Deutschland

Thursday:

On Thursday after class I fled Italy for Germany- and I was anxious to go! It's hard to get me excited about a lot of things because I immediately think about things like logistics, time, money, and the like. But I was pumped for Berlin! Especially since the logistics were worked out, time was budgeted, and money wasn't an issue.

After being thoroughly fed up with the Italian way of life, I landed in Berlin to a beautiful sunset. I always get my first impressions from the airplane window, and this city is lush, green, and kind of swampy, but in a tasteful, pretty way. Sarah met me at the airport, and then we headed diagonally through the city to their apartment. That night, I got a complete overview of the World Cup from Don, especially the low down on the German team (who the Germans feel iffy about because their goalie is hurt. FYI.) And then I wrote an outline for the paper/powerpoint I have to present on Monday. Holler.

Friday:

The next day, I got to meet Jenna, their almost-three-year old daughter who wasn't around the last time I saw them, and re-meet Dane, who is now almost five (he was about a year old when they came to Germany). Jenna looked me up and down about three times, and then had to decide if I was okay. She approved :) We dropped the kids off at Kita, which is a pre-school/kindergarten mix, and the one that they go to is bilingual. I also had pancakes for breakfast. First real breakfast since coming to Europe. Score!

Then Don took me around the city. And around, and around, and around... Berlin isn't terribly large. It's about 3 million people, which is the same as Rome. I have seen it enough times to recognize things and where they are, but walking for the first time is certainly tiring. But I did get the Don Jones version of German history, which was almost as good as Romolo's version of Greek philosophy. And that's saying something. We saw the Brandenburg gate (where Ronald Reagan made his "Mr. Gorbachov, tear down this wall!" speech and JFK made his "I am a doughnut" speech), US and French Embassies, annoying soccer fans with their stupid and horribly irritating horns, churches, literal "pieces" of history, the Holocaust memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, and tons of other places.

We walked mostly through the East part of Berlin because that was, by far, the dominant part. Check out a map of where Berlin is located in Germany, and you'll know why. German history over the past 80 years has been quite horrible, and they are still feeling the effects of it. There are gold stones on the streets outside of apartments where Jews lived and taken during the Holocaust stating their name, where they were born, when they were taken and what concentration camp they were taken to. People are making decisions about what to do about the white crosses that commemorate those who were trying to escape the East and go to the West and died for it. A lot of Germans want nothing to do with it and erase their past, but as people know, that will (unfortunately) never be an option.

In between being blown away by visible remnants of German history, we grabbed a German version of fast food. We got what was called doner (with umlautes over the "o"), which is the German version of a gyro. It's a mix of shaved and seasoned meat on a bread, and I got a mix of spicy and "ranch" sauces with purple cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, and some sort of cucumber/tomato blend. It comes highly recommended. We also went to this really cool store called "Ampleman"'. When the city was still divided, the East had little men on their pedestrian lights that were known as Ampleman. When the wall was torn down, the East fought long and hard to keep their Ampleman, and now they are something trendy to wear around. I just loved something about it...

By the way, Berlin has Starbucks. Nowhere in Italy does a Starbucks exist. Just saying.

Then we got the kids from Kita, and Dane was not in the same clothes we took him in. Apparently this is a frequent problem, which is hilarious for me but certainly not for Don. I then got a taste of German public transportation, which is similar to Italian transportation, but just better. I also got a taste of how horribly people raise their kids here. There is no discipline, no rules, no manners. And that equals A TON of hooligans that I just want to smack.

We then headed over to a picnic with part of the missionary team at Don and Sarah's good friends house, Ben and Sarah Carey. Ben actually roomed with Paul Allen in college, and I help out Paul and Becca at the State College CMA. The world is really smaller than we think. On our way over, Don thought he would give me the real Berlin experience and we could ride the bikes over. I thought, "Hey, no problem, I road bike at least 3 times a week". Naturally, it was a problem. Road bikes and cruisers are completely different. Cruisers have huge tires that grip the ground instead of rolling over it. And cruisers use their pedals to break, so riding and dismounting is an art. Especially with a two year old on the back. I made pretty little S-shapes in the pavement because I was swerving so much, and I'm sure Don was laughing at me the whole way. Jenna had a great time though- she sang "Drunken Sailor" the whole way.

