Learning Deutsch

I am now in Germany, and I've been staying with my friend and sister, May. I don't know who wouldn't know, but Maite (can't get the special fonts to work here, dangit!) was our exchange student when I was a freshman in high school, and I hadn't seen her since. We're both glad to see each other though, and May has been awesome at planning things out--there's so much to do!--and a great hostess. I'm learning lots of German and have seen all the sites in Berlin.
Tuesday we got to go up the TV Tower in town, which has a panorama viewing floor at 203 meters in the air. It was clear the day we went up, so we were able to see even 80 km away! Berlin is a really cool city with a rich history, and seeing it from the air helps one to appreciate the differences between East and West. We also took a bus ride that took us past all of the touristy places--the Reichstag (state house, like our Congress, and very impressive), the Victory column, the Tiergarten, the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial Church, among other things.

A view from above Berlin, including the Berliner Dom (Cathedral) and the Brandenberg Gate

The victory column

The Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church

We went shopping at a mall at a train station (the big train stations all have malls) and met May's friend Shirin (who many of you will be meeting soon) for some ice cream. Now, when I say ice cream, I mean ice cream like I had never seen before. Unfortunately, my camera was dead; this ice cream was delicious and huge... Mine had blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, black currants, mango yougurt, etc (I had to be healthy, you know)... oh and syrup, whipped cream, and lots of ice cream. I also got to meet two of May's sisters when we went to her mom's house for supper (her mother is on vacay in France)--Clara and Louise, who are both delightful.

Wednesday brought a lazy morning where May's boyfriend Greg showed me around the neighborhood. Berlin has a really cool feel (cool is the word that I've decided best describes Berlin) which mixes babies and punks, cupcakes and metal rockers, trash and art (Greg calls the graffiti on the dilapidated buildings here "trash art") and most of all, very friendly folks. It's a cool place.

Some "trash-art" near May's house (I'm a fan)

In the afternoon, May and I walked up close to the Reichstag, through the Tiergarten and the Brandenburg Gate, and down to the Spree where we took a boat ride to learn more about the city. I saw the Chancellor's house, old churches, and big parks. There are a lot of parks, and after the boatride (and a delicious falafel supper) we headed out to a park on the south side of town, Schlachtensee, a lake. We took a dip and then just enjoyed the company (this time I got to meet May's brother and sister Magnus and Stella) before heading home to call it a night.

The Brandenburg Gate

A view from our boat ride; the Berliner Dom is on the left

A view of the Schlachtensee (Slaughter-lake) where we went swimming