Germany Just Wants to be Greece.

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"What!?" you say to the title of this blog. Well, what other language has exactly the same characters as the English language EXCEPT they choose to throw in a Vita (Beta, in English)? That's right, probably a few others. I just don't know of any.
We successfully arrived in Berlin with absolutely no train problems - a miracle for us. And just as it had been for the past five days in every other city, it was raining. Sam and Eleni had complained continuously in Amsterdam about the cold and wet and Eleni decided it was time to give in and buy a sweatshirt (she brought only flimsy, three-quarter length blouses...it is supposed to be hot in Europe!). She and Sam (who found a warm scarf) were much happier.
Amsterdam was intense. The atmosphere is very different from that in any other city we have visited. Our hostel had a pillow lounge area, which we utilized often. Above which, there hung a dozen differently shaped and colored lanterns. The walls were painted with flying pigs, clouds and green fields. We decided that the city wants you to feel high, whether you have had any substances or not. Furthermore, we discovered that our location in the city was probably equivalent to staying in Queens while visiting New York City. The Red Light District was an easy, five minute walk from The Flying Pig, and we enjoyed a pleasant stroll along the famous canal.
During the day, we headed to a nicer part of town to see the Van Gogh and Rijk Museums. Both exhibits were beautiful. We saw The Night Watch and some of Vermeer's work. "Girl with a Pearl Earing" was not in the Rijk, but we saw "Girl with a Milk Jug" and others that we studied in Art History. Later that night, we heard something about "The Night Watch" that we hadn't heard in class. According to story, Rembrandt painted the answer to a murder case into this painting. It is a portrait of his friends (one of which was killed and one which was the murderer) and Rembrandt was the only one who knew who had committed the crime. Apparently, art historians have dedicated their lives to analyzing this one piece and trying to unravel the mystery!
After the Rijk Museum, we headed to the Van Gogh Museum. It was a bit overwhelming to see so much work from such a famous painter, in one place. We decided that we liked the exhibit of Van Gogh in the D'Orsay better. Instead of taking the tram back to the hostel and paying the dreaded 1.60 Euro, we decided to walk back in the rain. Sam was anxious for sleep, but we had fun exploring all the shops on the way back. Adi, Parker and Nolan were skeptical LUSH (a soap store that Eleni insisted they see), but they had fun learning about cupcake face masks and chocolate scrubs. Parker is an expert on the difference between a face "scrub" and a face "wash." After finding a yummy Italian place to eat (though there was awesome "Zorba the Greik" restaurant right next door that was voted against...), we made our way back into the dimly lit, constantly musical hostel.
That night, we met a group of boys from Ireland that were doing the same thing as us. They had just graduated and were exploring Europe. Though their itinerary was much looser than ours. Sam was repeatedly corrected on how to pronounce "Ireland," but she refused to believe that the Irishmen knew what they were talking about. It turned into a fun, lazy night of lounging around the pillows and then a midnight run for croissants and pie. Yum!
The next day, we wanted to catch a glimpse of Anne Frank's house before heading off to Berlin. Sadly, the line was around the block and we only had an hour. The girls headed back for some breakfast and the boys went on to see the thinnest house in the world. They were able to line up chest-to-chest and barely fit the width of the building.
So, that was Amsterdam in a nutshell!

We have loved everything about Berlin, so far (except the sleeping arrangements, perhaps). The dinner was amazing and our waitress was lively. We are sleeping in a fifty-bed dorm that is constantly lit by a dim, red light. Our first response was, "military barracks?" But it turned out to be quite fine. Anything with a bed is perfectly acceptable.
This morning, we headed to the museum island, pausing for a breakfast of fresh orange juice and apple pie for breakfast. We made it to the Bode Museum, which took us from Early Renaissance through Baroque periods. It turned out to have quite a few copies of pieces we had studied, but very few originals. Example: "Christ Descending from the Cross." Parker and Adi individually found themselves in a creepy, dark room with tombs. Parker ran out, frightened, the first time. But he was able to conquer himself and made it back in to explore. Adi also went down alone...or so he thought. After a few moments, the elevator creeped down to the room and opened to reveal that no one was there!
Now, Sam and Eleni went to do some much needed laundry, and the group is meeting back up at 3 to go on a FREE bike tour of Berlin. Too good to be true? I guess we will find out!

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Comments

[jeff berry]

germany is really better than greece
come on now, everyone knows the esszet (ß) is actually a different character from greece's beta, despite their mostly similar appearance. not to mention, germany made it to the finals in euro. where was greece?