Berlin Given "A Taste of Atlantis"

For several hours over the last weekend, Berlin's iconic Unter den Linden became Unter dem Wasser as a series of freak flash floods turned the city into an inland sea. Authorities are placing the blame on a giant Ape who apparently dammed up the Spree just as torrential summer downpours unleashed unprecedented rainfall over the city. Zeppelins and boats allowed many citizens to turn the event into a lark, while most others found safety on rooftops or even with Victoria's Quadriga atop the not quite submerged Brandenberger Tor.

The Unter dem Wasser at the height of the flooding.
(BAZ Staff Photo)

The flooding began shortly after 16:00 SLT on Sunday but seemed to be confined principally to the poorer southwest sections of the city, including the popular Der Keller dance-hall. However, after a very brief intermezzo when the waters seemed to recede, the real flooding began, drowning the Alexanderplatz and the tony Behrenstrasse neighborhood. This time there was no stopping it, and over the next half hour the waters rose to levels that placed most of the city underwater.

When the water finally did drain away late that evening, it left everything soaked but remarkably little damage and, happily, no fatalities.

Victory welcomes refugees from the rising waters atop the Brandenberg Gate.
(BAZ Staff Photo)

As Zeppelin tours enjoyed a sudden rise in popularity, all manner of craft plied the Venice-like streets - from tire inner tubes to peddle boats to steam powered launches. In an especially moving moment, Cordelia Bellingshausen continued to play bravely upon her organ as the waters rose about her, inspiring calm at that particularly tense moment. Apparently her many near drownings in the canal served her well through this latest crisis.

Weather for the next few days is forecast to be mostly sunny with only a small chance of rain, so we may hope the city dries out without further incident.