Note about our Roommates

This is Chris. I just wanted to add a couple of notes about our "Australian" roommates. They aren't actually from Australia, but New Zealand. Also, when the Italian guy finally left the other day, we were so happy because we thought we'd finally get a good night's sleep without having to listen to him snore. But in fact, the New Zealander that came in to replace him snored all night! When Erica and I heard him start snoring, we both just started laughing. It was just too perfect.

But last night all was quiet, so hopefully that will be the end of our snoring stories!

Update from Berlin

Erica here. Today was a busy day. We must have burned 5,000,000 calories today just walking around. Chris is still complaining of ankle pain from a little trip he took yesterday when he missed a step at a U-Bahn station. (He was looking at his phone and not paying attention.) Hopefully it will get better.

We started off with an earlier morning (thank goodness) and had breakfast again at the New Zealand Cafe. I decided I wanted something different this morning (instead of the usual toast and fruit salad) so I opted for the veggi-fry. It was an awesome and HUGE breakfast, complete with baked beans (classic). However, it was also 7.80 euros, so I will not be ordering it again.

We headed out to the Berlin Zoo Aquarium and bought tickets for the aquarium only, worried that we wouldn't have time to appreciate both the zoo and the aquarium on the same day. It was the right decision and Chris and I ended up spending quite a bit of time there. Did you know that the Berlin Zoo Aquarium has more species than any other aquarium in the world? Well, it does and now you know.

After the aquarium we headed to Bendlerblock, a memorial and museum on the German resistance to the Nazi socialist regime.

"It was moving and illuminating." - Chris Woodall, recent visitor to Bendlerblock

The museum focused much attention on the failed Hitler assassination plot that took place in that very same building. For those of you wondering: YES, this is the same plot upon which the movie "Valkyrie" is based. Tom Cruise plays the character of Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, who was chief of staff. After the failed assassination attempt, von Stauffenberg and a few cohorts were tried (same building). The same night of the trial, Stauffenberg and the others were executed in the courtyard by firing squad. While we were at the museum, a bunch of American military officers were taking a private tour (which prevented us from going the pace that we wanted to on our own tour). It was very interesting to hear them talk. Chris and I decided that they had to be high-ranking officials just by the things they were saying and the insignia on their uniforms.

I caught some interesting snippets here and there:

A short, dark-haired woman: "Well sure, the government would have to spend more money but I think it would be worth..."

A tall, lean older man in a commanding tone: "Well, they're all having the same problems now with the money. I need you to raise their cash advance limits to fifteen-hundred. All of them."

We didn't know what they were all doing there. Chris and I mused that they had all seen the movie "Valkyrie" and were inspired to come see the real place. But most likely, they were there on official business. The building is now, after all, the building for the German Ministry of Defense.

After Bendlerblock, we headed to the Sony Center to eat. We had a very filling meal at an Aussie bar & grill named Corroboree. Chris had the biggest burger I've ever seen (and ate it all) and I had a huge bowl sweet potato curry (and ate it all). Portions here are huge. We spend so much on food that it's difficult to justify not eating everything that we're served. I suppose we could ask for carry-out, but then we're stuck schlepping extra crap all over the city. *Sigh*

After dinner we headed to the Reichstag. It is gargantuan. We stood back and snapped a few shots in the grassy knoll in front of the building. You have to walk a ways before you can get good shots of the entire thing. You can tell how HUGE it is because there a bunch of people standing around it for size comparison. We waited in line to go up to the cupola and it was totally worth it. We were able to view the famous Adlon Hotel, where Michael Jackson dangled his baby out of the window of its Presidential Suite. We were also able to snap some amazing shots of the city. Because we made it up there just before sunset, we were able to snap both day shots and evening shots. We are quite good at what we do.

After snapping about a billion photos at the Reichstag, we wandered around Tiergarten a while, happening on various statues and monuments along the way. The street from Brandenberg Gate to the Victory Column (Strasse des 17 Juni) was closed for preparations for the 60th anniversary of the public so we were able to wander it freely and at our own pace. This allowed us to snap pictures of both the gate and the column while they were lit up without having to worry about being hit by any cars.

Tomorrow we plan on hitting the zoo and the TV tower. Be sure and check back with us for more accounts of our Berlin shenanigans.

In Berlin's Sony Center

This is a video we took while we were sitting at the fountain in Sony Center. It was dark, so it's a little difficult to see some things. It was really just to test the video capabilities of my camera, but we thought you might enjoy it anyway.

Schloß Charlottenburg, etc.

Today we got a late start, as I mentioned, but it turned out to be a really nice day. We started at the Gedenkstätte Plötzensee (Plötzensee Memorial), which is a former prison that was mainly used to execute prisoners that Hitler's regime thought were traitorous. Something like 2800 people were executed here between 1933 and 1945. The site itself still has the feeling of a prison about it in places, but overall I was surprised by the juxtaposition of the evil that went on here sixty years ago and how beautiful the site is today. The memorial is simply a single small two-room building; the first room houses information about the site and a few of the murdered prisoners, as well as a small computer that allowed you to look up the names and information of all those who were executed here. The second room was almost empty and had a bunch of flowers arranged in it, but the most surprising thing was that the hooks on which the prisoners were hung were still in place, with nothing separating us from them except a small rope. It was a bit chilling.

