Greetings from Parvati Valley in Northern India. I've got a couple of weeks to catch up on as I got carried away with not working...
I stayed in Berlin for a full week - we rented an apartment off airbnb.com in what turned out to be the most popular street of the most young/hip neighborhood in the city. This meant that throughout the day and evening you could hear the street performers serenading the restaurants' customers below - the artists were all very good and it was much better than playing music from my laptop.
Food throughout the city is very inexpensive and I found an amazing sushi shop that sold 6 piece veggie roles for 2 euros each.
Also, the public transportation is efficient, clean, and includes a line that circles the city, making it much easier/faster to get around.
On Sunday morning, Chris and I headed to a nearby park that hosts a weekly flea market, but it's more like a small festival when the weather is good. It was particularly nice the day we went - filled with cool vintage shops, excellent food, musicians, and street performers. It was very crowded, but everyone was laid back, relaxed, and friendly - jeans/tshirts/smiles/children, etc. I really enjoyed the vibe and felt more at home here than I have anywhere else to date. If this park were in the US I'd live near it.
We saw a mime show - it drew hundreds of viewers:
I stayed in Berlin for a full week - we rented an apartment off airbnb.com in what turned out to be the most popular street of the most young/hip neighborhood in the city. This meant that throughout the day and evening you could hear the street performers serenading the restaurants' customers below - the artists were all very good and it was much better than playing music from my laptop.
Food throughout the city is very inexpensive and I found an amazing sushi shop that sold 6 piece veggie roles for 2 euros each.
Also, the public transportation is efficient, clean, and includes a line that circles the city, making it much easier/faster to get around.
On Sunday morning, Chris and I headed to a nearby park that hosts a weekly flea market, but it's more like a small festival when the weather is good. It was particularly nice the day we went - filled with cool vintage shops, excellent food, musicians, and street performers. It was very crowded, but everyone was laid back, relaxed, and friendly - jeans/tshirts/smiles/children, etc. I really enjoyed the vibe and felt more at home here than I have anywhere else to date. If this park were in the US I'd live near it.
We saw a mime show - it drew hundreds of viewers:
This is Yaam - a venue for sports/concerts/hanging out. It was on the water and family friendly - people of all ages and colors were hanging out together.
Cash money millionaire bear.
A water pump
I took an 8 hour walking tour of the city for 15 euros and saw:
Museum island
Government buildings
Jewish memorial. This was a very interesting place - the memorial is a set of 5,000+ bare concrete blocks, some nearly 5 meters high. Children and adults alike run across the top of them like it's a playground and there are no signs above ground that indicate what the memorial is for. For these reasons, I disliked it immensely.
A group bicycle contraption. Next time...
Reconstructed checkpoint charlie.
The next few images are from the Stasi museum, which showcased the methods the secret police of east germany used.
sounds familiar
Scent samples were taken from individuals who underwent lengthy interrogations.
A camera disguised as a button.
These are local actors posing as Soldiers to earn money.
The next day, I took a 6 hour walking tour of Potsdam, which is just outside the city. We explored two parks, which were filled with palaces. Potsdam was a popular destination for the wealthy seeking relief from Berlin's noise and smog.
Unfortunately my internet connection at my current location isn't strong enough for photo uploads, so I'll post them later on. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Berlin. The history is fascinating and it was great to hear the story of WW2 surrounded by so much context. Growing up, and even in college, history classes were my least favorite courses - they were dull and history teachers seemed more interested in my ability to memorize facts than anything else. But experiencing history as a story, without any expectation of regurgitation or having to appease a professor by explaining events in a manner that fit into their worldview was lovely.
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