Berlin

Have I mentioned yet that I loved Berlin?

I went with some friends of mine and left Matt with Maggie for a long weekend. It was the first time I've been away from her for that long and I did miss her, but it was so good to get away for a weekend.

The first thing you should know is that Berlin has been completely rebuilt in the last 20 years. If you don't know Berlin's long, tumultuous history I'll let you look it up on your own, because there was so much else there besides the Brandenburg gate!

The second thing you should know is that I pack for trips like an idiot. I got to Berlin with a hairnet and four pairs of shoes and zero undershirts or toothbrush. I managed to bring a scarf, a hat, and an ear warmer and two jackets, which was nice because it was about 32 each of the days we were there.

I also brought two cameras plus my iPhone but did not bring a memory card. Someone let me borrow one the first day but the batteries in both my cameras died that day. I charged my big camera and decided to give it a go even thought it's sort of messed up, but guess what? I forgot the borrowed memory card in the hotel room.

Shit.

So most of the pictures that follow are from other people and I haven't bothered to edit them or anything. Sorry. So, off to Berlin.


One thing I really, really wanted to see was the monument to homosexuals persecuted in the Holocaust. The memorial is literally a concrete box with a tiny window, and inside the window you can view a 30 second video on loop for all of eternity.

The video is of two men kissing.

I don't mind if two men kiss. I don't mind if two women kiss. I don't mind if a man and a woman kiss. But I don't want to see ANY two people kissing intimately in public. It makes me uncomfortable to witness something that intimate. I would seriously rather see two people fornicating in public. So I glanced at the video, appreciated it for what it stands for, and moved on.

Morgan was not as nonchalant as I was about it!

So the Germans love Michael Jackson. This is, according to one of our tour guides, the "best gay bar in Berlin." It is called Rose and I totally believe it is the best because this is on the windows:

Also, we were looking at Brandenburg Gate and our guide started talking about the hotel adjacent to us, blathering on about Presidents, Queens, dignitaries, and blah blah blah. Then he said, "Remember when Michael Jackson dangled his baby off a ledge? It was right there on that balcony on the third floor."

*Record screeching sound*

"HOLY SHIT! Someone take a picture!"

Middle balcony, third floor. Dangle that Blanket.

Those of you that live in Germany are familiar with Ritter Sport chocolate. They are squares of delicious chocolate that come in a variety of flavors. We paid a visit to the Ritter retail store in Berlin and the kids and I created our own chocolate bars!

Yeah, it's sideways. What of it?

We were so proud! And cold!

I never pass up a cup of Gluhwein. Even at 9am.

 One of the few things East Berlin got right was this cute little traffic guy. They tried to get West Berlin to adopt him because it really did help kids learn when to cross, but the West really wanted no part of what the East was doing.

Ampelmann says you got to have a membership card to get inside.

This is the Monument to the European Jews Murdered In The Holocaust. It is open to interpretation. I would love to go back and take "artsy" photos here because it is very moving.

 Brandenburg Gate is pretty spectacular at night. It's very hard to get good pictures though. And it's very cold.

Heather, I am standing in 3rd position.

 One of my very favorite parts of Berlin is that there is street art everywhere. We took a street art tour on our second day, and if you've ever seen the documentary "Exit Through The Gift Shop" or watched that new horrible show on ABC Family called "Switched At Birth" you might be familiar with the hows and whys of street art.

Really, everywhere you turn in Berlin there is another installation of art popping up somewhere.

Oh, Sydney.

One of the coolest thing we saw was this squatter's art house, called Tacheles.  (Please excuse the Wikipedia link. I couldn't get any other links to work in English.) Do read up on it, as it is a very cool place, but if you want to go you'd better go soon because it won't be around much longer.

After Tacheles, we saw even more street art, including the 50 Faces of Berlin exhibition, which is done completely in spray paint.

It was kind of cool that it was Sunday, because everything was closed so the windows that were covered in cool art were down.

Of course, the biggest thing in Berlin is the wall. A portion of it is still there (who wants to remember that, really?) and I brought home what may or may not be an actual piece of the Berlin wall stuck to a postcard.

There is a line through the entire city where the wall used to stand. It's pretty cool.

I am already scheming about how to get back to Berlin. It is such a very cool place. It reminds me of San Fransisco, maybe. Probably Seattle too, but I've never been there.

So, who's in? Who wants to go?