Grace the Slacker - Germany, finally.

Willkommen!

***Warning, long picture post!***

Germany was fun! Although I felt really singled out at first because I felt like the only Asian in...well, probably all of Germany, but walking down the streets of Berlin made me feel like I didn't need to blend in. I am a rogue.
When we landed in Germany, Gabi's Omah (grandma), uncle and aunt came to pick us up from the airport. Right as we got in the car/Eurovan, I started snapping away. Trust me...I'm known as the blog chick. :-)

Day One - We Arrive

Here's part of the Berlin Wall that still stands. There's so much about WWII that we, Americans, don't understand and it's sad to think that the Germans didn't suffer in the hands of the Nazi's as well. Read up on the history of the Berlin Wall...it's actually quite sad.

We stayed with Andreas (Andi), Gabi's cousin's flat. It was a tight squeeze and we had to share the living room with two energetic cats, but it worked out well because we would walk around the city all morning and afternoon and come back to the flat and crash until the next morning. The people on the bottom landing are Gabi's relatives.


Here's the living room before we set up camp. Looks like something from a magazine, right? It's because Ikea's also pretty big here.


I took this picture on our way to dinner. We had 1.75 Euro pizzas! You can't go wrong!!! As you can see, the U-bahn (subway) runs right across the street and most of the street is lined with commercial, stacked with residential above.


There are a bunch of streets that come to a point. This makes walking kinda confusing because of all the lights you have to be aware of, but the pedestrians don't seem to watch for the "walk" signs to go...they just go. It's cool though, the buildings have sharp corners and you can feel the energy when you stand in at the node.


Here's a typical pedestrian signal. It's a little guy with a hat. You can't really tell...but he's really cool. :-)


Day Two - Downtown

Here's a butcher shop and the bäckerei (bakery). As much as I dislike sausages and most meat (sorry Daniel), the meat did look quite appealing.

Don't these hat's look cool? Except they're not hats...they're actually traditional cones that are filled with school supplies that children receive as gifts from their parents/grandparents at the start of each school year. It's supposed to make going to school more exciting...lol.

Here's what a typical school looks like in Germany...I think. This is in the center of Berlin...the fountain's not included.


And then as you walk down pedestrian streets in Berlin, you stumble upon quaint commercial/residential streets that are bustling with tourists, locals, and dogs...it's actually quite successful. Now I know why so many developers in America want to replicate it. The only difference is, it actually works in Europe because - (drum roll please) - PEOPLE WALK!!!


See the corner cafes? How they seem so natural?


These older, more quiet areas are made up of brick and stone buildings that seem so surreal. We walked past a doorway that was the perfect size for me! Don't I look so tall. :-)

And here's one of the oldest surviving churches in Berlin. After the war, so many buildings were destroyed...many of them need to be reconstructed, but most of the structure of this church remained. The inside of this church was repainted with white stucco, but originally it was exposed brick.


And once again...another successful commercial/residential zone. Take that, fabricated developments in LA!


Ah-ha! Das ist Berliner Dom! It's beautiful from afar...


...until you walk in. Look at the scale!!! People are but cockroaches compared to the size of the building.


The pipe organ was impressive.


And the dome...soak it in...


There's also a really creepy/cool crypt in the basement of the Cathedral. It's rather calming in there.


Kaiser William II and his Kaiserin's crypts lie here as well.

You can't go to a Cathedral without going to the top, we took the stairs to the top of the roof. After climbing the stairs to Baek Doo Sahn, this was nothing.

The view from above.


At the gift shop, we stumbled upon cool chairs.


And then we hit the streets once more! Not soon after, we got hungry...we stopped at Cacao Sampaka, where they had chocolate soupish drinks. I opted for an apfelkuchen and coffee.


We rode the U-bahn back to the flat to meet up with Gabi's cousins to go out for drinks and dinner. From left: Courtney, Andi, Gabi, Arthur, and Suzi. The bar, Zu Mir Order Zu Dir, was retro 70s.


