Day trip and good news!

Yesterday, friends of mine and I went to Dresden for the day. Dresden is about 200 km north-oops! it is actually south of Berlin (danke süsser!), on the way to Prague. Usually, it would take you two and a half hours to get there, but since we are in Germany, and since there are no speed limits on the Autobahns (highways), the time it takes you to get somewhere is only dependent on what kind of car you have and how fast it can go! We happened to have a Saab, and it happened to be able to go really fast, so we were in Dresden in one hour and fifteen minutes! Driving on a German highway is not for the faint of heart! Cars come up behind you at an incredible speed and if you can't keep up, you have to give way to them. It really feels like driving on a race track. At 220km, our maximum speed, I could definitely feel the car sway from one side to the other a little. It was a fun thing to experience for a little while, but I am glad that the authorities at home are a little bit less liberal when it comes to the driving speed on our highways. Il ne faut pas dire à ma maman qu'on a conduit si vite!!!
Dresden is a beautiful city. It has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendor. The controversial bombing of Dresden in World War II, plus 40 years in the Soviet bloc state of East Germany, changed the face of the city dramatically. Unlike other cities in Germany that were bombed in the height of the war, Dresden was only attacked three days before the end of the war. It was attacked by the Royal Air Force as well as by the United States Army Air Force, who used incendiary bombs to destroy the city. The city was engulfed in an immense fire, where more than 12 ooo dwellings were destroyed and between 25 000 and 35 000 people lost their lives.
The Dresden of today has completely been rebuilt, but you can still see some of the signs of the bombings of the Second World War.
Dresden is famous for its Frauenkirche (church) that was completely destroyed during the war. The reconstruction of its exterior was completed in 2004, its interior in 2005 and after 13 years of rebuilding, the church was reconsecrated on 30 October 2005. Architects have tried to use as many of the original stones as possible, so although it looks much cleaner and brighter than most of the buildings in Dresden, you can still see a few of the original darker stones on its façade.

Besides the church, we also saw the Zwinger Palace, which now houses four different kinds of museums,

the Semperoper, an opera house in Dresden that is world-famous. There is a one-year waiting list for tickets!







and the Dresden castle:


All in all, it was a really nice day.

The day got even better when I got back home and received a phone call telling me that I have found a new home! I visited a room in a flat on Monday night and liked it right away. I had seen five places before that, and it was by FAR the nicest place that I have seen. The room that will be mine is nice and big. It has a window facing a quaint interior garden, two beds (ideal for visitors!!!), a writing table, and two wardrobes. The apartment itself is open and spacious, with a big bathroom and kitchen and a common room (living room), something not often found in flats here. Three people live there: Jurica, who was born in Croatia but who has grown up in Germany, Anja, who comes from Russia and who is Jurica's girlfriend, and Axel, who comes from the south of Germany. They were all three very nice and I think I will very much enjoy living there. It is situated in the Mitte (center) neighborhood of Berlin, not far from the main train station (Hauptbahnhof). Although it is not far from a busy street, it is very quiet as there are community gardens just in front of our building. I look forward to posting pictures so that all of you can see where I will be living for the next little while!

The Spreewald in pictures

My First Typical German Lunch!

Here is the first of many food-related posts to come! Berlin is similar to Montreal when it comes to food: you can eat very cheaply here. Almost every cuisine can be found, from Italian to Vietnamese, Turkish to French, and of course German. You can find an Imbiss (snack/lunch counter) at almost every street corner, where they serve many different kinds of sausages (Bratwurst, Bockwurst, Currywurst), Schnitzel, fries, potato salad, coffee, tea and soft drinks, as well as beer of course! Everything is extremely decently priced and these little snack counters are very popular. You can either eat at one of the tables provided, or you can bring your food, and your beer, to a park and eat there. The Germans are very liberal when it comes to drinking alcohol in public spaces. You can walk on the street drinking your beer at any time of the day, without it being a problem. No need for brown paper bags! Beer comes in either a 0,33 L format or a 0,5 L format (that's half a liter, just to be clear!!!!). Germans drink a lot of beer, but you would to, because beer, and alcohol in general, is so cheap here. A 0,5 L beer costs only 1,5o euros- can you believe it??!?!?!? All this to say that my 0,5 L beer made me a little tipsy yesterday! The red stuff on the sausage/fries is ketchup, but nothing like the ketchup we know. It's seasoned with many different spices, which make it slightly hot. You can also get mayo, but here again, it is quite different from what we are used to, and I don't much care for the German mayo! After this big lunch, and because my head was spinning a little, I had nap in front of the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral). The cathedral was built between 1895 and 1905. It was severely damaged during the second World War and it took 9 years to reconstruct it, during which time it was closed. It is a very impressive cathedral situated in the center of town, on the Museum Insel (Island of Museums). In front of the cathedral you can find the Lustgarten (Pleasure garden) where I had my nice little nap!

Today I am joining my friend Anja in her hometown called Lübbenau. Lübbenau is situated in the Spreewald, 100 km south-east from Berlin. The Spreewald region is referred to as the Venice of Germany, as the Spree consists of more than 200 small channels, totaling 1,300 km of water way. More to come on this in my next post!

Have a great week-end!

Berlin, here I am!

After two flights, lots of crying and too many goodbyes, here I am, in Berlin! It feels so unreal, just like a dream, and I think it will take me a little while to fully appreciate the fact that I am here for one whole year.
If my reception at the airport is any sign of how this year will go, then it will be a great year. There was not one, not two, not three, but FOUR people waiting for me at the airport as I arrived, on time, at Tegel airport! I had only expected two people to be there, so it was quite the surprise. It goes without saying that it made me feel very loved to have all these people there, and although my eyes were red and my head was pounding, I had a big smile on my face.

I am very lucky to have friends here- it makes everything easier for me! Everyone wants to help and that is a nice feeling.
As some of you might already know, I am presently living in the flat of a friend of a friend of mine. The room is very comfortable and the roommates (Katja and Andrea) are very helpful and super friendly. But as this is a temporary accommodation, the first thing on my very long list of things to do is to find a flat of my own. Last night I spent a few hours browsing the Internet and have found a few adds that sounded interesting. My first appointment to go see a room is tonight (Ah!!!!!!!!!) and I also have one for tomorrow night. Wish me luck!
The neighborhood in which I would like to live in is called Prenzlauer Berg. It is a very popular area, which means that prices can sometimes be pretty steep. The streets in this area are jam packed with cafes, bars, restaurants, boutiques and everything else you might need. There are many young people here, as well as young families. It is situated in the east, about 15 to 20 minutes away from the centre of town by U-Bahn (subway). It is a lovely neighborhood and I really hope I can find something here.
The picture of the bears that I have posted is very representative of Berlin, as the bear is this city's emblem. You can find bears everywhere, on T-shirts, posters, postcards, stamps, etc. Many bear pictures are likely to be posted on this site over time!
Tonight a friend of mine is coming to pick me up after work and he will show me the city by car. We are going to stop by the school where I will work so that I can familiarize myself with the neighborhood.
I look forward to discovering all that Berlin has to offer and I am very happy that all of you will be able to join me as I explore this very exciting city!
Until next time,
Tschüss!

The beginning of a German adventure!

I have been waiting for this adventure for a long time and now that it is here, I wish I had a few more weeks to prepare for it- how typical!! I can't believe that time goes by so quickly and that in less than 10 days, I will be bording a plane, destination Berlin, Germany!This year promises to be an exciting one, with new discoveries at every corner! I am happy that all of you will be able to join me on my adventures, share my experiences and hopefully understand why I like Germany so much! Here is to a wonderful year!