A sad history

I think that even though more than 60 years have passed since the end of the Second World War, when one thinks of Germany today, it is that period in history that comes up in most of our minds. We still, to this day, associate Germany with war, mass murder, Nazi power, concentration camps and incomprehensible violence. I wonder how it feels to be a young German today, knowing that although this history has nothing to do with you, you cannot escape it. Do they feel the need to apologize for what has happened so many years before they were even born? Is this country's history a burden for them? It would be interesting to survey a few young people and hear what they have to say about this.

So that this kind of event never happens again, one needs to be reminded of it regularly. A good way to do that it is to build a memorial. This is exactly what Berlin has done. It has build a Holocaust Memorial right in the centre of the city. The Memorial to the Murdered European Jews consists of 2711 concrete slabs, arranged in a grid pattern on slopping field. It is very impressive. Walking around this memorial, you kind of feel like the slabs are actually headstones. I found it strange to walk through this maze of concrete and could not help thinking that, although memorials are a good way to keep important events in one's mind, human beings are unfortunately probably not intelligent enough to make sure that what took place during the Second World War never happens again.

A perfect solution for my crazy obsession!

It's good to have friends. It's even better to have friends who listen to what you say and then reward your craziness with a wonderful gift!
A few days ago I published a post on my obsession for the Fernsehturm here in Berlin. In that post, I was pondering the option of getting a tattoo of this iconic building, knowing that it would probably not please many people (but that would not stop me!). But, as it happens, a better solution came my way.
Yesterday, two friends of mine came for a visit- they had not yet seen my new flat and we had planned to go to a flea market together (unfortunately, I did not find what I was looking for, namely a mirror!). With them, they brought a birthday/thank-you-for-correcting-the-abstract-for-my-Master's-thesis gift! And what was this gift you wonder?! Well, it is a beautiful long sleeve sweater with a picture of.... you guessed it, the Fernsehturm!!!! And so the solution to my obsession has been found: there is no need for a tattoo when you can wear a stylish top with the television tower on it!!!
Thank you Katja and Andrea!

What are you sinking about?

This is not a new ad, and most of you will have already seen it, because I love it so much and have e-mailed it to you already, but for those of you who have not seen this before, take a minute from your busy work day to go visit this link, it's worth it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnMBxI8Rqiw

A small, and healthy, obsession!

Some people, when they visit a new city, fall in love with a street, or a building, or a store, or a museum. Not me! Instead, I fell in love with a television tower!!!
One of Berlin's most well known landmarks is the Fernsehturm. It is situated in the middle of the city, and you can see it from almost everywhere, which is a great help when you are trying to find your way back to the centre of the city. If you walk towards the Fernsehturm, you will end up at Alexanderplatz, a central location in Berlin.
I remember thinking, two years ago, when I was here for the first time, how much I liked this television tower. My love (read here obsession!) with it has not diminished over the years, and upon my arrival here two months ago now (Can you believe it?! Time really does go by quickly when you are having fun!), I was very happy to see my television tower again.
My obsession with this tower means that I take pictures of it almost every time I see it, which drives some people crazy! It's like taking pictures of the CN Tower in Toronto- one is fine, two is ok, but more than that is just stupid! My obsession has even led me to ponder the question of whether or not I should get a (small) tattoo of the tower on my ankle. When I have discussed this option with my German friends here, the overwhelming response that I got was "NO!". I guess I can understand their hesitation- if someone told me they wanted to get a tattoo of the Olympic Stadium on their shoulder, I would scream out "Are you completely nuts?!". So I will have to further ponder the question and in the mean time, take more pictures!

For a dear friend!!

Enjoy your day Sasha and know that I am thinking of you!

Still in the running!

This post is for my ladies... you know who you are! I love you all so very much!

