Traveling Outside Berlin: Hamburg, Prague, Paris

HAMBURG
About a two months ago I traveled with my friend Emma to Hamburg for the weekend.  We wanted to spend very little money so we took what is called "mitfahrgelegenheit." which is a carpool service, where Germans can post that they are driving their car from X to Y at a certain time and then they list a very reasonable fee. Emma and I decided to take this mode of transportation and it worked out quite well for us on the way there.  It cost us only 14 euros each instead of paying 70 euros for the train and the couple that took us were very nice! Although I did enjoy traveling with Emma, I really disliked Hamburg. I know it was not Hamburg's fault but it constantly rained the entire time we were there. There was not a lot to do and I ended up spending a lot of money.  Emma and I went to the Rauthaus (townhall), which is one of the few buildings that has been preserved becasue most of Hamburg was bombed during the war. Consequently, most of Hamburg is very modern and I think a but ugly. They do have a nice harbor, and we took a nice ferry ride around the harbor, but it was raining so it was not so nice.  Emma and I had our first experience with Couchsurfing! We found a couple to stay with through Couchsurfing and they were very interesting people.  They really liked dead animals, animal patterns, heavy metal, and japanese cartoons, but they were very hospitable and nice! What I would say if anyone is interested in going to Hamburg- ONLY GO IN THE SUMMER!

PRAGUE
Now that is a beautiful city. I LOVED Prague.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  I stayed with my friend Natalie, from Brandeis, who is studying there for the semester.  She had a very nice apartment and did not live to far from the center of the city. I took the train there- it was only 4 hours!- with 7 other friends of mine. Friday night I attempted to find the Massorti Shabbat service in the Jewish quater.  However, when I got there I asked around and an orthodox man told me that the orthodox service had been long over and was in a different synagogue and this was just the JCC of Prague.  When I inquired about the Massorti or reform service they said they did not know but it was far away. It turned out that the Massorti service was just one floor up and the reform one was block away, but I did not know that at the time.  This will be a trend that I can never find the Shabbat service in a foreign country. I went to the Jewish quater and took a self tour of all the Jewish sites such as the unique cemetery, the Spanish style reform synagogue, synagogues that have been turned into museums, and the oldest synagogue in Europe the Altneue Synagogue.  I also crossed the famous and beautiful Charles Bridge and went to the Prague Castle, which is the biggest castle in the world. What was interesting though was that tourists could not go inside the castle because they it is still a working castle, but only circumvent it.  I additionally took a great and FREE tour of Prague, which gave me a good understanding of the center of the city. I also saw some beautiful art nouveau architecture.

PARIS
Paris was also very very beautiful. Unlike Prague which was built by many different architects and is relatively old, Paris' architecture is fairly modern from the late 19th century.  Haussmann rebuilt Paris in a very uniform and refined architecture, ridded Paris of its unhygienic activities, and built parks, a new water and sewage system.  The program stayed in Montparnasse- which was nice and relatively close to the center.
What I did in Paris- I went to the Latin quarter which was nice but completely PACKED with tourists! I went to many art museums- the Musue d'Orsay (Sp?) (impressionist) , Pompedeue (modern),and the Louvre (international). We also went to Versailles and went into the palace an then afterward my friends and I bought some cheese and baguette and had a picnic there! Then we walked all the way around the lake on the grounds of versailles- it was great weather and it was just nice to walk around. I spend a lot of time in Le Marais- the Jewish quarter getting schwaarma nad falafel! It was my first time eating meat since coming to Europe! I also went to St. Chapelle the church with the famous medieval stain glass windows. I beautiful area that I really liked was Momarte.  It is in a really culturally diverse neighborhood and has a beautiful view and church on top of the mountain.  Every night, IES took us out to 3 course meals at really nice restaurants. IES professors from Paris took us on walking tours all over the city, one was an architecure walking tour. I also went to the Eiffel Tower and drank wine with friends there, and then also I went to Trocodero- a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower. 

