Beautiful People on the Badeschiff

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I have no idea what the exact temperature is, but i can tell you that there are small rivulets of sweat dripping down the back of my legs and my wrists are making small puddles on this keyboard as I type. Also, it is almost 8 pm and definitely cooler than earlier in the day. Class today was a break from the normal routine, as we divided into small groups and went on little field trip/scavenger hunts at various places around the city. My group went to Oranienberger str., where we stopped outside the Neue Synagogue, which was badly damaged on Krystall Nacht, but has now been rebuilt and is both an operating Synagogue and a museum. I plan to return and go inside. We also explored Tacheles, a big old un-renovated building that became an artists squat in the 1980s and stall has the squatters feel and tons of galleries.

Instead of going to the See, the other people I was hanging out with after class wanted to go to a swimming pool here in the city, so we went there instead. It is called "Badeschiff," and it's basically a dock in the river Spree that has a big swimming pool in it. It was such a scene--most of the people in their 20s and 30s, everyone beautiful and thin and tanning and etc. Although the fact that you can't bring in your own food and water is irritating and the see and be seen atmosphere would definitely get old, the result was that there were very few children there, which I have to say was really nice. No offense to any particular kids, but hanging out in a perfectly blue pool under a perfectly blue sky is much more fun when you aren't being splashed and having kids screaming in your ear.

Anyway, it is still a million degrees and I need to go drink a giant beer and cool down.

PS
I get asked for directions here all the time! Today I actually knew the particular store this woman was looking for and was able to give her directions, although I think she was a little surprised when I answered in slightly awkward Deutsch, using incorrect prepositions at least twice (as I realized AFTER I used them, of course).

PPS
The impossible happened! It wasn't quite explaining Easter, but we did have to translate the Lord's Prayer in class the other day! It's a long story...

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