Like so many of my experiences, I cannot tell you every detail of Berlin, it would take more patience then I have to write this blog and more then you have an attention span to read all the way through it. So I will use my usual fall back of lists and pictures! Note: the lists are in no particular order, I have issues ranking things
Top 5 meals in Berlin
1) Curry at a Vietnamese restaurant, possibly the best curry I have ever had, this is really saying a lot being from Seattle (which as we know has great Vietnamese food).
2) Dolores Burritos- Dolores= Patty when she was hungry, so we had to go eat lunch one day at this delicious and cheap chipotle look-a-like, Naturlisch!
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| Patty meets Dolores! |
4) Currywurst on the streets- no pictures, but think of a bratwurst cut up, sprinkled with curry powder and a savory sauce, yum!
5) Hops and Barley- So this wasn't a restaurant, but a hidden gem of a local brewery.
Top 5 Museums (yes I did go to more then 5)
1) Jewish museum- An overview of the history of the Jewish population in Europe throughout history and their role in society, a vast museum that was very well organized and had much more content in it then I expected it to have.
2) Technical museum- Everything you would want to know about how technology has changed over the past 200 years, from logomotive, wind, hydroelectric and electronic technology!
4) Neues museum- This houses the Nefertiti bust and many other ancient Egyptian treasures besides the rest of the exhibits (can you tell what was my favorite?).
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| A lunar calender and a hat, so multi-purpose |
5) Musical instrument museum- unfortunately we could take no pictures in this particular museum, but it was filled with ancient and modern instruments of the most unusual kind. There was a Stradivarius violin, the break down of the inside of a piano, huge organs and a combination violin/trumpet/tamborine.
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| Still smiling after, wait, how many museums? |
Top 5 Sights in Berlin
1) Berlin Wall- Needs no explaination.
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| Touching the wall in the street |
2) Cupola- Unfortunately we couldn't walk around because it was frozen (makes sense when it was below zero every day) but it was still cool to be in the parliament building.
3) Brandenburg- A must see, so beautiful!
4) Checkpoint Charlie- The famous crossing point between East and West Berlin, had to get my passport stamped.
5) Ritter sport store- Here you could make your own chocolate, drink melted chocolate, or simply buy a lot of chocolate! Guess who did all of that...
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| Leslie hugs the bear in a chocolate stupor |
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| Do I have enough chocolate? |
Top 3 things I could only do in Berlin
1) Family- I had the great opportunity to meet my relatives Bernard and Gisela Lindenbein who live in Berlin. They graciously invited me over for coffee, cake and a huge serving of family history all topped off with practice in speaking German, truly one of my best afternoons in Berlin.
2) Berlin philharmonic- Standing room seats bought the night of to see one of the top symphonies in the world...what a night! They could've played John Cage's 4'33'' and I would've still been in awe.
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| Dreams do come true |
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| Who's ready for the symphony?? |
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| Time for the down beat |
3) Berlin Film Festival- We were lucky enough to be in Berlin for the opening weekend of the Berlin Film Festival. I managed to see a film entitled" Aujourd'hui" about a Senegalese man experiencing the last day of his life in his home city of Dakar after living abroad in the US. It was an amazing mix of my two experiences this year, anyone who has been to Senegal should try to find this movie either online or at their video stores, it is very moving.
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| The reader board that updates which movies are still available |
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| When will the doors open? |
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| Who's ready to watch a movie at 9:30am? |
This trip was an amazing blur of museums, long bus rides, late nights and so much more. Here are some extra photos of the people who joined me in this crazy endeavor, it wouldn't have been the same without them!
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| Kaja, Me, Patty, Andriy |
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| Julian, Andriy, Leslie, Jeremy, Me, Harry, Patty and Blaine |
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| Team Awesome after another successful day in Berlin |
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| Too many to name, IES Three Day Tour 2012 |
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