Since there's now only two weeks of school left (followed by two exam weeks), I'm starting to focus on my schoolwork and work on papers. One of my three term papers is already completed and handed in and a second will be finished this weekend. I've currently finished two of nine museum visit papers but have been to five more that I'll write this weekend also.
Today I went to all three of my architecture course sites. This morning started with the Olympia-Stadion (Olympic Stadium) where Germany (under Hitler's control) hosted the 1936 Olympic Games. This is a spectacular example of Hitler's vision for Nazi architecture to leave "beautiful" ruins that would outlast even his Thousand Year Reich. It had all the classical elements complete with heavy(-looking) and imposing stone façades. It was very interesting to note the many places that looked like they were missing a significant symbol... and then to find small markers with old photos during the Olympics showing the structure with the swastikas intact.
This was also a personally interesting site to visit because in a previous job I've held, I worked on preparing and listing a collection of prints about the 1936 Winter Olympics (also in Nazi Germany). While they weren't held in Berlin at the Olympia-Stadion, they had a very similar appearance of stone architecture. I couldn't help but recall those photo prints showing the Olympics all dressed up with swastikas and Nazi materials everywhere. Also, to see the location of the Fuhrer's Box in the stadium and just imagine him sitting there, watching the games that were supposed to prove Aryan superiority and then have Jesse Owens prove him wrong.
So, after the Olympia-Stadion tour, I went on a walking tour with a couple other people from my architecture class looking at some buildings in the Embassy Quarter near the Tiergarten. Finished up with a museum visit inside the Bauhaus Archiv which was all about art and architecture of the 20th century.
Now I need to write up two page papers on all of those, plus the other two sites I've been to already. And tomorrow I'm going to the Deutsche Historishe Museum and the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum to finish off all my museum visits. Hopefully I can finish all those papers this week (plus a paper on German history and culture related to my personal experiences). Then next week I'll only have a paper due on the Horseshoe Development in Berlin-Neukölln by Bruno Taut due.
Wish me luck!!
23 November 2007
Dankegeben und der Hahnchenmann!
Yesterday was just another typical Thursday in Berlin. No holiday here. But, I managed to still have a fun Thanksgiving (That's be Dankegeben auf Deutsche). Six of us got together and put together a Thanksgiving feast complete with too much food and three roaster chickens. It was really funny when I went to the Chicken Man who parks on my street every Thursday to buy 3 whole chickens. It went something like this:
"Drei Hahnchen bitte. Komplete." | "Three chickens please. Whole/complete."
"Dreeeiii?!?" | "Threeeeee?!?"
"Ja, drei." | "Yes, three."
"Kompleeeete!?!?" | "Whoooooole?!?"
"Jaaaa..." | "Yesssss..."
"Whoa... okay." | "Whoa... okay."
"Drei Hahnchen bitte. Komplete." | "Three chickens please. Whole/complete."
"Dreeeiii?!?" | "Threeeeee?!?"
"Ja, drei." | "Yes, three."
"Kompleeeete!?!?" | "Whoooooole?!?"
"Jaaaa..." | "Yesssss..."
"Whoa... okay." | "Whoa... okay."
18 November 2007
Maastricht
Despite the Strike, I made it to Maastricht this weekend only about one hour later than I planned. I was to take the 08:51 ICE train to Düsseldorf and wanted to take the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof. I was at my S-Bahn station at 07:41 and heard an announcement saying the next train was coming at 08:31!! I freaked out momentarily before heading for the bus shelter to take buses towards the Hauptbahnhof. Instead of two fast S-Bahn trains, I took three different buses but made it to the Hauptbahnhof with about three minutes to spare. Fairly uneventful rest of the day was spent on five different trains... and only one was cancelled from Düsseldorf. That forced a rerouting but the Deutsche Bahn self-help terminals are easy to use and it only cost about one hours delay. Not toooooo bad considering this was the "worst strike ever".
Friday evening in Maastricht was spent touring a little of the town with Lea and dinner. Then I pretty much fell asleep at a bar and we went back to go to sleep. Saturday we started the day walking around the mines/caves in Kanne, Belgium. Kanne is very close (less than 4 kilometers) to Maastricht and Lea lived there last year for her first year at the University. The mines were closed to touring but the day was nice and I enjoyed walking around the hills. The mines are supposed to be famous because of a special stone there that was crucial during World War II... but Lea had no idea what the name of the stone was and I still don't.
