Hallo aus Berlin!

Wannsee and WM

Yesterday began with a boat tour of the Wannsee! The Wannsee is a lake/canal region outside of southern Berlin. (We got there via the U-bahn, or subway). We took a 1.5 hr cruise of it. We cruised slowly and mostly feasted our eyes upon very very large homes propped up on hillside lake or canal-front property. some homes were what you might picture as traditional german architecture, and others very modern. we also saw a few (small) castles, though i was a little surprised that we didn't slow down more near the few we passed. however, still a gorgeous day out and pleasant ride! after the tour, we dined at a Biergarten, or beer garten. The day before we had lunch at a Biergarten in the Tiergarten (hee!). Biergartens are very relaxed, outdoor dining areas usually in a nice shaded area, and they offer the traditional variety of beers and wurst. I had wurst (sausage) at both places. Had my first german beer at the Wannsee Biergarten- a Pilsner, which is a pretty traditional, filtered beer. pretty tasty, especially with wurst :)

Our tummies full, we took the u-bahn back toward the center of berlin, hopped off, and walked by foot toward the "Fan Mile", which is actually a three-mile stretch of road within the Tiergarten (not sure if i explained what it is- means "animal garden" .. one of the royal family kings founded it as a personal hunting ground. now it is a very large public park, filled with trees and biking/walking paths). Though we arrived an hour early before the Germany vs. "schwaydon" game, the Fan Mile was closed off--over 800,000 fans were already inside! to our fortune, there were great seats on the steps of the Victory Monument, which is right outside the fan mile.. and from our seats we could look over the heads of fan mile fans and see a large projector screen. As Germany was winning, Katherine and I decided to head back a few minutes early to be able to catch the bus....... we get a few stops into the busride, and our bus is stopped in Potsdamer Platz (a large, popular platz in central berlin). Exstatic fans are banging on all walls of the bus, and jumping on the 2nd, upper, level. the whole platz had become overrun with fans. katherine and i decide to view the crayiness from the outside, so we get out of the bus (which doesn't move for another 15 minutes, until policeman start to get the crowd under control), we wait around just watching the incredible scene, then decide to walk back (a few miles walk past checkpoint charlie, the berliner dom, other great sites in the city!) Meanwhile, the street traffic is nuts. Cars flying by, flags all over cars, people hanging out of windows waving the flags, car horns honking. the honking continued for our entire 2 hr walk!

Dinner (pad thai! decided to take a break from the wurst...) at a thai restaurant outdoors around 10 pm.. lovely!

Slept in today to finally catch up on the jet lag. sadly, did not attend church because of the exhaustion. though katherine and i are planning to check out the church that is around the corner next weekend. I walked down the the Baecherie to buy a bag of coffee to brew in the apartment. asked the man working for his suggestion and purchased that one. it was very good! especially with the Erdbeeren (strawberries) katherine and i had bought in the U-bahn station.

Orientation today at the school where we'll be having classes- the Canisius Kolleg- it's a well-known private high school in Berlin, with a small little campus. Was followed by a BBQ with more beer and wurst :) School will be about a 25 minute walking/bus commute. Classes will be monday-thurs. One class monday and thursday, two on tuesday and wednesday. It's starting to sink in that I'm here for 5 more weeks... will have to take a break from the Wurst! Tschüss!

posted by Jayne @ 12:05 PM