Crash Landing: Berlin, Germany

My bike!

Kristen and I at a piece of the Berlin Wall

Early morning navigation of the transport system

Where the Berlin wall once stood.


I spent this past weekend in the Fatherland. Wow, what an adventure! A group of 12 left early Friday morning to experience and explore the nightlife capital of the world. After landing, we managed to find our way on the train/subway system to the main area of town and grab some lunch at a German restaurant. Knuckle of pork, meatballs, sauerkraut, currywurst, and Weiner schnitzel is a snippet of the delicious delicacies we enjoyed.
Using a Germany guidebook, we ventured out into this large historic city! We saw Museum Island (a bunch of museums all in one area), saw the Parliament building, delighted in a nice walk through the park, saw a ton of monuments, and went to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum to learn all about the Berlin Wall. I wouldn’t doubt if we walked 10 miles with our backpacks.
After grabbing a bite to eat, we all played “the name game” for a while in the hostel before heading out to experience the nightlife. Can’t say it was world-class…we may have been in the wrong part of town. Definitely represented the “East Side” that night.
Saturday was a blast!! We took a bike tour! The tour guide was Irish/British and really funny. We made some new friends from Texas and hung out with them rest of the day. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and got to see the Jewish Memorial, the place Hitler died (under a parking lot now), and even got to see where Michael Jackson hung his child off the balcony. Also went to this museum (sorry I can’t remember name)… but it was basically about the Jewish people and concentration camps and scandals. We ate dinner at this hole in the wall Turkish place. I got a chicken kabob and it was DELICIOUS. We went out again that night.

They drive on the right side of the road in Berlin, unlike London. I finally got used to the left side and then I got all confused again in Germany.

Things to note:
-Berlin is poor. In fact, they are 800 billion Euros in debt and their industries tourism and government.
-All the buildings are fairly new (as everything was bombed in the war). However, all the statues are very old. Hitler had a fondness for all statues, so before the bombing began, he had all the statues sunk under ponds outside of Berlin so that they wouldn’t be destroyed. They were later salvaged and put back onto the rebuilt buildings.
-You can tell a difference between the East and West (building wise). It’s eerie. It’s insane how all this history happened so recently.

About the “crash landing” title. Ryan Air prides themselves on having the best “on time” planes in the business. We always joke about this, as every time the plane lands, you think you just might die because it seems like they are in such a hurry to meet their quota. They come flying (as in very speedy) onto the runway and you have a huge bounce before you sway to the left or right substantially. Usually someone screams. Don’t worry… I haven’t died yet.Then they play some horns to celebrate our arrival.

Some random things I have noticed:
-I have started to get annoyed with tourists who walk too slow and never know where they are going. I have developed a “Londoner’s” walking pace.
-London feels like home. When I leave the country it always feels so good to come back.
-Mini cabs (taxis) are luxuries these days.
-I’d walk an extra 10 minutes to save 40p
-A semi-cloudy day is a beautiful one
-I eat stir-fry every day for lunch and dinner
-We get excited over sinks that have a combined spout. It means the water won’t be scorching hot
-We are thankful for normal sized spoons
-Free restrooms are a gift (usually you must pay).
-We brag about how "nice" our hostels are

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I have determined that I should be awarded “worst blogger award.” I always forget and I have decided I will only blog about big events and not the miniscule things I do daily in London. Sorry if these past posts have been unbearable. So we shall start anew!! the dated entries are before I decided this. My apologies for the long post...I will do my best to not let get this behind!

January 15 2011

CAMBRIDGE!! Today, a group of about eight of us went to Cambridge with Dr. Mee. It was so incredible. We took a private tour and they taught us a lot about the reformations that took place in Christianity. Thse places dated back to the first century. Cambridge is the second oldest school and receives the most state funding (almost a billion dollars a year). 85% of undergrads are in-state.