I have started going to Schmoozeday Tuesday, an event that happens every other Tuesday, where Jews from all over Berlin get together at an Israeli (delicious) hummus place.  I have met some cool people and have met up with a bunch of them! It's interesting to learn about other people Jewish experiences and other Jewish impressions of Berlin.

A typical East German living room

Special East German lighting found in the Palace of the Republic

A couple of weeks ago I went to the GDR (German Democratic Republic) or the DDR (Deutsches Democratisches) Museum.  It was a fasinating museum about a the GDR culture, a life style that I know very little about. I learned through the museum and my classes that there was something called "ostnostalgie" or "East nostalgia."  This meant despite the communist dictatorship in the East, after The Wall fell in 1989, East Germans, longed for the elements of their lifestyle from the GDR.  They had ostnostalgie for GDR brands that vanished right after The Wall fell, universal chilcare, virtually free housing and many other things.  The museum focused on the special culture that was produced in East Germany and the oppressive things that the GDR did to their people.

Palast der Republik

Stadtschloss

If you do not know what the Palace of the Republic or the Palast der Republik, it was a multifunctional building, which is where the parliament was held and many other cultural events.  Before the Palast was built, the Stadtschloss stood there, however, the communists designed to blow up the stadtschloss and replaced it with the Palast, a building that would represent the GDR.  After the unification, the Palast still stood and at certain points there were political artistic statements that adorned the facade of the Palast like the word Zweifel which means doubt, done by a Norwegian artist.  In 2003, however, the German Parliment decided to demolish the Palast because of its symbol of communist Germany and because it had asbestos in the foundations of the structure. Today, where these two building stood is an gigantic empty lot. There is a Stadtschloss movement to try to get the German Parliment to rebuild the Stadtschloss because of its beauty and granduer, however, many people think it is a waste of money and the space could be put to better use. The space functions as a wide open space where large gatherings can take place. The rebuilding of the Stadtschloss would cost a whopping $4 billion!

The open field in the middle of Berlin where the Stadtschloss and later the Palast stood.

Biking in Berlin!

Starting about three weeks ago, I noticed that my host family had a bike standing outside their apartment, I inquired about it, and asked if anyone was using it, and they said no, and that would be able to use the bike whenever I want! Starting the next week, after a few mishaps with the bike in the beginning, i.e. I left my bike locked on a pole in Mitte (center) and I came back and found the light had fallen off, and all the wires for the light mechanisms were broken.  I was so confused because it did not look like anyone had stone any part of the bike but just had messed around with it. I was talking to my friend Tori and Robin about my weird situation and how I had to go to the bike shop and payed 30 Euro to get it fixed, Tori started laughing and asked me where this had happened. It turned out by happen chance she was walking on the same street and had past by my bike and accidentally knocked it over with her body! It was such a coincidence! I was a bit annoyed but it was mostly just funny.  But anyway, I have really have been using my bike to get around everywhere and I just love riding it.  I bike to school there and back everyday and it also has been another way for me to discover the city!  It also has been a way for me to lower my carbon footprint and to show my awareness of the environment.  Berlin unlike, New York City, and other major cities, has tons of bikers because it is really flat and people are more aware of the environment. It is so easy to bike it Berlin bike there are generous bike lanes on almost every road, bike traffic lights and bike friendly pedestrian and drivers.

Grüne Woche

Duetschland Room

One of many Bier Gardens

Lev and I in the Ukraine room, apparently this is common?

Last week I went to whats called "Grüne Woche" or "Green Week."  I assumed Grüne Woche was some organic vegetable market where I could pick up some nice green vegetables...but I was overjoyed to see that Grüne Woche was in this massive convention center where almost every room represented one country who exhibited products from their countries.  I got amazing samples and really unique products! I got Swiss chocolate and sample fondue from Switzerland, a ton of cheese from almost every station, flax seed oil from Germany, a purse from Kirghistan, and tulips from the Netherlands.  Additionally, they had many Bier Gardens that made you feel like you were outside in this elaborate wooden Bier Garden! I had such a great time and almost got a heart attack because I consumed so much cheese! They also had a couple of rooms devoted to displaying Germany's great agriculture. They had horses in stables and cantoring in an indoor rink, cows, sheep, tractors on display, botany tools and a huge in door flower garden!

