Yesterday's challenge... was it a success? You tell me.

1) a hog

2) a church steeple (from an Evangelical Church)

3) something WWII related (how about this Jewish synagoge that was destroyed during WWII, but rebuilt with some of the original materials?)

4) a new trabant photo (postcards count!!!!, and if not then do signs??)

5) hedgehog

Well today was neat, as you can see. Today I walked with Fiona, Erika, and Mojdeh to Orangienburg Straße to see the Neue (new) Jewish Synagogue. Inside they had a museum that exhibited small wooden models and the history of other major Jewish Synagogues (some of which had been destroyed). They also had an art exhibit showing off some photos by a famous photojournalist who's name escapes me at this moment... But they were really good! We were not allowed to take any photos inside, not even when we went to the top of the steeple, and I didn't really understand why. Some unfortunate news though is that some neonazi's had tried attacking the synagogue recently, so there were police monitoring the outside, and when you go inside you have to go through a metal detector, and have your items x-rayed. It is nice that they can keep all of their documents and possessions so secure, but it is really a shame that they have to.


On the way the synagogue we walked by an artists squatting place. They cover the outside and inside with art (sculptures, graffiti, paintings, etc.), and people are welcomed to venture inside to check it out. I would like to return one day soon!

That was an actual giant cockroach sculpture sticking out of the wall.

Nearby was this funky building.

And yes, that is a ladies crotch in the photo. I thought I could have made it pass as the hedgehog for my photography hunt, but I think that was far too much of a stretch.

The outside of the Jewish Synagogue 

Mojdeh's Salad

My pasta, that I could only eat a few bites of. It was so filling!

After first dinner (or late lunch?) we went through some alley ways and came across a nice courtyard filled with tiny shops, and cafe's, all amongst apartments. It was really cute. Guess which one is my favourite!

Here is some of the courtyard.

And some more. You can see the Synagogue in the background.

And then near the back we found this inter-city tree-ouse! Or a fort... either way, it was amazing to see! Look at how cute it is!

We couldn't figure out how people got up there. There is no ladder.

From another angle: 

Here's that door frame again:

After our short adventure we started another one. It was to find a church across town, because next to it was a really nice restaurant. We decided to walk there along the canals. I felt like I was in Venice again.

Here is a neat shot of the tip of the "Museum Island". I haven't actually gone to that particular museum yet.

Keeping along the Canal we found one of the Berliners go-to spots on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The people pictured below are very romantically dancing the tango. It gave me the chills to see so many people focused on their movements, with the music, while entranced by their partners. I wish I could dance.

And around the corner was the "Amplemann Cafe".

Here is one of the Berlin Bears guarding the entrance to a foot-passenger tunnel that goes under a busy street, and along the water. He seemed very capable of scaring those who may want to live under the tunnel.

Marx and Engles?

The T.V. Tower.

So we made it to the church where we were headed to. There was this cute little bear statue that I couldn't resist taking a photo of.

And we found our restaurant. Here's the view of my seat.

And to my left...

And facing me and Erika!!!

The food was really tasty. I had a "Rote Grütze mit Vanillasauße". It was like a berry sauce with vanilla on top. So tasty :)

Weird week

Hey! It's been a while since my last post, so here goes:

I had to do a presentation with Fiona on Thursday, so pretty much most of my week was directed towards preparing for it... I felt like the presentation didn't go very well (I was nervous, I used English, and I couldn't think very well).

Gross stuff coming up --> I also have been experiencing pain when sitting! And it turns out that my tailbone is infected. I was nervous about going to the doctor. Marta also wasn't feeling well and had gone to a doctor a few days before me, and really recommended him, so I went. He was such a nice person, and he really made me feel comfortable, even when he was sticking a needle in my tailbone! I am now on pill and cream antibiotics for the week. He said if it isn't better by Tuesday that I may need to get surgery, since the nerve endings can get all screwed up or something.  <-- end of gross stuff.

Also, even though I wasn't feeling super great I went fencing on Thursday at the PSV Fecht-club (sabre and epee) , and then Friday at a club I had never visited before: the Berliner Fecht-club! I did very badly on both days... but wow, I was really impressed with the Berliner Fecht-club (all weapons). I was physically incapable of performing their very challenging warm-up,  footwork, and arm drills. I was so sore when I left there... but it's okay! Everyone there was amazing. The girls were so beautiful (one looked like Natalie Portman after she cut her hair in "V for Vendetta"), and they all did foil so I was the only girl there doing sabre. The men were handsome, and insanely welcoming and friendly. During the class I got a personal lesson, which was awesome and really focused me on basic movements that I definitely should improve on over the summer.

Yesterday (May 25th) I went to the German History Museum, which takes you through various time periods starting with the Germanic peoples and their interactions with the Celts. It was a very large museum and after about 1.5 hours I didn't even make it through one room. After lunch with Erika I went back to the museum and walked around the whole thing. It took me about 2 hours and I didn't even really stop and read, mostly because I wanted a sense of how big it was. I will be going back there a few times before I leave Berlin.

