Heart of Berlin

Another big day on Sunday! We took the S Bahn, U Bahn, and bus and finally arrived at the German Historical Museum. It's a huge building loaded with information and artifacts of significant events in the German region since 100 BC! That means there was a lot to cover. We only saw about half the building, up to the 1900's. That might sound like there isn't much left, but of course Germany has had a lot happen in the past century, so we can't wait to return for the remainder.

Panel showing the heraldic shield of Charles V,
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation

Suits of armor worn by the knights

Mask worn by doctors during the Bubonic Plague

We left the museum by mid-afternoon and walked up the famous Under den Linden street to the Reichstag, the seat of the German government. Jeff had prearranged for a guided tour in English, so we were able to bypass the lengthy lines and go right in. After a security check, we joined our group and enjoyed a two hour journey through the Reichstag and the glass dome on top.

The Reichstag is the equivalent of the US Capitol Building. It was completed in 1894, but due to the famous fire of 1933 and damage during WWII, it was basically unused until after reunification. Restoration was completed in 1999.
Russian graffiti on the interior walls from the fall of Berlin to the Soviets
during WWII. The architect responsible for reconstruction of the Reichstag
wanted to preserve all the signs of history, so the graffiti remains, as well as
bullet holes on the exterior.

The Plenary Chamber where the Bundestag meets

Another view of the Plenary from the visitors gallery. The German
constitution dictates that the public always be allowed access and viewing.

The French art project, one of several pieces contributed by members of the
Allied Nations. The Jewish artist replicated small post boxes and added a name plate for each elected member of the Bundestag from 1894 until 1999 (including Adolf Hitler). The black square in the middle is representative of the Nazi reign when all other parties were forced to disband and democracy was suspended.

In the Plenary under the dome, which functions as a cooling system and air exchanger

View of Berlin from the top of the Reichstag

Following the Reichstag, we had dinner at a nice outdoor cafe and then consulted our S Bahn map again. We had tickets to Carmina Burana, so we found our way to the Konzerthaus, a lovely old building at Gendarmenmarkt. Jeff and I have sung Carmina before in the Arkansas Master Chorale, but we have never heard it as passive audience members. It was very enjoyable, certainly the more-so because of our familiarity with it. We both loved the soprano soloist, and the tenor was very engaging (especially in the drinking song, which he essentially acted out ;-). I also enjoyed the countertenor, but that's not really Jeff's cup of tea!

Inside the Konzerthaus, seated on the main floor

Street musicians

Like any large city, there are many people on the street asking for your money. But my favorites are the street musicians; they are really talented here!

The most common instrument seems to be the accordion. They play mostly upbeat tunes. I've heard classics like the William Tell overture and traditional songs like Hava Nagila. Of course, those are only a few pieces in their huge repertoire that they shift amongst effortlessly. They sit very politely in the S Bahn station or down in the underground terminals and accompany the passengers as they hurry to and fro. I enjoyed listening to a guitarist today on the U Bahn, and we even had a trio hop on the light rail train one evening with an accordion, a recorder, and some other instrument I couldn't see. Good culture and talent seem to pervade many aspects of German life!

All things bright and beautiful

Overlooking the pond

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a rare sunny afternoon. Jeff and I made plans to go to the botanical gardens not far from our apartment. Of course, by the time early evening came it was already cloudy again, but the temperature was still comfortable. So we took the S Bahn one stop up and walked to the Berlin Botanischer Garten.

I have been to several botanical gardens in my life, but I've never seen one so large and so thorough! We were there for several hours and barely scratched the surface. We didn't even make it into all the greenhouses, let alone the rest of the grounds. We were very impressed by the collection, categorization, and display of the myriad of plant species. But more importantly, we were awed by the amazing variety, array, and beauty that God had created.

Cooking Quandaries

Making meals in this tiny kitchen:

is quite a bit different from food preparation in my spacious culinary dream at home in Alabama:

There is no dishwasher, the sink has one small, shallow bowl and one small built-in drainboard, the refrigerator is an under-the-counter mini variety, and the tiny stove is all electric! As far as Berlin apartment kitchens go, I think mine is fairly well-sized, so I certainly can't complain.

I have to be very efficient and streamlined here. I shop at the market every other day generally, since I have limited cabinet and fridge storage. It takes longer to prepare meals overall because I can't really multitask; there isn't enough counter space, burner space, sink space... I'm making simpler meals and using a few "convenience" items I wouldn't usually turn to. But it's a fun experience to get the full taste of living in Berlin, and that means shopping, cooking, and making do like a real metro Deutschlander.

