The Bears

I have no idea why but the bear is the symbol for Berlin. One popular theory is that it was put on the city-state's (Like Hamburg and Bremen, Berlin is both a city and a state.) coat of arms because in the German pronunciation, the first syllable sounds like the German word for bear. "Berlin" in Germany sounds like Bair-leen. The German word for bear is "Bär" and sounds like Bair.

The bear is on everything. The popular beer made in Berlin and logos for the city's film festival. Like many cities around the world, Berlin had a variety of animal statues on parade throughout the city. Of course, it was the Bear. Here a few examples.




This is the bear in the American embassy's glass-encased entrance on Behrenstrasse. Yes, that's a Sol LeWitt star painting behind it.

Most Bears in Berlins are outside. Like all American embassies and consulates around the world, security is a tight in Berlin embassy, so this lady liberty Bear is indoors.














Here's a Bear used as advertising. A red Bear welcomes guests from around the world.



















In a gay section of Berlitz called Nollendorf Platz, sits a rainbow-covered Bear. I am not sure what happens in Bruno's but all the windows are covered, so I am sure there is only wholesome fun to be had there. Despite a fear of what is happening in Bruno's, we had some great meals in this section of town.

Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburg Tor) is a piece of a city gate that was completed in 1791. When many people think of the wall coming down, they see this structure. On one side of the gate sat East Berlin and the other was West Berlin. When the Berlin Wall, Berlin Mauer, was put up, East Berlin got the gate.

Already things different. When I came there was construction on Unter den Linden, a street that runs into the gate. Also, cars and trucks rumbled up and down the street. Now the street is only open to pedestrian traffic. The area is much more serene. Because World War II ravaged the city, everything is new and interesting. While there are no trees on much of the streets, there are a few large parks in central Berlin.

A museum, a glorious grand dame hotel, government offices and small restaurants line the treeless street. I was happy to see a Dunkin' Donuts and a Starbucks. I have seen Dunkin' Donuts in Cologne and now Berlin. It gives me hope that a few will soon make their ways to Hamburg or Kiel.





Here is an up-close look at the statue of victory being pulled by a chariot. She faces the east.















Here is the back view of the statue. This is what you see when you cross the gate.










In 2008, the American embassy caused a stir when it opened its doors flush against Brandenburg Gate. As you see the building has the charm of a prison. Plus, security measures mean that people can't get close to it, so part of the Pariser Platz, an area that sits right in front of the gate, is off limits to people strolling around the historical area.

Summer Lust

I never travel in the summertime. Prices are too high and the crowds are too big. Until I moved to Germany, I had not seen the nation in the spring or the summer. Plus, if you live in a city, it is great to be in the summer. All the weaker citizens have decamped for less busy climates or somewhere "fun," like the Grand Canyon. The summer in Hamburg was fabulous. There was no one on the bus, so finally the bus arrivals resembled the bus schedule. Plus, it seemed that all the teenagers had all been shipped off. The gaggles of adolescents that crowd corners and subway stations with their crates of beer and bottles of cheap sparkling wine were gone. I want to experience my home in all its empty splendor.

But, Asmus and I have been immobile since the return from Russia. We spent a glorious weekend with his brother's family outside Frankfurt in June but there were no exotic restaurants or bus tours. God, I love a double-decker bus tour. I love looking down on tourist attractions.

Wanderlust took a hold of us in August. We wanted an overnight stay in a close but interesting city. We rejected Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Cologne because of distance concerns. Asmus knocked down Dresden because he has a prejudice against cities in east Germany. Shocking for such a liberal guy. We thought about the island paradise of Sylt. But we are not beach people, so struggled to think of what to do for fun, so we scrapped the North Sea treasure.

The winner . . .

Berlin!

I visited there in 2000 and was not impressed. The city was dirty and old. Whatever wasn't rickety and out of date was under construction. The capital was in the process of moving from Bonn to Berlin, so two cities [East Berlin and West Berlin] were being turned into one [Berlin] and old government buildings were being renovated and new ones were being built. The city was one big construction site. But I have not seen it in 10 years, maybe it has changed. Asmus, the German, has not been to the capital since it became the capital. He thinks he was last there in 1989.

We made the right decision. Berlin was diverse, full of history, and pulsing. Going to the movies is not a major leisure activity here. Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany, almost 2 million people. The city has about 8 or 9 movie theaters. Two show films in English. Berlin has more movie options and these options sometimes unspool a month before and a month longer than they do in Hamburg. So our To Do list was full of movies.

