Berlin itself is a really interesting city. Because, naturally, so much of it was destroyed during the war, it feels a lot more modern than any city I've been to--including Warsaw, because Warsawians so meticulously rebuilt their Old Town again. I think it's the first European city that I've been to that doesn't feel like it's "looking back." Even pretty modern cities like London value their long histories and seem to be straddling the line between progress for the future and relishing in the past. Berlin felt like it was only looking forward. In many ways, it felt like an American city--a blissful combination of Chicago and New York--which I'm sure didn't help with my desires to get on home. It seemed like one of those places I wouldn't want to just go visit--I'd want to live there for a couple months before I could really say, "Yes, I've been to Berlin and I actually understand it." JFK didn't know shit.
Christine and I saw a whole bunch of the city, too. We walked through the government district, saw the distinctive spherical radio tower in Alexanderplatz, wandered through the Baroque gardens of a reconstructed summer palace of Frederick III, and meandered around the museum district. We also went to many an ice cream place (the weather was gorgeous).
The highlight, however, has to be the Berlin Zoo. The animals there were seriously the most active zoo animals I've ever seen. The Germans must provide them with all the bratwurst they want or something because they're 1) super super super active but 2) also, super, erm, violent. Whilst there, I saw the following animals get in fights: 2 spring hares, 2 extremely adamant geese vs an okapi that trampled at least one of them, a BROWN BEAR and TWO WHITE WOLVES (AMAZING), two ducks--one of whom was seriously eating the other alive-- Christine had to look away, it was so violent--and three male egrets fighting over a dead fish. Oh, and I saw a Canadian goose get beat up by another, smaller white goose, which, as a serious hater of Canadian geese, I found oddly satisfying.
All in all, a good trip. Sorry for the silence.
Below are pictures. You'll find a lot more repetition in this bunch than in stuff I've posted before. That's because I basically posted every picture I took of Berlin and then, as I attempted to go through and delete some of the repeats, Picasa crashed on me. FOUR times. So, sorry for the photographic redundancy at times.
 |
| Berlin |
