After all the Easter celebrations were over and things went back to normal, B and I also returned to our regular routines. B went back to his research and began working at a new research venue, The Municipal Archives, which has had its own set of frustrations. Apparently, the staff at these archives have brought new meaning to the term bureaucracy. So, it has been slow going jumping through all of the hoops just to be able to actually start looking at documents and doing some research, but things look like they may be on their way now.
Speaking of bureaucracy, after nearly 6 months in Bucharest and with only 3 to go, B and I were finally able to pick up our residency permits and we are now officially legit. This final step was by far the easiest part of the process.
On Friday our landlord finally got a plumber to come check out the issues we've been experiencing. While the plumber was here, our landlord asked that we not be present: she was afraid that if the plumber knew that Americans lived in the apartment, they might charge her more. So we went to a pan-Asian cafe near our apartment for a late lunch, and then headed over to Starbucks where we relaxed and read for a bit. Everything seems to be working fine now, so hopefully the plumber won't need to make a return visit. We celebrated by baking some delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies!
We have also enjoyed spending some time with Fulbright friends and even meeting some new folks. In fact, one new contact told us about a special exhibit that was at the History Museum for a short time. The exhibit was on loan from a Roma rights organization in Germany and was an exhibit specifically about the persecution and experiences of Roma during the Holocaust and the denial of their suffering for many years thereafter. The exhibit was quite well done and we were lucky to catch it just days before it left. B was especially glad to have a chance to see it. Sadly, the portion of the exhibit on Romania was the least informative. Perhaps not coincidentally, most of the other people looking at the exhibit were non-Romanians (in fact, they were almost all Germans).
After the exhibit, we decided to grab a quick bite to eat and try the Pizza Hut, which was close by. B had been there once on a previous trip, but I had not. Unlike the Pizza Huts at home, the ones here are more upscale and offer several types of pasta, salads, appetizers, and desserts in addition to pizza. I opted for some pasta and B got a personal sized pizza. I think he made the better choice. While the experience was good overall, we left smelling VERY smokey since even though they have separate rooms for smoking and non-smoking patrons, they left the door between the sections wide open and we had the misfortune of being seated very near the door. Ah, Romania!
So far this week nothing much of note has happened; S met one of our Fulbright friends for some much-needed girl time, and B spent a few hours talking shop last night with some friends and fellow scholars. We do have some good news: B received a research award from his dept., and will get to teach his own class next spring semester! So, upwards and onwards!
-S
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Paste Fericit!
Hello everyone! It has been a week since our last entry, so it is time for an update. This past week we resumed our normal schedule. Work in the archives for me has been hectic but very fulfilling. This came to a screeching halt on Friday, however: all government offices were closed for the long Christian Orthodox Easter. I had to write an abstract for a conference anyway, so I worked on that while S enjoyed some coffee and a book at Starbucks. Later that evening we met our friends Diana and Chris for dinner at an Italian restaurant that is actually part of a chain here in Bucharest. The decor was vaguely reminiscent of what you might find in an Olive Garden--kind of kitschy, loaded with false memorabilia--but the food was good, and I really enjoyed talking shop with our friends.
Yesterday started out not unlike many other Saturdays! We headed off to our favorite brunch spot, where S had a bright idea. As yesterday was the day before Easter, most people were at home with their families. And we needed to buy a new hand mixer to replace one that broke, as well as a fan for when it gets hotter, we decided now would be the perfect opportunity to head to Baneasa and do some shopping. As we might have mentioned before, Baneasa is a suburb north of Bucharest. In addition to the two airports, Baneasa boasts the large Western-style homes of the expat business community, as well as those of some of the more successful Romananian entrepreneurs. It therefore is no surprise that Bucharest's IKEA is located in Baneasa, along with a shopping mall and a few hyper-markets. We had never been to an IKEA before, and since the stores in Baneasa were likely to be less crowded we took a cab over. I have to say, IKEA was a very interesting experience. For one, all the signs were in Swedish, with a Romanian translation in smaller type. All the books in the furniture displays were by prominent contemporary Swedish authors, and the cantina sold fresh Swedish food (like a cake topped with lingonberries, and of course Swedish meatballs), and beyond the checkout you could even buy Swedish food to take home. Clearly the chain takes a great deal of pride in its origins! We saw lots of cool furniture and accessories, but since we wouldn't be able to take any of it back to the States with us, we decided to continue on and visit the Baneasa mall.