Annnnd today (May 26th) was boring, and I was complaining, and then some people suggested I take on a photo challenge. So I have 24 hours to complete the challenge, which involves me taking a picture of the following things, using any creative means necessary:

1) a hog
2) a church steeple
3) something WWII related
4) a new trabant photo
5) hedgehog

Other than that, I pretty much just went grocery shopping, and then took a walk in the city centre. When I went to the bakery i thought I ordered 1 piece of cake, but it turns out I ordered an ENTIRE cake... which I have to eat on my own I guess. I thought I said "ein stück altedeutschespflaumküchen", but when they gave me the whole thing I was a little shocked.

I guess I'll go eat it now!

There is a festival going on this weekend, and a parade. I need to find out where/when it is :) Anyway, happy weekend!

Kelly Visits from Vancouver!

17 May, 2012:

Oh wow,

I had a visitor!!!! Kelly from Vancouver! To be honest, I totally can't spell her last name. Wilkieson? Wilkison? I am not sure, cuz she uses "Wilkie" on facebook. We went out for that 3.5 hour walking tour of Berlin, then met up again for dinner & drinks. The weather was hot, then cold, then windy/really cold, then super sunny, then cold, and overall variable. At least it didn't rain. Since I have gotten to Berlin, I couldn't understand why on such a hot sunny days people were ALWAYS bundled up. I understand now. In the super hot 30degree weather of intense sun mixed with thunderstorms, down the to the 5 degree windy weather, Berlin has a little switch that I am certain a small child plays with. This switch controls the wind, and the child flicks it on and off constantly, and this can dramatically change the temperatures. Poor Kelly was really cold on this particular day, but managed to get a sun burn on her face.

Anyway... here's proof that I saw her:

Oh, wait... here we go:

Yeah, we went back to the Jewish memorial. I finally made a photo that I really enjoyed!:

 We went on the free walking tour of Berlin. This dude was our tour guide. He was guilty of having "mundkäse" --> the white frothy stuff on your lips, or in the sides of your mouth, from having beer or a dry mouth. Yeah. The German's have a word just for that.

Uggh, I am going to have to figure out how to rotate this image later. This picture, and the next one is of one of the last standing buildings of the Nazi's in a re-developed area since the war. The building is going to be torn down soon, but it has been here for a while. It even has bullet holes in it. There were words etched in above the face, but each letter was scratched out.

Some famous graffiti type thing. Graffiti is pretty big hear, and figuring out the "draw" to it has been a challenge for me. This one is a stensil, and stensils seem to be the most popular. Basically it is a "Neandertal" holding a grenade. I'll leave it up to you to interpret the meaning of that.

The next 2 photos are from the same building. The second one shows happy productive communists, and the other shows a realistic spin of communism negatively affecting workers who felt the need t strike (since they were instructed to increase productivity with the loss of holidays and no wage increase).

The inside of the same building:

Further down, the entrance! Ah, so this building is, by the way, from the Stasi times... so it is used in lots of movies.

 Oh look! A big strip of the wall:

Check point Charlie. I have a better photo of Charlie, but not of the guys face on the bottom right.

Here he is:

This is my friend Negar --> doesn't she have lovely big eyes? I love them!

I scoped out more of those stensils on the back of some street lights... I like them!

Germany has so much history, and so many beautiful sights! And then there are things like this: (on a side note, I've seen a lot of weird things attached to roofs of cars. Eg: Giant smurfs, and weird signs.

 This building was totally bombed down in the war, so they just re-built it. It is in a nice fancy square.

 This is the other side of the same square. There is an identical building to the picture above, pictured below and to the right. It was built for Calvinists (I think? I need to double check with a friend of mine), who came and worked in Berlin after the 30 Years war when the Berlin population was 1/4th the size of what it had been. These Calvinistic people came in, worked hard, and then had that building dedicated to them. They really hated the beer in Berlin though! So they made their own, which is either green or pink in colour. Kelly ordered some, and it is pictured further down.

The same square, and same building.

Ah, down this streed there were some blue awnings that belong to the "Augustiner Pub", which serves food and southern German beer. We went there to have dinner but all the seats were reserved! Kelly and I went back at about 9:00pm that night, and got a seat. The beer was actually really good (and I don't like beer!). Their food portions are also massive! I am going to go back and eat there one day.

Oh, yeah this is infront of an opera house. I think this statue is of Schiller.

Here is the Calvinist-building-thing again. Can you see the people depicted in the carving on the wall are working away?

Berlin's one free, yet stinky, bathroom is to the left of this photo. I just liked the leaves with the sun shining through some of them.

Ah, right. This is where the Nazi's book burning was: infront of the Humbolt Universities Library. Did I mention that Einstein taught there?

Here is a plak of a quote from 1820, where the man is saying (in a rough translation) "those who burn books end up burning people". Oddly foreshadowing future events...

