MONDAY - DAY ONE: Our week-long trip to Germany's capital started out with a very long train ride. We passed the time with random card games (in which I masterfully and decidedly beat Jay repeatedly) and a single attempt at Settlers of Catan (in which Susan masterfully and decidedly beat all of us). Meghan, one of our program leaders, periodically made rounds of the train, passing out bits of candy to anyone who was awake. In the entirety of the seven-hour train ride, she must have parceled out at least 10 pounds of candy between 20 or so students... I'll let you all do the math for that on your own, but let me just say that even I was getting sick of chocolate. We were then attacked by my water bottle, which became possessed and leapt, seemingly of its own accord, off the table and at my face. Naturally, and in self-defense, I swatted it away and, of course, it collided with Susan's forehead. Oops. But everyone at the table agrees that it was possessed and in no way under my control. After this near-death experience, Susan opted to sleep... on the floor under the table. Who knows why, but since I was sharing a seat with her, I got to lay down and "sleep" for a bit, thereby escaping the fate (diabetic coma) that Meghan seemed to have planned for us.
After we arrived in Berlin and checked into a hostel, we all went out for dinner. Now, I understand that feeding a group of 20-30 people may be a lengthy process, but we were pretty much the only people in the restaurant and yet had no food an hour after ordering. No sign of food, but drinks came rapidly, so some of us ordered cocktails in desperation for food. Tip for anyone starving and in a similar situation: Piña Coladas are yummy and come with a nice slice of pineapple to hold you over. Dinner eventually came (we stopped timing, but I think the wait was about one and a half to two hours) and was delicious: A fusion of Mediterranean and Middle-eastern food. Delicious couscous... more enjoyable by the fact that Susan is a light-weight and a bit of a mischievous drunk.
TUESDAY - DAY TWO: We woke up early and took a walking tour through the western half of Berlin, including the art district and a boat tour on the Spree (during which everyone fell asleep and the boat tour guide barked, loudly, into the microphone to wake us up). The first part of the tour - the walking part, was very interesting and the tour guide was great. In our defense regarding our nap on the boat, it was warm, the boat had a glass domed ceiling that induces sleep, and the tour guide (even according to our program leaders) was boring enough to put anyone to sleep. This, of course, does not include the instance of... um... channelling his inner-dog.
After the tours, we went home, took a nap, and then I went out to an early dinner with Susan, Amanda, and Guion (we ran into Jay on the way and dragged him along). We ate at "Casa Joe Penas" and I don't even think this place is worthy of evaluation as a latin american establishment. One, the name - Joe is in no way hispanic, and "penas" means "griefs", perhaps in reference to the happy hour, in which drinks were very very cheap. In summary, the food was horrible, the company was great, the drinks were excellent, and I found a pisco sour, which was passable and exciting to see outside of Chile (we won't count the Peruvian ones, which are yucky).
WEDNESDAY - DAY THREE: We visited the Reichstag and Unter den Linden as a group. For lunch, Susan, Guion, Amanda, Jay, Fred and I went along the Spree for a while and then sat down in the grass in front of the dom. While we were there, there was a very enthusiastic Australian tour guide speaking to a group of (we assume) American tourists. He was so into it, with elaborate gestures and jumping around wildly, even though he was basically saying "and so the palace was re-built a few years later". Eeep! We also had to explain the difference between "mahogany" and "monogamy", as there was apparently some confusion as to which one meant not polygamy (monogamy, for those of you who just tuned in) and then, in that case, "wait, so what's mahogany?"... I won't name names. In case there is any confusion, mahogany is a dark, burgundy-colored, expensive wood. Monogamy is what mormons are stereotypically not. After lunch, we went to the Pergamon, which was amazing, but so large that it was hard to take in everything that was there.
That afternoon, we played another game of Settlers (becoming addicts? Oh yes. Does Susan still skillfully slaughter any who challenge her? Oh yes.) with Thom and Amanda, and then Jay, Guion and I went out to dinner. Now, my dinner was fabulous, but somehow Guion managed to order a hamburger without the bun, and jay got a milkshake without the shake. Ah well. Afterwards, Susan and I went off exploring for an internet cafe. We were successful at finding one, though not at getting used to the keyboards. I gave up after my first email to Julia used the term "zaz" repeatedly when I was trying to convey excitement ("yay"). I also received an email from one of my would-be professors about the morphology class that I wanted to take. Apparently there were so many interested students, that the registration for the class would be decided by a test on the first day. Those who passed stayed in the class. Maybe I'm missing something, but "Introduction to Morphology", to me anyway, implies that students are NOT expected to have any prior knowledge of the subject. But... those who have a grasp on the subject of morphology and therefore past the test...are allowed to stay in the class...in order to gain an introduction to the subject of morphology...on which they have already demonstrated their knowledge.
... WHAT!? So, I was quite upset, but definitely gave up on getting into that class... And that was the note on which my Wednesday ended.
THURSDAY - DAY FOUR: We went to the Jewish museum on Thursday morning - the guide was terrible! He was boring, and walked us right past any interesting exhibits to talk for way too long about some obscure, random topic, IE jewish fashion around WWII. Thanks, but we'd rather spend a bit more time on the memorials, the newspaper articles, the propaganda, and the statistics. Uck. Obnoxious guide aside, the exhibits here were amazing and very emotionally evocative. If anyone is in Berlin and has a chance to go here, I suggest it wholeheartedly. There was also a large, outdoor exhibit called the garden of exile. My photo doesn't do it justice... It was a maze of tall cement blocks, on uneven ground, surrounded by trees that cast elongated shadows across all the pillars and across the floor... It was meant to represent the feelings of exile suffered by the Jewish people during the Holocaust, and it was a very powerful exhibit.
FRIDAY - DAY FIVE: Friday morning we went to Check Point Charlie. The museum was full of fascinating exhibits, but it was also a bit overwhelming. Maybe I was burnt out on museums, but I just couldn't absorb all the exhibits - all the information, and all the images - that were available. It would have been nice to have the ability to go back some other time - to take it in parts. Oh well, it was still a fascinating and interesting museum. We also took the second half of our walking tour of Berlin through the Eastern parts of the city and through an area in which we could see where the Berlin wall stood. During this tour we were accosted by an MTV interview crew, wanting commentary on Robbie Williams' presence in Berlin. Robbie Williams is a British pop star who is very popular in Europe, but practically unknown in the states. So everyone was confused and asking, "you mean ROBIN Williams? The comedian?" Anyway, they ended up interviewing Ethan, who also had no clue who Robbie Williams is. The tour guide was amused by the whole thing, and when a window-washer came out onto one of the balconies in the hotel where Robbie was supposedly staying, he incited a mini-riot, getting all the students to look up, point, and chant "Robbie! Robbie!" The MTV crew gave up and left.
That evening, we saw "Linie 1", a musical in a small local theater. It was very entertaining and also pretty easy to understand, which was encouraging.
SATURDAY - DAY SIX: Our final day in Berlin was really just the train ride home. Again, a long seven hours, filled almost entirely by playing card games with Jay and eating the candy that Meghan passed out. That evening, Becky, Susan, and Jay came over for dinner (pasta and some lovely Italian white wine that Amye had brought as a gift from Italy).
All in all it was a great week, and a nice way to end vorsemester. Next up: Winter Semester (dun-dun-DUN). Stay tuned, y'all.
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