Berlin: Day 2
"It happened therefore it can happen again. That is the core of what we say" Primo Levi
Tue 15 Aug 2006
25 °C
After another excellent brekkie of muesli and croisants I was about to head out to explore the museums of Berlin when I saw something that shocked and appalled me.
I have a mullet!!
Argh! After all this time bagging out this particularly nasty form of haircut, I have fallen victim to it myself! Usually it's hidden under a mass of curls and frizzy hair, but because I only just washed it and it was quite straight it was plain to see. This calls for drastic measures - a haircut!
But not just yet, it's too expensive in Berlin!
I will write about all the museums I visited today, but I will do that post later on, as I'm about to have dinner. For now, a list of the miscellaneous notes on the side of my diary shall suffice!
- Bonn was the capital of Germany from 1945-1991. Berlin only reclaimed the position on June 20, 1991, after a narrow victory in the Reichstag.
- I read a quote the other day that sums up (to me at least) why I visit museums, concentration camps and the like. "Each of us today is shaping the background history of tomorrow". To me this goes along with the idea that "He who does not history is doomed to repeat it".
- Loads more people smoke in Germany than any other European city. They also smoke everywhere - in the internet cafe as I speak actually, as well as in airports, train stations, restaurants - everywhere!
- Almost everyone who owns a dog takes it with them everywhere they go - including public transport, museums, and planes! And they all seem to be massive, great, hulking German Shephards!
- 'Multilingual' as a term is technically 'Multilanguageable'. Not that anyone would ever say it, but think about it, when do we say 'lingue' in any other form?
- Hot and cold have different starting letters in many European languages. Thus 'C' is hot (Chaud) and 'F' is cold (Froid) in French. IKEA and others have solved this problem by just painting little red and blue patches on taps. Not before I burnt myself in a shower though
- Ambulances DO shound different here - they have a more musical tone. Bill Bailey was right!
- I read this cool ad on a billboard in Singapore many moons ago. "Every little drop dreams of being German beer when it grows up".
- And finally, some thoughts on travel in general from me:
Everyone travels with the next destination in mind - or at least on a long trip. Nowhere was this more evident then in Singapore where everyone focused on what to see outside the city then on what was within it. Some of us made the effort and were rewarded with a feeling that, at the end of our semester, we knew the place. We knew the short cuts, the best makan (food), the buses, the language, and most importantly, the people. Granted, Singapore is smaller geographically than most cities with 4 million people, but the effect is the same. So next time you're travelling, stop thinking about what's up next and take in what's around you. That's living for the moment
Posted by tristanr 10:03 Archived in Preparation | Germany Comments (1)
9 °C