When S and I walked in to the Baneasa mall, the first thing that struck us was how much like an American mall it seemed (even down to the food court, which incidentally had in addition to the usual fast food one finds here: a Quizno's). After walking around the mall a bit we realized that it was connected to a Carrefour hyper-market, as well as two different electronics stores both similar to Best Buy. In the Carrefour we found the mixer and fan we needed, and decided after that to get something to drink and then head home.
After resting for a bit back at home, we decided to head out for some Indian food for dinner. Before we headed off, we made a quick stop in the bathroom and just as we were ready to leave, the pipes backed up through the grate in the bathroom floor. It was a disgusting mess, to say the least. We eventually mopped up the water and our landlords managed to fix the pump. Crisis averted, we went to one of our favorite Indian restaurants, Haveli, for dinner. S ordered the dal mahkni, and I had lamb do-piaza. Both were excellent. We had to hurry home from our meal, however, because our landlords had invited us to attend a midnight Easter service at a nearby church. It was very beautiful. A large crowd gathered in the street outside the church, holding candles. Romanian Orthodox hymns were sung, followed by a brief sermon. At the end the church bell rang, signalling the priests and monks to return to the church, and the crowd began to walk back to their homes, candles in hand. Our landlords were kind enough to invite us to have a traditional Easter dinner with them, and so I got to have even more lamb (this time roasted), as well as something called drom. The best way to describe drom is that it is rather like a Romanian version of haggis, only without the oats and with very different seasoning. In other words, a meat dish made from the "dirty bits" or internal organs. I'll say this: eating it was a unique experience. The most delicious part of the feast, however, were the pastries. First, there was cozonac, a kind of sweet bread with swirls of a spiced nut mixture. We also had cozonca cu mac (cozonac with poppyseeds), a kind of caramel tort, and best of all mimoza, a specialty of Geta's mother. Mimoza are pastries filled with fruit jam and a sort of rich custard. They were fantastic! Unfortunately, I started having some coughing spasms thanks to my allergies, and so S and I headed back downstairs for bed.
So remember when I said the pump was fixed? Well, "fixed" is a relative term. After being in the shower for a minute this morning, the pump broke down again, with results similar to yesterday. After two hours of tinkering around with it, our landlords fixed it again--we'll see what tomorrow brings. Due to the holiday, nothing is open today and very little will be open tomorrow. Certainly no plumbers will be available until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. The archives are closed tomorrow as well, so at least if it does break down I won't be in a hurry to go somewhere!
Paste Fericit (Happy Easter) everyone!
--B
Yesterday started out not unlike many other Saturdays! We headed off to our favorite brunch spot, where S had a bright idea. As yesterday was the day before Easter, most people were at home with their families. And we needed to buy a new hand mixer to replace one that broke, as well as a fan for when it gets hotter, we decided now would be the perfect opportunity to head to Baneasa and do some shopping. As we might have mentioned before, Baneasa is a suburb north of Bucharest. In addition to the two airports, Baneasa boasts the large Western-style homes of the expat business community, as well as those of some of the more successful Romananian entrepreneurs. It therefore is no surprise that Bucharest's IKEA is located in Baneasa, along with a shopping mall and a few hyper-markets. We had never been to an IKEA before, and since the stores in Baneasa were likely to be less crowded we took a cab over. I have to say, IKEA was a very interesting experience. For one, all the signs were in Swedish, with a Romanian translation in smaller type. All the books in the furniture displays were by prominent contemporary Swedish authors, and the cantina sold fresh Swedish food (like a cake topped with lingonberries, and of course Swedish meatballs), and beyond the checkout you could even buy Swedish food to take home. Clearly the chain takes a great deal of pride in its origins! We saw lots of cool furniture and accessories, but since we wouldn't be able to take any of it back to the States with us, we decided to continue on and visit the Baneasa mall.
When S and I walked in to the Baneasa mall, the first thing that struck us was how much like an American mall it seemed (even down to the food court, which incidentally had in addition to the usual fast food one finds here: a Quizno's). After walking around the mall a bit we realized that it was connected to a Carrefour hyper-market, as well as two different electronics stores both similar to Best Buy. In the Carrefour we found the mixer and fan we needed, and decided after that to get something to drink and then head home.
