The Wall, Turkish Food, Internet & Potsdam

So this first week has been much better than I initially thought it would be. Berlin is nice. Its like New York City, its big and dirty and crowded. But everybody speaks German. That's been the most difficult part. Trying to adapt to a new culture and a new language. But thanks to "intensive" German class my German is pretty good.

The Wall:

So on Friday we went to the intersection of Frederichstrasse and Zimmerstrasse. This the intersection in the center of Berlin were the Wall used to divide east and west Germany at Checkpoint Charlie. There is a path on the ground demarcating where the wall once stood so you can almost imagine that there is a physical border. You get an erie feeling standing there. It almost feels as if you are in a piece of history. Its a very ominous feeling and its really very moving. There is another section further down where a large piece of the wall is still standing. This is incredible you can actively feel how the Germans felt. You can really see the pain anguish these people felt from the graffiti on the wall calling for justice and help. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be living there. The other strange feeling you get when you are there is you can still the divide between East and West. The east side has all old concrete communist era housing and looks very tradition and the west side has a McDonald's and a Starbucks. Its an incredible spot where you feel this clash and blending of cultures.

Turkish Food has become my new Taco Bell. It is everywhere but its surprisingly good. All of the places look like a fast food stand but everything is made right in front of you. The blend of fresh vegetables, different sauces and lamb is awesome.

So we finally got internet in our apartment so I can actually be connected to the world, my parents and my wonderful girlfriend.

Finally today we went to Potsdam. Potsdam is one of the most magnificent places I've ever seen. It is a small German town which has a very dutch style. The town is quaint with small buildings and a farmers market. The real incredible part is the 19th Century architecture that is still there. There are castle gates that have survived from the 1800's and other beautiful monuments in the town. Its incredible to be surrounded by such a historical presence. Its something that you can't experience really in America. The we went to one of the many parks around the City. The park which must have been 10 square miles and took seven hours to walk was filled with castle. Formerly a hunting ground for Fredreich the Great the place is just beautiful. everything is on an axis except for the paths between the castles. Just the grounds and the fountain and how there is just so much of a majestic quality all around. There are breathtaking moments when as you're walking up the paths the castles are hidden from you and revealed only when you've almost reached them. The views are beautiful all around and the architecture is equally spectacular. So of the buildings have such a massive scale you feel dwarfed by them. And all of the statues and sculptures make all of the history almost overwhelming. So it has been one the most incredible things I've seen.

I'm going to put all the pictures on the blog via Flickr so look for that soon. And I tried to take touristy pictures not architectural ones.