Our home away from home, CineStar Berlin - Original im Sony Center. It is a theater in this weird indoor/outdoor space called
Sony Center in Potsdamer Platz.

Popcorn is a very American treat. I am not a big fan of movie theater food (I usually cannot afford it) but every once in a while I want some buttery goodnews. This Berlin house is the only moviehouse that I visited that had buttery popcorn. It wasn't wet and gross with oil that is cleverly disguised as butter. It had a butter flavor that slid down your throat. Other theaters have popcorn that is either sweet like Cracker Jacks or merely salty. The familiar taste supported the movie enjoyment of Grown Ups. I needed a little bit of help. The seats are tighter than airline seats.

We got off the train at 1:45 p.m. and went straight to Potsdamer Platz and the movie theater. When we came back to the theater to see the haunting Moon at 10:30 p.m., we got tickets for two different bench seats.

Another view of the Sony Center. This is a combination of offices and shopping and entertainment center. There is a partial roof over the "outdoor" part and lights of different colors shine throughout the area.

A view of the roof over the "outdoor" area of the Sony Center. It changes from blue to lilac to white and the walking area gets a cool glow.

A new addition to the family

Asmus and I have expanded our family. Simone officially joined us at 12:20 p.m. on Saturday, August 21, 2010.

Simone is not a newborn. She was born in 1998 and is a wine-colored Mercedes-Benz E-Class. We have never owned anything more expensive than a computer. It is a big responsibility but we think we are ready.

It is pretty exciting. Although I am not driving it, I am excited. I teach English Tuesday nights and the bus schedule is not in my favor. The lesson is over at 9 p.m. but I don't get home until 10 p.m. It takes a half hour for the bus to come and then it takes a scheduled break at the train station for 7 minutes. Now I don't care about no schedules.






I am not driving it because my license expired March 2009, the day of my wedding in Hamburg. I am a passenger and it is killing me.

Of course, I have complaints. I have two big complaints and both are about size.

I have always complained about signage in Germany. I never know where i am in this country. There are limited signs and when there are signs, there is not enough information on them. The street signs are microscopic. I estimate that they are about four inches tall. When you are zooming by at 25 miles an hour, that is about the size of an amoeba. Also, there is only one sign at each intersection. Driving in an unfamiliar area is very stressful.

I thought it was odd that so many Germans have navigation systems in their cars. EVERYONE here has one. Now that I have worked as a map reader here, I understand this need for digital help. Fortunately, Simone was born with a Navi, as the locals say. We just haven't figured it out yet.

Also, parking spaces here are two narrow. I am pretty bad at parking between lines. I always park far from a mall, where there were fewer cars. With that space, I can drive over three rows until I get the car straight. Tuesday afternoon I was radiating sympathy like I was the sun when Asmus parked Simone in the lot near our apartment. He got her in but it would be impossible for anything bigger than a SmartCar in the spot next to Simone.

We did not have the luxury of space on my return from teaching Tuesday night. Residents in downtown Kiel get four spaces that they can use in a parking lot across the street from our apartment. There was one spot between two cars. There was a lot of back and forth and back and forth before Asmus got her in. Then we had to struggle to get out of the car. There was not enough room to open the doors wide. I am going to need a valet parking to suddenly appear here when I start driving in Germany in November.

Despite all the size problems, it is so nice to have an efficient means of transportation. Earlier this year, we moved from one apartment to another in two cab rides. If there are sick parents to move from home to doctors offices, there is a backseat for them and a trunk for a walker or wheelchair. The backseat and trunk were requirements for any addition to our family.

I am excited about all the possibilities. We wanted to do paintball and go carts. Both places were about 90 minutes away from our apartment by public transportation. With Simone, we are even closer to the fun. I love closer.

Time flies when you're having fun

The view from the anniversary celebration spot.

On July 25, Asmus and I celebrated two years of wedded bliss. Time flies when you're having fun.

Of course, there were massages and a great dinner. We had an OK time at our favorite hotel in Hamburg. I sent note listing my complaints -- liquidy scrambled eggs that were not hot; half-filled minibar (the items in it are free, so it must be full!); and other small things. In reply, we were invited to stay in the duplex suite that overlook the Alster lakes at the price of a regular room. That was a great gift!

