Hallo! I've spent the last four days in Berlin, and I must say it has been one of my favorite cities so far. I loved speaking the language, and I loved the city itself. Berlin is not really the traditional German city at all. It's a city of the world, very clearly. I think it's accurate the say that Berliners consider themselves Europeans first, and Germans second. This made the vibe of the city to be very forward thinking and exciting. I think I could definitely live here someday.
Another interesting thing about Berlin is the effects that World War II had on the city. The vast majority of the city was bombed to smitherings by the Allies during the war, so they're STILL rebuilding a lot of buildings! The combined stress of the Berline Wall/Communist occupation and the Nazis has made the attitude of the city to be a very regretful one. These Germans are determined to be progressive and move forward in peace without forgetting what their history was; there are memorials and remenants of the past purposely left all over the place. German pride is also an issue; I have only seen one German flag the entire time I've been here, and that was on the parliment building.
We took a walking tour of the city, and therefore saw a lot of things, including the place that Hitler commited suicide, the Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz, and sections of the Berlin Wall. We even went up to the top the Parliment building and walked on the glass roof.
In other news, Andrew and I have found the cheapest hostels to be in Frankfurt, and so we're heading there very soon! A few of us are heading to Cologne after that. Thanks for all of the suggestions!
7 years ago
6 comments:
First of all: tell your little buddies to update
Second of all: you didn't answer my question
Keep having fun! Have a beer on me.
Yay for Cologne! Yay for Frankfurt! Cheap hostels - yaaaa - hmmm.
Only one German flag, huh? As soon as you leave - bam! - out comes the Nazi regalia. :-)
I will be interested to see your pictures anyway, but I'm particularly looking forward to whatever pictures you guys took of the Brandenburg Gate and the parliament dome. Fabenhaft, ja?
Ciao, babies.
Justin how do I respond to comments? Is there a way to respond directly to you, or just like this?
This goes to dad too.
you can just respond here or on facebook...
"Electronic mail" via "The Internet" is good, too. :-)
Justin-
The Olympics are huge here too! There are posters everywhere and the tvs are not on european soccer but rather the olympics, which is a big deal. The european commentators focus a lot on the US athletes, like Michael Phelps, which is strange.
The beer isnt actually that bad...
How is your ankle doing??
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