After resting for a bit back at home, we decided to head out for some Indian food for dinner. Before we headed off, we made a quick stop in the bathroom and just as we were ready to leave, the pipes backed up through the grate in the bathroom floor. It was a disgusting mess, to say the least. We eventually mopped up the water and our landlords managed to fix the pump. Crisis averted, we went to one of our favorite Indian restaurants, Haveli, for dinner. S ordered the dal mahkni, and I had lamb do-piaza. Both were excellent. We had to hurry home from our meal, however, because our landlords had invited us to attend a midnight Easter service at a nearby church. It was very beautiful. A large crowd gathered in the street outside the church, holding candles. Romanian Orthodox hymns were sung, followed by a brief sermon. At the end the church bell rang, signalling the priests and monks to return to the church, and the crowd began to walk back to their homes, candles in hand. Our landlords were kind enough to invite us to have a traditional Easter dinner with them, and so I got to have even more lamb (this time roasted), as well as something called drom. The best way to describe drom is that it is rather like a Romanian version of haggis, only without the oats and with very different seasoning. In other words, a meat dish made from the "dirty bits" or internal organs. I'll say this: eating it was a unique experience. The most delicious part of the feast, however, were the pastries. First, there was cozonac, a kind of sweet bread with swirls of a spiced nut mixture. We also had cozonca cu mac (cozonac with poppyseeds), a kind of caramel tort, and best of all mimoza, a specialty of Geta's mother. Mimoza are pastries filled with fruit jam and a sort of rich custard. They were fantastic! Unfortunately, I started having some coughing spasms thanks to my allergies, and so S and I headed back downstairs for bed.
So remember when I said the pump was fixed? Well, "fixed" is a relative term. After being in the shower for a minute this morning, the pump broke down again, with results similar to yesterday. After two hours of tinkering around with it, our landlords fixed it again--we'll see what tomorrow brings. Due to the holiday, nothing is open today and very little will be open tomorrow. Certainly no plumbers will be available until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. The archives are closed tomorrow as well, so at least if it does break down I won't be in a hurry to go somewhere!
Paste Fericit (Happy Easter) everyone!
--B
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Romanian Adventures
Yes, yes, we know- this is supposed to be about our Romanian adventures and all we can seem to talk about is Berlin. We had a fantastic time there, but have been back in Bucharest for a couple of weeks now.
As soon as we arrived back to Bucharest, we both felt ill and were down for the count for at least a week. During that time, aside from the most necessary of errands and work, like completing the final stages of my residency permit, B working at the archives and frequent trips to the grocery store for Sprite, soup, and Kleenex, we did as little as possible. After a week of hibernation, we were both feeling pretty stir crazy and took our friends up on their invitation for dinner at a Hungarian restaurant. The restaurant itself was quite nice and the service was good, but unfortunately the food was not very authentic. This, however, was easily made up for by the good company. Despite the fact that both of my ears were blocked for days on end, I was still able to enjoy the conversation and the opportunity to meet some new folks at a bar after the restaurant. Unfortunately, the smokiness of the bar set both of our recoveries back a bit, so we spent last Saturday resting and working on taxes (yuck) for most of the day. We made a quick dash out in the evening to check out a new Indian restaurant that had opened in a suburb north of the city. The menu at this restaurant was virtually identical to that of Taj. The restaurant was fair and pretty out of the way, so we are unlikely to return anytime soon. After we returned from there, we skyped with my folks and much later in the evening got a surprise skype call from our friends Sam and Erin. It was such a wonderful surprise!
As soon as we arrived back to Bucharest, we both felt ill and were down for the count for at least a week. During that time, aside from the most necessary of errands and work, like completing the final stages of my residency permit, B working at the archives and frequent trips to the grocery store for Sprite, soup, and Kleenex, we did as little as possible. After a week of hibernation, we were both feeling pretty stir crazy and took our friends up on their invitation for dinner at a Hungarian restaurant. The restaurant itself was quite nice and the service was good, but unfortunately the food was not very authentic. This, however, was easily made up for by the good company. Despite the fact that both of my ears were blocked for days on end, I was still able to enjoy the conversation and the opportunity to meet some new folks at a bar after the restaurant. Unfortunately, the smokiness of the bar set both of our recoveries back a bit, so we spent last Saturday resting and working on taxes (yuck) for most of the day. We made a quick dash out in the evening to check out a new Indian restaurant that had opened in a suburb north of the city. The menu at this restaurant was virtually identical to that of Taj. The restaurant was fair and pretty out of the way, so we are unlikely to return anytime soon. After we returned from there, we skyped with my folks and much later in the evening got a surprise skype call from our friends Sam and Erin. It was such a wonderful surprise!