Although I am having a most fabulous time here in Germany, it is clear to me that I am missing out on so many different things, including hanging out with my ladies, delicious dinners in great company, various exciting outings with the ladies, TMN night and most of all, just being able to pick up the phone or jump in the metro and meet my ladies.
There is also something else that I am missing out on, and I hope that this post will show you that I am still very much in the running. What I am talking about is of course the running for the Best Ass of 2007-2008 Award!!! I woke up in a panic last night thinking to myself "How will I ever win Best Ass of 2007-2008 if the ladies cannot assess the goods?". And so the idea to "transport" my ass to you through the world of this blog came to me in a flash of brightness!!! Why did I not think of this sooner?! Although I know these pictures are not like the real thing, I hope that they will suffice to prove that I deserve to win the "Best Ass Award" this year again, just like I did for the past two years, and that my *competition* will stop trying to take away what obviously naturally belongs to me!
Enjoy!!!

Another year bites the dust!

Here I am, back in the blogging sphere, one year older than before!
Indeed, it was my birthday last week, and with one more year under my belt, I can now, unfortunately, better see the dark light that is waiting for me at the end of the tunnel, the dark light that is the big 3-0!!!!!!! Two more years and it is only down hill for me!
But let's not dwell on that and let's instead focus on the present!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, from the bottom of my heart, for the warm, kind, thoughtful and loving birthday wishes that were waiting for me in my inbox upon my return to the wonderful world of the Internet! All of you who have sent me a personal e-mail will of course get a personal e-mail in return, and all of you who forgot my birthday.... shame on you!!!
Thank you so very much for thinking of me, it means so much to me!
I am so lucky to have so many people who love and care for me, one could not ask for a better birthday gift than for the wonderful friendships that I have.
Lots of love to all of you,
From the now 28 year old Pearl
xxx

La famille!!

Une petite entrée en français, car elle va surtout intéresser Mamou Papou!!!
Voici quelques photos de Tata et Tonton. Ils vont tous les deux très bien. Ça ma fait plaisir de les voir et de passer quelques moments avec eux. Le brunch dimanche matin était très bien. On a surtout mangé des légumes (elle est pour toi cette blague Tonton!!!!).

Pour une amie chérie!

Et en allemand aussi, car je vis à Berlin:
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!

Türkenmarkt!

Did you know that Berlin has the third largest Turkish population of any city in the world? I knew that there were a lot of Turkish people here, but I did not realize that there were so many!!! There is a Kebab Imbiss (snack bar/diner/fast-food stall) at every corner, and you can get a Doner Kebab (Doner meat, lettuce, tomatoes, red cabbage, garlic sauce) for 2 euros, which really is not very much!

You can find Turkish specialties in many grocery stores, but the best place to find Gozlemes, flat breads, olives of all kinds, herbs and spices, and special Turkish cheese has to be at Kreuzberg's Turkish Market, which takes place every Tuesday and Friday. It is the largest Turkish market in Berlin and runs along the banks of the Landwehrkanal for nearly ½ mile. Kreuzberg, the neighborhood where the market is located, is the center of Turkish immigrant life in Berlin.

I visited this market today with ma Tata Colette et monTonton Joël, who are in Berlin to visit friends here. It was lovely to see some of my family and to visit this market with them. There were so many fruit and vegetable stalls, and I would have bought much more than I did had I been going home directly after the market. But as I was not, I restrained, and only bought some ruccola/arugula/roquette (which I had for dinner in a salad and which is DELICIOUS!).

Like any good aunt and uncle, I was spoiled by them, and I got, for my birthday (which, by the way, is next Wednesday, for those of you who may have forgotten this VERY IMPORTANT date!!!!!!!!) a very nice hand bag made of hemp! They also treated me to a nice lunch- it is lovely to be in the company of family (and to have a birthday in the upcoming days!).










Valsis, this picture is for you! Can you see all the ground cherries?!?!?!

Berlin- a few pictures 2

Painful, but beautiful!

The only good thing about having to wake up SUPER early to be at work for 8 am is that you can still see the moon and the stars!

Germany's national sport! (No, it's not drinking beer while eating a sausage!!!)

