Berlin, punkt.

With Berlin, I don't know where to start. From the beginning I found Berlin a bit overwhelming, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. But now I know why people refer to Munich as a village. It is much smaller (in area) than Berlin and, at least to me, much easier to navigate. Munich also has a smallish city-center and it is very easy to get around zu Fuß. Whereas, in Berlin there is a lot more space; and, unless you want to spend the entire day walking from point A to point B, you should take public transportation everywhere. Yet, because of Berlin's crazy history and diverse neighborhoods, there is so much to do and see in the city that it is impossible to conquer it in a week, let alone years.

The night Steve and I arrived, we chose to take it easy after our six hour train trek across the country. We stayed with Steve's old roommate, Susann, in Neukölln (a gentrifying area in the outskirts of the city...but really, aren't they all?):

Graffiti in Neukölln
(Graffiti is EVERYWHERE in Germany and especially abundant in Berlin.)

Because we already told you about our experiences celebrating the Mauerfall Anniversary, I will skip that.

The rest of the week, Steve spent most of his time in archives and I (when not sick in bed) spent most of my time in museums. It may sound boring, but museums in Berlin are fantastic! If you ever find yourself in Berlin, please note that on Thursday evenings, entrance to most State art museums is frei. Below are some pictures from the Pergamon Museum, by far my favorite museum in Berlin:

Pergamon Altar
(This structure was orginally built in the 2nd century BC in ancient Greece.)

Me and My New Best Friend, Mr. Ionic Column
(Can you believe this is just the top part of a column? It's huge!)

Ishtar Gate
(This was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon, constructed in approximately 575 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar II.)

I also ventured to Checkpoint Charlie, the most famous checkpoint between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. Today, there isn't much there except for a sign declaring that you are either entering or leaving the American Sector and the official booth where real soldiers once stood guard and now an "American Soldier" stands waiting to rip you off. Once you get your picture taken with the soldier, he then declares in a thick German accent, "That will be ein Euro, bitte." Even more expensive is the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, but on the other hand, much more worth it than a picture with a fake soldier:

You Are Now Leaving the American Sector
(Beware!)

Checkpoint Charlie
(Do you think this picture was worth it?)

Also, Steve took me to Treptower Park, the Soviet War Memorial designed and erected in East Berlin to show that it was, in fact, the Russians who single-handedly defeated the Nazis. The Park is surrounded by several large and looming statues glorifying the Russian defense force. One in particular depicts a Russian soldier smashing the Swastika with his boot, while saving a child with his non-sword-occupied arm:

Treptower Park
(Imposing Statue #1)

Treptower Park
(Imposing Statue #2...and there are plenty more where this comes from.)

Other than that, Steve and I ate a lot of amazingly delicious food and hung out with friends:

Susann and Steve
(On Steve's birthday at the 12 Apostles with a surprise birthday cake.)

Steve and Jacob
(Eating burgers at "The Bird")

The Infamous Rissani Teller
(And, of course, me and Steve)

We plan on visiting Berlin again in March. I hope to have some better stories for you then, instead of just show-and-tell. Bis bald!

Himbeer Heinie

I know I promised you more about Berlin, which I still plan on posting shortly; but first, I must tell you about our night at the Augustiner Bräustuben with Himbeer Heinie.

As you have probably gathered from our previous postings, Augustiner is mine and Steve's favorite beer company here in Munich. Paulaner joined forces with Star Brand Imports and the yucky tasting Hacker-Pschorr and Franziskaner became partners with the evil empire of the Spaten-Löwenbrau-Gruppe. But, Augustiner is no sell out. The brand is still authentic and pure. It remains by and for the people. (And as we found out, you can buy a half liter of Augustiner beer at the Bräustuben for 2.55 Euros, which is a really great deal):

Half Liters of Hell und Dunkel
(Hell is light beer - in flavor, not calories. Dunkel is dark beer.)

So naturally, when a new friend from my language school invited us to check out Augustiner's official Bräustuben last night, we could not refuse.

At first the loud and crazy, traditional Bavarian beer hall was a bit overwhelming. It was difficult to find seats amongst the crowd. (At traditional Bavarian beer halls, there are long tables with big wooden benches. You are expected to sit with strangers and make new friends over shared beers and brezen.) However, once we found a table, the friendly and fun atmosphere warmed us immediately:

Augustiner Bräustuben
(This is one of many rooms, including a roof deck!)

Hanging Out at the Beer Hall
(Wanda, Cris, Me, and Steve)

We were squished on a bench with a soccer club from a tiny village somewhere outside of a tiny town (both of which I had never heard). The players had thick Bavarian accents that only Steve could really understand. And they were also slurring miserably due to being five hours and about 10 beers deep.

Yet, despite all of this, we managed to communicate and the men were very excited to find out that we were from America and Brazil. They wanted to know everything!

