8. Juli 2010

München

Let's just agree from the start to pretend that I don't care that Germany lost last night. I don't care that I went to the largest Beer Hall in Germany - Hofbrauhaus - and drank a liter of beer in order to see Germany lose their chance at the cup. After a record-breaking ass kicking of England and an incredible journey through the cup, I'll pretend to not care that they just didn't DO anything in yesterday's game. Okay?

In any case, here's me watching the game, photo courtesy of the Australian couple sitting next to me.

Aside from Germany's loss, I'm having a lovely time in Munich. Yesterday I mostly walked around the Altstadt and popped into a few buildings. Of particular interest is the Rathaus, a neo-Gothic building in the heart of Marienplatz, and which is, refreshingly open free to the public. I explored one of the ground floors but didn't get too carried away, seeing as it's a government building and my German isn't that good. There's a cafe in the courtyard, which is a neat idea but it's really expensive (like a lot of things in this city...), and for 2 Euros I took an elevator ride up the tower and got a pretty lovely view of central Munich. I stuck around till eleven, when there was a Glockenspiel performance, complete with moving figurines in the tower. (Basically, it's the world's most kickass cuckoo clock.)
After the Rathaus, I simply explored. I stopped by the fresh markets and bought 2 pounds of fruit for 4 Euros, which was lunch. I went to the Englisch Garten, which is basically Central Park (and the surrounding neighborhood is pretty much the Upper East Side of Munich). The whole night, beginning at 6:30, was devoted to Weltmeisterschaft and Beer. Jawohl =).

Today I started in the Altstadt again, and then made my way to the Olympic Park, where Munich hosted the Olympics in the 1970's. Like Berlin, there's an admission fee for the stadium, and I don't care so much about the interior, so I just spent a couple of hours in the park. I took some pure mammalian pleasure and fell asleep in the shade for an hour. Perfect.


Other than that, just a lot of wandering around and sitting in pretty parks. I'm almost done with the body of my sweater! Tomorrow I think I'm taking a trip out to Dachau, which will be sobering, to say the least. But I think it's important.

Bis Morgen,
Katharine

6. Juli 2010

Day Three, Berlin

Catching up...

After forgetting to set my alarm, I woke up slightly late (8:30, not THAT late) but later than I intended. I breakfasted at 9 and headed out around quarter to 10. First stop was a trip a little out of central Berlin, to the Olympia Stadion where, in the 1936 Olympics, Jesse Owens kicked some Nazi ass and showed up Hitler by winning 4 medals. It was really eerie to be in a place that was designed to propagate the idea of Aryan superiority.

I only saw the outside because, honestly, I didn't see the point in paying 4 Euros to see the inside of a stadium. So I hopped back on the U-Bahn and headed to the Deutsche Guggenheim, which I was actually rather disappointed with. For one thing it's tiny, so there's no permanent collection. It's basically an exhibition space, and the exhibit turned out to be abstract protest films from India. I enjoyed reading the texts that went along with the films, but the films themselves were wasted on me. Not to say they weren't good, I just didn't understand, and didn't have the patience to watch flashing images of abandoned factories. But I ended up learning a lot about the lack of human rights in Burma, so I guess it wasn't for nothing.

Another benefit was that, by wandering around Berlin Mitte after the Guggenheim, I stumbled upon the Französische Dom and Tower, which are hardly on the map I have. They were built by French Hugenots, and while the church was closed, for 2 Euro 50, which is cheaper than admission to the Olympia Stadion, I was able to climb to the top of the tower and have a beautiful glimpse of Berlin.

Französische Dom

After the Tower, I headed back the Nikolai Viertel to get another good look around, including the Nikolai Kirche. I managed to snap a few photos of the interior from the foyer before someone told me that I needed to pay to enter the church. Oops.

After this, I went back to Prenzlauerberg, since I love it so much, and got a cup of coffee at an ice cream shop that sells home made ice cream. Delicious! And cheap - my coffee was 1,50, was delicious and strong, and even came with a glass of water that good strong coffee is supposed to come with. I was tempted by many shops, but I don't have room in my suitcase, nor the muscle strength to lug everything to Munich, Heidelberg, and Frankfurt with me! But I stumbled upon (literally, it's not on my map and wasn't in my guidebook) the Berlin Wall Park, which I find to be, yet again, a very poignant recognition of Berlin's past.


