人員的簡報，包括他們的局長。非常的緊湊，緊湊到有點讓人無法消化。

從頭到尾，我都覺得這個城市的那道牆陰魂不散，即使到了今天，東柏林的許多地區仍然是老舊不堪，無人居住，青年人口大部分都跑到西柏林及西德去了，坐在他們的地鐵(H-Bahn)上，經過著東柏林的市區越向市郊移動，外頭的街景就越提醒我這是東歐了。即使是已經統一了十五年，身為一個外來者，其實看不出來人們的臉上到底對於現在的生活滿不滿意，不過卻在這些不同的發展或是重建案子裡看到許多那堵牆的痕跡。

是什麼樣的情況會讓一個政府想把半個城市隔離起來呢？以前總是因為以為柏林就位在東西德交界上，那道牆從北往南把德國切成一半，後來才發現其實柏林市在東德很裡面，只有一條寬二十米左右的鐵道和公路連接著西柏林，圍牆的形狀就像一個深入敵軍的棒棒糖一樣，於是西柏林就被包了起來，裡面的人口和綠地一樣，三十年來沒有減少也沒有增加，西德政府給了很多優惠給西柏林的市民，而東德人則是嘗試千方百計要衝過牆，地道不計其數。

人們聚集到圍牆的原因至今仍然是個謎，據說是一個官員在上電視或電台回答民眾問題的時候，被問到什麼時候才能過去西德探望親人之類的問題，官員答的非常模稜兩可，原本是打官腔，甚至說現在其實就可以了，他們會努力，沒想到大部分的民眾都誤會了，於是成群的民眾連夜的趕往圍牆，戍守在邊界的士兵看到那麼多人來一時手足無措，又民眾說著電視上的官員是這麼說的，糊里糊塗的就聚集了許多市民，於是乎消息傳開了，整個柏林市都沸騰了起來，幾天下來，如同星火燎原一樣，整個東德為之震盪，同時間東歐也都開始產生變化。

直到看到這堵牆的痕跡，我才理解到，這原來這是一道多麼可笑荒謬的牆。搖滾樂團Pink Floyd就有著這麼一叫"the wall"的經典專輯裡面的一首歌叫Mother

Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb?
Mother do you think they'll like this song?
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls?
Mother should I build the wall?
Mother should I run for president?
Mother should I trust the government?
Mother will they put me in the firing line?
Mother am I really dying?

Hush now baby, baby, dont you cry.
Mother's gonna make all your nightmares come true.
Mother's gonna put all her fears into you.
Mother's gonna keep you right here under her wing.....................

只是，在2004的今天，這堵牆還存在在世界各地，甚至越築越高，只是人們已經聰明的不再建造具體的牆，改而以自由及正義之名加高了自己家裡的無形之牆。

真的自由了嗎？還是掉入了另一個牢籠之中呢？


下為在布蘭登堡大門附近的德國新國家議會，為英國建築師Norman Forster所設計，我不得不承認這個設計的確很有趣，不過這位大師的作品像螞蟻一樣越來越多，到世界各地到處都看的倒，好可怕，台灣文建會所計畫在華山建的新媒體藝術中心就是要邀他來..

As a international student from Netherlands, I start to miss it.

I still missed Paris which I first travelled to.

I ,a student of Netherlands, comes from Taiwan now and I am staying in Paris.

To take it into a wider count, identity is always a complicated question for everyone, politics and culture. City as a comlex tends to collect and show everyone's identity. A citizen of one city can be a traveller of another city. A traveller once could be a citizen before.

It is my sixth day in Paris.

What I attended so far is really an intensive course with whole day long taught classes and discussions. I almost have no time to look around Paris more but I like the course I had here. This course, one of "ATHENS Intensive Course", was named "Economic Policies for Environmental Resources" with broad and intensive knowledge in five days. The taught classes includes "An environmental policy from a neo-classical point of view and the creation of market for environmental goods", "Peasant Agriculture"( risk, institutions, household models, farming systems), and "Economic valuation of environmentl goods". You can see it is a little taugh from the name of it but it is really interesting for me especially the "Peasant Agricutule" which try to explain or describe a model of "originally" simple agricuture society in some developing countries like Malayway and some critical issues about poverty reduction. This lecturer comes from Imperial College of London Univ. have excellently clear speech and thinking and he brought some clear ideas about "Poverty Reduction" from both way of Anthopology and Economy. It is really a stimulation for me.

I am in Paris now and in an internet cafe.

The french keyboard is really strange, and I first found that the arrangement of each button's position is quite different from those we get used to in Taiwan since I first time got in a internet cafe in France. It is hard to describe my feeling of getting back to Paris again after 6 years. It seems I am still familiar with some streets and some monuments especially the Latin District but in fact I did not have close relationship with it other than a tourist. Can I call it 'Nostagia'?

As to murmur's question, I remember I've said that on this BLOG before that I attended a european student exchange plan to be a short term exchange student in French Institute of Forestry,Water Management and Environment, a member of Paris Tech. Therefore I will stay here for 9 days until next saturday.

It is really tired to travel after a whole day long workshop and it was almost midnight when i got in my accommodation in Paris. I went to Musee Lourve this afternoon and walked such a long distance though I was exhausted yesterday. However, it is impossible to stay in room in such multidisplinary and beatiful city......I believe that I will be exhausted again today, tomorrow, and........