After talking for awhile, we finally got to introductions. Roland, who was sitting next to Steve and liked to be called "Roll," wanted us to meet his friend at the other end of the table. He told us to yell his friend's nickname in order to get his attention. (Apparently, all club members took their nicknames VERY seriously.)

But, his friend's nickname was Himbeer Heinie.

Well at that point, I almost fell out of my chair laughing and I could not manage yelling "Himbeer Heinie" across the restaurant. Himbeer auf Deutsch is raspberry. And, we all know what Americans use "Heinie" to reference:

Himbeer Heinie and Soccer Club Friends
(Himbeer Heinie is the guy on the left. You can see Roll's arm and nose on the leftside of the picture, but unfortunately, he is not completely in the frame.)

Apparently, Heinie does not have the same (or a) meaning in German; it is just a name. But to the four of us, Roll's friend is now and forever "Raspberry Bottom".

der Residenz

Okay... So I would like to post more about our Reise nach Berlin, because despite being sick for more than half of our trip (due to standing in 40 degree rainy weather for six hours at the Mauer Fall celebration), I actually did get to explore a fair amount of the city. However, after a grueling day of difficult Deutsch learning, I do not have the energy to recount our adventures. Instead, I am going to introduce you to our tiny, new Residenz!

However, first I must explain why our new Wohnung is called "der Residenz". In Munich's city center, der Residenz is the former royal palace of Bavarian monarchs. It housed dukes and kings through 1918 and is now the largest downtown palace in Germany, which is actually saying a lot. In order to aspire to such magnificance, I deemed our place der Residenz.

Below is a photo tour; yet, feel free to come visit it (or us) in person anytime:

Entry Hall and Study

(All rooms connect to the entry hall.)

Washroom
(Unfortunately for me but not for the environment, Germans do not believe in dryers.)

La Cocina
(Complete with big fridge, freezer, and real oven!)


Schlafzimmer
(Since this picture was taken, we have replaced the creepy picture above the bed with white space.)

Living Area
(Which is also in the same room as our sleeping area.)

This completes the photo tour of der Residenz at this time. We plan to make updates to our new space periodically. But for further information and to see future improvements, you must visit in person. Thank you for your virtual interest in der Residenz.

Mr. Walesa, knock down that domino!

Walking down a sunny Munich street last week, I mentioned to Jamie that I would be thrilled if it was 55 degrees and clear on my birthday. Little did I know then just how thrilled I would have been.

Instead of being thrilled, I was chilled. And wet. And well... bored. And I don't think I was the only one. Most of the foreign dignitaries who bothered to show up for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Monday night gave flat speeches that failed to resonate with the sparse crowd of tourists who braved the miserable weather for a glimpse of such luminaries as Russian President Dimitri Medvedev, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the jumbotrons set-up around Pariser Platz.

In fact, in what Kaiser Jacob referred to as "King of the world" move, the latest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize couldn't even bring himself to visit the site of one of the twentieth century's most famous peaceful revolutions. While all of the other allies were represented by heads of state or heads of government, Barack Obama sent his secretary (of state) on his behalf. Of course, President Obama couldn't bring himself to stay away from the festivities completely; instead of attending in person, he sent a video-gram of himself sitting in a nicely upholstered chair in a cozy room somewhere in the West Wing. The rest of the world's leaders had to content themselves with the warmth of the crowd on a raw and rainy Berlin night.


What was billed as a "Festival of Freedom" turned into more of a celebration of how little anyone even cares about the freedoms gained by Eastern Europeans after the fall of the iron curtain. In fact, only Dr. Angela Merkel, who grew up in East German Mecklenburg and rose through the ranks of the CDU after German reunification was able to make a believable claim to having been moved by the events of November 9, 1989. The contrast between Angie's speech and the lackluster contributions of Brown, Clinton, Sarko, and Medvedev hinted at what was really missing from this Festival: the words and thoughts of people who made the wall fall and whose lives changed forever in November 1989.

Sure, Thomas Gottschalk conducted interviews with two East German dissidents, and Lech Walesa was recruited to knock over a small branch of the chain of 7 foot tall dominoes that stretched from the Spree to Potsdamer Platz, but not even Gorbi himself was allowed to give a speech at the Brandenburg Gate.

Instead, the allies got a chance to pat themselves on the back one last time, and Bon Jovi made a musical contribution to the utter emptiness of the "Festival of Freedom."

Oh, and did I mention that it was cold and wet?

November 9.

November 9 is an extremely important date throughout history:

1620 - Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower spot land on Cape Cod, Massachusetts
1906 - Theodore Roosevelt is the first sitting president of the US to take a trip out of the country
1921 - Albert Einstein is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
1938 - Kristallnacht begins, the first large-scale act of anti-Jewish violence in Germany
1989 - Fall of the Berlin Wall

November 9 is also the birth date of Benjamin Banneker, Carl Sagan, Tom Fogerty, Sisqo, and my husband.

