Neue Nationalgallerie

Today I went on a tour of the Neue Nationalgallerie with a group from the Goethe Institut. I really like the museum, the art is amazing. Our guide had really interesting stuff to say but we only got to hear about like 6 paintings because she talks for so long about everything. But she seems really interested so that is nice.
Tomorrow Im leaving Berlin to go visit my friend Julia in Düsseldorf and Im really excited. I have always wanted to see carnival and Im sure it will be fun. And it is always nice to see Julia. And it will be nice to have a few days away from school. Im getting really frustrated with how dumb it is all of the time. But yesterday we got to go the courts here. That was really interesting. It was really hard to understand and nothing at all like Law and Order, but I realized Ive never seen an actual courtroom in America either, so I dont really know if it was any different at all.
But Im going to go head home to watch the news and go to bed. Love you all.

Museen and Eis

I can't figure out how to edit these things. So those pictures are awkwardly captioned. Sorry.
Anyway, today is rainyrainy and cold. And everything is closed on Sunday here. Not the bars.
But grocery stores and store-stores. Some restaurants are open. So Tara and Carlye and I are at this coffeeshop restaurant thing called Sankt Oberholz where you get free wireless. This is the first place I've been the entire time where there has been free wireless so that is wonderful. It is terribly slow though, and the coffee and such is fairly expensive. But for free internet it is worth it.
Today I woke up early again for no reason. I was out at the museums until three so I figured I would sleep in but I was up by 10:00.
So, "die lange Nacht der Museen" which is what the event where all the museums are open late is called, was pretty cool. It was hard to get around fast enough to see everything and the weather was terrible. We started at the Aquarium because that normally costs enough to cover the cost of the whole price for lange Nacht der Museen. It was crazy. There were sharks and stuff and these terrifying fish that looked like they came out of prehistory. Then we went to the Gay Museum which was pretty cool. Really small. And only about gay people, almost no mention of lesbians which I thought was ridiculous. Then we stopped and got french fries at a curry wurst stand, and as usual the man looked at me like I was crazy when I requested mustard for my fries. But here they cover your fries in whichever condiment you choose, and the options are normally ketchup or mayo. The mustard is amazing here though and much better than either the ketchup or the mayo but they always think I'm either crazy or French when I order it.
Then we moved on to the Berliner Dom which is a big pretty church. And there are all of these famous and royal dead people buried in the Basement. It was actually just really creepy. Who wants to look at the casket of all the former kings of their country? Not I.
Then we went to another church a few blocks away, but it was much less baroque and seemed kind of boring in comparison.
Then we went to the planetarium. We had to wait in line for forever which was lame but then there was a lazer show and stuff and it was really cool and totally worth it.
Then today we went back to the flea market in Prenzlauer Berg where we went last weekend. Unfortunately it was raining this week too. And the little coffee shop place that sold really good really cheap hot wine was not open. But I bought a replacement bag for 2euro. So I guess it was a success.
Then we went to a coffee shop that had free flavors. I had forgotten how much I love Irish Cream.
Then we went home to get our laptops and got icecream for a euro that was eggnog flavored and amazing at Alexander Platz and came here for the internet. And here I am.

Some Bilder of my travels with Dave

Blizzard in Munich!
And that lion brings good luck.




















A statue I like in Munich.




















The view out of our hotel in Augsburg.
It was real cute.





















Dave in front of our hostel in Heidelberg.
It was just in a bar.
Real weird.
















Crazy Nativity Scene in a church in Heidelberg.
All of the characters were doing drugs and Mary
appeared to be a prostitute.



















Brussels.
The famous Peeing Boy.
He is as small as everyone says.



















Thing that looked like the Brandenburg Gate.
But in Brussels.



















A pretty building in Brussels.
Everything was large and nice looking there.