On Sunday, we went for our usual brunch at a local cafe and then decided to take a walk around our neighborhood. It was a beautiful day and we quickly returned home to change out of our winter clothes into T-shirts! We explored more of our immediate neighborhood, discovering a Mexican Restaurant only a couple of blocks away from our place; it was closed on Sunday, but we noticed it has a delivery car. Later we walked pretty far down a major street in a direction we have never been. We found a very nice and pleasant park, as well as an interesting neighborhood. When we returned from our 3 hours walk we relaxed and had some leftover Indian food for dinner before skyping with B's folks and resting.
Aside from a nice outing on Tuesday to see a friend who was in town for only a few days, we had a pretty quiet week. On Wednesday, we gave El Perro, the restaurant we saw on Sunday, a try by ordering food for delivery. The food was fair and will do in a pinch, but we continue to prefer El Torito. B began working at a new archive, The Municipal Archives, which turn out to be in a part of town pretty far from here and took quite a long time for B to get to. Unfortunately, B had to return to the Municipal Archives a second day in order to finally get his permit due to some very rigid rules, but the second trip was a bit easier since taxis were available. On Friday, we met 3 of our friends for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Torito. The food was great as usual and at the end of the meal, a small tabby cat found his way into the restaurant and made great friends with B and our dining companions. Though the weather here in Bucharest has been lovely and the flowers all around are quite beautiful, the pollen has been making B feel pretty bad, so we have been limiting our outdoor time. That's one reason why we decided to explore the JW Marriott yesterday. We had heard that the Marriott has a mall within it and also that one of its restaurants is an American sports bar. We tried out Champions, The American Sports Bar, for lunch. B had a bacon cheeseburger with wasabe sauce and I had a quesadilla salad, almost identical to what I often get at Chili's at home. We also split an order of humus. All the food was delicious and B was even able to get some ginger ale- a real rarity in Bucharest. After a walk around the mall, which has mostly upscale shops like Louis Vuitton, I was finally able to find a salon that looked reliable and where I knew folks would speak English and had a nice visit with the esthetician! Afterward, we stopped for a cold drink in their cafe (iced coffee for me and another ginger ale for B) before heading back home for a relaxing evening.
Next week promises to be another busy one for B, as far as work is concerned, but will be followed by a 3 day weekend as all the archives will be closed on Easter Monday.
Below are some photos of our neighborhood and the park we saw on our long walk last weekend:
B enjoying the sunshine on park bench.
A very interesting house on our street.
Aside from a nice outing on Tuesday to see a friend who was in town for only a few days, we had a pretty quiet week. On Wednesday, we gave El Perro, the restaurant we saw on Sunday, a try by ordering food for delivery. The food was fair and will do in a pinch, but we continue to prefer El Torito. B began working at a new archive, The Municipal Archives, which turn out to be in a part of town pretty far from here and took quite a long time for B to get to. Unfortunately, B had to return to the Municipal Archives a second day in order to finally get his permit due to some very rigid rules, but the second trip was a bit easier since taxis were available. On Friday, we met 3 of our friends for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Torito. The food was great as usual and at the end of the meal, a small tabby cat found his way into the restaurant and made great friends with B and our dining companions. Though the weather here in Bucharest has been lovely and the flowers all around are quite beautiful, the pollen has been making B feel pretty bad, so we have been limiting our outdoor time. That's one reason why we decided to explore the JW Marriott yesterday. We had heard that the Marriott has a mall within it and also that one of its restaurants is an American sports bar. We tried out Champions, The American Sports Bar, for lunch. B had a bacon cheeseburger with wasabe sauce and I had a quesadilla salad, almost identical to what I often get at Chili's at home. We also split an order of humus. All the food was delicious and B was even able to get some ginger ale- a real rarity in Bucharest. After a walk around the mall, which has mostly upscale shops like Louis Vuitton, I was finally able to find a salon that looked reliable and where I knew folks would speak English and had a nice visit with the esthetician! Afterward, we stopped for a cold drink in their cafe (iced coffee for me and another ginger ale for B) before heading back home for a relaxing evening.