-CHURCHES:
They areas where people are baptized have cement coverings on them. This I because the water here is purified and people walking on the streets would come in a wash their hands and drink from the water. They used to be simple, but then became very elaborate. St. Edward King and Martyr church is the site of a very famous speech that was given by a poignant figure in church reformation. He gave a speech to a group of young students who were attending as a result of a fire buringin down their church, about how we are saved by faith a lone. This did not sit well with King Edward, so he had him kicked out of the country. However, the king eventually let him back him. Later, he had this man killed.
Trinity Cathedral held many statues of men such as Francis Bacon and Issac Newton. ON they walls were also the names engraved of the men who lost their lives both world wars who fwere from the university.
All the walls of the churches were white washed, this was done in an effort to ensure purity.
-SCHOOL:
We visited the first labratory in the entire world. Here, back in the 50's a man commited a homosexual act. After being forced into infertility by estrogen injections, and other hanous punishment, he commited suicide by eating a cyanide apple. This was the inspiriation (the apple being bit out of) for Apple Computers.
-INTERESTING FACTS:
Only professors can walk on the grass as a reward for never marrying.
We also saw famous places where Issac Newton lived, DNA was discovered, famous speeches were given in churches. Then we ate at “The Eagle” which is where they discovered and announced their DNA findings. Later, we visited the Fitzsgerald Museum and headed home on the train. Great day!


Jan 16.
Slept in and went to the markets. There were two. Think China town and then market square. I did not like the China town one- I’m pretty sure everything was stolen and I wouldn’t want to be there at night. However, I still bought a neat painting.
Went to church later that night. It was great- yet again!

Jan. 17
Week 2 of stats. Lost, again? Yes, I think so. It was a busy day! I workout everyday in between my classes for an hour. After class, I headed to the grocery, where I took my hiking backpack. It is quite odd “hiking” to the grocery store. I have to bad all my own groceries and carry them long distances. Later, my friend Christyn from America (who is also studying abroad here) came over.



Oxford:
Went for a day trip with my class!
Highlights:
-Visiting Magdalen, the college that Tolkien taught at
-Walking up the “sorting” stairs from Harry Potter
-Walking through “The Great Hall” from the Harry Potter movie
-Eating at The Eagle and Child pub at the very table Lewis, Tolkien, and their group The Inklings met with every Tuesday for 23 years.



Church:
I have visited a few churches: Hillsong London, Christ Church London, and Holy Trinity Brompton. I have really enjoyed all of them. I decided Hillsong was a little big for my liking and appreciated the other two as they were smaller. One Sunday, I church hopped with my friend Becca and we visited both Christ Church and Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB)—talk about getting extra jewels in my crown! Just kidding. ☺ Both churches taught biblical truth and honestly it has just come down to preference. I liked HTB best. It reminds me of my church back home, Fellowship, and I felt comfortable and welcome. They have a student ministry on Tuesday nights (I am visiting the first time tonight!) and lots of other events. In fact, HTB has three campuses but are all one church. They are Anglican, so I don’t completely understand what a Vicar is and how the leadership works. I am trying to figure it out. It’s cool to see how different churches work. Something I have loved most about going to church is seeing the shared passion for the same purpose in another country.
Another great lesson I have learned is the importance of hospitality and awareness to new visitors. For 13 years I have gone to the same church and have never been on the other side of visiting trying to find a church home. I can see how it could be very intimidating for a new comer, and if we are not aware of this, it would be easy for them to fade into the crowd and never get involved or even come back. One of the churches in particular has been really great at reaching out to us. I think it is an important focus.

School…
Statistics is wrapping up and I take my final test this Thursday!! On Monday I will begin Business Administration 207. I must say logistics/statistics (or any math/numbers) course is not the avenue I should pursue. Haha. My professor is great… but I can’t stand the material I am learning.


On another note....
I am thankful for America- or the south at least. Don't get me wrong; London is great! HOWEVER, I really miss southern hospitality. Londoners can be mean and impatient. They don't smile at you on the street or talk to you. They rarely hold doors open. We visited Dunnhumby (a logistical company) and had a guy from Alabama do a presentation for us. I never imagined I would enjoy that so much. The very fact that he knew what Chick-fil-a was and appreciated it was amazing. I was thankful to be with an Alabama fan? yes. I was. He had a sense of humor and hearing a normal accent was cool. Again-- love London, but just reminded of how much I also love my home!