Capital Hotel Berlin Mitte

Had the most fantastic day yesterday!

After a morning of some of the best lectures I have seen, I went to lunch with some of the professors that Ive met. Some of them are really fantastic! I had my first adventure with German sausage and sauerkraut, and having never been a fan in the USA I loved LOVED it here! It is much sweeter than the stuff we have in the states.

I went on my gardensfield trip to the bontanical gardens at the university. They were beautiful but ...

... through the center of the city. Along the street, we went through the Holocaust Memorial. It's a very unique memorial because it covers a huge area of land and it is just a bunch of plain rectangular cement blocks about the size of coffins. They're all dark grey and range from about a foot tall to about 15 feet tall. It's weird to walk through all the rows of them. Apparently, the artist never said what it signified, but I actually liked the memorial. The ...

... and artwork inside. The ceiling was completely painted with murals and such and the architecture was stunning. The organ was on the second level of the church and had a commanding presence on the left side of the cathedral. The alter wasn't particularly impressive but it fit into the overall scheme of the cathedral very nicely. In the basement was a crypt with the coffins of 7 generations of the royal family. We also went towards the top of the structure, but unfortunately the ...

... is permitted, I saw no signs of binge drinking and rowdy behavior. I took in decent gigs at the renowned 'White Trash Fast Food Café' and the 'Bang Bang Club'. I would have done more if I had had a buddy. My quick search on kayak.com proved fruitful. I was able to get a flight from Berlin to Amsterdam for $118 CDN, all in. Last time I checked, a train would cost 69 Euro or about $105. A no brainer. And I booked it only a few days before departure.

... from this robust, hearty grain came the robust, hearty breads we associate with the region. Because of baking characteristics that are different from wheat flour, breads made with a large proportion of rye flour are heavier and more compact. This is also true of your typical New York style rye-the bread we think of when we think "pastrami on rye"-quite chewy and often studded with caraway seeds. That's not the kind of rye bread I'm making here. While I love the deep, earthy ...

When I was in Munich Tessa, an Australian girl I met at the lindy exchange, invited me to stay with her in Berlin where she is currently doing a study abroad semester. Not one to turn down an offer for free accommodation, I made plans to meet her at the train station upon arrival in Berlin (she went back a couple of days before me to return to school). Berlin is a really interesting city. It has a very ugly modern history that the city seems to ...

Argh. For the second time the entry wiped itself. You will now get the abridged version as I'm tired and cant be bothered to type for 30 minutes again! We did museums yesterday- The jewish one was good but LONG speding a lot of time on the not all that interesting 18th century. Also the architecture was interesting but got in the way of the actual exhibition. Then we did the DDR mueseum whích was small but really hands on an interesting. After tea we did Museum Island which is free ...

... I had a really good rice Biyrani stuff and we finished the meal witha shot of amazing mango liquor. That was more just hanging out and talking. They're fun to talk to even though they dominate the conversation. But that's okay. I can't always be the center of attention. They decided to spend New Year's Eve in Bratislava with Paul and Gabi. Harry more of less told me that he didn't want to travel witha girl. That's fine, I branch out better that way. When I'm alone, I mean. we spent ...

... of the city in a 6-7 story facility. Local trains are on the top floor with long distance trains being in the basement. We quickly found a connection to Leipzig. We earlier booked a hostel in Leipzig. We found the Globetrotter Hostel located very near the train station. We dropped off our things at the hostel and returned to the train station and purchased some of the best sweet breakfast snacks we have had on the whole trip. For about $7 US we ...

... us. It's not every day that one is able to both experience and reflect on a unique Jewish moment in one's life, but this was certainly one of several of those moments from last evening. Upon arriving to the synagogue and participating in its service, I was blown away. It was haunting to listen to the echoes of the Jewish liturgy, melody, and the words of the Kabbalat Shabbat service. The familiarity of the music and visual landscape of the hall penetrated my memories..as ...