Next week promises to be another busy one for B, as far as work is concerned, but will be followed by a 3 day weekend as all the archives will be closed on Easter Monday.
Below are some photos of our neighborhood and the park we saw on our long walk last weekend:
B enjoying the sunshine on park bench.
A very interesting house on our street.
A very odd sculpture at the Metro Station at The University of Bucharest
A playground at the park we found
The first public library we have ever seen in Bucharest!
A very nice, restored home from 1930 a block away from our place.
The park we found
Beautiful flowers in the very nice park
S and B :)
Easter Surprise!
For a few years now it has been a tradition that S hides some Easter eggs around our apartment for me to find, but of course in packing for our move to Bucharest we never thought to include any plastic eggs. A few days ago S commented that she was sorry there wouldn't be a hunt. I reassured her it was no big deal; so imagine my surprise when, after a shower, S merrily informed me that she had hid twenty-five chocolate eggs and a Golden Bunny around the apartment for me to find! It was a terrific start to the day, which only got better after a delicious brunch of french toast and scrambled eggs. The next few hours were spent trying to get the pictures from our Berlin trip online, which actually took a pretty long time. Snapfish kept giving us errors and so several times we had to start from scratch. We ended up taking a break for some fresh air, taking a walk through our beautiful neighborhood. The Romanian Orthodox Easter doesn't occur until next Sunday, so everything was business as usual today; next weekend I'm sure things in the city will be much more quiet. While having a snack at a nearby Lebanese restaurant, I think we realized that we're both feeling a bit homesick. It is true that we're two-thirds of the way done, but we've also been away from home a very long time. Being able to Skype with friends and family, or even simply email or chat has been a blessing, and we're extremely grateful for everyone's generosity. We wish you all a Happy Easter, and look forward to seeing you soon!
Love,
B and S
Love,
B and S
Berlin in Photos
Here is a link to the photos from our trip to Berlin:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=329582013/a=115918513_115918513/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Since we were there for an entire week, there are many photos. We hope you enjoy them!
B and S
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=329582013/a=115918513_115918513/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Since we were there for an entire week, there are many photos. We hope you enjoy them!
B and S
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin!
We know, we know. . .we've been getting very slack with our blog posts. Sorry!
Back to our Berlin story. . .on Monday we headed to The Jewish Museum of Berlin, which traces the history of Jews in Germany from the medieval period to the present, with a heavy emphasis on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although its exhibit dealing with the Holocaust itself is rather small (there is another museum in Berlin dealing specifically with this subject, located underneath the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe), the very architecture of the museum forces the patron to consider the profound absence of a minority group whose dynamic culture so indelibly influenced every aspect of German life. The main corridors of the museum, which form three distinct paths, each narrow until they meet in one small, hauntingly vacant space, whereas a bird's-eye view of the museum reveals that the main building looks like a jagged line--some might say resembling a scar. There are also several rooms called "memory voids" that are separate from the main exhibit--one we visited was an art installation where the floor of a corridor was covered by thousands of metal disks of various sizes shaped like faces, which patrons were asked to walk upon until reaching a shadowy alcove at the far end. It was thought-provoking (and somewhat disturbing) experience.
In the main, however, the museum celebrated the life of Germany's Jewish community, introducing patrons to its historical and cultural development. The exhibits are highly interactive and in some instances quite ingenius (I particularly enjoyed a brief role-playing game where you assumed the identity of a nineteenth-century Jewish entrepreneur). There was far more to see than we could do in one day, and as we had to meet our friend Heather we decided to return on Tuesday.
