Hallo aus Berlin!

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.

posted by Jayne @ 6:02 AM