We had a great dinner at Cox restaurant. The food was fabulous and the service was warm. Germans prefer quality food over quality service. It was nice to get both. I got tap water with no complaints. (At a charming restaurant near Frankfurt, a server told me that it is illegal to give out tap water. If she gave me water, she would be fired. All of it lies. Somewhere along the way, Germans joined the Church of Bottled Water. While the United States is slowing waking up to the environmental impact of collecting, packaging and transporting water, always-eco-friendly Germany pushes bottled water on everyone. Requests of tap water are often met with sighs, complaints or refusals.) The server took our photograph happily and congratulated us. The food came fast and she kept checking on us. Cox was last on the list and now it is on the top of my favorite places to eat.

Then we hit Cafe Gnosa for dessert. German dessert are not the same as American desserts. Kuchen is a collection of thin layers of cakes and thick layers of cream. Cafe Gnosa comes very close to getting it right. There are tables outside, a cafeteria in the front of the restaurant, and, in the back, a Mod dining room where cutting-edge visual art hangs on the walls, shag carpets lies on the floor, and cool lamps hang over table. I dragged Asmus through the cafeteria straight to the groovy dining room, which was empty. While we debated the niceness of sitting in an empty room and having the server only wait on us, our server, Robert, arrived. He heard the debate and told us that we must sit back here and he would see that we were happy [There was no mention of the anniversary.]. Robert fulfilled his promise. Plus, we discovered the gloriousness that is coffee with banana liqueur.

It was almost as good as the perfumed lotion that Asmus got me. First, I have a ridiculous love of lotion. I love it. I love smooth skin. When I was in Chicago earning an over-priced masters degree, I bought Princesse Marina de Bourbon perfume. It was this sweet berry sensation. When I moved back East, I could not find it anywhere. I eventually gave up the dream of smelling like jam. The dream was realized a few Sundays ago, when Asmus gave me Thierry Mugler's Angel perfumed lotion. It smells exactly like Princesse Marina de Bourbon. He had no idea about my perfume heart ache.

I got him a blender. He is a fan of appliances with motors.

I recommend marriage. If for nothing else besides the gifts.

More Purging

Kiel Week- The Activities!

There were concerts. Kiel has new acts like Cassandra Steen. It also has oldies but goodies. This year, Nena performed (Here in Deutschland, she had more hits than 99 Luft Balloons. She had a well-received record last year. If you can find Wir sind Wahr (We are True), your life will be better than it was before.). Level 42 was also on stage. I missed all of them. There is a lot of standing at concerts in Europe. I am not one for standing. I did a lot of eating, drinking and shopping. I bought a cool ring from Mexico. I had a massage. I bought a vase.

This is where I fell in love with Thai Massage. I went twice.

At this "Netherlands" pavilion, this patient man made glass vases, objets d'art and candelabras while you watched.
I bought a delicate yet intricate vase from him for 15 euros.

Here are two views of the beloved ring that I bought at the Mexican jewelry pavilion.

Purge

I have been working like Harriet Tubman (without the good feeling that comes from leading hundreds of people out of slavery) and unfortunately I have been neglecting communication to the world.

Here are a bunch of photos of my summer.

Kiel Week- The Food!

Nepalese cuisine. Delicious. For the uninitiated, it is similar to Indian.

Excellent chimichurri and wine!

The Taste of Peru is much like the taste of Mexico.
The moles were a bit different.

The crowd at the International Food Market.

Interestingly, Rwandan food has yucca, like Caribbean food.
It has some kick. This stand offered dishes with
alligator and springbok but I stuck to beef.

Super American

USA goalkeeper Tim Howard reaches for a goal against England in the
first full day of the World Cup on June 12. We tied! No one scored.

The longer that I am away from America, the more "American" I have become. I don't moan when someone offers me mayonnaise for my French fries, instead of ketchup. I don't groan when someone mispronounces my name.

I hate it when people think I am from Africa. Two weeks ago, I was having a cocktail at Mango's, a restaurant in which I have had plenty of cocktails. The television was broadcasting the highlights of the day's World Cup match. In German, my server congratulated me on the playing of the "Elfbeinküste" team. I was so proud that I had been able to do basic greetings and order in German but sadly I was stumped by the team name. I tore up my brain to find the word. I recently heard it. It was familiar. Thirty seconds later, I got it. Elfbeinküste was the Ivory Coast. The African nation had played Portugal earlier in the day. The small country shocked the world when it tied the European powerhouse. The German server thought I was from the Ivory Coast. I politely corrected him. I could have said nothing but I am AMERICAN dammit!

