Berlin and the Spreewald

Hellooooo again! Sorry for my long leave of absence.

This past weekend, I was in Berlin and Straupitz (part of the Spreewald, southeast of Berlin) for 5 days with Kristin, a German friend of mine. I met Kristin during my sophomore year of college when she was working as an Au pair for an American family in Chapel Hill. Her family put her in the Episcopal Campus Ministry group to help her meet friends her age, and we hit it off from the beginning. Never in a million years did I actually think that I'd get to meet her family in Germany!

My journey began with a not-so-intellegent discount ticket purchase on a train that left at 2:00am from Heidelberg. What I didn't realize however, was that I then had a 2-hour layover in Frankfurt Main from 3-5:00am (alone, in the dark). It was actually quite safe, however, and I was very relieved when the glorious Golden Arches lit up at 4am and I was able to go get hot food.

During the first two days, I stayed with Kristin's boyfriend, Manuel, who lives in Berlin. I toured Berlin "turbo-style" and was a bit dazed by the end of it, but I absolutely loved it. Dazzling, huge, and a nice change from the oh-so-quaint small town of Heidelberg, I think I could really get into living there.

The next three days I spent with Kristin's family in Straupitz. Straupitz is a teeny-tiny town in the Spreewald (population = ~1,000), where just about everyone knows everyone. On my first night there, one of the couples in town celebrated their 25th Anniversary at the local Gaststätte (guesthouse/bar/restaurant). It was a huge celebration in which many took part, including the local men's choir, a women's traditional German dancing group, the local volunteer fire department, the mayor, and more. There was a huge German buffet and lots of fun.

The next several days were filled with lots of touring of the German countryside. Kristin's mom is an insanely good cook, but she also fed me like her 250lbs, "block-o-muscle" husband. Remember the movie My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding where the mother was always saying "eeeeat, eeeat, you're too skinny?" I've met the German version of this woman. She lives in Straupitz. Call her up if you ever need to put on 15lbs (but want to enjoy every minute of it).

The next few days followed with more fun, including many tastings of the famous Spreewald pickles, celebrating Kindertag (Children's Day in Germany, which is still fun at 21), and meeting Kristin's wonderful grandparents (who told me to "give Obama our greetings").

I'll end things here, as I've also included about 200 photos, but I can't say enough about Kristin's wonderfully generous family and friends. I am truly blessed to know such terrific people.

Please enjoy.

Lizzie

Brandenburg Gate dividing Berlin. If you look at the red arrow in the bottom left corner of the picture, you can see a brick path that shows where the wall once stood.

Sections of the wall still stand throughout the city as a memorial. This one is one of the largest memorials in Potsdamer Platz.

Checkpoint Charlie.

The longest, existing part of the wall (only visible from the east side) has been terribly abused, as tourists have scribbled their names and dates across the original art...

...thus, much of the wall is currently under renovation. The state has tracked down most of the original artists and is having them repaint their original works. Here is one of the recreations...it reads "Moscow" (picture of wall), "China" (wall), "everywhere" (wall), "Berlin" (wall). I personally like the kangaroo in the rocking chair...

My adorable hosts, Kristin and Manuel.

A forum going on at the university, titled "Wir mussen reden" or "we must talk." The divided halves of the brain represent the divided Berlin, which still struggles to find a cultural and political identity.

We found cannabis ice tea (that's what they make weed from, mom) and had to try it. Cannabis is illegal in Germany however, which begs the question, "What exactly is in this?".

The Berliner Dom...a stunningly gorgeous cathedral in the heart of the city, but very different from many of the classic old churches in Europe, as it wasn't built until the turn of the 20th Century.

Interior of the dome.

We climbed to the top! Here, the famous TV tower stands behind us. It can be seen from most places in the city.

View of the city from dome.

The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedaechtnis Kirche (memorial church). Completely destroyed during WWII, the remains still stand as a reminder of the tragedy of war. The two (really ugly) buildings to the left and right are newer additions to the church built after the war.

Photo of an old mosaic on the church ceiling: one of the only remaining parts of the interior.

I kid you not, you can buy "Berliner Luft" (Berlin air) in the souvenier shops. Price of air = 4,50€.

Standing before the Charlotten Palace, which is actually where Kristin's boyfriend, Manuel, works as a tourist manager of some sort.

One of my favorite pictures of this trip!! I love how the bird flew in the shot.

International food/craft festival in Berlin. We were only here for an hour, but it was enough time to down a curry chicken dish from Trinidad and Tobago, and a good ol' bratwurst.

After leaving Berlin, we went to Straupitz, Kristin's hometown in the Spreewald. During the 25th anniversary party of one of the couples in town, she and her mother danced in traditional German garb. Check out the video at the bottom for more.

Local, handicraft store inside a cultural museum that demonstrated life in the village during the late 1800s. I may have picked up a special something for one of you at home...

Just before I arrived, my host family's cat had 3 KITTENS!!!! As most of you know, I am a total cat freak (I will be the old lady with 29 cats), so I spent a lot of time with these 5-week-old lovebugs.

Kristin's mom is a goddess of the kitchen (translation = great cook).

Traditional German cuisine for lunch. The basic style of a German meal, as I've learned, is that if there's anything edible in the refrigerator, then you should put it on the table. Thus, there's not really a "main dish," but rather a large assortment of deliciousness.

The "Venice of Germany." I know, it's a bit of a stretch, but work with me here. Within the Spreewald, there are a series of shallow rivers that run through the region, much like in Venice. These have become very popular among the tourists because of their natural beauty, and you can now travel through them via gondola, canoe, kayak, or your birthday suit. We took a gondola. :)

My wonderfully generous hosts again, Kristin and Manuel.

Kristin's mom and her little brother, Kai (age 13).

On one of our last nights in Straupitz, we attended an outdoor theater show dramatizing some of the folk stories from the Spreewald. This is a great idea in theory, but as it was in northern Germany (where is rains 24/7 in every month but July), I don't know what they were thinking. We sat in the rain, dressed to join the cast of the Perfect Storm, for 2 hours before the rain finally subsided and the play began. It was a strange combination of pyrotechnics, great acting, really cool costumes, and incomprehensible, childish humor (including a song titled "Alexander Salamander" to the tune of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean...just replace Billie Jean with the previous words). Needless to say, my soaking wet behind and confused head were in desperate need of a hot shower when we got back.

I'm also working on posting a video of the German dancing, but am having major problems due to the size. I'll post it in a new blog if I can get it to work.

:)