i'm really sorry, ladies, but i have the best husband. he picks EXCELLENT hotels, in EXCELLENT locations, even when we've never been to that city before. it's a handy skill to have, and i benefit from it a lot. for example, now we're at the scandic hotel, in potsdamer platz, which is close to the casino that ryan's playing in, but more important to me, close to EVERYTHING COOL IN BERLIN.
and there are moose puzzles mounted on the wall.
that's our bed; i like the color scheme.
view from the window. it did rain (like a crazy cloudburst, but we were inside) when we first got here, but it stopped soon and hasn't since. <fingers crossed>
look at this trashcan! you sort your trash for recycling. neat.
okay, this is the brandenburg tor during the time of the berlin wall. you will notice, it does not seem to be a very hopping place. that's because the soviets closed the crossing here in 1961 when west berliners held a demonstration on their side of the border. the soviets "temporarily" closed it in august 1961.... temporary means 18 years, 'cause it wasn't opened again till the wall fell.
ryan looking at a segment of the berlin wall...
potsdammer platz (where our hotel is) in 1961...
and today. there are a lot of cool, modern, brand-spanking-new buildings here now.
tell me you don't want to eat this, and i'll tell you you're lying. ICE CREAM FONDUE?? where has this been all my life?
this is memorial to the murdered jews of europe. germany has promised to build memorials to all of the groups of people who were killed during the nazi regime, but what i like about this one is that the name itself owns the actions. it's not a "holocaust memorial". it's a memorial to the murdered (not killed, or gone, or any other word substitution that denies what really happened). and the information center below is also cool, but you'll have to wait for that...
then we walked across the street to memorial to homosexuals persecuted under nazism (remember? i told you that germany has vowed to create a memorial to every group that was persecuted in the holocaust)
if you can't read this, it says, "because of it's history, germany has a special responsibility to actively oppose the violation of gay men's and lesbians' human rights. in many parts of this world, people contine to be persecuted for their sexuality. homosexual love remains illegal, and a kiss can be dangerous. with this memorial, the Federal republic of germany intends to honor the victims of persecution and murder to keep alive the memory of this injustice and to create a lasting symbol of opposition to enmity, intolerance and the execution of gay men and lesbians."
kissing is ok, see?
ah, the brandenburg tor! see that statue on top?
that one right there? napoleon stole this in 1806 after the Prussian defeat at the battle of jena-auerstedt. then, when napoleon was defeated in 1814, a prussian general returned it to the gate.
CONTEST!!! tell me what happened at this hotel. and i can't be more specific than that. okay, tell me what happened within the last ten years at this hotel, involving an American. you win a berlin pin. first one to get it right wins...
ryan being pretty german with some dunkin donuts... (no really, he is-- they're EVERYWHERE)
german police bike. oh, all the embassies are behind the gate, so there's lots of police officers 'round here.
NEIN, NEIN, NEIN, NEIN, NEIN!!!
i think this is like the clogs in amsterdam.... you have to take photos with the berlin bear, OR you can't leave the country. sorry, it's just true.
i thought it'd be better if i pretended to be a bear too. do you like my raincoat? it packs into a pocket, which is cool. also cool is that this is the first time i've needed it!
do you know about marlene dietrich? but did you know that hitler begged her repeatedly to return to germany and make films there, and she said she would.... as soon as her jewish friends could return with her. so hitler kind of hated her, and wanted her killed. she still came to europe to entertain allied troops anyway. boo-yah.
he's so official!
this is one of 3 watchtowers that are still standing where the wall was, and this one will probably not be here for long (it's right in the middle of a lot of development....)
shhhh..... he's going for it!
can you see me? i'm sneaking past....
i promise to be respectful tomorrow. still, it's pretty cool that now you can just walk up to one of these towers of death and take a picture of the inside:
more to come, stay tuned- and TRY TO WIN THE CONTEST!!
*** too late-- rosi won. here's what happened at the alton, in rosi's words: "i know, i know! michael jackson baby dangle!" and she couldn't be more right.
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