After a lovely catchup with friends Michael and Rene, I immediately set out to discover Berlin. Pounded the pavement, discovering a city mostly rebuilt out of the ashes of severe WWII bombing. Much of the urban landscape now consists of buildings in the post-50`s tradition.
Ghosts of the Wall still litter the walkways here and there but people now walk freely through east and west Berlin where previously checkpoints would have made it impossible. How odd... The fabulous Brandenburg Gates (any relation to Beethoven's Brandenburg Concertos, I wonder?) have been restored to their Napoleonic glory where the Wall was likely most heavily fortified. Hard to believe it's been 20 years since the Wall came down, coincidentally also 20 years since Tiannanmen Square. T'was an eventful year in international politics, to say the least.
K, it's official. My German sux. However, it's coming back in leaps and bounds. This despite an exchange yesterday in which I got an interesting look...always a dead giveaway. Only later did I realize I'd thanked the shopkeeper and wished her a "good head". Ooops.
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