Hallo aus Berlin!: July 2006

Sunday, July 30, 2006

pictures

Outside the Reichstag.

With Dan at the Yodelkeller!

a cool breeze...

Though the week has ended wonderfully (including with a little cooler air!), it started off pretty brutally...

When Ann and Dan left Germany, they seem to have left their Slovakian virus... they arrived to Berlin both feeling very sick from a virus, and luck would have it, I found myself with it once they left. Very sick beginning Sunday night, I couldn't get out of bed for about 40 hours, and also missed two full days of classes. It was definately very horrible. Once I felt better Tuesday afternoon, I had to buckle down worked non-stop until finals finished late Friday afternoon. Friday night was a pleasant BBQ at the school with the group. It was definately a great feeling to be done with classes.

Saturday we took it easy, began cleaning the apartment and other lovely things. In the afternoon I went to the Orgelmusik at St. Marien's Kirche (church) in Alexanderplatz. It was a 1 hour organ vespers and the organist played lots of old german stuff- bach, buxtehude, and some other folks. the organ is a 1732 wagner organ- pretty much very old and large! Really neat to hear the music in the country where these men composed and played.

Last night was the last night with Katherine- so we and a few other girls had dinner at a well-known turkish restaurant in K-berg. My hummus was excellent. Our friend recommended the yogurt drink, so Katherine got it. Pretty much the worst thing ever- it fools you into thinking it's an icecream milk shake- but it really a white beverage that tastes like liquid sour cream... amazingly, out of thirst, katherine downed most of the .5 liters.. She's amazing like that, and I miss her already! Woke up and saw her off at 5 this morning (of course, the berlin sun was already up to great us!)

Had a nice lazy Sunday morning, then went to the East Side Gallery with a few friends - it is the longest stretch of the Wall left in Berlin- probably about 200 meters or so. In the neighborhood, we found a photobooth that actually develops the photos inside (read- they aren't digital), so we crammed the 5 of us in and took a roll- fun! lunch = a Schwarma from a shop in the 'burg. It is along the lines of a doner or falafel but has potatos and chili sause in it and you can get it with chicken. Yum. Definately my favorite of the three greasy sandwiches. This afternoon we went to a large flee market on Barnauer Strasse. I purchased a beautiful necklace of Che-che beans - so my first purchase is Columbian and not German.. but I have been eating lots of German chocolate!

So, I really look forward to this week! I am staying one full week with my very good friend, Jeylan, who's been here since March with a study abroad and just finished and now has an internship in the city. She is living in a more southern, bit nicer section of Kreuzberg. I'm looking forward to visiting some museums and galleries, checking out new parts of the city, and spending time in places I've already been.

Thanks for reading!

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Swanks x 3

Sent Ann and Dan off this morning- they spent the last 3 days of their 6 week adventure here with me. Unfortunately both were sick. Dan was getting over something, but Ann got very sick and had to stay in my apartment most of the time. Still managed to do some neat things together though-

Thursday, I took them to Alexander Platz. As it was another very hot day, fountains throughout the city were popular places to cool off. Sat with our feet in the fountain of Poseidon. Fun to cool off, people watch... in case zou've been curious- yes, mohawks are still very much in style on this side of the Atlantic. We then walked down Unter den Linden, spending time outside of Humboldt University - there is an interesting collection of large bears painted by artists reprenting most of the countries of the World. Down further we walked through the Brandenburg Gate and looked at the Reichstag.

Friday afternoon I went with Dan to Checkpoint Charlie. A solder still stands there, mostly for aesthetic purposes. We spent time in the Museum that is now there. It gave a lot of information on not only the history of Germany after the war up until the end of the wall, but also other world history during those years. There were also really interesting artifacts of things people used to cross the wall. I thought I'd already heard about most - I was most surprised by a homemade hot air balloon in which a family of 8 flew from East to West.

Friday night Dan, myself and a few others finally went to the Yodelkeller- a local locals' bar that we pass daily on the way to and from school. The beverages weren't the best, but were served with a tasty treat- they look like cheese curls but are flavored with peanuts. Katherine and I promptly purchased some the next time we were in a convenience store :)

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in the Tiergarten, and had lunch at a Biergarten. We reached Potsdamer Platz just in time for a large parade celebrating Gays/Lesbians/Transgendered, etc. The place was crowded. Managed to cross the street however, and I played the tourguide pointing out some historic sites (more wall, an East German Watchtower).

Last night we watched "V for Vendetta" out in the Freiluftkino (Free Air Movies), which is just a block down the street in our neighborhood. Jeylan met up with us, and we grabbed lawn chairs provided, and enjoyed the show! The courtyard was filled with a few hundred young people, was a really fun way to go to the movies.

