Berlin 16.3.12

The arch du Metz

But as any trip starts, in Metz:The train was late (it was on time, but just late at nigth) so a large group of us went downtown earlier so we could just walk to the train station. Classically enjoyed Kebabs. It turned out that quite a lot of people were going to Berlin and others were going to somewhere else in Germany.

First impressions: construction cranes, and godawful sewage smell. But past that I navigated to our hostel... semi-successfully. The boys, Taylor, Richard, and Jason were coincidentally in the same hostel, so I lead them along. We headed East by the sun, but at one point decided to ask for directions. The woman pointed on the map to where we were... A good distance North west of the train station. Not at all south east. Apparently the sun rises in the west when you are in Europe. Or the woman did not know where she was at all. Another kind woman, more knowledgeable, approached the group of students crowding around a map who looked completely puzzled as to how they ended up that far in the exact opposite direction of their destination! She corrected our location. Ah we were on the right track and in fact, almost there after all! But the map was very deceiving and ten minutes later we were almost certain we would have to back track again, because according to the metro map we were passed our street. Alas that was not the case, and the street was just nearby! So finally we reached our hostel... not yet 10am, but the boys took a nap, and I went out to explore.

If it is similar to the idea in France, couples  place locks on the bridge decor and throw away the key into the river as a symbol of their lasting relationship.

Second Impression: The taxis were pretty nice cars.

Upon arriving in the square:

The Brandenburg Gate is a symbol of national unity and freedom. The quadriga statue was dismantled in 1806 by Napoleon's army and brought it to Paris. This created national humiliation but transformed the statue into this new political symbolism.  

The Brandenburg Gate is a symbol of national unity and freedom. The Quadriga statue was dismantled in 1806 by Napoleon's army and brought it to Paris. This created national humiliation but transformed the statue into this new political symbolism.  

A walk in the park is beautiful, an oasis from the stench on the streets. I sat down on a bench to write. "The weather is absolutely perfect- perfect for a nap in the park. It;s noisy only with excited birds chirping the announcement of spring.

Admittedly I did not get enough sleep last night on the train for reasons beyond my control... And it still entertains me that originally everyone wwas going to Munich but now everyone had the same Thursday night train as I, to Berlin. I even had the same hostel as half of them! (the 3 guys I lead there and several others who are spending the day in Poland) But I am doing my own course for the time being. For once someone is right;"everyone speaks English" here. German is simply not going to stick in my head with all these other languages rolling around. Though I should have printed out some vocab anyway. -I guess I didn't because the words are so long, and seemingly unpronounceable.

Nature offers so much of its own symbolism.

I feel like I'm camping, and I suppose as I sit here, times not wasted if it's enjoyed, but money is! So I better get up and going to explore Berlin.

Dear Siyi,
This cloud reminds me of people rowing a boat, so crew, so it reminds me of you. Sorry it's not food though! -Olivia

Beethoven-Hadyn-Mozart-Denkmal memorial

Do you see what I see?

Die Berliner Siegessaule

I could not decide which picture I liked better...

 

Tired or not... It felt beautiful!

 

But then I saw a few things that struck me as odd...first there was a dead rodent on the path missing its head... I did not take a picture of it... but then second I saw this strange sight, that caught me completely off guard.

On the left a bird as you can see below... but then on the right... another bird acting absolutely bizarre. It is not normal to see animal corpses lying around... so recently slaughtered. Was the bird on the right the culprit, or otherwise connected to the victim? By it's actions it seemed utterly crazy. It just kept flipping around into the tree it was standing next to, until final it hit some sense into it's head again.. and hopped away.. a little less strangely.

A few steps down I see this up high in a tree. Despite the distinctiveness of shapes, it is quite possibly natural dis-figurations of the tree.

Stepping out of the woods...

 

 

I came to a maze of granite blocks placed on rolling ground.  As you enter deeper into the middle it gets darker, colder, adn peoples voices become muffled.It is supposed to represent the sensations families felt as they lived through WWII. It's formally known as the Field of Steel.

I explored down past Potsdam Plaza.

 

 

I stopped on the way at an antique museum store that was a window to before during and after the war, as an artist had lived there to capture the times, and is carried on by a descendant.

A popular location for the Berlin wall is the Topographie des Terrors.

Good question...

The basement walls of the School of Industrial Arts and Crafts was built in 1901-05. In 1933 the Secret State Police Office moved into the building and it later became located up against the Berlin wall.

"What you do, comes back to you?"

Piers from the main driveway to Gestapo headquarters, through which all the transports of prisoners to the Gestapo "house prison" passed through.

Through the solemness, I can't help but to find humor in McDonald's in the background, or that guy sneaking up to take a picture...

"Checkpoint Charlie- A place of Remembrance" Here occurred the tank stand-off if 1961, which "brought the free world and socialist-communist bloc to the brink of a 3rd world war." This Allied control post replica is sponsored by Berlin's business community was erected to mark the 50th anniversary of the event.

I refreshed myself with an exotic fruit smoothie... perfect for the perfect warm weather, especially in March!

The 3 guys in my hostel I met up with later.

Beer keg clock.. It's time to drink?

Guess so! Beer bikes too!!

German meatloaf!

We went around the East side of the city, and dined at the HofbraeuHaus. It was a really fun Bavarian restaurant with waiters all dressed old fashioned. The food was served promptly, and the house beer tasted absolutely delicious. Beer in general is appreciated by many people, but cheap beer is nothing but awful, and most of what people drink is unfortunately cheap. This... however, was very fresh tasting. We had a charming young waiter who the guys made sure to embarrass me in front of...and once, when the waiter turned back to probably get another look at this crazy table, he almost ran into another costumer with his arms full of dishes!
Another humorous sight!

















Well it was a long walk back to the hostel, so we broke it up by stopping in some other mini restaurant bars. Star wars was playing in one of them.

Your welcome. haha.

Richard made me dance Salsa with him to live light rock music in an Irish pub. I'm a New Yorker, studying through Georgia Tech, in Metz France, dancing a Latin American dance in an Irish pub while visiting Germany. And somehow I have given my globalization teacher the impression that I didn't believe in globalization!

Some little animal in the dark.

Back at the train station Saturday afternoon.