Two skillets take up all the room on the small stove, so I have to plan dishes carefully (but the kitchen is well stocked; you probably can't tell, but the front red skillet is a Le Creuset, something I would love to have at home!)

Wednesday night dinner; Chicken and mushrooms in a cream sauce, rosemary garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed zucchini with Italian herbs, and breadsticks on the side.

Die Niederlande

Please forgive the long absence. We've had a full long weekend! Friday morning we were up quite early again to take public transportation to the Berlin central train station. We hadn't been to the Hauptbahnhof before; it's like a gigantic mall with train tracks running through at multiple levels.

We found our train to Amersfoort, the Netherlands. As is was a holiday weekend in Germany (again!), the long train was very full. We had purchased seat reservations, but as the assigned seats were facing backward, we managed to switch to another pair so we could enjoy the six hour ride. It was an easy, relaxing journey across the countryside into the neighboring nation. We even befriended a fellow passenger and enjoyed a long conversation with her, a German graduate student with many interesting insights and comments.

We had a fantastic time in the Netherlands. When we arrived on Friday, we walked around Nunspeet, shared some ice cream, climbed a look-out tower to view the forest, and enjoyed the rare sunny, warm afternoon. In fact, the whole weekend had fabulous weather. We saw old friends, renewed acquaintances, and introduced ourselves to new faces.

Welcome to the land of bicycles! With 13 million bikes and 16 million people, it's no wonder there is more parking for bikes around town than cars!

View from the tower in Nunspeet

We even met a lovely older woman who has had a pet turtle for 53 years! Jeff and I were fascinated by that. We got to meet and touch Peter the (girl) turtle and watch her enjoy a hand-fed banana.

Peter enjoying a snack; she's been spoiled and won't eat any other way.
It gives new meaning to "hand-to-mouth existence"

Shaking hands and making introductions with Peter, the
more-than-half-century-old turtle (I don't think she looks a day over 40 ;-)

All in all, a wonderful, refreshing trip. I only wish we had time to return for another visit before our European stay is over.

Gone to the dogs

Berliners love their animals, especially their dogs. And the dogs go everywhere with their masters and mistresses. We see dogs on the sidewalks, dogs in the park, dogs on the subway, dogs in the mall, dogs on the square...I think you get the idea!

They are apparently allowed everywhere except grocery stores and restaurants. Being animal lovers, Jeff and I enjoy seeing the happy companions out and about. They are extremely well-behaved, and I haven't see a problem pet yet (the same cannot be said for some of the children and teenagers we've encountered). Perhaps because the dogs are so well exercised and socialized, they are better adjusted than their American counterparts. Note to self: take DaVinci on more errands when we get back to the States!

There are even dogs on the red carpet in Berlin!
(Homer the dog with royalty)

Berlin Walking Tour

On Sunday, we took our first proper walking tour of Berlin. We had a three hour guided journey through many of the most significant places in Berlin, starting at the Brandenburg Gate and ending at Museum Island and the Soviet-era radio tower in Alexanderplatz. We saw too many significant places to name them all, but some of the most interesting to us were Checkpoint Charlie (gate C in the Berlin Wall), the twin churches facing Gendarmenmarkt square (one for the French Huguenots recruited in the 1700's and a matching one for the Germans), Humboldt University and the square where 20,000 “un-German” books (including those by authors Helen Keller and Albert Einstein) were burned during the 1933 Nazi takeover, and the campus building where Max Plank taught physics for over 30 years.

The Cold War microcosm; here communism and democracy
came face to face on a daily basis for several decades.

The concert hall and the French Cathedral (the identical German cathedral
faces in as a mirror image, giving the square almost perfect symmetry).

A professional photo of the memorial in the square where the book burning
occurred. It is a glass window showing empty underground bookshelves,
representative of the 20,000 volumes burned on that one occasion alone.

A haunting plague nearby carries the German inscription
penned over 100 years before the Nazis came to power:
"When one begins with burning books, one will end with burning men."

The Max Planck plaque

Did you know...

...the Germans drink beer at breakfast? Okay, not all Germans, but particularly Bavarians I'm told. Our host at BAM explained that a 9:00 am second breakfast or “between meals” meal is traditional, particularly among the working class. Since they often start their work day at 6:30 or 7 am and may have left their houses at 5 or 6 to catch the train, it's not unreasonable to expect they would be hungry (and apparently thirsty). So many people in Germany take a break mid-morning for eggs, bacon, and, in Bavaria, beer. In the words of Winnie the Pooh, “time for a little something”!