From there we took the S-Bahn to the Schloß Charlottenburg, which turned out to be an excellent way to spend the afternoon, especially after the rather somber earlier visit to Plötzensee. The Schloß (palace) was the home of some of Prussia's most illustrious leaders, including Frederick the Great. We toured the central part of the palace, which was an awesome experience. Much of the house is still standing from when it was constructed, including some gorgeous paintings (including some on ceilings!) and amazing architecture. Although the first floor of the palace included many things that dated back to the 18th century (including an entire room dedicated to a huge china collection), the second floor was almost entirely destroyed during World War II, so most of it was reconstructed with blank walls replacing the detailed paintings and decorations like those seen on the first floor, and the furniture was brought from other places. It's such a shame that the war caused so much damage to the building.

The palace also includes the most amazing gardens that stretch out for what seems like forever from the palace itself. We spent several hours touring the park grounds, and we still only saw a small part of it. It was amazing. The pictures just can't do it justice.

After the Schloß Charlottenburg, we decided to eat at a restaurant across the street, Brauhaus Lemke. This is a fairly well-known brewery, so we decided that this was an excellent time to try some real German beer. I had the Lemke Original, and Erica ordered a four-beer sampler. Although I won't say it was the best thing I've ever had to drink, I will proudly say that I finished the entire thing! But I don't imagine I'll be having another any time soon.

After eating, it was getting dark so we decided to see a few of the things that are lit up at night. We visited the Sony Center again, which was cool but not as cool as people seem to think it is. Then we went up to the Brandenburg Gate and tried to take pictures of it all lit up, but our cameras were being difficult in the low light. We also tried to visit the Holocaust Memorial to see what it looked like at night, but for some reason the lights weren't on. So instead, we walked over to the Reichstag, the German Federal Parliament building). I had seen this building dozens of times in pictures, but the pictures never did the building justice. It is absolutely gigantic and very imposing, much more so than the more-famous Brandenburg Gate. There is a glass dome on the top which you can climb to the top of during the day, so we'll definitely be visiting this spot again.

Also, as we were making our way to the Sony Center, we just happened upon a small remainder of the Berlin Wall in Potsdamer Platz that was being used as part of the "20 years since the Wall fell" celebrations in Germany that are taking place all this year. I tried to break off a small piece, but that is one sturdy wall, and you would have to use a hammer and pick ax to take a piece home with you. It was interesting that it was just sitting out, without any barricades or anything, and you could touch it as much as you wanted. I noticed a lot of people decided the edges of the Wall were good places to deposit their used chewing gum, which I decided to take as a political statement against everything the Wall stood for rather than simple carelessness.

At this point we began to see lightning in the distance, so we got home as quick as we could and managed to beat the rain. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so we're planning to spend the day inside at the Berlin Aquarium. Check back tomorrow to see how that went!

Gedenkstätte Plötzensee:

Schloß Charlottenburg:

In the gardens of the palace:

Drinking German beer!

The Berlin Wall:

The Sony Center fountain:

The roof of the Sony Center (it changes colors!)

The Reichstag:

A Little More about the First Day

Erica here. I don't think Chris told you quite enough about the Bosnians, if in fact they were Bosnians like they said they were. Chris and I were sitting right across from each other when Chris gave the woman money. Instead of leaving, she in fact turned to face me completely, and expectedly. The gall of the gesture insulted me. It actually took a few "no's" to get her to go away. And when the son finally gave up on us later, he made sure to slam his hand on our table in frustration before he left, which annoyed me even more. I think we've had our fill of the eating outside experience. We may choose to eat inside the restaurants from now on. It's funny - we were talking about people begging for money just before we left for the airport in Houston. And then it happened to us on our first full day here. Huh.

Fun parts of the museum today: Ischtar Gate and the Temple of Zeus. Pretty awesome. I think I'd like to build a temple. I may build one after I've built my weaving loom. I took way too many pictures in one day. How many, you ask? 475 Yeah, I know. It's not even particularly scenic here - there are just a lot of really great things to see. Haha.

Our First Day in Berlin

Yesterday we got up and ate breakfast at the New Zealand Café that's part of our hostel. At €3.90, we thought the breakfast buffet was a little expensive for what was offered: bread, cereal, assorted fruits, cold ham, and cheese. The food itself wasn't bad, but there just wasn't a very wide variety of things to choose from. But the café is right down the street and they offer free internet, so we'll probably keep eating there just for the convenience.

After breakfast we walked down to the U-Bahn (subway) station and took the train to Alexanderplatz (Alexander Square), where we got a good view of the Fernsehturm (TV Tower, the tallest structure in Berlin) and the Kaufhaus, a large department store on the square. We were trying to find an ATM, since I never got around to exchanging my American money for Euros, and thought that the Kaufhaus would surely have something like that. So we walked around for a while but never saw anything. After walking around Alexanderplatz for a while longer we eventually found a bank and I was able to get some cash.

