what once was there, will never be again, a story must be told

it is a sad thing when great things are torn down, taken away, demolished, destroyed...not too much longer than a year ago i was walking, wandering the streets of berlin and this lovely building and i had a conversation with one another. i didn't know what the building was at the moment, after six weeks of looking at maps and figuring out "the places to go", i was tired of planning ahead. i remember stopping in front of the palast de republik, looking up and thinking wow. plywood had become adequate replacements for windows of glass. the chain link fence hugged the building but at a distance of 3 meters all around...as if to say, "no way that i dare touch you, you dirty, old, falling apart building..."

*sigh*

following one link to another link to another via blog after blog, i fortuitously found a post dedicated solely to the old palast. it seems that it is bound for the land where only memories will keep it alive...demolition has begun already.

the beauty of this building was not the built entity of the palast itself, but rather the wonderful reflections of berliner dom from across the street. in reality, the domes that rest atop the baroque church are made of copper, the patina has turned to its green, but in an ugly manner that makes the church look dull and uninviting.

but in the reflection of the palast's bronze-like windows, the domed church takes on a life of its own. it becomes golden, a little mirage of heaven and not of this world where time destroys and weather copper and makes marble stain with dirt. in the relfection the building remains pristine & glorious.

i wonder if those who are tearing down the palast realize this: that in the demolition of the palast they are in fact really destroying the life of two buildings.

the images they use show the palast alone, decrepit...a ploy to hide the real wonders of the building...look closer and you might be able to have that wonderful silent conversation that i stumbled upon that day. just you and the golden domes, with the magical bronze windows as the mediator.

the death has already begun, and you can watch it here.