Potsdam

There are many holidays in May here, so we are the beneficiaries of the German system. Thursday was a holiday, so Friday is a “bridge day”, also given as a day off. Neither Jeff nor I had class or work, and so began a long four day weekend. Jeff's host at Bam, Pedro, and his wife Chris, offered to take us to Potsdam to tour some of the sites. Potsdam was the heart of the Prussian empire and there are castles galore there. It is currently the capital of Brandenburg, so it has lots going on, even though it is much smaller than Berlin.

We toured the Neues Palais, built by Frederick the II (also known as Frederick the Great) in the 1760's. It is quite a sight; and remember, it's only one of several within a few miles!

The Neu Palais

How's this for a kitchen?! The service buildings for the castle are across the courtyard so as to limit unpleasant sights and sounds, as well as to prevent fire.

I'd love to waltz in this dance hall!

The Groto room is completely covered with shells and decorative minerals.

After a lively day of coffee drinking, sight-seeing, walking, lunching, and conversing with our hosts, we return home by 5:30. Since it was still early, we decided to squeeze in some opera, as we had seen a poster the day before advertizing La Traviata that evening. We had very little info as to time or place, but our landlady did a quick search and found which opera house (Berlin has three!) and directions. We hopped on the train, commuted to downtown, and found the Komische Oper just in time to stand in line and buy tickets minutes before the lights went down. The opera was performed with modern costumes and sets and was sung in German. There were little electronic translation screens on the backs of the seats, and after the intermission we moved to some seats that had working screens and were able to enjoy the performance much more!

The Komische Oper house (we sat directly above the sconce seen
in the top left corner of the photograph, in the second balcony)

Little boys and big trains

Little boys the world over seem fascinated with planes, trains, and automobiles. This is no less the case in Germany. Jeff and I watched the cutest little boy on the S-Bahn platform with his father the other day. He couldn't have been more than two or three years old, but he was so small and earnest with stocky little legs and big wide eyes. He got right up to the edge of the station and bent over at the waist so he could see down the track. As soon as the train could be seen in the distance, he said very eagerly (in clear German) “Hier kommt die S-Bahn! Hier kommt die S-Bahn!”. The father and Jeff and I got a real kick out of his excitement for such a regular, everyday occurrence.

Did you know...

...that almost no one in Germany uses (or owns) a clothes dryer? It didn't occur to me that the folding drying rack in our small bathroom was for anything other than delicates. But when I dried off with the clean white bath-towel the first morning, the feel immediately harkened back to my youth when my mom used to hang all the laundry on the clothesline. And then the stiff, rather scratchy sheets on the bed made sense, too (I had thought the fitted sheet felt like some sort of terrycloth, but erroneously decided it couldn't be because it was far too rough). Jeff and I agreed that the brisk towel rubdown Mr. Armstrong recommends in his autobiography for improved circulation could also provide deep exfoliation in Germany! But not only is their method more energy efficient, they feel it preserves the fabrics and prevents wear and tear. And, as one older German woman assured me, it usually only takes half a day in a warm bathroom to dry (almost no one has outdoor clotheslines either)!

The Daily Grind

As I type, the smell of roasted garlic is in the air. This is a good sign, as it means I was successful in preheating and using the oven for the first time here in our little efficiency apartment! The dials and symbols on the oven are a bit confusing, but I think it has several settings for bake, convection, broil, and additional combinations of the above. I want to make garlic bread to accompany our pasta dinner tonight, and I always try to keep some roasted garlic heads in the fridge back home, so this seemed like a good, low-risk first attempt. There's nothing like the smell of familiar foods cooking in the kitchen to make you feel at home.

Jeff and I each had our first day of “work” here. His went well with lots of introductions, hand-shaking, and settling in. He will give a technical presentation Tuesday so the lab can see his research areas and how his work will dovetail with theirs. My day started on the morning trains, like millions of commuters everywhere. I found my German class just fine and had an excellent session with students from Serbia, Norway, London, Spain, and the US. What a very international group we are here in Berlin!

Afternoon in Berlin

Sunday was a good day to sleep in and rest up from all our travels (international and domestic). We spend the afternoon in Berlin again and went down to the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate to us Americans). Given that is it such a tourist attraction, we heard much spoken English, both from tour guides and travelers. It was nice to hear familiar sounds without straining to catch the meaning! I can start to see why immigrants to a foreign country might really stick together and form cultural neighborhoods and districts. There is something instantly bonding about a shared nationality when you are the alien.

We viewed the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the remnants of the Berlin Wall, and also went to the art museum for a brand new Frida Kahlo exhibit. This is apparently the largest collection of and about her ever put together and it just opened a little over a week ago, so we stood in line for probably an hour before getting into the gallery. People of Berlin must really appreciate fine art and culture!