Me, Josh, Lauren

Josh and I at a Bier Garden

Lev eating Swiss cheese fondue!

Highlights of Last Week!

Last week I met with Adam Goldman, a family friend, whose family lives on the Upper West Side.  I have only met him once or twice before, but it was really nice to meet him again! He is in his 20s I beleive and has been living in Berlin for the for Neuköln, on the border of Kreuzberg.  Neuköln is an interesting neighborhood- it has a combination of both hipsters and Turkish people.  Adam told me that the Turkish people who live their are very confused by these people who wear suspenders, pig glasses, and other hipster-like clothing! The hipsters live their because it's really cheap. We went to this really great Belgium beer bar- what I found out was that Belgium beer has a very high percentage of alcohol! We had a really nice time and talked of New York, being a Jewish in Germany, and many other things.

With the program, we went to the GDR History Museum which was very interesting; however I really lost steam after 1945 and unfortunately walked right through every thing! It was really helpful because I feel that I really only know Germany history during the time of WWII, it was good to get an overview of pre-WWII. I do wish that I had spent more time going through post-1945.

Me in the U-Bahn (train) at Alexanderplatz

I've gone out a bunch on the weekends and had really fun experiences! Fashion Week in Germany was here last week so me an a couple of friends went to a Fashion Week party at a clothing store in Mitte.  Then we went to Kreuzberg (the  hip neighborhood) and went to this basement bar.  It was really nice and relaxing atmosphere- my friend wanted to go because she is concentrating in college in High Life, West African music- and they had a DJ who was playing a lot of High Life.  I had a really great time just dancing.  This weekend I went to the Yelle concert, a french band/singer.  I didn't realize, but apparently she is pretty famous! Here is a link to her most famous song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU0YFzGkli8. I couldn't take any pictures because the Germany body guards came up to me and rudely said I could't take pictures because my camera was too big. BUT had I had a small camera that would have been fine. Does that makes ANY sense? NO.  But I did get some pictures of the band before Yelle!

 

Oh, and I am studying lets not forget! My classes seem to be going well. I am taking a German class that seems to be too easy but the one above it, the one I should be in, is two levels combined, and it way to hard for me. I am taking an art history class, which I was really excited about, but I can barely stand the teachers accent/rhythm of his voice! My architecture class seems to be really fun. The professor is actually originally from the Upper West Side and went to Harvard architecture school. I like him a lot he has a very dry sense of humor. He gave us a  tour of all the Shinkel (the main German architect in Berlin during the 19th century) architecture in Berlin and then we went to a Russian tea house- it was a lot of fun! I am also taking a class on European Identity which is really interesting. My last class is the most fun one! It's about pop culture in Berlin. We watched this really interesting movie on the Berlin techno scene called "Berlin Calling." The professor is also taking us to a soccer game and a DJ is coming to teach us how to DJ!

The Reichstag

Inside the dome

In the dome

Last Tuesday, IES, my program, went to the Reichstag, the German parliament.  It was very monumental! In 1933, it was severely burned, and during this time, the government declared a state wide  emergency- because, all laws were suspended,  Hitler was appointed chancellor.  At this point, the Nazi regime started.  Only in the 1990s was the Reichstag renovated and now the modern German parliament, the Bundestag sits there. The original dome and the entire inside was completely destroyed; therefore, although the outside is the original facade, the entire inside and the dome at the top was redone and modernized.  We got to go into where the parliament sits and had a man talk to us about the Bundestag and the history.  We then when up to the dome which is really quite spectacular in its modern medal spirals pathways, which lead up to the top, giving impressive views of Berlin. I really liked the juxtaposition between the old and the new architecture!