That afternoon we went back into Maastricht and walked around the city-center. Maastricht was preparing for their Winterland festival and had some, uh, let's say highly politically-incorrect characters walking around. There is a tradition in Limburg (the region of Netherlands Maastricht is in) that Santa Claus is assisted by a small, dark-skinned elf who carries a bag with presents for the good children and space to stuff the bad children to carry them away. Because this tradition is so special, all the children in the town were dressed in the special costume of this helper. Some adults were even dressed as the helper, complete with black-face makeup! That was incredibly shocking to see considering the history of blackface in the States and I took several pictures--including of several blackface actors on the city's town hall!
While still shocked about the blackface, we moved away from the Winterland area and got some famous french fries of the area. I got mine with a warm peanut butter sauce that my language teacher recommended... they were incredible!! The best, thick-cut french fries covered with warm and slightly spicy peanut butter... mmmmm, that's making me hungry just thinking about it!
That evening Lea had a volleyball match and I stayed in her apartment to work on my essays that are starting to be due this week. I had to finish a lot of reading for a paper that is due this Wednesday and I got a lot finished (totally finished on today's train rides). After she returned, we had dinner before going over to her friend Julia's apartment. There, we had tea and talked about the European Union and the United States' role in it. Needless to say, this is what my paper is about and it was a great help to hear the opinions of two Germans taking advantage of the EU's lack of internal barriers to education in other countries.
Another very nice benefit of the EU was I never used my passport on my entire trip this weekend. I crossed from Germany to the Netherlands on Friday via train without any border control. On Saturday we drove from the Netherlands into Belgium and back without me even realizing we'd left the country (until I asked where we were). Sunday, I took a train from the Netherlands into Belgium, then another train into Germany without any controls. Made for a very seamless experience and just makes sense... which is one way to explain a lot of European integration thus far.
This morning was uneventful and I made my first train at 12 to Liège in Belgium. From there a transfer to an ICE to Köln and then the IC to Berlin-Südkreuz that I've already described... all around a great trip and wonderful break from my classes. My last day of regular classes is 5 December and I have many, many papers to write before then!
Friday evening in Maastricht was spent touring a little of the town with Lea and dinner. Then I pretty much fell asleep at a bar and we went back to go to sleep. Saturday we started the day walking around the mines/caves in Kanne, Belgium. Kanne is very close (less than 4 kilometers) to Maastricht and Lea lived there last year for her first year at the University. The mines were closed to touring but the day was nice and I enjoyed walking around the hills. The mines are supposed to be famous because of a special stone there that was crucial during World War II... but Lea had no idea what the name of the stone was and I still don't.
That afternoon we went back into Maastricht and walked around the city-center. Maastricht was preparing for their Winterland festival and had some, uh, let's say highly politically-incorrect characters walking around. There is a tradition in Limburg (the region of Netherlands Maastricht is in) that Santa Claus is assisted by a small, dark-skinned elf who carries a bag with presents for the good children and space to stuff the bad children to carry them away. Because this tradition is so special, all the children in the town were dressed in the special costume of this helper. Some adults were even dressed as the helper, complete with black-face makeup! That was incredibly shocking to see considering the history of blackface in the States and I took several pictures--including of several blackface actors on the city's town hall!
While still shocked about the blackface, we moved away from the Winterland area and got some famous french fries of the area. I got mine with a warm peanut butter sauce that my language teacher recommended... they were incredible!! The best, thick-cut french fries covered with warm and slightly spicy peanut butter... mmmmm, that's making me hungry just thinking about it!
That evening Lea had a volleyball match and I stayed in her apartment to work on my essays that are starting to be due this week. I had to finish a lot of reading for a paper that is due this Wednesday and I got a lot finished (totally finished on today's train rides). After she returned, we had dinner before going over to her friend Julia's apartment. There, we had tea and talked about the European Union and the United States' role in it. Needless to say, this is what my paper is about and it was a great help to hear the opinions of two Germans taking advantage of the EU's lack of internal barriers to education in other countries.
