Monday, April 4, 2011

Berlin Week Two

A little behind in my blogs but... better late than never?

Another awesome week in Berlin, which included our first real experiences of Berlin night life. The bars can stay open 24 hours if they want to, we have taken them up on their offer a few times until about 4am but after that, the thirties in me kick in and it's time for bed. It definitely affects the vibe of the night though... when the night has no beginning or no end for everyone collectively as a group, it's hard to tell what time it is. We then naturally ended the night by indulging in Currywurst. If you've never had Currywurst, it's a Berlin food phenomenon -- sausage served with curried ketchup. Yes, I have tried it and yes, it's delicious. I've been taking a totally 'when in Rome' approach to eating meat and happy about my choice so far.


My friend Jen arrived this week and we've been having a super fun time. We went to the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe and it was soooo well done and so, so heavy. It's this crazy arrangement of 2711 dark columns rising up from the ground arranged in a grid... when you walk into the grid, the ground starts to get deeper and more hilly, and it's really like a massive maze that you feel you could get lost in. It's kind of suffocating and scary, and disorienting and makes you almost feel a bit panicked. There is also a museum that goes along with it that recounts all of the horrors of the Holocaust. Very emotional, heart-wrenching, mind-blowing. I learned some stuff I didn't know happened and it's so horrifying. Anyway, it's something that you kind of have to face when you come here... you can't ignore the intense and horrifying history of this city. So it was a heavy but necessary experience going to the memorial and museum that goes with it. It's really amazing.


We also did a walking tour, which was like 5 hours long and super interesting. Hitler's bunker, lots of crazy facts about the history in Germany, and lots of museums.

Other highlights of the week included our first german rock show, the amazing weather, and the little hot dog and fry men scattered around the city.


I nearly lost Dave this week to the human donation box but I convinced him to stay with us. Thank goodness. A bizarre concept to so blantantly ask for peoples souls, don't you think?


We are in a beautiful city with a dark past, but it's such a vibrant and beautiful place to be. The architecture is great -- a mix of really vibrant and colourful (sometimes garish) buildings contrasting against really beautiful classically European styles with muted stonework and lovely iron work. Loving it in Berlin!



:::::::::::::: SEE MY BERLIN WEEK TWO PICTURES HERE ::::::::::::::

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