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Published: June 12th 2005
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On the way to Berlin from Oslo, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a Norwegian rock band called "Slayer." They were entertaining in all of their dyed black hair, forty year old trying to be twenty glory. Jason picked me up from the airport and I met his Berlin host family. They are very welcoming and funny. The mother and father studied in Bulgaria for four years so they are rather worldly and relaxed. I had my own room that was painted sunshine yellow with a balcony. There is a kakashka cat that bit my toes and felt the need to slide down my legs with his claws underneath the table. I hated that cat. However, there was a lovely grandmother who always spoke with me in German. There was a lengthy conversation about her war time experience that I wish I could've gotten on tape, or at least understood. It's those exact moments that motivate you to take your children to language school. There is so much missed without this lingual knowledge.
Our first day in Berlin we visited the Guggenheim, a John Baldessari exhibit. The way it looked, a long white hallway, tiny people looking at giant
The square around Zoo Bahnhoff
The top of the steeple was hit in WWII and not repaired. The stained glass has been replaced by clear panes. pieces, I felt as if I were back in the 20s in the hot Berlin art scene. Berlin, I feel, has a massive collection of art, current, and old, all influential. I wish I could explore the scene more than I did.
After the museum, we went thrift store browsing had vegetarian hot dogs with sauer kraut (of course) and Beck's (of course). When in Germany, (sort of) do what the Germans do. Later with the family, it was a fun filled evening of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" in German. Needless to say, I wasn't very helpful.
On Tuesday the 28th, we visited the Helmut Newton photography exhibit. For only three Euros it was well-worth it-slightly pornographic but impressive and sometimes emotional work. All that museum walking wore us out so we stopped for the first falafel of about four hundred and walked around the "Zoo" train station area. It's a square around the main train station which offers any curious traveler the opportunity to visit every American fast food restaurant in existence and then visit an old cathedral, its steeple and stained glass windows destroyed in the war. With new energy, we met Sarah, a friend from
America visiting Berlin, and went to a seedy bar in a seedy section of town. We were with German friends also, so completely safe (don't worry Gran!). =) The German heavy metal and games of foozball were just too much to leave and we missed our last train. We literally ran around Berlin, chasing busses, and finally took several "night busses," which are the equivalent to a brownie camp van, and finally got home at 5am.
Wednesday the 29th was a quiet day at home. I cooked veggies for grandma and jason and I. I think she ate them out of kindness, sweet lady. =) That night we went to a movie theater. I loved it! You enter from the street into a graffiti covered iron stairwell and hope to find the elusive theater/bar. When we finally got there, we waited for the movie to start in front of huge windows out of which you could see giant varying art projections on the side of a building across the lot. Afterwards, we of course got another falafel and took a "Night Bus" home. We made believe that we were on a zoo field trip and giggled the entire way home.
Thursday brought a visit to the Flick Collection of Modern Art. It was by far my favorite in Berlin. It took three hours to see it all. There were mirrors and sexually explicit stuffed animals, sculptures of Michael Jackson and pornographic tree houses. My favorite, though, was a dark room full of neon light sculptures and a giant screen with a man spinning upside down and humming incessantly. It was exhilarating to be bombarded with strange sounds and blinking lights after being in a grey city for so long.
New Year's came quickly. THe night before, Jason's host family took us to the Nutcracker ballet. It was my first time. I feel horrible but must confess: I fell asleep in the first half. It was beautiful but all I could think about was what the dancers hadn't eaten that day. I respect the time and talent that goes into a production like that and am glad I had the opportunity to see it.
For our New Year's celebration Jason, Sarah, and I went to Jason's old German high school friend's apartment. The night went normally, much like an American party, except everyone left their shoes at the door and went
The most massive cabbages I've ever seen
This picture doesn't do justice, you have NO idea. insane with fireworks at midnight. 2005 struck and we all hugged and congratulated each other and then headed outside armed with lighters and explosives. It seemed like the entire city of Berlin was a Rice Krispy bowl of "crackles" and "pops" as the boys threw rockets at each other's feet and the girls played with sparklers. We were shouting and having tetra-lingual conversations. It was great fun. After many long treks on German concrete and too many falafels, Jason and I left for Prague.
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Just stopped into say "HI"
Just wanted to stop in and say HI. I was referred to your journal by "Barbara" of the Golden Girls, who is a friend of someone in your family...the name fails me at present ---but since I journal too, they sent me your blog. I have enjoyed reading. Hope you are safe and having fun traveling. My own journal is... http://journals.aol.com/bookncoffee/MySouthernHome/ - Sonya