Another very nice benefit of the EU was I never used my passport on my entire trip this weekend. I crossed from Germany to the Netherlands on Friday via train without any border control. On Saturday we drove from the Netherlands into Belgium and back without me even realizing we'd left the country (until I asked where we were). Sunday, I took a train from the Netherlands into Belgium, then another train into Germany without any controls. Made for a very seamless experience and just makes sense... which is one way to explain a lot of European integration thus far.
This morning was uneventful and I made my first train at 12 to Liège in Belgium. From there a transfer to an ICE to Köln and then the IC to Berlin-Südkreuz that I've already described... all around a great trip and wonderful break from my classes. My last day of regular classes is 5 December and I have many, many papers to write before then!
Survival
Okay, I survived... and am finally back in my apartment. And wow is it colder in Berlin than Maastricht!!
Germenglisch?
It's very interesting to hear the significant differences between the German announcements and English announcements by the Deutsche Bahn conductors on the trains. The German announcements as we approach stations generally announce the station and tell what some of the major transfers are with their destination, train number and platform location. It always closes with a thanks for riding and wishes of good day/evening. The English ones are always "Laaadies and Gentlemen. We are in a few minutes arriving in Wolfsburg station. We taaaank you for riding Deutsche Bahn. Good bye."
There's a big difference between IC and ICE...
I'm writing this from my train returning to Berlin. I took a local regional train from Maastricht (the Netherlands) to Liége (Belgium), transfered to an ICE train to Köln (Germany) and am now on an IC train to Berlin-Südkreuz. Regional trains are basically commuter trains and there is not the option of reserved seats. They're fine for short distances of up to about an hour but otherwise they stop too frequently to take. The ICE trains are InterCityExpress and, like their name sounds like, are high-speed trains that travel up to 250 km/hour and only stop at (generally) major stations. Sometimes they stop at some random smaller stations that don't really make sense until you realize the federal states in Germany subsidize some of the costs and obviously want some benefit from that.
But I'm on an IC train. IC is simply InterCity. I took this because it is going directly to Berlin-Südkreuz which is a train station on my S-Bahn line in Berlin and easier to get home from than Berlin-Hauptbahnhof. Unfortunately, it stops about ever half hour (or less!) and doesn't have nearly the same amenities of an ICE train. On ICE trains, I prefer to reserve a window seat in the open saloon area that is much like an airplane--two seats on either side of a main aisle. I usually don't have anyone next to me and can read, listen to my iPod or just stare out the window in peace. This IC train doesn't have open saloon seating. For the last four hours I've been in a closed compartment with six other people and seats for just five. When I boarded in Köln, there were two others arriving and we all took our reserved seats. Two stops later, a family of three boarded and the little girl started screaming when the mother left to sit in another compartment. So the mother wound up staying.
Of course the little girl wasn't done acting spoiled and when her father won a game of Go Fish, she really started screaming and crying. That was lots of fun while I was reading my text for class. After a while, one of the other two passengers left the train and everyone at least had their own seat (don't worry, I didn't give up my reserved seat... the family had enough seats somewhere on the train). About forty minutes ago, the other passenger left and it's gotten a little quieter in here--I think the little girl is finally getting tired. I'm sure the father hopes so... he's been trying to nap for the whole ride and is not getting the chance!
Alright, I only have another 1,5 hours of this... at 20:04h this train is scheduled to arrive at Berlin-Südkreuz and I cannot wait to get back to my apartment... of course that's assuming the Deutsche Bahn's unions are all back to work and the S-Bahn is running to my home station.
But I'm on an IC train. IC is simply InterCity. I took this because it is going directly to Berlin-Südkreuz which is a train station on my S-Bahn line in Berlin and easier to get home from than Berlin-Hauptbahnhof. Unfortunately, it stops about ever half hour (or less!) and doesn't have nearly the same amenities of an ICE train. On ICE trains, I prefer to reserve a window seat in the open saloon area that is much like an airplane--two seats on either side of a main aisle. I usually don't have anyone next to me and can read, listen to my iPod or just stare out the window in peace. This IC train doesn't have open saloon seating. For the last four hours I've been in a closed compartment with six other people and seats for just five. When I boarded in Köln, there were two others arriving and we all took our reserved seats. Two stops later, a family of three boarded and the little girl started screaming when the mother left to sit in another compartment. So the mother wound up staying.