After that we started walking toward Museuminsel (Museum Island), where we were planning on visiting the Pergamonmuseum (Pergamon Museum), a museum that has a wide variety of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts. On the way there, we saw the Neptunbrunnen (Neptune Fountain) and the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral).

When we finally found the Pergamonmuseum, we were a little disappointed to find that nearly the entire structure was covered in scaffolding, and that there was a fairly lengthy line. But the wait wasn't as bad as it looked, and once we were in we found that it was definitely worth the wait. The collection was extensive, so much so that we were exhausted by the time we got through it all (it took us about 5 hours).

After the museum, we toured a couple open-air markets that were near the museum, and then ate at Cafe im Zeughas, a café on the Spree (the main river that runs through Berlin). The meal was quite nice, if a little on the expensive side, and the view was amazing from our outside table. The low point of the meal was when a Bosnian woman approached us asking us if we spoke English. Excited that I did, in fact, speak English, I told her that and she handed me a card that was asking me for money. She had a little girl at her side, and just to make her go away I decided to just give her €5 (the smallest form of currency I had, which is actually about $7.00). But instead of being appreciative and going on her merry way, she then hit up Erica for money, too! Pretty brazen, if you ask me. Erica of course told her no, and she eventually wandered off to ask the next table if they spoke English. But later, her son, who was probably no more than 10, came by and asked, with the most pitiful expression on his face that you've ever seen, "Do you speak English?" Well, I wasn't falling for that one twice! We told him we already gave his mother some money, but I had the distinct feeling that he didn't understand as much English as his initial question might lead you to believe. Eventually, he, his mother, and his little sister left the area, probably quite a bit richer.

After we finished eating, we walked down Unter den Linden, one of Berlin's most famous streets which runs straight into Pariser Platz (Paris Square) and the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate). The gate is very large, and it is a very popular place for tourists, so the area was packed. There also seemed to be some kind of walk for cancer going on, as there was a lot of crowds, music, and people in pink shirts that said "Walk for Cancer."

At this point we decided to walk up to the Holocaust Memorial, which is a rather uniquely constructed memorial of concrete blocks of various heights, apparently inspired by gravestones. Then we walked through Tiergarten, Berlin's massive central park area, stopped by the Philharmonie just as a concert was about to start (but it was sold-out). After wandering about a little more, we ended up in the Sony Center, which was packed. It's basically just a commercial center and has a bunch of shops and restaurants, but the architecture of the rotunda was impressive. There is also a large fountain in the center. When the rotunda and the fountain are lit up at night, I'm sure it's really cool, but we were there during the day, so we decided that it was about time to head home.

On the way home I picked up what I thought was a cool German soda, "Mezzo-Mix", an orange-flavored soda, and was mildly disappointed to see the words "Coca Cola" written in small letters on the side.

The hostel experience has been largely positive so far, except that one of our roommates from Italy has a rather chronic snoring problem. When we first got here, there was a couple from the US here, but they left that night (in the middle of the night for some reason). They were very friendly, and frankly I wish they would have stayed longer. The Italian snorer seems to have left at this point (it's Sunday morning now), and we've been joined by two guys who are probably Australian. These two came in in the middle of the night last night, woke everybody up, and complained loudly about the Italian snorer while we were trying to sleep. Because of all this, we didn't get to sleep until well after 4 in the morning, and we slept in until about noon today. But I think we needed the rest.

Here are a few pics we've taken so far:

Our room:

In the New Zealand Café:

Berliner Dom:

Fernsehturm:

Outside the Pergamonmuseum:

On the River Spree, with the Bode Museum in the background:

Eating at the café, with the Berliner Dom and the Fernsehturm in the background:

Erica under a giant statue on Unter den Linden:

In Paris - Part Deux

Erica here. We have had an interesting travel experience so far. But you know that. I'll talk a little more about the plane ride. It was one of the smaller planes for international travel, an Airbus A-330. Chris and I got to sit next to each other and no one else, which was nice. The movie selection was impressive: Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, The Reader, Valkyrie, Vicky Christine Barcelona, Yes Man, Gran Torino, Bride Wars, and many more. Vicky Christina Barcelona was interesting. I did not like most of the narration. A lot of it seemed unnecessary unless you weren't paying attention to the actors. Dinner was nice. I wasn't able to finish. There was a cucumber, celery, tomato, and carrot salad; a cup of grapes; a cup of melon; a dinner roll; and CURRY AND RICE...and that spinach thing that often times accompanies it - can't remember the name. Breakfast was pretty much more fruit and a biscuit. I am going to avoid fruit for the next couple of days, I think. I don't think I slept much. I know I dozed here and there because I kept catching myself with my mouth hanging open. Attractive. When we got to the airport, I "breezed" right through security...and then had to wait for Chris to make it through...

The lady stamping our passports stamped right over my Oaxaca stamp. Grrr. I knew that was going to happen eventually.

We are going to have to post-post these entries because airport wifi is expensive. So by the time you read this...something else will be happening...which we will blog about later. I've enjoyed checking out what other people are wearing. Chris and I are the only people sitting in this area who are wearing tennis shoes. Scarves are also big. I always thought that had to be sort of a stereotype, but I guess it is for a reason. Huh.