On my way back to the Pension, I walked through Tiergarten, saw the Schloss where Angela Merkel, as President of Germany, lives (named Bellevue, coincidentally), and saw my first nude sunbather. Then I picked up some Chinese - cheap comfort food! - ate it in the comfort of my room, packed, and slept for a solid 8 hours. It was tough to say goodbye to Berlin this morning. It's a great city! But at the same time, I was ready for Munich. I caught my 9:52 AM express train and was in Munich by 4:30.

I'll update on Munich tomorrow. I didn't do a whole lot today besides wander around the Altstadt. Time to finish unpacking, do some knitting, and call it a night. Bis Morgen!

Katharine

5. Juli 2010

Day 2, Berlin.

After precious little sleep, I started my day by exploring some of the Nikolai Viertel, which was a well preserved medieval city until it was bombed in WWII. Now it's fully restored, some buildings in the older style, and some basic, concrete buildings.

Rathouse (Parliament)

After which I walked west for a big, saw Museum Insel (Museum Island) and the Brandenburg Tor once more. I decided against museum visiting, since I'd have to pay 12 Euros, and I wasn't particularly interested on anything featured. Plus, a gorgeous day in Berlin - why stay inside?

Berliner Dom

When the heat got a little much, I visited the Holocaust Memorial. I think they did a really excellent job with it. The outside is a ton of these pillars of all different sizes, and the walking through them - it's like a concrete hedge maze - is really powerful. They start out small and somewhat insignificant, but as you delve into the middle of the memorial, the pillars tower above you, and it's very intimidating and claustrophobic. For me, anyway. There were a ton of kids - 10 and 12 year olds -  who were playing tag inside. In general, Germany seems to be doing a damn respectable job of living up to their past. There's no atoning for the Holocaust, obviously, but Germans seem very upfront about it, and are certainly trying to make sure no one forgets that it happened. Which is why I felt it was important for me to visit this. It was upsetting, certainly, but it'd be obtuse to just wander around Germany all "la-di-da, beer and meat" without acknowledging the history.

I finished off the day with a tentative journey into East Berlin (at the recommendation of both Betsy from the Hunter Honors Office and my host family). And may I say, Prenzlauer Berg, which is a district in East Berlin, is amazing. If I were to move anywhere in Germany, based on my experiences thus far, it'd be here. It's so many good things at once. It has a mix of old architecture (pre war) and communist architecture that's been painted bright colors in order to make the concrete seem less dead, and there are flowers and plants everywhere. Basically, it's cozy, artsy, and youthful. Everyone is really friendly, there are record shops and cafes with armchairs outside every couple of storefronts, and everything is independently owned. I'm in love, basically.

(Sorry this is a bit late - have been doing a lot and coming home and sleeping.)

Tschüss,
Katharine

4. Juli 2010

(Again)

The Pension staff thinks it was a bat (they're a lot bigger here) and not a rat, since they can't find anything here, though some light objects were definitely moved (a napkin, for example,) and considering I started crying they actually believed me. They put me in a suite with a queen sized bed and a private toilet on the ground floor, where bats can't get in. And now I don't have to use the lift, which is, coincidentally, now pitch black because the light bulb burned out. I took a nap and I feel a little better. I think East Berlin and some good coffee will certainly help.

Bis bald, dann.

Katharine

4. Juli 2010

Happy early July 4th!

I have a lot of good things to say about Berlin, but right now, it's 3:30 AM, and the only thing on my mind is that THERE'S A FREAKING RAT IN MY ROOM. I woke up at 1 in the morning (after a measly 1.5 hours of sleep) to scampering, and when I looked at the ceiling, something big and black ran across it. I DID NOT KNOW THAT RATS CAN RUN ON CEILINGS. I ran out of my room and downstairs, but since I'm staying in a Pension and not a Hotel, there's no front desk, just an office. And there's no one there. I'm sorry, but god forbid someone injured themselves or needed serious help at this hour, and there's no one there?

(I'm currently holed up in the bathroom of my room. Thankfully I have my own bathroom. I don't know what I'd do otherwise. Although it's freaking HOT in here.)

So since there was no one downstairs, I walked outside to see if the bar next door was still open. Naturally no. I walked a little further and saw a 24 hour Currywurst place which is, of course, next to a 24 hour sex shop with prostitutes outside. So I grabbed a coffee there quickly, but didn't want to stick around. So I came back to my room and sat quietly on my bed for a while. Then I heard clanking. THE RAT IS IN THE RADIATOR. IN THE FREAKING RADIATOR. And it was probably there last night too and I just DIDN'T KNOW IT. OH MY GOD. Where is it leaving its bodily wastes???? And what if it touched my stuff while I was gone?! I have 40 Euros worth of Merino Wool sitting on the table! GOD DAMN IT! This is rather unsettling...

