Brrrrrlin

"MERLIN'S BEARD IT'S COLD!" exclaimed Megan as she walked along the East Side Gallery, wondering what she'd have for breakfast.  She only knew she wouldn't be eating here:

Beginnins of the East Side Gallery...obviously

Pretty cool

The East Side Gallery is the longest part of the Berlin Wall that remains intact

Megan and Nicole had been in Berlin for less than 48 hours, but already the two had determined this city was one of their favorites. The day previous, the two young lasses took the free Berlin walking tour and had a crash-course introduction to Berlin history. The tour began by the Brandenburg Gate, which was built in 1791 and modeled after the Acropolis in Greece (wasn't Megan there a few weeks ago...?). 

The gal sitting atop the chariot on top of the gate was the keeper of peace in Berlin, meant to assure harmony in the city. Oops. Napoleon would later take Berlin's peace-keeper, and upon her return from France she would be re-christened and put in charge of ensuring victory in Berlin. Oops. 

Brandenburg gate, y'allllll

Our tour guide breakin' history d.o.w.n.

Berlin, the tour guide said, was unique in that it wears its history on its sleeve. Megan couldn't help but compare this to Salzburg, a city that seems untouched by WWII despite the Anschluss in 1938, that commemorates its Jewish victims with small gold plates on the sidewalk, a city that still has publicly anti-Semitic politicians. While in Berlin, Nicole and Megan walked through a fascinating outdoor exhibit telling the stories of actors, scientists, writers and the like who were persecuted during the reign of the Third Reich:

Nicole in the exhibit

This lady wrote a fake suicide note and escaped! Creative, no? 

Megan and Nicole then went to the Holocaust Memorial and Museum. The Memorial was an entire square filled with different sized cement blocks, some as tall as 10 ft. The blocks were arranged in such a way that they created waves. The American designer of this memorial, when asked what it signified, said to go there yourself and tell him. 

Sunset in Holocaust Memorial

When I was in the memorial, I walked a little ahead of Nicole, and soon we were separated. I walked through the memorial end-to-end looking for her, and regretting not setting up a meeting place for when we were done. The memorial is incredibly quiet, all the blocks block out the noise of busy Berlin traffic. The museum underneath the memorial was also powerful, yet simple. Letters from victims were on display on screens on the ground--some were painfully direct: "We are being deported tomorrow. I will never see you again." The museum also had an empty room with screens on all four walls. On the screens was projected the name of a Jew who died during the Holocaust. A recording played first in German then in English stating the name of the victim, what was known about them, and how they died. It would take over 6 years to hear every person's name. 

Back to third person!

Megan and Nicole concluded the evening by walkg around Tiergarten. The Garden was incredibly quiet and peaceful, and MASSIVE. Someone had posted a sign stating they had lost their key...good luck, buddy. You ain't gonna find nuthin' in that ginormous place, knaw mean? Lovely walk, lovely sunset, but sooooo cold.

That night Megan and Nicole checked out some of Berlin's famous bars, staying the longest at Roses. 'Twas Megan's favorite bar! Her favorite bar of all time, forsooth! 

Retiring that night, Megan and Nicole looked very much forward to a good night's sleep. The night previous had been spent in an airport, and 'twas a long day indeed...unfortunately there resided in the 20-person hostel room a fortissimo snorer. He unleashed upon the room a snore so loud that one could feel their inner-organs vibrating along with the deep grunting. Megan and Nicole took their leave 'fore 7 am, unable to continue their slumber.

THE NEXT DAY...

Megan and Nicole checked out the East Side Gallery and looked for breakfast (this is where I started, remember?). Now, a word on Berlin dining

Megan:Berlin :: God:Jesus

That's right, in Berlin Megan was well-pleased. Well-pleased, indeed! Vegan restaurants abound in Berlin, and the awful joke Megan had made on the plane from Munich to Berlin was quite unwarranted:

A vegan going to Berlin? What's the wurst that could happen?

I know, it's terrible.

BACK TO THE STORY!!