Of course the little girl wasn't done acting spoiled and when her father won a game of Go Fish, she really started screaming and crying. That was lots of fun while I was reading my text for class. After a while, one of the other two passengers left the train and everyone at least had their own seat (don't worry, I didn't give up my reserved seat... the family had enough seats somewhere on the train). About forty minutes ago, the other passenger left and it's gotten a little quieter in here--I think the little girl is finally getting tired. I'm sure the father hopes so... he's been trying to nap for the whole ride and is not getting the chance!
Alright, I only have another 1,5 hours of this... at 20:04h this train is scheduled to arrive at Berlin-Südkreuz and I cannot wait to get back to my apartment... of course that's assuming the Deutsche Bahn's unions are all back to work and the S-Bahn is running to my home station.
16 November 2007
Yet another Deutsche Bahn Strike...
This is going to be loads of fun... yet another strike on the national rail system. This one is supposed to be the worst one in modern German history because of how long it is going (Thursday at 02:00h until Saturady at 02:00h) and because of how many trains it affects. According to the Bloomberg News article, "About two-thirds of long-distance passenger trains nationwide and 50 percent of regional trains in western Germany were running as part of an emergency schedule. The railway was operating only 15 percent of regional traffic in eastern Germany." [Check out this map if you want a clear illustration of the division between East and West Germany--the new Federal States (East) have a higher proportion of union members resulting in significantly higher numbers of striking train operators.]
Not only does this mean that the S-Bahn is highly unreliable and has extremely restricted service, it also affects the regional/intercity trains... which I need to use to get to Maastricht tomorrow. I'm supposed to take five different trains beginning in Berlin-Südkreuz to get to Maastricht and the chances of me making all those trains on time is severely diminished now because of this strike. Hopefully this strike won't be extended and I can get back to Berlin on Sunday... wish me luck!
Not only does this mean that the S-Bahn is highly unreliable and has extremely restricted service, it also affects the regional/intercity trains... which I need to use to get to Maastricht tomorrow. I'm supposed to take five different trains beginning in Berlin-Südkreuz to get to Maastricht and the chances of me making all those trains on time is severely diminished now because of this strike. Hopefully this strike won't be extended and I can get back to Berlin on Sunday... wish me luck!
15 November 2007
Less than a month of school!?
Wow, I just realized, my last final exam in on 13 December and that is less than one month away. I feel like I've been here in Berlin for a while but I also feel like I should have a lot more time left. I got a call today from a background investigator for an internship I'm applying for next semester and an email from my new boss for another job I'll have... several reminders of my return to the "real world" of my home university. Then, of course, it's just one more semester before Graduation and the true "Real World" of needing to find a job... anyone?
14 November 2007
Hmm, that's strange...
I caught the 08:31 bus from my apartments this morning (running a little late for my 09:00 class) and the bus driver greeted me with a very friendly "Guten Morgen!" as I stepped on-board. Quite unexpected but I quickly overcame the shock enough to mutter a "Morgen" back to him before scurrying to the back for a seat next to a more-typical grumpy old Berliner woman. She certainly didn't greet me and didn't even excuse herself when she nearly pushed me out of my seat when we arrived at her stop... okay, I'm still in Berlin.
09 November 2007
Schicksalstag
9 November is a significant day in German history... it's also the day I attended a session of Parliament (Bundestag) at the Reichstag.
Quick German history overview:
1848: Robert Blum was executed in Vienna which was a symbolic end to the revolution of 1848 which sought more democracy and freedoms.
1918: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the throne, ending monarchy in Germany and establishing the Weimar Republic.
1923: Adolf Hitler leads a failed coup attempt in Munich (Beer Hall Putsch) that helped establish the Nazi Party as an important player.
1938: Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) occurs where the Nazis lead a pogrom against Jewish businesses, synagogues and homes. First example of radical Nazi anti-semitic beliefs.
1989: The Berlin Wall fell and started the process of Reunification.
