Ich bin ein Berliner...

Berlin, what a city for me! Everything is organized, on time, and practical. I never really noticed how industrial these Germans are until our travels took us to the rest of Europe where we would set our alarm for an hour after the night train was to arrive and still have plenty of time to get ready. I hate to spoil the surprise of telling you all the wonderful German things that these Germans do, but Rebekah Carson has turned into the cutest German ever. Right away she showed us where their extra house shoes for visitors were, all the doors were shut and the heat was on in the rooms that were being used, and she was so kind to show us where towels and bath mitts (yes, bath mitts) were. We joked that the Germans are “kilometers ahead of us Americans.”

Because yesterday was so nice we did the tourist thing and started in the old east city center and moved to the new city center. We knew it was a good plan when Rebekah said her Dad did the same thing. (Thanks Dr. Carson for this huge map that we have been using, it has been most helpful). On our path through history we visited the Berliner Dom (the big Cathedral in Berlin), the Funkturm, Reichstag (the German Parliament), Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz with its incredible architecture and if you haven’t recognized any of these things, let me throw out one thing you will know, the Berlin Wall.

Although very industrial, these Berliners (and I don’t mean the jelly doughnut type) put a lot of emphasis on the arts. We were too early for the Lange Nacht der Museen (the night when all the museums are open till 2 in the morning) but we did get to see the Pergamon Museum for free. This museum has the Ishtar Gates inside as well and tons of other huge ancient architecture, hundreds of sculptures, and Islamic art which is a personal favorite. The gates were from the time of Nebuchadnezzer so Daniel and company certainly went under the gates I saw last night on a regular basis. The Islamic art is so fabulous and colorful and has the most beautiful calligraphy; it almost makes me want to learn Arabic. It really is some impressive stuff!

Today, I saw the Deutsche Guggenheim, which was small but notable. Sarah laughs at me because I like maps so much and threatened to take her to the map museum in Switzerland, but William Kentridge drew on torn map pieces as part of his exhibit and it was quite impressive. The exhibit focused on the presence of Germany in West South Africa (today’s Namibia) and the genocide that occurred under the name of conquest. It is amazing how history changes because it is written by the winner. What a great coincidence that art can also be a touching history lesson.

Going to go visit Curt Miller’s sister Caroline and get some bread for our 12 hour train ride to Stockholm!

Schlaf Schoen

<>< Smilla