Well, I arrived in Berlin from Oslo today ahead of practically the entire group. I colonized my little island in our room and made myself presentable. Andrew arrived pretty much right then, and we went downstairs to collect a few more people for lunch at Döner Kebab down the street. Already we encountered problems with the language barrier, but the food was good and reasonably priced.
When we returned to the hotel, we met up with Ian Johnson, the chief of the Wall Street Journal's Berlin bureau. We learned how he made it from the same background as us, UF and more so for Megan T., Andrew, and myself, the Alligator, to making it big in Journalism.
Our next item on the itinerary was to visit the Bernauer Wall Park, which has a tower to see a remaining section of the Berlin Wall, plus some exhibits on the site of the Church of the Reconciliation, which was in the no man's land until it was demolished two years before the wall fell.
While in the observation tower, two children walked onto the sidewalk and began playing with a ball. The girl's aim was just a bit off....
The wall still has a certain feeling of loneliness at the remaining locations that are not decorated. It really makes you appreciate just what it might have been like to be on the wrong side for over 25 years.
Our next stop was much more lively than the wall, the Prater Biergarten. It was quite odd to have a window for food and a different window to order the drinks in another building. We stayed put there for some time, which made for some nice opportunities to see some locals with their children there.
While the rest of the group finished their beers, I walked towards their stage and spotted what looks like a soccer ball stuck on the stairs up to a platform that looks like they use it for their light rigs for events. Nobody would dare try and get it thanks to this sign...
After getting lost on the way back following Prof. Freeman, I went out exploring with Andrew, Amy, and Jasmine, then on to the Grad Celsius bar/internet cafe/laundromat for a 'schoko shake'.
1 comment:
you can't forget the projection screen with duckies and dolphins!
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