Stolen Culture and Ali Baba's

So. Berlin. All is still going well. Tonight 50 of the museums are open until 2AM and you can go to all of them with one 8euro ticket. So, a few of us are doing that. I'm pretty exciting. Museums in the dark. And the Aquarium and Zoo and a few Planetariums. I'll let you know how that turns out.
On Thursday I went to the Pergamon which is the musuem here with all the Greek and Roman stuff. I kind of didn't like it because it seems like it was all just stolen culture. But everything was big and really impressive and there were the steps to an actual Greek Temple thing and you get to sit on them and it is kind of cool.
Yesterday I didn't do a whole lot. Went shopping for a new bag since my old one got stolen, no luck with that though. Then I took a nap and at midnight Tara and I tried to go out but kind of were feeling lazy and just walked around for a while, ate some Chinese, and went home.
Then Today we got Italian for lunch at this little Pizza Place in Charlottenburg (the neighborhood where I live). The pizza place, Ali Baba's is pretty famous because it is cheap and good. I got a big pizza for 3euro and then for dessert we had ice cream the was made to look like spaghetti and it was amazing. But the Mediothek is closing. More later.

Thieves and Such.

So. Yesterday I had a date with that boy that I met at RussenDisko and that was totally pleasant and we were in this cute little bar/restaurant in Kreuzberg and we were talking and I was practicing German or whatever and it was nice. And then some dude just steals my purse/backpack thing out from under the table and runs out of the restaurant. It was crazy and happened really fast and all in German which makes things harder. Anyway, so luckily I had left all of my schoolbooks and my computer and everything at home so I didnt really have anything that valuable with me. And then aside from that all of my stuff fell out of the front pocket of my bag onto the floor of the restaurant as the guy was running out. So Christian is chasing this guy who has my bag down the street and Im running behind but wearing a dress so I cant really run. But the guy got on a bus which then drove away before we could catch up so I lost my bag and will tragically never see it again and it was real cute. But, the barkeep guy gathered up all of my belongings which had fallen out and set them behind the counter for me while we were chasing the guy. And super conveniently, my wallet, keys, ipod, cell phone and everything fell out. So I only ended up losing the newspaper that was in the bag, a little notebook, the bag itself, and maybe altogether 5 euro. So. Basically that was the best experience I could ever have had with theft and Im super glad to not be standing in red tape trying to get a new drivers license and atm card from across the ocean. The whole thing was crazy. Real crazy. And my cellphone broke. But it only cost like 10euro and I can replace it for 2 so its not that big of a tragedy. Anyway. Craziness in Berlin. Its like living in a real city here. Anyway. Im off to find some lunch. Just thought I would let you know about my excitement. Hope all is well with everyone back home. Love You!

Pictures from Italy

The only picture I have of Rome thanks to a dead camera battery.
Dave is saying Rome.
We are in the train station where we ran into someone we knew. Crazy.
















I don't know what this says. I can't read Italian.
But I think it says you will die if you touch the wires.
I love trains!





















Not the real statue of David
But who would pay $12 to see the real thing and not take pictures when you can see a fake for free.
















Venice!
I'm riding in a boat taxi thing through the main canal.
Weird.




















Venice glass Christmas tree.
Venetian Glass is so expensive but really really pretty.
Really Pretty.















A bridge over a canal in Venice.
Too bad it was raining the whole time.















More Venice.
My camera was dead for almost all of Italy rather tragically.
But it was wonderful I promise.
Especially Florence.

Flohmärkte und Regen

So. I am at the apartment of a few friends from Mac. We made dinner tonight which was really great because the entire meal ( a stirfry with rice and fresh vegetables-including red peppers) only cost 8euro for four of us. Brilliant.
So. The rest of my weekend. On Sunday the weather was actually just terrible. But Sunday is Flea Market day so Carlye, the girl who lives with me, and I wandered off to find some bargains. We went to one at Arkona Platz in Prenzlauer Berg (the studenty area) which was small and because of the rain there wasnt a lot there. Then we wandered off to a bigger one which was great despite the rain and I'm hoping that it doesn't rain much next week so that I can go and buy lots of cheap German books. But inside of the flea market there was a little coffee house/ shack thing which was great after walking around in the cold and rain for two hours and then gluhwein (hot mulled wine) was only a 1.50euro and came in big mugs. Nothing warms you up like hot wine. Then we ate at an Eritrean Restaurant which was too expensive for my taste and not that great. The Ethiopean restaurant in Saint Paul is way better. Then I went home and watched TV for a while because it seems helpful for learning German. Then I read another chapter of my book and went to bed. I'm reading a nice little book of ten-minute stories about Berlin...which I read aloud to myself to help with pronounciation. Every story has taken me way longer than 10 minutes to read though. My German is still terrible I feel. But I have a date tomorrow with a German boy so hopefully that will help. I hope he will want to be my friend and will show me all the cool places in Berlin. Anyway. I'm off. Maybe to try to put pictures up. We'll see.
Love!

