Spring Break, Part 1: Berlin

I spent three nights in Berlin. I stayed with my German friend and her boyfriend, who lived in Berlin for a year, so I had the privilege of incredibly knowledgeable guides (and the comfort of a nice apartment, complete with a double- bed futon!) We pretty much saw chunks of every part of the city (which is huge, but not overwhelming because it extends out instead of piling everything on top of itself).

It was pretty striking to stand beside the wall... and so interesting to see the way that the city is evolving, now that it's been taken down.

On Thursday (my last day in Berlin), my hosts had to catch an early- morning bus to Prague. That left me to navigate the city on my own for a few hours before heading to the airport in order to fly to Athens. I'm proud to say that I did so with no problem (though I do have the benefit of being a native English speaker, and of living in a world in which most people speak at least a modicum of English.) I spent a lot of my time in the German Historical Museum, then wandered around in the sunshine and stumbled across a market before taking the SBahn to the airport.

Overall, I really liked the city-- it's got character, but is by no means in-your-face. It also has a whole lot of variety-- very distinct neighborhoods within the city. It feels like a city that's doing something-- that's pushing and pumping, but not in a caustic way; it's more subtle. And though I'm generalizing from limited interactions, everyone I met was friendly and helpful. It's also a very down- to- earth place, and seems to be less skeezy than a lot of cities I've been to (or even US culture, in general).


#1 Memorial to the Jewish victims of the holocaust. the blocks of concrete are of varying heights, while the ground beneath them waves up and down. it would be easy to get lost inside of it.


#2 the window from which Michael Jackson dangled his infant child! (I'm not sure which window, specifically, but it was one of these)
#3 sunset over the city. took this photo while standing near the Sony Center

#4 sign at Checkpoint Charlie. pretty crazy that all of the old signs remain, signs which used to dictate people's lives. but now people go about their daily business without paying them mind.
#5 view from the staircase of a four- story ex- factory which has now been taken over by artists who both produce and showcase their work within the building. there's also an open bar up near the roof, from which patrons can look out over a yard that houses large sculpture installations.

belated Belfast post

1. the Giant's Causeway is kind of ridiculously beautiful



#2 more evidence for statement #1


#3 it's also kind of ridiculously windy. haha! this sign is even better than the falling car one from the Aran Islands



#4 one of many, many murals in Belfast. I felt a bit weird taking pictures, especially amidst a crowd of people taking pictures. these murals mean so much to so many people


#5 the "peace wall"-- people/visitors from all over write messages of peace on this wall, which is about 20 feet high and holds up another 30 feet of chain-link fence in order to separate two warring communities: one Catholic, one Protestant. I wrote something near the woman's right armpit

belated Belfast post

first of all, I love alliteration. second of all, I'll make this brief: I went to Belfast and the Giant's Causeway the last weekend in February. it was pretty good. I got home late Sunday night, fell asleep, got up early Monday morning and went to classes, then picked up Jean at the bus station. we spent the week together, bid adieu, then I had four days of frantically working, and then this morning I met up with Mom and Colin. they're here until the end of next week, then I leave for spring break, and then it's basically April. and somewhere in there I write 5 essays and prepare a massive presentation and some group project that has yet to be defined. hoo boy.

seriously, Laura, this is getting old

#1... but how cool is this tree? looks like the wind molded it into shape


#2 view through the window in front of which I held the hurling stick and tried to look threatening
#3 random pond. the tops of the encircling rocks were all turning goldish-orange, though you can't see it very well in the picture


#4 near the center of town
#5 I have more pictures from the day, but I'll end the onslaught here. I leave you with... a tiny thatched cottage! (even tinier, I'd say, than the smallest church IN ZE WORLD!)

and continues...

#1 near the end of our descent. thought it was cool


#2 this cat accosted us immediately upon our reaching the road. he demanded attention. he chewed on Emily's pants.

#3 view from the road
#4 we found an abandoned hurling stick. I attempted to look threatening
#5 haha!

and continues!

#1 another view from beside the smallest church (in the you-know-where)

#2 THE COW. you can't tell from this picture, but this thing was mother- effing HUGE. we had to decide whether we wanted to walk past it in order to get a better shot of the coast. we decided we'd 'come this far', and went for it. I led the way. my heart beat quickly the whole way across the field. seriously, it was HUGE.
#3 the fruits of our terror


#4 we were going to cut across another field, but the three cows in the background there looked decidedly more alert to our presence than Big Boy. we were frightened. we decided not to risk it.
#5 so we took some more pictures of the coast, and eventually climbed down the hill

the saga continues!

#1 there, at the top, was our final destination

#2 at the bottom, there was a monument. we're not sure what it was, because it was fenced in, but it has celtic designs on it and appears to be old
#3 there were random unlabeled arrows everywhere, generally pointing to nothing. we were confused. since the arrows provided no guidance, and since the road apparently stopped only 1/6 of the way up the hill, we decided to make our own path. so we climbed up the mountain, braving ancient stone walls and huge hairy cows (don't worry, I'll get to the cow story)










#4 I present to you...

the smallest church IN ZE WORLD!

#5 a view from beside the smallest church IN ZE WORLD!