I can't believe I only have a week left of classes- finals are this Wednesday-Friday, so I have to buckle down..
After finals, I will be staying one more week in Berlin with Jeylan. It definately feels like I'm living here. Though it's a great experience in so many ways, I won't lie that I'm missing home - family, friends, the US. Perhaps more on that later.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

the Wall

I forgot my key before running out the door to school this morning, so I'm locked out of the apartment until Katherine gets back from an errand. So here I am in the internet cafe on the corner of the block that has been my home for the last 4 weeks. It is interesting, definately far fewer Germans have personal computers and internet than Americans, so internet cafes, particularly in large cities such as Berlin, are very popular for the local population.

When I walk down Adalbertstrasse (our street) to the internet cafe or busstop, I cross a 'canal', which is actaully a very long park that is about 10 meters across and lies parallel with a road. It is the former No-man's Land that lied between the two walls (the Berlin Wall was actually at least two walls, with No-mans land (a death strip) in between). And this afternoon after classes, we had a group outing to the Berlin Wall Documentation center in Berlin. We had a detailed tour outside by a section of wall. The history of how the wall went up over time, flight attempts, the differences between the West and East, how the wall got more advanced to ward of escape attempts is all fascinating. Today only 280 meters of the wall remain around all of Berlin. People might wonder why more wasn't kept up to memorialize the 30 years that the wall stood, but in 1989, Germans were scared and really just wanted to get rid of it.

Had another doener for lunch today- so I think I'm averaging about one a week here. One of my favorite things is just noticing local residents gathered with a friends or even just solo standing outside such 'Imbiss' stands eating their lunch or dinner.

So it's supposed to be about 100 degrees here tomorrow -- i really will be appreciating the air conditioning and ice cubes when i get back home!

Monday, July 17, 2006

Sachsenhausen

Intense day today. Began by waking up late (thanks to Katherine who roused me shortly before we ran out the door), but good since I've been tired! Made the 40 minute trip by foot/bus to get to Potsdamer Platz at 9, where we met our classmates and two professors to go to Sachsenhausen, about 45 minutes by S-bahn in Northern Berlin. From there, another 1-2 mile walk. So about 3 hours later, we were there. Such commutes are not out of the ordinary, that now when we get anywhere in <45 minutes, it seems like a rather superhuman accomplishment.

Sachsenhausen in a Concentration Camp in Northern Berlin. Amazing that any such camp existed in the capital city- much unlike many other of the major camps that were actually removed from most towns. I don't wish to tell much about the experience here. But we spent about 1.5 hours on the grounds, and were able to walk around it at our pace with an info-phone thing and site map. Amazing to have been there and still having trouble wrapping my mind around the reality that was the Holocaust.

From northern berlin, I took the S-bahn to southern berlin to visit Rathaus Steglitz, a memorial to Jews transported from the neighborhood of Steglitz beginning in 1942. The memorial is a Mirror Wall in a main city Platz, in the middle of busy streets and the U-bahn. Using my german, I chatted with some locals to try to get their views of the memorial. Afterwards, I bought a way too expensive Iced coffee from Starbucks, but the air conditioning and ice cubes were incredibly wonderful.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

quick update!

Just recently got back from the run. The first one I've done in berlin since we typically walk many miles every day in this city.
Soooo glad for the finally cool(er) air. Germany doesn't believe in Air Conditioning, and it has been very hot up until now, which has been a bit of a challenge for the last month or so.

Last night Katherine and I attempted to go to Don Giovanni at the Comishe Oper, which is a big thing in berlin. However, the only tickets left where a bit steep... so we opted to check out the movie theater in Potsdamer Platz. We wound up seeing a very interesting german film, "Das Leben den Anderen" (the life of the others) about the Stasi in the former DDR (east germany) and a german playwright with political ideas that threatened the Stasi-- a very real theme for Germany.

I realize I haven't talked about food in a while...
Kaffee und Kuche (coffee and cake) - is a very traditional thing for Germans, a great afternoon treat that I will never tire of
Schultheiss Pilsner is a very tasty beer- had one at a Biergarten tucked away in some trees right off a main city-street, so neat!
Marzipan croissant from the corner bakerie = delicious.

Tomorrow I am going to Sachsenhausen with my class. It is a former concentration camp right outside Berlin. I don't want to go in that obviously, it will be very difficult to experience. however, i think it will be also a very changing event, and another experience to better learn about part of the long, historic struggle of the Jews in Germany.

Friday, July 14, 2006

and pictures!

Xenon stoked about the Ukraine win. The Brandenburg Gate is in the background.. usually a big site in berlin, the Gate during the "Weltmeisterschaft" (world cup) marked one of the ends of the Fan Mile.

With Klaus, a (surprise!) Germany fan, at the Ukraine vs. Sweden game at the Fan Mile

...more to come!

hi from the backyard!