Yes, today is my husband's birthday. We already celebrated this morning with presents and a nice little breakfast. Later, Susann (our friend that we're staying with in Berlin) and I are meeting Steve for lunch at his favorite Berlin pizza spot and surprising him with a homemade German-style marble (Marmor) cake.

And lastly, tonight we are going to the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate Steve's birthday and, along with millions, the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall:

Bösebrücke
(The first border crossing site to open on November 9, 1989.)

Berliner Mauer

(A small part of the Berlin Wall that still remains standing at Bösebrücke)

Mauer is the buzz word this week and Berlin has been gearing up for this event for months: http://www.mauerfall09.de/. Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany), Nicolas Sarkozy (President of France), Dmitry Medvedev (President of Russia), Gordon Brown (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), and Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State) will all be in attendance.

Bon Jovi is going to sing "We Weren't Born to Follow."

And to top it off, 1000 life-size "dominos" are being knocked over along a small part of the path where the Berlin Wall once stood - from Potsdamer Plotz to the Brandenburg Gate:

"Dominos"
(Set-up on Saturday, November 7)


Steve und Ich
(Checking out the scene at Potsdamer Platz)

We will report back to you after tonight. In the meantime, you should wish Steve a happy birthday. ;)

Or, on a more somber note, you can read this article from BBC that highlights walls and barriers around the world which are still standing or have been erected since 1989: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/world/2009/walls_around_the_world/default.stm. Glad to see that we're making so much progress...

Castles and Cultural Differences

Thankfully, (besides the freakishly-hellish week of daily sleet storms) the Fall here has been glorious! The leaves are still gorgeous shades of red and yellow and most days, the sun has been coming out to play:

Englischer Garten
(Take One)


Englischer Garten
(Take Two)

To take advantage of Fall and do something on Halloween (because Germans don't really celebrate the holiday), a big group of us from my sprachschule and Steve's environmental studies center ventured to Neuschwanstein this past weekend. Neuschwanstein is the castle Walt Disney used to design the outside of the Magic Kingdom:

Neuschwanstein
(Need I say more?)

Built by Konig Ludwig (King of Bavaria) in the late 1800's, this castle did not serve a purpose at the time of its construction. Because of its extravaganze and because it was the third of three extremely expensive castles commissioned by King Ludwig, his kingdom became bankrupt and therefore very upset. In the middle Neuschwanstein's construction, King Ludwig was declared mentally ill (without a proper medical examination) and hence, not fit to rule his kingdom. One day later, King Ludwig and his psychologist were found dead in a lake under mysterious circumstances.

Six weeks after Konig Ludwig's death, Neuschwanstein (still unfinished - to this day) was opened as a tourist attraction.

Our trip to Neuschwanstein ended up being quite the challenge: six Americans, two Italians, and two Spaniards - all with different travel and life philosophies.

Seven of the Ten of Us
(Back Row: Steve, James, Jamie, Alessia, Marta, Angelo; Front Row: Guillermo)

The Americans of our group (including me) were very worried about time. (Shocking!) See, at Neuschwanstein you buy your tickets at the bottom of a big foothill. When you buy your tickets you are given a tour time. To get from the ticket office to Neuschwanstein, you have to ride a bus or horse-and-buggy or walk up the mountain:

Guillermo and Horse-and-Buggy
(We decided to be hard core instead of lazy.)

The time was 12:25pm and our castle tour commenced at 1:40pm. Just enough time to grab a bratwurst and hike uphill 40 minutes to the castle entrance. However, at 12:50pm the Spaniards and Italians were just wandering over to the brat-stand as we Americans were downing the last of our french fries.

"We'll meet you at the top," we said.

Lo and behold! Just as we started admiring the view over the edge of the mountain just outside the castle gates, Guillermo and then Marta, our Spanish buddies, came bounding up behind us, "Hi guys!" And, I soon found out that the Spanish mentality is: hurry-up and stop...and then hurry up some more. (Which, you will understand very shortly.)

About 10 minutes later and approximately 30 seconds before the start of our tour, Angelo and Alessia joined us. Demonstrating the Italian mentality(ies): all is good/everything will workout how it's supposed to/slow and steady wins the race. Or in the wise words of Angelo, "if you miss one train, you can always take the next one."

However, Angelo and Guillermo decided that 30 seconds was enough time to smoke before going inside for the tour....AND, they almost missed the tour. We had to ask the tour guide to grab them from outside. They're lucky that we had a nice tour guide!

So, besides being a beautiful day, going to Neuschwanstein was a bit stressful and the experience provided a little culture schock. It was definitely a learning experience in more than the historical sense; yet, I can only hope that I absorb some of each of the cultural philosophies of my new friends.