Berlin: October 5-12 2024. Flags.

 October 7, 2024. I'm on the bike tour with Fat Tire Bikes.  In front of the Red Government Building off of Alexanderplatz, I see an Israeli flag flying beside the Germany and Berlin flags.  When asked, our tourguide notes that this is the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack in Israel, and Germany stands with Israel. He draws our attention to the fact that the flags are all flying half-mast. He said that earlier, the Ukrainian flag was flying.  I notice Israeli flags flying liberally around town.

I text my friends in the U.S.: "this is a one-year anniversary.  All over Berlin there are Israeli flags.  All flags are flying at half-mast and there are images of the hostages posted around town.  Big protests and huge police presence."  

The most significant display in support of the hostages was in Babelplatz.  A square about twenty feet by twenty feet is fenced off with chain link fencing; inside is an arrangement of empty chairs.  Attached to the chain link fence are images and descriptions of the hostages.  This display is "up" for the duration of our time in Berlin. 

Then on Thursday, I notice the Israeli flags have been replaced with Ukrainian flags.  Friday morning, see an official swift-moving entourage accompanied by someone on a bull horn speaking loudly and swiftly in German.  The trains back to the hotel in the evening are jam-packed; an announcer states in multiple languages that the disruption in service is due to a state department visit.  We had heard that U.S. President Biden was slated to visit, but his visit was cancelled because of the hurricane in Florida.  The state department visitor, we later heard, was V. Zalinski. Ah. Yes.  So now there are Ukrainian flags.