Let me take a moment and talk to you about the Sexy Six (as I like to call them). The group was originally founded under the name "Fantastische Vier" (or the fantastic four, for those English speakers out there). The group was made by the four who came from Colorado. We even had a logo. Yeah, we're that cool.
Ty, from Michigan then sent in a formal request to become part of the "Colorado Group". After Blake, Anne, and I talked it over, we accepted his request on the bus ride there. Rebecca's admission was far more laid back. She just....became. Now that there were two people in the "Colorado Group" who weren't from Colorado we needed to make a new name. We are now called the sexy/sly/silly/sketchy six/sechs (Yeah, we need to really pick a name some day). I'd like to introduce you to the Sexy Six:
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| Rebecca Blake Me Ty Alex Anne |
We stopped on the western side of Berlin and were let off the bus to explore a little bit. We went into the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche Berlin. Only the steeple part was still intact really. That was a part of Berlin that disappointed me; so many things had been destroyed in WWII that there were very few buildings were left over. So after we took a look around this small bit of a church and went to make fun of the cross-like-figure in the new church (looked like a gaunt and scary old man who was about to take flight), we went to the large mall nearby. Inside they had the most interesting aqua clock I've ever seen....granted it may be the only one I've ever seen....
While we were in the mall, we were stopped by a young man toting a microphone and his camera crew. He came up asking if we were German. When we all declined he asked us if we thought Germans has a sense of humor. After we floundered around for a while trying to define their humor he simply asked us for a joke. I told him I only knew long ones. He prompted me to tell it, so I did....
Anyone know the story of the pink gorilla?
For those of you who have not had the pleasure of me telling you, here's a link to more or less the story I told: The Pink Gorilla
After about 6.5 hours we finally pull up to the Three Little Pigs Hostel in Berlin. We unloaded, took a stretch break and headed off back downstairs to meet up with the group and walk around the city a bit.
1st stop:
Checkpoint Charlie. I got a stamp in my passport from the checkpoint and the guards were super funny. They spoke more languages that I could count and they loved chatting with anyone who walked by.
2nd stop:
Topographie des Terrors. In other words, a memorial at the Berlin Wall. It translates into "Topographie of the terrors". It was a very depressing memorial. The more I see of Berlin the more I see that it's just steeped in sadness that is not prevalent in any other city I've seen. It feels like sighs of souls from the past are breathing out of the very pores in the walls, whispering their sorrows into your ears as you walk by.
3rd stop:
Brandenburger Tor. Like most famous monuments and landmarks, I expected this to be much bigger. There were a lot of cool people around the Tor though. I had one clown come up to Marijn and I and make us a heart balloon. There was another guy who was making HUGE bubbles for people to take pictures of (he also had little buckets for people to try their hand at bubble making). There was even a bachelorette party that asked Marijn if the bride-to-be could dance with him on video as part of a scavenger hunt they were on. Then I danced on the Tor....because what else would I do??
4th stop:
Der Reichstag. This word is very hard to say for non-native speakers. Our token German taught us a lot of culture, slag, and pronunciation this weekend. Now we can proudly boast that we say Reichstag like a true German!
In the diminishing light, we walked across the street to the well lit building with looming towers on each corner and with more German flags steadfastly waving in the breeze than I've seen since I've gotten here. While everyone else was trying to get night shots of this picturesque building, I just laid down on the cold stones and admired it's grandeur; it's impressive and imposing facade stretched out before me. As I laid there I tried to convince myself that I wasn't just looking at a REALLY GOOD picture... that I was actually here and I was laying in front of this marvelous building whilst my friends took a leaf from my book and joined me on the cobbled ground.
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| Me Ty Alex |
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| Rebecca's favorite card |
After this mini adventure, the sexy six plus the Dutch Boy went back to the hostel and played Cards Against Humanity until we were too tired to sit up. For those of you who don't know about Cards Against Humanity, imagine Apples to Apples except for horrible people. And if you don't know Apples to Apples....then you really need to get out more.
The next morning we were up bright and early at 9am (Hey....that's early for us....STOP SHAKING YOUR HEAD IN DISAPPOINTMENT!) and off with the group to another great day. This time we went -inside- der Reichstag. After being herded like sheep through some glass rooms (where some REALLY inappropriate jokes about gas chambers were whispered in hushed tones to friends) we were then ushered into a lift where we ascended to the roof and the new dome. We then got little audio tour guides and were sent into the dome to learn about the surrounding buildings, monuments, and parks. As we circled the dome, always climbing higher, I was amazingly disappointed by the view. I guess there just aren't enough mountains here to interest me, but what did tickle my fancy the most was the building we were in. In the center of the dome there is an inverted cone of mirrors that shone light down into lower rooms where government happens. Almost the whole interior of the building has been scraped out and remodeled so that only the outside walls and towers really remain the same. I found the stark contrast between the two more interesting than any building the voice in my ear kept talking about.
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| Old dome..... |
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| NEW DOME! |
After this tour, we took a little walk to the Holocaust Memorial. This memorial is comprised of concrete slabs. None of which are the same height and most of them are off kilter to some degree. The ground underneath all of these waves and buckles in disconcerting and unusual forms. Walking through it is one of the most unnerving feelings I've ever felt since being here. Even though you can see straight in four different directions, there are still people popping out of the row right next to you, scaring the shit out of you. You feel trapped even if you can see the ends of it at all times. After you get your mind wrapped around that you go UNDER these monolithic slabs to the museum and read the life stories of the victims of this horrific event.
Just more proof that Berlin is steeped in sadness.
Our next stop was a museum attached to the train station that talked about how people tried to get in and out of east and into west Berlin. I just want to add here that I proudly understood both tour guides (from the memorial and then the other from the museum) who spoke solely in German. Go me.
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| This drink is pretty much a rather tasteless beer with fruity flavoring. Not bad all in all I guess.... |
After walking all around the city to see these mesmerizing sights we wanted a change of pace......so walked some more. But this time we went to a bar. YES! Even though it was a bavarian bar, most of us tried to order more stuff that came from Berlin or at least northern Germany. The food may have been a bit pricey.... but golly it was good!!!!
That night we stumble back into bed from exhaustion. Three days later, my legs still hurt from how much walking we did that day.
The next morning we packed up into the bus and went to Potsdam (capital city of Brandenburg, which is the state that surrounds Berlin). Potsdam has to be the most beautiful place I've seen in Germany so far. I'm just going to throw a few pictures up on here even though they do NOTHING to compare to actually being there.
After seeing all of this, the entire bus decided they wanted to transfer to Potsdam university knowing full well that we'd never actually do any work surrounded by this beauty.
And with that thought, we all tiredly walked onto the bus and slept most of the way back to Oldenburg. Well, the rest of the bus slept, our group acted more along the lines of:
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| But what do you really expect from us? |
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