Heather works for a translation company and has lived in Berlin for ten years, making her the perfect guide, which she demonstrated with aplomb after meeting her outside her office. By now the drizzle had increased to a good rain, yet nevertheless our fearless leader took us on a walking tour, where we passed several museums, the Berliner Dom (a large Catholic cathedral), the Humboldt Institute, and two memorials relating to the Nazi period. The first, dedicated to all victims of Nazism, is a reproduction of a statue by Kathe Kollowitz, a brilliant sculptor mostly active in the period from WWI through the 1930s. Housed inside a Romanesque facade, the statue of a mournful woman holding a dead man is lit by an open skylight. The rain falling on the statue added an extra dimension to the experience. The other memorial commemorates the Nazi book-burnings in Berlin. In the middle of a public square there is a clear glass panel, which when looked through reveals a barren, white room lined with empty bookshelves. This was by far one of the best memorials we saw. Its simplicity was most of its genius. No plaque was necessary to explain its purpose and since no marker exists, one can simply be walking across the courtyard and stumble upon the exhibit. Fantastic!
After a bit more trudging we jumped back on the metro and arrived at Heather's apartment, located in a funky part of East Berlin. We have to say, Heather's flat is very nice and comfortable! Anyway, after warming up, drying off, and enjoying some great conversation, we headed to one of Heather's favorite local restaurants for a delicious Italian dinner. A few hours later, and S and I were fast asleep, getting ready for another day.
The first stop on our Tuesday itinerary was a return trip to the Jewish Museum. During the cold, drizzly walk from the metro stop, we passed by a Rossman store (sort of like a CVS, but without the pharmacy) and bought a long-sought-after item: Febreeze! This product is completely unavailable in Romania, nor are any textile-fresheners like it. Considering how impossible it is to go out in Bucharest without reeking of smoke, we've often wished we had some Febreeze, and now thanks to the Germans' stereotypical fastidiousness, we have some! After our successful purchase, we headed off to the museum.
Even after staying at the museum for several more hours we still hadn't seen everything, but decided there were still too many other things on our to-do list and headed on to the next stop. After a bit more sight-seeing we ate lunch at a German restaurant, where I sampled Flamekuche, tasty little treats similar to pizza, but with a cream base in lieu of tomato-sauce. After meeting up again with Heather we walked down Prenzlauerstrasse, a trendy avenue riddled with interesting restaurants and shops. We stopped at one groovy Kaffehaus for refueling (I had a very flavorful chili-enhanced hot chocolate), after which we continued a bit further, passing by a synagogue, the Wasserturm or water tower, once used briefly by the Nazis to house political prisoners, and now the setting for upscale apartments. The Wasserturm sits next to a hill in a park which offers a fantastic view of the neighborhood, but after dallying for a bit it was time to meet Heather's boyfriend Nathan for dinner in a swank little bistro, even managing to score seats by a roaring fireplace. The menu featured nouveaux cuisine; S ordered an odd spinach dish, and I had a curry chicken. We had a wonderful time dining and chatting, and the night passed pleasantly.
Wednesday we got up early, had some delicious Dunkin Donuts, and went to the Bundestag to stand in line for a chance to visit the top of the glass dome, which offers a great view of the city. After about an hour's wait (mostly in some very windy conditions), we rode an elevator to the top and spent some time enjoying the urban landscape before heading off to our next destination: lunch at a brewery. The food was okay, pretty standard German fare, but the beer was great! Thus fortified, we continued on to our last major destination in Berlin: the Pergamon.
The Pergamon is situated on the Museuminsel, or Museum Island, a cluster of five major collections. Given my druthers, though, the Pergamon was the must see. It holds collections of ancient, Near Eastern, and Islamic art, and takes its name from the first major exhibit in the collection, the massive altar of Pergamon, dating from the ancient Greek period. Taken like most of the collections in the museum during Germany's colonial heyday, the altar bears a stunning marble frieze depicting a battle between the Olympians and the Titans. Close to the Pergam altar we saw another marvel of the ancient world, the Ishtar Gate. Built around 575 BC by Nebuchadnezzar II as the eighth entrance into the inner city of Babylon, the towering gate is covered in blue tiles, with alternating depictions of lions, dragons, and aurochs. I had wanted to see the Ishtar Gate for years and years, and to finally be able to do so left me speechless at first, quickly followed by a marveling, stupid grin. After the Ishtar Gate, we walked through the Islamic art collection, the main highlight of which being several prayer niches from mosques from throughout the Muslim world.