I am no sport fanatic, but I do enjoy watching tennis matches on the television when there is a tournament. I also get very enthusiastic during soccer matches, especially when France is in the final of the FIFA World Cup (we should have won that game!). If soccer where human, it would be a god here in Germany. Fussball is Germany's national sport and people here take it very seriously. Every child plays soccer and almost every grownup is a hard core fan of one team or another. Soccer is played at thousands of amateur clubs, and with more than 6.3 million members, the "Deutsche Fussballbund" (DFB; German Football Federation) is by far the largest sports organization in Germany. Every week during the regular season, hundreds of thousands of people attend the professional games while thousands more watch or actively take part in matches between local amateur clubs (Info provided by: http://www.germany.info/relaunch/culture/life/sports.html). Like the saying goes "When in Berlin, so see a soccer match!".
On Saturday, Berlin's team, Hertha BSC, was playing in the Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) built for the 1936 Summer Olympic Games and site of the FIFA World Cup's final match. Hertha BSC was playing against Energie Cottbus, the last ranking team in the league at the moment!
The stadium itself is very impressive and resemble Rome's Colosseum. The stadium can seat 76 ooo people and it makes it Germany's second largest stadium.
The stadium was not at full capacity on Saturday, but there was a decent number of fans, and the atmosphere was very energized.
The game was pretty exciting, and although Energie Cottbus played very well, the game ended in a tie 0-0, which is perhaps better, because there were some sketchy characters in the Cottbus section and if their team at lost, I am not sure what they would have done. But as the whole of Berlin's police force was there, I was not fearful for my life!!!

This is a little video to show you how dedicated the Cottbus' fans were. The video is actually 14 seconds long, but I guess all of it could not be uploaded to the site.

The stadium seen from the outside.

A random German man selling random German beer outside of the stadium. Only here in Germany!

The colours of Hertha BSC.

The stadium from the inside- the game had not started yet.

Germans (and at least one Canadian!) watching a Fussball match.

A panoramic view of the stadium- a bit small, but you get the picture (no pun intended!).

German hoodlums!

No fear, Berlin's police is here!

Fun fact?!

Sometimes we think we know the neighborhood we live in, but then one day we are walking around, and we discover a bran new little cafe or specialty store that we had no idea existed there! I made such a discovery yesterday, while on my bicycle tour with my roommate Anja, but unfortunately for me it was not a cosy little bakery where I can buy tasty bread, or a fun clothing store where I can buy one of a kind shirt. No, what I found was a jail!!! Yes, there is a jail just 5 minutes away from where I live. Actually, to be perfectly honest, there are TWO jails, both walking distance from my flat. One is for men and the other is for women. At first I was not sure what to think about all this, but now that I have thought about it for a little while, I have no issues with it.

The women's jail is just next to the supermarket where I go shopping (5 minutes from home). I passed in front of it repeatedly without knowing that it was a jail. The building is sombre and non-descript, and if you didn't know it was a jail, you would simply think it was an old, ugly building.

The men's jail is slightly more impressive, with barb wire and watch towers around it, but it is further away from where I live and well guarded I would imagine (!). I managed to take a few pictures of it while on my bicycle, but I did not want to linger there with my camera- these days it is perhaps not the best idea to dwell in front of a jail taking pictures!!!

Here is the link to a satellite view of the Moabit jail (http://deu.archinform.net/projekte/4984.htm). The jail itself is the start shaped building. If you follow these directions, you can see the building where I live:

1. Click at the top of the jail. You should see a street called Seydlitzstrasse appear of the right side jail.
2. Follow this street until you hit Lehrter Strasse.

3. Then click on the top (north) of Lehrter Strasse. Right away you should see an orange building, to the right of Lehrter Strasse. That's where I live!!!

4. If you follow Lehrter Strasse to the south (opposite direction of where I live), you will see the newly built Hauptbahnhof, all made of glass, very impressive.

Let me know if my directions worked and if you were able to see where I live!

I hope this won't stop you from coming to visit me!