My observation of the session of the Bundestag began with the end of debate about creating a public memorial to mark Reunification/German Unity. This debate was closed within a few minutes of arriving in the chamber. The second debate I saw was on the Green Party's proposal to implement speed limits on the Autobahn. The Green's (environmental party) belief is that a speed limit will help reduce harmful emissions that are causing global warming. The controlling CDU/CSU and SPD parties do not support this proposal. Although I obviously couldn't understand more than a handful of words, I got the general gist of the speeches. The best part had to be when the CDU speaker (I believe) made a joke that, especially on a day like today (referencing when the wall fell), how can the Green's propose this--their Trabis can't even go that fast on the Autobahn anyway.
After the session, we went into the dome on top of the Reichstag. The Reichstag was renovated (totally rebuilt inside) during the 1990s (after Reunification for the move of the government back to Berlin from the former West German capital of Bonn). The top of the Reichstag has a huge glass dome that visitors can walk through and see some spectacular views of the city. I'm going to go back at night before I leave... and if you're ever in Berlin, I highly recommend a visit.
Following the Parliament tour, I went with Marion and Jill to the Humboldt Universität Mensa (cafeteria) and had a great hot meal (turkey) for only 2€. Then I went to the DDR Museum for one of my class projects. It's a very fun museum where most of the exhibits are interactive and you're supposed to touch and use the artifacts. I had a lot of fun sitting in the Trabant and playing the driving simulator... of course, the Trabi took several tries to start and broke down pretty quickly after I started "driving". The museum has been designed as a very light-hearted look at the realities of life in the former East Germany and I also recommend going there.
Quick German history overview:
1848: Robert Blum was executed in Vienna which was a symbolic end to the revolution of 1848 which sought more democracy and freedoms.
1918: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the throne, ending monarchy in Germany and establishing the Weimar Republic.
1923: Adolf Hitler leads a failed coup attempt in Munich (Beer Hall Putsch) that helped establish the Nazi Party as an important player.
1938: Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) occurs where the Nazis lead a pogrom against Jewish businesses, synagogues and homes. First example of radical Nazi anti-semitic beliefs.
1989: The Berlin Wall fell and started the process of Reunification.
My observation of the session of the Bundestag began with the end of debate about creating a public memorial to mark Reunification/German Unity. This debate was closed within a few minutes of arriving in the chamber. The second debate I saw was on the Green Party's proposal to implement speed limits on the Autobahn. The Green's (environmental party) belief is that a speed limit will help reduce harmful emissions that are causing global warming. The controlling CDU/CSU and SPD parties do not support this proposal. Although I obviously couldn't understand more than a handful of words, I got the general gist of the speeches. The best part had to be when the CDU speaker (I believe) made a joke that, especially on a day like today (referencing when the wall fell), how can the Green's propose this--their Trabis can't even go that fast on the Autobahn anyway.
After the session, we went into the dome on top of the Reichstag. The Reichstag was renovated (totally rebuilt inside) during the 1990s (after Reunification for the move of the government back to Berlin from the former West German capital of Bonn). The top of the Reichstag has a huge glass dome that visitors can walk through and see some spectacular views of the city. I'm going to go back at night before I leave... and if you're ever in Berlin, I highly recommend a visit.
Following the Parliament tour, I went with Marion and Jill to the Humboldt Universität Mensa (cafeteria) and had a great hot meal (turkey) for only 2€. Then I went to the DDR Museum for one of my class projects. It's a very fun museum where most of the exhibits are interactive and you're supposed to touch and use the artifacts. I had a lot of fun sitting in the Trabant and playing the driving simulator... of course, the Trabi took several tries to start and broke down pretty quickly after I started "driving". The museum has been designed as a very light-hearted look at the realities of life in the former East Germany and I also recommend going there.
07 November 2007
Stupid bus drivers...
My elbow really hurts right now.
It's been raining throughout the day today and my the steps were pretty slick on the bus home from class tonight. There was a new bus driver (didn't quite have the chops of the rest of the drivers) but she figured out a great way to get back at the riders. I was making my way down the steps from the top of the double-decker as we were approaching my stop and the driver decided to play some jokes. She stepped on the brakes, pretty hard, several times... and I managed to slip down three or four steps until I slammed into the front wall of the stairwell.
After bouncing off the wall (with all the force into my left elbow), I bounced down one more step into the main aisle of the bus to see lots of old German women staring at me like I was an idiot. I played it off with a short Berlin-style laugh and walked to the exit door.
