Berlin

Berlin was a really dynamic city. It is much more international than Mannheim or Heidelberg, but at the same time people were less likely to speak English with us if need be or be understanding if it took us more time to understand the German. This was especially true of the restaurant we tried on Saturday night. The menu was filled with really ethnic, specialty dishes of the Berlin area so it took us more time to sort out the menu. The waitress kept coming back every two minutes to get our order and was getting upset when after fifteen minutes we had not ordered. This would have been more understandable, and we certainly would have been more sympathetic to her situation, if there had been anyone else in the restaurant besides one couple. There was no one waiting on the table so what did it matter when it turned? In the end, I had Curry Bratwurst, or a sausage with curry sauce. It was very good. Tipping in Germany is a matter of preference since it is already built into the price of the food. Having heard many opinions on what we should tip from native Germans, I have come to the conclusion that if you really like the service you round the bill up, but never more than one euro. The night before though, we went to a Mexican/Italian restaurant - yes, it sounds strange, but it was good. There the waitress could tell we were not native speakers (like it's hard to tell) and asked if we spoke English. When we replied that we did and we lived in the U.S., she asked if she could practice her English with us. We explained that we were learning German so we had to speak that. Even though she was disappointed she gave us more time with the menu. She also brought free bread (something they never offer in Germany), bruschetta, and Schnapps. We tipped her. I think that the people of Berlin are like those in any major city. You are going to meet the helpful person and the short-tempered person no matter where you go. You also meet the crazies wherever you go. In Berlin, one sees all kinds of crazy on the trains. The fact that we understand most of what is being said, but not all, kept us from being seriously offended or afraid of the people talking crazy German on the train.
The train system was amazing and for 15.90 Euros we could have unlimited rides for five people per day. As is expected in Germany, the trains were always on time. Apparently Berlin trains are for lovers. We did not get this memo, but picked up on the signs. There was at least one couple displaying major cases of PDA on each train we went on. This would be more understandable if the trains didn't smell bad, have crazy people wandering around, or screaming children.
We saw the Rathaus, the Reichstag, the Pergamon Museum, the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas), and unofficial memorial to the victims of the Wall. The Reichstag was a slight disappointment if only because we weren't allowed to explore the inside of the Reichstag. We were allowed to go up on the roof where we could view the whole city. The Reichstag also has a new dome where you walk up to the top of the dome and get an even better view of the city. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe has all of these concrete slabs of varying height stacked like dominoes and the rows move up and down. It is supposed to represent the confusion of an orderly world losing its place with reality. It was very evocative. The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche was so beautiful. The old parts of church are filled with colorful mosaics on the walls, floor, and ceiling. The new part has a hanging Jesus Christ with a backdrop of bright blue stained glass. The church had a model of what the church and surrounding area looked like before World War II and then another one of after. It must have been even more incredible before the air raid bombed it.
The Pergamon Museum was sooooo completely amazing. First off, it says in every guide book that it opens at 10 AM. They let us in at 9:15 AM so we got the museum almost entirely to ourselves for an hour. The reconstructed versions of Ishtar's Gate and the Pergamon Altar were so impressive. They also had a Babylon exhibit where they discussed the myths and truths of Babylon. One part of it was a letter in German that was sent to another country to be translated and then twenty-five other countries one right after another. This whole project took a year, and when it was translated into the last country's language, it was sent back to Germany. The letter was translated back into German and it was nothing like the original letter. This was supposed to demonstrate the power of languages.
The city was very beautiful overall. Wherever we went in the western part of the city we were surrounded by trees and parks. The eastern part of the city was much more run down. There were not as many trees. It was more dirty. The buildings look dilapidated. I kept a tighter grip on my bag. On the whole Berlin represented it's history, which is filled with the good and the bad.