Me and a couple of friends fooling around in front of the Reichstag!

Dome with some friends

Bundestag

Finally Settling In!

Sorry it's been over a week since I have posed. But a lot has happened and I am excited to share!

Last weekend, our program went to Postdam, Friedrich the Great's/II of Prussia, the  summer home. Potsdam is only 20 minutes outside of Berlin so it was really nice to get out of the big city and go to a small and very beautiful city.  Potsdam, is a relatively small palace, where Friedrich and his friends would go to spend their summers. Interesting rumor that I think is definitely true: Friedrich was gay.  One of our staff members told us right before our tour about this and said that our tour guide will not mention this and we were right! We asked her at the end about him being gay and she said there is no evidence for it, so therefore, she doesn't believe it is true. The reason why there is no evidence for him being gay is because he was one of Hitler's role models. Hitler obviously did not want anyone to think that one of his role model's was gay so he erased all evidence in history of this fact. As a result, today it's just a rumor that Friedrich was gay. Anyways, the palace was abosultely beautiful.  Friedrich loved the French and their culture so the whole palace is done in rococo style.  Additionally, Friedrich had a personal room (which is truly magnificent) for Voltaire who came regularly to his palace. The grounds are also queit nice. I can't vouch for it, but in the summer the grounds are supposed to be gorgeous with tons of flowers, shrubberies, and sculptures. The sculptures were to my disappointment, all boarded up because the sculptures are delicate and the cold could ruin them! Bottom line, everything was beautiful, but it will be more beautiful in the Spring/Summer, so I will have to return again! Petra and Arnold suggested that we could do a bike trip to Potsdam and have a picnic- sound great to me!

Voltaire's Guest Room

Saturday night, I went with the family to Avital, the cantor's house for dinner. They live far out in East Berlin, in a neighborhood that apparently has a lot of Neo-Nazi residents. But the reason why they live there is because their apartment is really something special.  It is from the Art Nouveau period circa late 1800s.  The design of lobby and the stairwell was in this really beautiful wood design and their apartment was massive. I have never been in such a big apartment before and the decor was very simple, minimal, and modern. Fun fact, that I did not appreciate when that much when I was there.  German dinners go on for HOURS and HOURS! Usually dinner last in my household for 1-2 hours, tops 3. We go there around 6 and did not leave until 11!  Avital's husband every 10 minutes attempted to try to pour me another glass of wine. If you know me well, I love red wine, but this guy was a little too much for me to handle! He was really sweet though and wanted me to join the Jewish German soccer team in the summer. He even gave me a jersey from the team, even though I tried to tell him that it was ok and I didn't need it! But he mentioned I had to have it and that I probably should wash it. I just call it vintage!


On Sunday, a bunch of friends and I went to brunch, a typical Sunday activity. These brunches can last anywhere from an hour to 10 hours. We just did the 1 hour one.  After brunch we went to the biggest flee market I have ever been to in Mauer Park in Prenzlauerberg. It basically had anything and everything. They had food stands on one side and a lot of objects on the other. We probably spend a good three hours walking around and did not even get to see all of it! I ended up buying beads (for the jewelery I made), a cowel (a circular scarf, that is keeping me very toasty), and a second hand sweater. I was very excited about my purchases. I also got this amazing pastry- it was basically a lot of butter and almonds- my mouth is currently watering. I gave my friend Robin a bite, and completely forgot she was allergic to nuts and, when I remembered, I yelled, "Robin it has almonds!!!!" and she quickly spit it out. That was a close one!

My friend Robin, trying on a pair of 80s glasses at Mauer Park

My program saw a great movie called "The Lives of Others." Everyone should see it! It won an Oscar for best foreign film in 2006. It was about the Stasi, the GDR's secret police, which monitored the movements of the culture art figures of East Berlin. It really opened my eyes to the history of the 1980s in East Berlin, the place that I live right now.

A lot more happened this week, but this post is becoming too long so tune in tomorrow for another post!