Anyway, Sarah Carey is an AMAZING cook. She made Thai food, which was fantastic. Basically, all I did on Friday was eat and be all emotional because of Berlin's historic past as told by a guy who was really influential in my life and Ian's in our teenage years. We then watched the second game of the World Cup. Once you watch the World Cup in Europe, you will be a changed person. Seriously.

We then rode back through the streets of Berlin in the dark, breezy, warm night, this time without the kids. It was easily one of my favorite moments since I left America, and even in America. It was romantic, freeing, relaxing- I loved it. I did almost fall over a few times at intersections because Sarah is about 3 inches taller than me, but as I was cruising, it was wonderful. What was also wonderful is that I got to talk to my boyfriend for the first time in two weeks. I cannot tell you exactly what I felt in that moment, or what I feel in all the moments when we finally get together in some capacity, but it is one of the best feelings in the world. I'm so excited to Skype with him this week and see him, and I'm anxious to return to his arms...

Saturday:

On Saturday, I actually got to sleep in! Probably the third time I have been able to do that since May 9th. We walked around the neighborhood close to the Jones' apartment, which was awesome! First we went to a Turkish bakery. There is a HUGE Turkish population in Berlin due to Communism. When the wall was being built (there were actually two walls with a "no man's land" in between), the East (Communists) hired Vietnamese to build their wall and the West hired Turks to build their wall. When the wall was completed, the East shipped the Vietnamese back, whereas the West didn't force the Turks to do anything. Now they are just here and actually cause a lot of problems in the city. But they can bake. I got a pretzel bun type deal, and no complaints.

We then walked by Open Door Geminde, which is the church that Don and Sarah have been working with for the past 4 years. It wasn't open, but it was nice to just see their work here. Then it was off to a playground, and let me tell you, the playgrounds here are sweet! They have all the stuff that America doesn't because Americans sue all the time, like see-saws, jumping apparatuses, and wooden jungle gyms. Problem: sand. I hate sand. Why is there always sand?!

Then we all hopped in the car for a driving tour of the west part of Berlin. There's not a ton of difference, but there's enough evidence still standing to differentiate, like the TV tower and the huge apartment buildings of the East. We drove to the Olympic Stadium which was cool just to see even though we couldn't go in. There's a "Jesse Owens Drive" right outside, which is interesting considering Jesse Owens dominated Hitler's prized Germans in the 1936 Olympics. And the last time I checked, if you made Hitler mad, there weren't good results. Hence my shock at the dedicated drive to his name.

After, we went for ice cream at this organic place. Words like "organic", "green", and "environmental" have become like nails against a chalkboard for me due to America's overuse and misuse of the terms. But this place was banging! I had kiwi ice cream, and I cannot explain to you the deliciousness of it. "Wunderbar!" as they say here (with umlautes, of course).

Then we headed over to a "goodbye" picnic for Don and Sarah put on by their team. There are three couples that make up the team: Don and Sarah with their kids, Ben and Sarah and their kids, and Jerry and Shelly Kragt with their kids. They are all tight-knit and the kids refer to the adults as "Aunt" or "Uncle" and all sort of raise each other's kids. I love that system! Once again, the food was delicious. There was a meat-loaf, hamburger type thing that was seasoned, potatoes with honey-mustard and dill, and fresh fruits and veggies which I was all over.

We came home, I put the kids to bed so Don and Sarah could see friends, watched America blow England away in a tie (note to England: your goalie made a horrible mistake, might want to work on that)- GO AMERICA!!!, talked to my family for an hour because the Jones' can call America unlimited for only 4 Euro more a month (it started with my mom for 5 minutes, then my dad for like, 30, then I found out Ian was there so I talked to him, then Brenda, then finally back to the person who brought me into this world- moms always get gipped), talked to Steven (!!!), and had a wonderful German beer called Beck's. Highly recommended.

In short, it has been an amazing weekend and I have loved every second of it :) I'm actually sad to go back to Rome. Usually I am so antsy to go back because I am used to it and I love it so much, but it pales in comparison to the community and atmosphere that is here. I'll be interested to see how England compares.