Monday, Monday...

Okay, so this morning we got up and headed over to German Federal Foreign Office. We had a talk about Modern Germany, and let me tell you – this was very interesting. The speaker, Daniel Szabo de Bucs, was fantastic. I was initially concerned because I didn’t think that my ADHD would allow me to sit for around three hours and listen intently the entire time, but I was happily entertained. Daniel gave us his first account of being in Berlin the night that the Wall fell. He told us that he was in his punk rocker stage at the time, and was wearing raggy jeans and an American leather jacket from the 50’s. He said a West Berliner came up to him in her fur coat, threw her arms around him, and said, “Welcome to freedom, son!” He had been mistaken for a East Berliner! It was very cool to hear about his experiences, and the dark time that Germany underwent after reunification as the two former Germanys struggled to mesh together.
After that we walked around the Federal Foreign Office to the old part of the building for lunch at the International Club. We had to turn our passports in for this! It admittedly freaked me out a bit as I don’t think you should ever be without your passport abroad, but I was assured that everything would be fine. I then rode a very excellent elevator to the top floor. It was an old school elevator, and it didn’t stop – you just hopped on and off as you got to your desired floor. A little tricky, but an absolute blast – I even rode it around the top! LOVED IT! We walked out on the patio area and got more striking views of Berlin, and then went in for lunch.
Lunch was definitely gourmet caliber stuff. It wasn’t the best meal I have had so far, but it was definitely good – I guess just in a way that I didn’t expect or was used to. The first course of salad was easy enough. Just wild greens with shaved pecorino cheese (like parmesan) and cheery tomatoes, although these tasted a bit preserved. Topped off with a balsamic dressing. Good, but one of the greens was peppery, and a bit of a surprise! Second course was a lightly fried fish filet on top of some lentils in a cream sauce, garnished with these little green doughy things. None of us could figure those out – although we agreed that they were tasty. Dessert? Apple strudel, only this time with a vanilla cream sauce on top. Very good, but the night before is still the winner as it came with ice cream(!!!).
After lunch – and getting back our passports – we went to Berlin’s Museum Island. We had about three hours here. Now, understand, we were all pretty dressed up, and I wasn’t wearing the most comfortable shoes. Some people ended up going back to the hotel to change, but I didn’t want to waste time. Feet heal, right? So off I went. I went to an absolutely stunning church called the Berliner Dom. It was absolutely breathtaking. I also had the chance to go down to the crypt. This was cool mainly because that particular crypt was the resting place of the Hohenzollern royal family. These were the rulers of Prussia, and let me tell you, it was a bit freaky being down there. Freaky and creepy. But, I of course loved it! It is very surreal seeing the graves of the people you have studied, even more surreal when those graves are not separated from you by layers of dirt but only by the thickness of the coffin and sarcophagus of that person. I ended up my visit here with a visit to the gift shop for even more postcards, including my favorite so far. Did you know that when John F. Kennedy gave his speech and Berlin and said that he was a Berliner, he actually said that he was a jelly doughnut? True story! German articles can be tricky, and he used the wrong form. The Berliners knew what he meant, and applauded wildly, but dang it, that’s just funny. So when I saw the postcard with a picture of a jelly doughnut on it and Kennedy’s misspoken words, I had to have it.
After that, it was decision time. There are so many museums on Museum Island that it was hard to choose, and time was rapidly slipping away. I ended up going to the Perganon Museum, chiefly to see the giant Perganon altar from Greek times that was brought to Berlin from Turkey (did you follow that?). Insanely huge. I also saw the famous Ishtar Gate that led into the city of Babylon. I mean, seriously, where does this stuff come from? How in the world did it get to Berlin of all places? Well, there’s that whole concept of imperialism playing in again, and just as with other countries, Germany got some goods that way. I am not sure if that was the case with either of the exhibits I saw, but it is worth noting that countries sometimes come by their exhibited items through questionable means. Just something for you to think about.
After meeting Monika, we hopped a bus to the Tiergarten. The Tiergarten was once the royal hunting grounds for the Hohenzollerns (remember them?), and it is still a gorgeous park much along the lines as it looked when they ruled, but with one major difference. Not one tree in the Tiergarten is over fifty years old. It was completely wiped out during WWII, and was replanted. Today it is very pretty, and provided the perfect backdrop for dinner at the Biergarten! I of course did not have beer as I hate the stuff, but I did sit back and have a great time eating fantastic pizza and drinking Diet Cokes until I was nauseous. It was a perfect end to the day, and an enjoyable way to unwind with some cool new friends.
And my feet...yeah...not so good...