(One of the many reasons why New York is the best city in the world - there are 24 hour diners on every block, so when shit like this happens, there's refuge to be had.)

I guess since I'm stuck in here for like 3 more hours I'll write about the amazing day I had.

I woke up at 8:00, showered (in a real shower! In Kassel, my bathroom just had a tub and a shower wand, without a curtain, which was weird,) and ate my breakfast at the Pension, which is included in the price of the room (woohoo!). At about 9:30 I headed out and took the U-Bahn for the first time. It's pretty neat, but I don't like it as much as the NYC Subway. For one thing, the cars aren't air conditioned, and it was over 90 degrees today. Also, the trains are about 1/3 the length of the platform (like the G train, for those who are familiar). I just think that's silly. If the trains are going to be so short, why make the platforms so long? But anyway, it's quick and clean, so it does what it's supposed to. Plus there are two different stations for two different train lines near my Pension, so that's convenient. I took the train a couple of stops and then walked to Schloss Charlottenburg, the old "summer estate" of Mad King Ludwig.



The Schloss Garten was free to enter and wander around, so I did that rather than pay 12 Euros to tour more Royal Apartments (I saw plenty in Kassel. There's only so much silk wallpaper that one can see.) I stayed in the Garten - which was nice and shady! - until about 11 and then ventured out into the city again. I went to The Berggruen Museum, which is connected to two other buildings that I can't remember the name of. The Berggruen Museum had a lot of Picasso and Matisse, both of whom I like, so that was worth the 12 Euros to begin with. And THEN, in the other building, there was an excellent Surrealist exhibit and in the last building, a LOUISE BOURGEOUIS EXHIBIT! (For those of you who don't know me too well, I'm in love with her.) I got to see some sculptures that I saw at the Guggenheim Retrospective, but also a lot of new pieces. There's this great sewn and stuffed sculpture that she did called "Woman," which is the bald, naked torso of a woman attached to a mattress with a vaginal opening - and she made it when she was like 90.

After the Museum, I ate lunch in the Museum Cafe for 4,5 Euros.
Eine Tomatentasche mit Kaffee. Yum!

I timed it so that I left the museum around 1, which took away from some time in the heat, thankfully. I took the train south a little to Katharinenstrasse, simply so I could take a picture of it, and then headed back to Berlin Mitte to catch the game. I was going to go to Strasse des 17. Juni, where 500,000 people go to watch the game, but I decided that, alone, it wouldn't be my cup of tea. So I followed two guys wearing German flags as capes and ended up northward. They went to a party, but I found an Indian restaurant on a street where every restaurant had a TV outside so people could watch the game. I ate some damn good Samosas, drank two beers, and enjoyed watching Deutschland "schlag" Argentina. Then the whole city celebrated - car horns, vuvuzelas, and cheers and songs. It was pretty exciting! It seems like Germany has a really good shot at Weltmeisterschaft now!

And then there was this:



A Bier Bike. Those things shouldn't go together, but they did. (It's a bar in the middle of this thing, and all of the patrons pedal.)

I hear birds. Almost time for me to flip out about the rat.

Tschüss dann,

(A very sleepy) Katharine

2. Juli 2010

Schon fertig mit meinen Klassen! Und jetzt beginnt Urlaub!

Ich fahre nach Berlin um 15:54! Ich bin total aufgeregt. Ich mag Kassel, aber ich vermisse die Stadt.

Ich schreibe mehr später. Tschüss, Kassel!

Katharine

29. Juni 2010

Fast Juli O_O.

Findings:

German standards of beauty are very much blonde.
Schokolade Keks - butter biscuits covered in chocolate - are highly addictive.
It's commonplace for German houses to be twice as old as the entire United States of America.
Germans, despite whatever negative things they say about America, love blue jeans, McDonalds, American music, TV, films, and pop culture. 95% of the movies on sale in any store are American, and all, regardless of their country of origin, have American soundtracks.
Fußball takes priority over efficiency when the Deutsche Elf are playing
Germans love cats.
European cheese trumps ALL American cheese.
The stereotype about Germans, socks, and sandals is entirely true.
HARIBO/KINDER/MILKA/RITTER! (Though I can't find my favorite Ritter Square anywhere...)
Hall Münden is a perfect place - my host family and I took a trip by car there on Sunday. Like Marburg but quainter, and on two different rivers.
German News > American News
Til Schweiger!
A girl who lives near me rides a unicycle to the Straßebahn every day. Uphill.
Germans have conservative flush toilets but only drink bottled water.