Quite often Germans think I am from Africa. For a while, people would ask me if I was from Uganda. Then it was Ghana. I still get Ghana a lot. Sometimes people just ask me where in Africa I come from. Germany does not have a long history of immigration, so many here think Black people only come from the African continent.

So I am living in Europe, so adjust a bit. I live with a German man, so I watch World Cup soccer. I even call it football. I watch Germany play but my heart beats red, white and blue, so I only really care when America plays. And then I watch under duress. I like to win so much that it is too stressful to watch. I did not watch the last match in the early rounds, when America had to win or go home. I was ecstatic when someone told me about Donovan Landon's less-than-a-minute-to-go goal.

I loved that people were scared of the U.S. in soccer. I was thrilled that the USA fielded such a ethnically-diverse team. Plus, our team was coached by an American, not some coach who bowed to the highest bidder.

Donovan Landon after scoring the winning goal
against Algeria June 23. That was the shocking
win that got the US in to the Round of 16.

I was still so proud of the team when it lost to Ghana. It took a long time to get to that deciding goal.

Now I will have to support Deutschlands Mannschaft [Germany's Team] 100%.

Ain't That a Kick in the Head

Tor! That's German for Goal!

Life is different here. Of course, it is but now more than usual. That's because it's time for the World Cup!

Because I had European friends, I knew it was a big deal but it is different to be in the middle of World Cup insanity.

Germans are so calm and reserved but not when there is a black-and-white ball rolling around. They get a lively. I like the World Cup effect here.

Asmus made me watch England take on the United States Friday night. I was happy to skip over the event because everyone, Everyone, including the U.S. team, predicted American defeat at the hands of its former oppressor (Yes, taxation without representation, indeed.) I was happy to witness a tie! Yahoo! Even Steven. Take that England!

I was ready for fun Sunday night. That was Germany's first game. They took on Australia. A new sports bar opened up around the corner from us, so made a date to be there at 7:30. an hour before the match started. We got there around 7:45 and there were no seats.

There were tables outside but I am not one for the out of doors, so we went to a restaurant that is officially called Alex and I refer to as the worst service in the world. The tables directly in front of the projector screen were filled but there were plenty of options a step away.

The Crowd watching Australia lose to Germany their first match at the World Cup.

After the little kids walk the players out, the German national anthem played. No one in Alex stood up or put their hands over their hearts. That is a relief. I am not sure of foreigner etiquette. I do not know the words to the German national anthem and it would be dishonest to symbolically place my hand over my heart. I ain't that crazy about the country. Then the Australian anthem played. The players put their hands over their hearts and sang. It seems this hand-over-the-heart thing may be a vestige of our British past. Damn Oppressors!

The game started and it was quiet. Quiet except the so-annoying-that-I-want-to-kill-myself horns, the vuvuzela. The crowd rises to a roar as the ball gets close to the Australia's goal and it exploded when it went in four times.

Cacau just scored a goal and the crowd goes mildly excited.

It was nice relaxing game. Australia was supposed to lose and they really lived out that prediction. At the end, there was light applause and then restaurant cleared out.

But from our apartment, we heard fireworks and cars honking and cheering.

I cannot wait until the opening matches are over. I want to be in a swirl of cheering.

No Use Crying Over Spilled Blood

On our first full day, Asmus and I did the tour bus thing. It was one of the hop-on hop-off. Our goal was the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood. That was my choice. Czar Nicholas II was fatally attacked on the spot where the church now stands January 1881. The ground was broken October 1883. It officially opened August 1907. It is built in a Russian style popular in the early 1800s. I love it. It is too much. Too much decoration. Too much gold. To much color. I love too much. It has those onion domes and mosaic on the outside.








The inside is entirely decorated in mosaics, which depict stories from the Bible.

View of the Ceiling

Iconstasis. Christian churches in Eastern Europes have a wall of icons and
religious paintings that separate the nave from the sanctuary.

There is a black pagoda-like structure on the exact location where the king was shot.



There's also an ATM in the church. I love a church with an ATM. Many churches in Hamburg sell wine. Churches in Europe are fun.

This magnificent building stopped being an active church in 1930 by Communists, who were not fans of religion. It was a warehouse for decades. In 1970 the government allowed it to be returned to its former glory. After 27 years, it was done.