Monday, October 27, 2003
QUOTE OF THE DAY : "Ich hätte gern ein grosses bier!" - Me. By far the most useful expression in Germany. I would like a large beer.
SONG OF THE DAY : Beethoven's 9th Symphony. In honor of my visit to Germany.
LINK OF THE DAY : KaDeWe. The greatest store in the world.
And thus I clothe my naked villany
With odd old ends stol’n forth of Holy Writ,
And seem a saint when most I play the devil.
So here I am. In the heart of Berlin.
Quite a town. Admittedly, my German needs work... but I can get by with what I know. Plus a lot of people speak english. So when in doubt just say 'Sprechen sie Englisch ?', works like a charm.
Explored the city a bit last night. Went bar-hopping, met some fellow travellers and had one to many grosses biers. Then I came to this internet cafe to talk to people back home. Between 11 and 1 at night seems like a good time to contact people. The time difference can be a little annoying at times.
Berlin is disturbingly historic. If you think about it, this city was the geopolitical cog that kept the world turning in the 20th century. From World War I, to the depression. During World War II, and the Cold War. It was also where the Cold War ended, and the Soviet Empire collapsed. Yes indeed, a great deal of history.
Visited the Siegessäule last night. It's a massive monument that Hitler had erected after Germany's victory in France. Very beautiful monument dedicated to a very bad thing.
This morning I walked around old Berlin. The Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie.
Checkpoint Charlie in case you didn't know was the only link between East and West Germany for 50 years. It now sits amidst commercial developments and apartment buildings. Prisoner exchanges, international espionage, human smuggling all took place there. It was very unique to stand where that had happened.
One thing I've learned about Germany, is that I don't like their keyboards. Certain keys are reversed like Z and Y which makes it very hard to type coherently if you're used to a North American keyboard. However I rectified that situation by using a knife to pry out Z and Y and reversed them to what I'm used to. I knew that knife would come in handy hehe.
Today I've just been wandering around the city, aimlessly but with purpose. Just want to see what I can and absorb it all. I've already met a lot of great people, and I haven't even been gone a week.
This evening I'm going to meet up with my Uncle and we're going to search out the location of Hitler's Bunker. It's obviously not a big tourist draw, but you can find it if you look hard enough. Ironically, it's now a childrens playground.
I'll stomp the Führer's grave a few times for you all.
This one's for the Kaiser !
-Will
P.S. For the love of god somebody post comments. I want feedback and I miss everyone back in Toronto... leave a message for your old buddy Will. Monday, October 27, 2003
0 comments
SONG OF THE DAY : Beethoven's 9th Symphony. In honor of my visit to Germany.
LINK OF THE DAY : KaDeWe. The greatest store in the world.
And thus I clothe my naked villany
With odd old ends stol’n forth of Holy Writ,
And seem a saint when most I play the devil.
So here I am. In the heart of Berlin.
Quite a town. Admittedly, my German needs work... but I can get by with what I know. Plus a lot of people speak english. So when in doubt just say 'Sprechen sie Englisch ?', works like a charm.
Explored the city a bit last night. Went bar-hopping, met some fellow travellers and had one to many grosses biers. Then I came to this internet cafe to talk to people back home. Between 11 and 1 at night seems like a good time to contact people. The time difference can be a little annoying at times.
Berlin is disturbingly historic. If you think about it, this city was the geopolitical cog that kept the world turning in the 20th century. From World War I, to the depression. During World War II, and the Cold War. It was also where the Cold War ended, and the Soviet Empire collapsed. Yes indeed, a great deal of history.
Visited the Siegessäule last night. It's a massive monument that Hitler had erected after Germany's victory in France. Very beautiful monument dedicated to a very bad thing.
This morning I walked around old Berlin. The Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie.
Checkpoint Charlie in case you didn't know was the only link between East and West Germany for 50 years. It now sits amidst commercial developments and apartment buildings. Prisoner exchanges, international espionage, human smuggling all took place there. It was very unique to stand where that had happened.
One thing I've learned about Germany, is that I don't like their keyboards. Certain keys are reversed like Z and Y which makes it very hard to type coherently if you're used to a North American keyboard. However I rectified that situation by using a knife to pry out Z and Y and reversed them to what I'm used to. I knew that knife would come in handy hehe.
Today I've just been wandering around the city, aimlessly but with purpose. Just want to see what I can and absorb it all. I've already met a lot of great people, and I haven't even been gone a week.
This evening I'm going to meet up with my Uncle and we're going to search out the location of Hitler's Bunker. It's obviously not a big tourist draw, but you can find it if you look hard enough. Ironically, it's now a childrens playground.
I'll stomp the Führer's grave a few times for you all.
This one's for the Kaiser !
-Will
P.S. For the love of god somebody post comments. I want feedback and I miss everyone back in Toronto... leave a message for your old buddy Will. Monday, October 27, 2003
FipiLele