Day Three - Potsdamer Platz

So, the first morning in Berlin, I had a sausage for Daniel (I really dislike sausages, mind you) and because I didn't know that Germans drench their sausages in ketchup and mustard (ketchup = death) I had to endure not just a sausage, but a sausage swimming in a boat of ketchup. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture, so I didn't have any evidence of my suffering. SO, I decided to have sausage the second morning, just for Daniel, and made sure to get it kein ketchup (without ketchup) and most definitely take a picture. There you go...currywurst.


And then we spent the day in Potsdamer Platz! There was an acutely shaped grass knoll, so of course we had to occupy it. :-)


There's a lot of construction going on in Berlin...but quite creatively (i guess), the Berliners print the facades of the building to cover the scaffolding during construction. So the building with the huge Mango ad, is actually just a graphic picture of what the building is supposed to look like. It's actually really trippy, because it seems 3-d, but it's not...


Right next to it, there are remnants of the Berlin Wall. During the fall of the Berlin Wall, people demolished it wherever the wall was visible, but later the Berliners decided that as part of their history, it was important to preserve it. So, whatever pieces were left, they kept. They even continued the datum of the wall by paving it with brick. There's also a lot of graffiti and art on the walls. They were used as a form of protesting. Most of the art is beautifully colored, others are just angry messages. This one says "I am a terrorist."


Don't remember what the significance of the gateway is...but it's really huge.


And right next to it is a very lush park. Berliners love their green.


This building was Courtney's precedent for our class so we decided to visit it. However, the line to enter the dome is EXTREMELY long...EXTREMELY. So we decided to sit on the grass field in front of it and just relax.


Daniel, here's the German pretzel you told me to have. It was okay...not warm, but it was good with the beef stew. I ordered it all by myself in German!


Then, after all that walking in Potsdam, the four of us trekked to Gabi's Omah's place and then headed over to Gabi's father's best friend's home, where his wife, Monica, made us the best dinner ever. Introducing...salmon veggie pasta bake!!! Now this is what I call good. Yums.


That night we all ate so much, we had to take a walk. We went to the Russian memorial, but my battery died, so I only a snapshot of the beginning of our walk. The sun was going down and the lighting was beautiful....


Day Four - Auf Weidersehen

On Thursday, our Berlin to Paris overnight train wasn't scheduled until 21.00, so we tried to make the most of our day and started really early. Our destination: Checkpoint Charlie. Of course, the day doesn't start without some coffee.


On our way, we stopped by an auto mall. Unlike America, auto malls are like regular malls...with cars in them. Imagine a business building with all the car dealerships you can imagine. From Bentley to Volkswagen.


Upscale car dealerships have cool couches. And boy did we couch.


Here's an Audi. Don't remember the name, but it was pretty sweet.


And then finally, we got to Checkpoint Charlie. It's basically the gateway between West and East Berlin. The stand is still there, marking the painful and confined times of the war. I got cool official stamps on my passport saying I went through Checkpoint Charlie...I'll show them to you, but you'll have to do a little dance. :-)


This is the datum of the Berlin Wall. As mentioned earlier, it's to mark the wall that used to stand. Looking at the wall up close, it's not a very intimidating wall. Just a thin sheet of rebars and concrete. It's funny how it stood to separate two sides of a state.


I dunno what we're doing, but it's a candid...I don't have many of those...


This is the stand to Checkpoint Charlie. It's where the US Flag is. The giant picture...dunno what that is.


Then we went to the Jewish Holocaust Museum by Daniel Libeskind. We didn't go it...that'll be with the class later next month.


Then it was time to go to the market to buy our dinners and snacks for the overnight train to Paris. Daniel...just for you, I give you the meat section. It's much larger, of course, but you can spot the mortadella and the sausage next to each other.


And then, I had to take a picture of the water section. I love water! And wanna know something cool? Volvic water, my fave, is EVERYWHERE in Europe! Wanna know something cooler??? Europe has Volvic tea water!!! Now that's what I'm talking about.


And of course, Haribo gummies...Germans make them, too. :-)


So, I apologize for the late entries. But I made up for it by making it an extra long post. I'm in Saintes, France right now. We're at the school and I'm in the process of documenting all things in Saintes. That'll come...hopefully soon. LOL. Yay for my third entry!