So I can (almost) successfully talk at a 4 year old's level. My little friend who's playing "fussball" out here in the apartments' courtyard just had to go inside. Amazing that it's not much better than that, but at the same time, so rewarding to be in the country of the language i've been learning for so long. seeing plays, listening to lectures, and ..

interview holocaust survivors in german. so incredibly rewarding. today we (katherine and i) interviewed an 81 year old woman, Gisela Miessner. She was born in 1927, and protested at Rosenstrasse in 1943- it is a very famous protest during the Holocaust. As I've been learning, Jews in Germany/Europe have been horribly discriminated against since the 1700s. Her father was jewish, her mother was not. Her father was put in jail along with many others in 1943. Mothers and daughters (who were not jewish, and therefore not also put in jail) protested outside the jail for over 12 days. Amazingly, all the men were released (of course, that doesn't end discrimmination. her father was shot by the SS the next year). but the men were not taken to aushwitz, as was the plan. She is a very special woman, and gives very few interviews any more, but 2 days ago katherine and i had the priveledge of talking with someone else prominent in Berlin/Jewish history. We talked with the president of the group responsible for the 1988 rebuilding of the Neue Synagogue in central berlin, which was saved during Krystalnacht (1938), but bombed later. We had lunch with him, discussed his thoughts on the Jewish population/issues in berlin. He set us up with Gisela. Incredible.

Prague- the adventure that was last weekend. A <48 hr whirlwind tour with katherine and three other friends in the program (alex, david, lauren). Realized how intimidating it is to be in a country where you don't know any of th elanguage. if someone knew german, it was such a relief! Stayed in an elementary school turned hostel in the summer. Got "Welcome beers". Katherine was so thirsty that she asked to trade it for water, but the woman laughed at her. pretty comical. The first evening we took a Jazzboat Tour on the Vltava River that runs through the city. 2.5 hrs and while the sun went down. The live entertainment was a Czek scat singer! Saturday we took our map from the hostel and walked most of the main parts of the city by foot. Some highlights: many really old churches (mostly catholic, huge, really gold on the inside), the Prague Castle (which also has another really humongous cathedral), the Old Town, and the Vsehrad Castle. We also ordered lunch in a bar in which the menu was in czek. interestingly, my meal turned out to be fried cheese (amazing) and the others were chicken fingers.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

update!

Things don't slow down around here, and i wan tot quickly let you know what i've been up to!

Friday= afternoon in Potsdam, a city right outside Berlin. Spent a few hours walking around the court of Fredrick II- beautiful gardens, paths, his summer home and the huge main "house". Dessert and tea ensued :) Caught the Germany WC game at a restuarant in Kreuzberg. Friday night I went to another performance in the old Brecht Theater: "Denk an Deutschland" (i think), which was two actors reading, acting, and singing texts of Heine. Beautiful solo piano interludes as well.

Saturday= early wake up and day trip to Dresden, which is 2-3 hours southeast of Berlin. Dresden is a beautiful, old city in former East Germany. A professor from Freie University went with us and gave a great tour of the historic "alte stadt" (old city), saw two incredible churches- the Frauen Kirche, huge St. Basilica like on a smaller scale. Stepped inside the Catholic church briefly and heard the only remaining Silbermann organ in Dresden. Lunch in a touristy, but very German restaurant. Huge ball of flour/egg/butter accompanied the meal... so rich i couldn't stomach it! Germans are intense.

Sunday morning Kat and I checked out the Ev. Lutheran church that is down the block. Lots of 17th century organ and hymn singing. PHILHARMONIE sunday night!!! A Mendelssohn piece (orchestra, soloists, and choir from Humbolt University) was the first half, and the second half, the orchestra played Shostakovich's 5th symphony! AMAZING. such a neat building and listening space! I'll never forget it :)

Monday- class. I particularly love my Jewish Berlin class. We do a lot of reading, but I really am enjoying our discussions. We spent part of the afternoon in the Bavarian Quarter- a nice area in former West Berlin, which had a fair amount of Jews before the war. We spent time walking around the area, which is spotted with over 80 signs up on lamposts, each sign with a restriction written on it that was applied to Jews during the Third Reich. Berlin is choc-full of Memorials I've learned.

July 4! Morning- we went to the Holocaust to the Murdered Jews of Europe memorial. A lot of debate preceded it's implementation, and it's still greatly debated now. 7/4 BBQ hosted at the Berliner Yacht Club on the Wannsee. Dinner followed by swim in the lake :)

Class and 3 hour tour of the REICHSTAG, the Germany Parliament Building. Pretty exhausting 5 days! Finishing up the evening with some "hausaufgabe" and planning a 2 day trip to Prague this weekend with some friends :)

Hallo aus Berlin!