Megan and Nicole dined in a quaint cafe, and moved on to Museum Island. Berlin is spread out--not centralized like most European cities (this is due, of course, to the prior separation of East and West, and new sections falling in and out of style)--one of the districts in Berlin is Museum Island. Exactly what it sounds like. Museums.everywhere. COOL.

So many museums beckoned the two girls, it became quite clear only a select few could be visited. But which ones? The modern art museum woud certainly be trendy, but the Pergamon was calling!, the German history museum sounded great--but was it as good as the Berlin history museum?, a modern science museum had an exhibit on prosthetics...LIFE WAS SO HARD FOR THE YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENTS...!

Eventually Megan and Nicole decided on the Pergamon and the German History Museum, because they are wise beyond their years. 

PERGAMON:

Spy Nicole? This place was HUGE

Wood-work-whoa

The Pergamon was super cool for two reason. First, the building was constructed around the GIANT architecture that had been stolen taken without permission from other lands. The pieces we incorporated in the actual museum. It felt like being outside almost, because the pieces were clearly originally outdoors. The Pergamon altar was from Greece--it was SO cool seeing the piece after visiting Greece. 

GERMAN HISTORY:

Germany has a lot of history, in case you didn't know. 

Nicole is ALL about solemn figures in painting

German courts loved little people

Discord in marriage-LOVE it

Adorable children's doll

So.hipster. 

The museum also had a fascinating display of WWI-Cold War stuff. The layout of the exhibit was chronological, very nice to explore. 

Brandenburg gate at night

Pieces of the wall on display

TV Tower

After their time in the museums, Megan and Nicole went to find some dinner. They walked around, in search of vegan food, and stumbled upon Vietnamese food. Well, not exactly "stumbled". The easiest thing to find in Berlin is Vietnamese food. Not the Brandenburg gate, not TV Tower, not the wall and not even a toilet. If there is one thing you will see in Berlin it is a Vietnamese restaurant. Nicole and I went and had one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my entire life. It was 4 Euro.

I will write another blog post of things I forgot//pictures as they are uploaded to facebook//the like. Too busy to edit this post, sorry it wasn't ideal. Mountain of homework awaits, and I have an interview for another job tomorrow via skype! Wish me luck, or don't--I won't really know either way. Kbye.

Le General Update

Thomas's mom is in the center. She is being mom-ish and plays cribbage and now I miss my lame parents. 

Got a job in the UP Writing Center! eeeee!!

Almost have my splits on my right leg.

A poem of mine is being published in UP's Writer's Magazine! eeeee!!

Salzburg is ridiculously warm (mid 60's, yo) because the Fohne (warm wind from Africa) has come up--short sleeves and Birkenstocks...le happy. Salzburgers hate it, though. They get all paranoid and everyone has a head cold, but we LOVE it. Went with Michelle to our favorite restaurant, Tokyo, where we get free Miso soup and the owners love us. They told Michelle and I we were 'beides Suße', ahh Le happy. So good to be home. 

They redid the kitchen her ein the center while we were on Spring tour. Everything is stainless steel, and it is pretty sweet. 

Made my schedule for Fall next year, need to study and junk...

Don't have a UTI, but got creative with my Mellencamp :

When I was a young girl,
I had my Luvs and Huggies waysNow that I'm gettin' older, so much olderI love all those Pampers days.With pee like you,With pee like you,Lord knows I need cranberry juice, baby,With pee like you.
Come on and leak it
Burn so good.Come on baby, make it burn so good.Sometimes pee don't feel like it should.You make it burn so good.

I forgot to relay...

We drove out of Nafplio early morning, and were winding through some hills during the sunrise. Unreal. It was hard to not stare at the sun, which you shouldn’t do, but I had to keep looking away. It was massive and orange and spectacular. Like Impression Sunrise meets National Geographic.

I have seen countless vendors, street-artists, and dumb tourist gimmicks, but this one got me:

HOW DO THEY DO IT? Michelle pointed out a small crane thing in the bottom man’s shirt, “or the second option is, of course, magic.”