Rain and Bio-Produkte

So. Another week at the Goethe Institut. Things are going a little better here. Classes are pretty boring because I'm not used to the lack of academia. We learn really practical things I guess. And while I find it kind of annoying to have so many Macalester students in my class (there are 4 of us) I'm learning to be less terrified to speak German in front of these people. So maybe when I get back to Macalester I will actually be able to be a decent student. We'll see.
Anyway. Berlin is still really pleasant, although the weather has taken a turn for the worse. It's been raining pretty intensely for the past two days. So. On Saturday I went to the Green Week here which is a lot like the State Fair but inside and less smelly. It was just this huge display of foods and animals and bio-products from all over the world and there were lots of free samples and it was great. Then for dinner we went to a Sudanese vegan place which was good and really cheap. And then to a cute little bar in the studenty area of Berlin where they were playing Radiohead which made me happy. I met some nice people from Spain who now emailed me entirely in Spanish and I'm going to have to spend twenty minutes translating. Anyway. My computer is going to die so I had best go. More later....

Famous People and Falafel

So. Im already really homesick which is annoying. And today Im feeling really lonely because I dont know where any of my little groupmates are. But Kevin Healy is supposed to be here at three and I am meeting him at Alexanderplatz which is like my favorite place in this city so far. It is just this big train station where almost every line stops and it was a pretty central location in former East Berlin. I like everything about the east so much better than the west. Everything is a little grittier and everyone has to be a little bit more creative to get by. The west on the other hand is obviously wealthier and everything is cute and all but a little boring in my opinion. Anyway. Alexanderplatz is full of shopping and restaurants and has this big TVtower as its centerpiece. The TVTower or Fernsehturm is my favorite landmark by far here. You can see it from all over the city and its huge and ugly in this very soviet way that I really like. Anyway. Berlin is amazing even if I am a little homesick. I feel like I could live here and be really happy. There is something really vibrant about everything here. It has a lot of the same magic for me that Minneapolis (but not Saint Paul) has for me but its actually big enough to count as a city and the public transportation is absolutely great.
Also: I met a moviestar! Crazy. But at RussianDisco there was this guy with these really big really sweet glasses. So I told him that. And then my new German friend Christian informed me that he was in fact the lead character in this movie Sonnenallee about an area in former east berlin. Anyway I have read the book but never seen the movie so I didnt recognize him but I watched it yesterday to make sure and it was in fact that guy. Crazy. Apparently movie stars here just kind of hang out like normal people. Which I guess makes some sense as German cinema isnt the biggest thing in the world. Now I just hope that I run into the lead character from the movie I saw the other day. that would make my whole semester.
Anyway. Hope all is well for everyone.

RussenDisko usw.

So. Everything in Berlin is still going pretty well. The RussenDisko was crazy but pretty cool. It only hapens once a month and we had to wait like an hour to get in but everyone wass just jumping around to russian music and seemed to be having a great time. It was a little too hot and crowded for my taste but worth it. Yesterday I went and saw the East Side Gallery which is the part of the Berlin Wall which is still standing and which has lots of murals and graffiti painted all over it. It is cool but I had already seen it and will probably have to go see it again when Kevin is here. Then we went vintage shopping at this cool store where you buy everything by the kilo and I got a cute dress thing for 2.50. Which is really like 4.00 but still a pretty good deal for a dress I thought. Anyway. Im going to go try to find a good book to read at the library and then tonight I am going to a lecture about Art during the Nazi Era which will probably be pretty interesting.
Love you all.
Laura