The day ended with a delicious meal at Heather's apartment of salad and Flamekuchen. Unfortunately at this point I started to feel sick with what would end up being a nasty cold that would bother both S and I. The next day I woke up with a terrible sore throat, but S was very resourceful and found two things in the airport largely unavailable in Romania: ginger ale and Fisherman's Friend. Even with the cold as an unwanted souvenir, we loved Berlin immensely and hope to go back some day. Until then, auf Wiedersehen!
B and S
Back to our Berlin story. . .on Monday we headed to The Jewish Museum of Berlin, which traces the history of Jews in Germany from the medieval period to the present, with a heavy emphasis on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although its exhibit dealing with the Holocaust itself is rather small (there is another museum in Berlin dealing specifically with this subject, located underneath the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe), the very architecture of the museum forces the patron to consider the profound absence of a minority group whose dynamic culture so indelibly influenced every aspect of German life. The main corridors of the museum, which form three distinct paths, each narrow until they meet in one small, hauntingly vacant space, whereas a bird's-eye view of the museum reveals that the main building looks like a jagged line--some might say resembling a scar. There are also several rooms called "memory voids" that are separate from the main exhibit--one we visited was an art installation where the floor of a corridor was covered by thousands of metal disks of various sizes shaped like faces, which patrons were asked to walk upon until reaching a shadowy alcove at the far end. It was thought-provoking (and somewhat disturbing) experience.
In the main, however, the museum celebrated the life of Germany's Jewish community, introducing patrons to its historical and cultural development. The exhibits are highly interactive and in some instances quite ingenius (I particularly enjoyed a brief role-playing game where you assumed the identity of a nineteenth-century Jewish entrepreneur). There was far more to see than we could do in one day, and as we had to meet our friend Heather we decided to return on Tuesday.
Heather works for a translation company and has lived in Berlin for ten years, making her the perfect guide, which she demonstrated with aplomb after meeting her outside her office. By now the drizzle had increased to a good rain, yet nevertheless our fearless leader took us on a walking tour, where we passed several museums, the Berliner Dom (a large Catholic cathedral), the Humboldt Institute, and two memorials relating to the Nazi period. The first, dedicated to all victims of Nazism, is a reproduction of a statue by Kathe Kollowitz, a brilliant sculptor mostly active in the period from WWI through the 1930s. Housed inside a Romanesque facade, the statue of a mournful woman holding a dead man is lit by an open skylight. The rain falling on the statue added an extra dimension to the experience. The other memorial commemorates the Nazi book-burnings in Berlin. In the middle of a public square there is a clear glass panel, which when looked through reveals a barren, white room lined with empty bookshelves. This was by far one of the best memorials we saw. Its simplicity was most of its genius. No plaque was necessary to explain its purpose and since no marker exists, one can simply be walking across the courtyard and stumble upon the exhibit. Fantastic!
After a bit more trudging we jumped back on the metro and arrived at Heather's apartment, located in a funky part of East Berlin. We have to say, Heather's flat is very nice and comfortable! Anyway, after warming up, drying off, and enjoying some great conversation, we headed to one of Heather's favorite local restaurants for a delicious Italian dinner. A few hours later, and S and I were fast asleep, getting ready for another day.
The first stop on our Tuesday itinerary was a return trip to the Jewish Museum. During the cold, drizzly walk from the metro stop, we passed by a Rossman store (sort of like a CVS, but without the pharmacy) and bought a long-sought-after item: Febreeze! This product is completely unavailable in Romania, nor are any textile-fresheners like it. Considering how impossible it is to go out in Bucharest without reeking of smoke, we've often wished we had some Febreeze, and now thanks to the Germans' stereotypical fastidiousness, we have some! After our successful purchase, we headed off to the museum.
Even after staying at the museum for several more hours we still hadn't seen everything, but decided there were still too many other things on our to-do list and headed on to the next stop. After a bit more sight-seeing we ate lunch at a German restaurant, where I sampled Flamekuche, tasty little treats similar to pizza, but with a cream base in lieu of tomato-sauce. After meeting up again with Heather we walked down Prenzlauerstrasse, a trendy avenue riddled with interesting restaurants and shops. We stopped at one groovy Kaffehaus for refueling (I had a very flavorful chili-enhanced hot chocolate), after which we continued a bit further, passing by a synagogue, the Wasserturm or water tower, once used briefly by the Nazis to house political prisoners, and now the setting for upscale apartments. The Wasserturm sits next to a hill in a park which offers a fantastic view of the neighborhood, but after dallying for a bit it was time to meet Heather's boyfriend Nathan for dinner in a swank little bistro, even managing to score seats by a roaring fireplace. The menu featured nouveaux cuisine; S ordered an odd spinach dish, and I had a curry chicken. We had a wonderful time dining and chatting, and the night passed pleasantly.