The boy at the Gellateria Naturala was quite nice. He worked at the gelato shop until 8 every evening, so we had a few run-ins. Rather, I ran in a few times. Anyway, in classic Italian style he winked and blahblahblah. So on our last day in Rome Michelle and I grabbed some vegan gelato and said goodbye to the gelato boy. Walking back to our hotel:

“What if I married him? Just went back and took him to say our nuptials and in the morning we would get an annulment and head to Florence.”
“You should definitely elope.”
“Yeah! On the last day of February, the first time in over 600 years the Pope resigns, I fulfill my creepy high school fantasy of a dramatic marriage.”
“What if you got pregnant on your wedding night?”
“Ohmygod our child would be beautiful—I’d have a son. My son would be bilingual-“
“Your son would have curly hair!”
“Where would I raise him? My father-in-law wouldn’t approve, I know it.”
“Man you just got married, divorced, had a kid and considered moving to Italy.”
“…and I don’t even know my ex-husband’s name.”

Goodbye, Gelato Boy. 

Rome Day 3

Rick Steve’s Jewish Ghetto walk with Hanna, Michelle, Sam, and John. It was a gas and a half. Kosher bakeries and historical synagogue and yarmulke stores…oh my! Then ‘Chelle and I headed to the Pantheon, grabbed the WORLD’S BEST COFFEE—my Americana was more inspired than the Sistine Chapel. WHOA! Aeoughhh000!!

‘Chelle and I walked around for hours, delighting in sunshine and forward Italians. We ended up at the Vatican—Imagine that!—and spoke to some Germans auf Deutsch. That’s when we became privy to some common knowledge: the Pope would be sayin’ “ciao” in a half-hour. NBC interviewed ‘Chelle and I because we are abnormally attractive. Just a day in the life.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/28/17129365-thank-you-for-your-friendship-benedict-leaves-vatican-for-final-time-as-pope?lite%3Focid=twitter

1:27 = Michelle and I bein' goofs outside St. Peter's

Bye Benny

Just another huge building that I can't identify

Chelle

Before the Pope peaced-out

Rode the metro home and got gelato. Bought my parents THE BEST gift of all time, and also got Zach THE WORST.

On our way to Assisi, then to Florence! Really jazzed about all I remember and recognize from my trip here in high school. Did I mention Hanna and I have our Swedish WWOOFing host for May?

-waiting for terrible tragedy to even out my fabulous fortune.  

On missing Greece:

I miss Greece. 

Vidz

Be kind rewind

Picture is worth a thousand words...video is worth like 10 pictures...so 10,000 words comin' at ya

Acropolicious (see what I did...?)

Life in the center durin' winter

Kelsey captures more center life

Nafplio w/ Hanna

TOUR GUIDE IN ROME

Oh hejj St. Peter's

Colosseum and tour guide

Rome if you want to...

Chelle knows Rome

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/28/17129365-thank-you-for-your-friendship-benedict-leaves-vatican-for-final-time-as-pope?lite%3Focid=twitter

1:27...oh hi Megan on NBC--we'll meet again

Do as the Romans do!

Sistine Chapel day coincided with Le Pope’s final speech, followed Rome’s stalemate voting…basically we are at the center of the most politically, spiritually, and economically dynamic/controversial place in the world right now. WHAT!? IS THIS MY LIFE?

Vatican rules-notice the tiny flamboyant gay on the 'no' side

Chapel was phenomenal, outside was PACKED. A flood of people, no a sea of humans, no A TSUNAMI OF BODIES rushed around me as I stepped toward Old Bridge for gelato...again. Shut up! Haters gonna hate. Today I got blood orange and coconut (vegan, duhh) THE BEST TASTE YOU CAN IMAGINE. SO MUCH CAPS LOCK!!!!!

The sun was shining, and we grabbed pizza for lunch. Marinara pizza with mushrooms. Heaven. (No cheese, duhh).

Spanish steps. Raced John up the stairs…I say it was a tie, but objectively I guess he may have kind of won. Sunshine abounds.

Trev Fountain.  Met some Bovarian’s at the fountain and delighted in speaking German with an older gentleman. Also, Hanna and I bartered with coins and a snickers bar for a Polaroid. It was hilarious (and creepy). Smiles abound. 