 Here is the memorial for the book burning. I had been there in the past. Can you see the empty shelves below through the shadows of the other people looking in? Apparently those empty shelves had room for all the books that were burned. (I think it was 20 - 40 thousand... I feel bad for not remembering the number)

Some guy!

Here is the memorial for victims of fascism:

 There is a hole in the wall over the lady (pictured below). It was a very thought provoking memorial, because you can go in there any time of year and (depending on the seasons/weather) you can see her getting rained on, snowed on, or shined on. She is cradling her son (who died in WWI) , or her grandson (who died in WWII).

This is the museum where the fashion show was. I liked the spiral-snail-staircase.

A map of Museum Island IN BRAIL!!!!!

 SEE!!!!: It was pretty cool.

A river that flows through/around Berlin where you can hop on a boat, enjoy some drinks and food, while cruising away. I would like to do that. I did one in Dresden a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

 Kelly and me making silly poses infront of the Berliner Dom. There was some significant story about the door of the Dom (which I remember being mentioned on the walking tour of Berlin with Scott in 2007), but I can't remember the story! They didn't mention it on the tour I went on yesterday.

 I could be a GQ model:

NAKED GUY RIDING HORSE:

(Shhh: the guy walking infront of me went to the Olympics in Vancouver... I took this photo when he was looking away)

Old Museum:

Ich bin ein Berliner! -- Jessica Clayton

Oh, here the is the green drink! Kelly ordered it, and it was actually very good. I think I would like some next time I go out.

The name of the drink is below, and yes this place was kind of expensive. It was in the city centre.

Me and Kelly!

I am enjoying my "Dimple" scotch, and she is enjoying her drink!

The classy little blurry nook we went to:

18 May, 2012:

So after yesterdays crazy weather, I decided to attack it head on! Hoody, jean jacket, with a waterproof jacket-shell in my purse.

Did I need any of that?

No.

Why?

BECAUSE I WAS FINALLY PREPARED.

Either way, I must have looked German with my bundles because Germans keep asking me for directions.

Anyway... Kelly and I met up for breakfast and decided to eat next to the "naked horse prancing on a lion" statue. Good view. We were asked by some gypsies for money (there are a lot of beggars here, unfotunetally jobs are hard to come by, along with housing). Then we were attacked by a swarm of little birds, and after about 5 minutes of not us feeding them they left.

Proof that I can jump, AND that my pants don't fit me properly while jumpin, AND that the shirt I was wearing under my hoodie was pretty short. Yup, that's my tummy. Please don't zoom in.:

This stretch of the wall (in the photo above, and the next few) was REALLY long. Berlin had invited artists to come and paint murals on these walls. Our tour guide was talking about how Berlin is very open about it's past, and I think this is a great example of that.

I have seen this on postcards all over. ANOTHER TRABANT!:

La Guernica in Berlin = La Buerlinica. Not as fun as saying "Guerni-CA!" is it, Uwe?

Random "East Beach" along the river, and behind the wall.

 It was so cute!

 There was a bar, and then the beach area, and then the river!

More wall. Can you see how far back it goes?

Here is the other direction and Kelly's face:

Hole in the wall:

Inbetween 2 walls. This section was either moved, or just a portion where the area inbetween the wall wasn't that wide. In other places along the wall (in Berlin) the gap between the walls spanned pretty far apart, and that land became a Botany sanctuary, that has since turned into a park for people to enjoy. I have NOT been there yet, but I plan to.

I just liked this building.

Woooo kissy kissy. Based on a real photo, as I am sure you are aware. I am totally blanking on the names at this moment though...

Here I am trying to push down the wall. Try as I might, it wouldn't budge, which is probably for the best since it is now a mural.

"Berlin is poor but sexy"

My favourite mural:

Castle Bridge! (<-- the names I come up with are horrible, yet descriptive)

Tile Building! (<-- it has many tiles... I feel that is an appropriate name)

Castle Bridge again:

Inside:

Kelly looking out Castle Bridges window:

More blue pipes! I know the story now! They are temporary water pipes, and the companies that supplies the pipes have their own individual colours:

That is the museum, I think, at the old airport where Westerners would land every minute to bring food and supplies to those living in West Germany. I might be wrong... Look at the plane!

I was in a pretty bad mood at the beginning of the day, but after spending time with Kelly checking out the sites, and some shopping therapy, I am feeling much better. It was a busy day. After this area, we rode the U-bahn1 (underground train) to the city centre, and went shopping! We saw KaDeWe (like our version of the Bay), Karstadt (our version of Sears + less lame + a grocery store), and along the "KuDamm" Kufurstendamm shopping district. There were lots (at least 3) of H & M's there. This was my first visit to KaDeWe, and I don't think I will ever return. It was SUPER stressful, since I was amongst giant crowds inside while all juiced up on coffee, dehydrated, and shaking from low blood sugar.  I bought a mug there though... I think Oma would like it (but I totally bought it for myself since I broke a glass in my apartment). I will post pictures soon!

LOVE FROM JESSICA