BerlinBerlin

So.I am officially in Berlin and so far everything is going well. My room is huge and gorgeous and my host lady person is very friendly, though I rarely see her. She goes out salsa dancing almost every night and is usually still out when I go to bed and is still asleep when I leave. But she has a black cat which is exciting. Especially since I dont have to take care of it. Classes are going well. The homework is generally pretty hard but class itself is easy and I feel at least competent in my level. I havent been doing a ton of sighseeeing since I will be here for so long and because I know people are coming who will want me to show them around and I dont want to see all the really touristy stuff a million times. But our Macalester group went on a tour of the Reichstag and ate at a (really expensive) German restaurant on Macalesters tab. That was cool. We also saw the Brandenburg Gate and yesterday we climbed the Siegesaule which means victory tower and from there had a really nice view of the Tiergarten which is the big central park here. Carlye (the Mac girl I live with) and I went on a walk through our neighborhood and saw the Charlottenburg Palace which is right near our house and has really beautiful gardens. Our neighborhood is pretty cute in general. Then today we saw the Gendarmmarkt which is just a big square with a lot of pretty old churches and Bebelplatz where books were burned during the Nazi Era. I havent gone to see the wall yet since I have already been there and figure Dave will want to go when he gets here.
Yesterday night I went to a movie called Belin am Meer which had just come out and which was fabulous. Im really upset by it today though because it kind of made me realize that I wont every really get to know this city because I have so few opportunities to meet real Germans and because Im just never going to be that cool. But the movie was really good. You guys should see it if it comes out in America. Anywway. Off to explore somemore. Tonight we are going to a Russian Disco which should be exciting. Lovelove.

From a Few Days Ago

So I made it here. And there is too much to say about the past week so I'm just going to summarize.

But so far I have seen:
London-platform 9and3/4 was cool, they had a little sign and stuff. Everything else was expensive.
Brussels-wonderful. The buildings were tall and imposing but beautiful and I met some really nice people at my hostel. The waffles were only okay in my opinion (dad-yours are still better) and the peeing boy was as small as everyone said. The chocolate isn't as good as in Germany I thought but I bought some and I'm going to send it home as soon as I get settled.
Heidelberg-Was old and German. It was nice to be somewhere where I felt like I understood the language. My hostel was super weird and in a restaurant/bar thing. But it was pleasant and everything was beautiful except the weather. I love Gluhwein.
Augsburg-Our hotel was wonderful, the city was quaint, and the people were really friendly. We didnt get to spend a tremendous amount of time there which is too bad because it was also really cheap.
Munich-I had already been there but I couldnt really remember what I had done for entertainment last time. There were millions of people there for New Years so it was super crowded everywhere. The first night we just had chinese food and tried to go to the Hauptbräuhof but the line was super long so we went back to our hotel in Augsburg. New Years was crazy! There were thousands of people all in the main square and everyone was just lighting off fireworks. IT was probably really dangerous but it was also really cool and was a great way to spend New Years.
Salzburg- On New Years eve we got bored in Munich and decided to take a side trip to Austria since we had the time. So we went to Salzburg and just wandered around for a while. I can see why it is so touristy. There seem to be a million castles and beautiful views and quaint little restaurants and such. And the Sound of Music was filmed there.
Rome-There is so much really old stuff. There are all these 3000year old building stuck in between ugly new ones. There is garbage kind of all over and homeless people and men who try to sell you flowers at night. But the food is great and the restaurants are really cute and there are a million cool things to see everywhere you go.
The Vatican-smallest country in the world I think. It was pretty crazy. The line into the Basilica was supersuper long. BUt we went in and there is all this amazing art and it is huge and absolutely gorgeous. We didnt see the pope. Today we ran into a girl we know from Minneapolis in the train station(which was pretty crazy) and she had actually seen the Pope when she was there yesterday.
Florence- We got here today and it seems wonderful but we havent seen much yet. We ate at a cute little Italian restaurant. And now we are back at our hotel and ready to go to bed. My feet hurt so bad!

I will try to write a better more detailed entry soon.