Obelisk:

TOO PAGAN...?

PUT A CROSS ON IT!

Metro home.

When in Rome...

Well you may have heard the Pope is resigning. First Pope to retire in like 600 years, one of the most powerful positions in the world, huge scandals going on, Scottish Cardinal just announced his resignation amidst sex scandals…kind of a big deal. The Pope is basically upstaging our tour, so we had to move our visit to St. Peter’s to today. I’m not complaining, it was incredible as ever. But let me start with our morning.

On the bus we meet our Rome tour guide. YESSSSSS! She is UNREAL. This woman makes eye contact with you to the point where you are shaking with laughter. She is in a continuous bow, varying degrees depending on whom she is leaning toward. This Italian gets inches from your face, her crooked teeth emphasizing that Marc Antony was here. HERE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? You nod, terrified. She leans in, her eyes locking into yours—“…and what do you see?” Confused, you ignore her question and nod, she points with her oddly massive hands, indicating some obscure statue, you take this opportunity to look at a building’s cornice, grateful to break eye-contact. When you turn back toward her, you nearly touch faces “The statues make the building appear taller,” SHE HAS SEEN YOUR SOUL AND YOU SHAKE AS SMALL STATUES STARE DOWN AT YOU. Her voice drops to a whisper (comical considering she is a tour guide and lecturing a group of 40 students) and you lose track of who is leaning into whom. “Do you understand?” she utters with the utmost solemnity, you bow and bob in affirmation. IT IS SPLENDID.

Doesn't convey intensity

Our guide also has an assistant who records everything the aforementioned Wonder says on a small device. She smiles at you knowingly. You’ll look up and meet a pair of grey orbs portentous of a tacit understanding though YOU HAVE NO MUTUAL AWARENESS. You find yourself smiling back, raising your eyebrows at a shared  comprehension THAT IS NOT REAL. You let out a small giggle at an inside joke WHICH DOES NOT EXIST. THESE WOMEN ARE FANCIFUL, WHIMSICAL SIBYLLS. Truly, they are a ridiculous team of bizarre birds and represent all that is right in the world.

As we drive to St. Paul of the Wall the assistant records dutifully as our tour guide points out walls and fields dramatically, “The third century… … … B.C.!” Suddenly she is pointing to the right, “LOOK! LOOK! TWO MEN KISSING ON THE RIGHT! HURRY-“ We all lurch to the right scanning the streets frantically. Confusion abounds. Hanna points to a small plaque of two men greeting one another. “That is where they say St. Peter and St. Paul met in Rome. Two men kissing, what did you think I meant? Now let us forget such nonsense, on your left you will see a wall from the fourth century… … B.C.!”

Divine.

So they take us to St. Paul of the Wall’s (erm, is that right?) and it’s HUGE and fantastic and there are Paul’s remains, no big deal, and it was glorious-- pun intended, yo.

Coliseum and Forum. No need to rant. Incredible.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?

Cassie took a spill (a horrible-front-flip-10-brick-stairs-ouch-spill) and ended up having to go to the hospital. She later regaled us with tales of a bankrupt, socialist, healthcare system. Awful. Basically it was a lot of waiting, pain, patting, and muttering. Nicole, aka most loyal friend ever (recall barfing in Prague), stayed with Cassie and her and Father Mark plotted an escape form the hellish Hospital of the Holy Spirit. Father Mark ended up Piggy-backing a lock-Kneed Cassie two blocks to the get-away bus stopped in the middle of the road. Fantastic.

Amberlie and Sam fightin' to the death

 While Cass was experiencing a great lack of care, we explored the Forum.

Lend me your eyes, readers, this funk is astounding.

Forum from behind my sunglass lense

My life in ruins, eh?

St. Peter’s next. So much excitement! Devout Catholics were buying tickets for the Pope’s final speech; nuns were darting through security lines, and St. Peter’s stood proud. The dome designed by Michelangelo dwarfing tourists and Fathers alike. So, yeah, it was cool.

Did I mention we snagged some old Bridge gelato? I bought lemon and strawberry (vegan, duhh), pretty great way to end the day.

Metro home.