I think I did a good job masking my pain but damn it hurts now!
It's been raining throughout the day today and my the steps were pretty slick on the bus home from class tonight. There was a new bus driver (didn't quite have the chops of the rest of the drivers) but she figured out a great way to get back at the riders. I was making my way down the steps from the top of the double-decker as we were approaching my stop and the driver decided to play some jokes. She stepped on the brakes, pretty hard, several times... and I managed to slip down three or four steps until I slammed into the front wall of the stairwell.
After bouncing off the wall (with all the force into my left elbow), I bounced down one more step into the main aisle of the bus to see lots of old German women staring at me like I was an idiot. I played it off with a short Berlin-style laugh and walked to the exit door.
I think I did a good job masking my pain but damn it hurts now!
03 November 2007
Bombs Over Berlin
Tonight I went to Potsdamer Platz to go to the movies. I have four free tickets provided by Deutsche Bank because I brought a new customer to them and figured, since I have no money, now would be a good time to use them. Marion told me that the cinema I had tickets for (Cinemaxx) wasn't the English-language one but would only have dubbed movies. I told her she was wrong and we took the S-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz to see who was right.
We were walking out of the S-Bahn station and were surprised by the sounds of fireworks bursting in the air. Today was the kickoff of the Berlin Winter World (Winterwelt-Berlin) where there's a gigantic snow slide (with real snow!) in the middle of Potsdamer Platz. We stood for a few minutes to watch the fireworks and contemplate on the large crowd of Germans gathered in what was No-Man's Land just 18 years ago. We were standing maybe 5 meters from a standing section of the Wall. Then there was the booming echoes of the fireworks exploding overhead. So much history there, eh?
After the bombs stopped exploding (okay, sorry, last time), we went to the Cinemaxx... where everything was dubbed. Which brings me to a major issue I have with Germany/Germans. Why the hell do they dub every movie/television program broadcast in this country!? The many cultural/linguistic nuances and references in the original productions are, quite simply, lost in translation. It's a pain to see The Simpsons in German because all the voices are wrong and some of the subtle humor is lost. Same thing with movies--the director's vision is lost when the actors he/she chose lose their voices and pick up a random German's voice.
So, since I strongly disapprove of dubbed films (even into English for showing in the States), we didn't watch any movie at Cinemaxx... and since I can't spend 7€ on a movie at the "OV" (Original Version) movie theater, we just took a bus back to the apartments. At least the fireworks were cool.
We were walking out of the S-Bahn station and were surprised by the sounds of fireworks bursting in the air. Today was the kickoff of the Berlin Winter World (Winterwelt-Berlin) where there's a gigantic snow slide (with real snow!) in the middle of Potsdamer Platz. We stood for a few minutes to watch the fireworks and contemplate on the large crowd of Germans gathered in what was No-Man's Land just 18 years ago. We were standing maybe 5 meters from a standing section of the Wall. Then there was the booming echoes of the fireworks exploding overhead. So much history there, eh?
After the bombs stopped exploding (okay, sorry, last time), we went to the Cinemaxx... where everything was dubbed. Which brings me to a major issue I have with Germany/Germans. Why the hell do they dub every movie/television program broadcast in this country!? The many cultural/linguistic nuances and references in the original productions are, quite simply, lost in translation. It's a pain to see The Simpsons in German because all the voices are wrong and some of the subtle humor is lost. Same thing with movies--the director's vision is lost when the actors he/she chose lose their voices and pick up a random German's voice.
So, since I strongly disapprove of dubbed films (even into English for showing in the States), we didn't watch any movie at Cinemaxx... and since I can't spend 7€ on a movie at the "OV" (Original Version) movie theater, we just took a bus back to the apartments. At least the fireworks were cool.
01 November 2007
No Travel this Weekend
I decided to cancel my plans to go to Maastricht, the Netherlands, this weekend because I need to save the money and just do schoolwork. I have a presentation on Wednesday in my Architecture class on the Hufeisensiedlung or Horseshoe Development in Berlin. It is a large apartment complex built by Bruno Taut centered on a pond and shaped like a horseshoe. I need to go visit the site so I can include my own photos in the presentation--I need to work on improving my grade in that class. I got my midterm exam back yesterday and I, uh, should work harder in there. :)
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