Wednesday we got up early, had some delicious Dunkin Donuts, and went to the Bundestag to stand in line for a chance to visit the top of the glass dome, which offers a great view of the city. After about an hour's wait (mostly in some very windy conditions), we rode an elevator to the top and spent some time enjoying the urban landscape before heading off to our next destination: lunch at a brewery. The food was okay, pretty standard German fare, but the beer was great! Thus fortified, we continued on to our last major destination in Berlin: the Pergamon.
The Pergamon is situated on the Museuminsel, or Museum Island, a cluster of five major collections. Given my druthers, though, the Pergamon was the must see. It holds collections of ancient, Near Eastern, and Islamic art, and takes its name from the first major exhibit in the collection, the massive altar of Pergamon, dating from the ancient Greek period. Taken like most of the collections in the museum during Germany's colonial heyday, the altar bears a stunning marble frieze depicting a battle between the Olympians and the Titans. Close to the Pergam altar we saw another marvel of the ancient world, the Ishtar Gate. Built around 575 BC by Nebuchadnezzar II as the eighth entrance into the inner city of Babylon, the towering gate is covered in blue tiles, with alternating depictions of lions, dragons, and aurochs. I had wanted to see the Ishtar Gate for years and years, and to finally be able to do so left me speechless at first, quickly followed by a marveling, stupid grin. After the Ishtar Gate, we walked through the Islamic art collection, the main highlight of which being several prayer niches from mosques from throughout the Muslim world.
The day ended with a delicious meal at Heather's apartment of salad and Flamekuchen. Unfortunately at this point I started to feel sick with what would end up being a nasty cold that would bother both S and I. The next day I woke up with a terrible sore throat, but S was very resourceful and found two things in the airport largely unavailable in Romania: ginger ale and Fisherman's Friend. Even with the cold as an unwanted souvenir, we loved Berlin immensely and hope to go back some day. Until then, auf Wiedersehen!
B and S
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Guten Tag, Berlin!
We had a wonderful and busy week in Berlin and have now been quietly recovering in our apartment for over a week. No, not because we indulged too heavily in Berlin's famed nightlife, but because the unwanted souvenir we returned to Bucharest with was a cold we have been sharing. We are finally starting to feel more like ourselves and anxious to relive our fantastic vacation.
We left Bucharest on Thursday morning and had our second experience with the local budget airport, Baneasa. Using the lessons we learned from our trip to Milan, we paid ahead for our luggage and seats and did not arrive as early and therefore limited our wait time. In just a short couple of hours, we were in sunny (if a bit chilly and windy) Berlin. Immediately upon arrival, we could sense that we were in Western and not Eastern Europe. Things were much cleaner, more organized and easier to navigate. Our friend, Elizabeth, met us at the airport where we took the S-bahn (train) back into town to her apartment (about a 45 min ride) and later the three of us met her friends for dinner at an Indian restaurant she enjoys. The dinner, especially the company, was pleasant, but the German dislike for spice of any kind was quite obvious in the dishes. After staying up far too late chatting and catching up, we got some shut eye and got ready to see Berlin in the morning.
On Friday morning, we got going as early as we could given our late bedtime and took advantage of the partly sunny day by going to the Berlin zoo, which has several interesting exhibits. We were especially keen to see Knut, a baby Polar bear, who had some Internet fame a few years ago when he was born at the zoo. B and I were fond of seeing the YouTube videos from time to time of his progress as a baby- they may still be available online- they are awfully cute and worth checking out if you can. Though Knut is older and less cute now, he was still quite an attraction, as were the baby elephant, monkey house, and Big Cat exhibit. After the zoo, we walked over to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was a church built by Kaiser Wilhelm and subsequently destroyed during WW II. In the postwar period, the church was restored and a museum to its history was also erected next to it. The actual church remains in its original style, however, the museum has a very 1960s look and the combination is quite a site to see. Following the church, we realized we were getting quite hungry, so we headed back to Potsdamer Platz, which would become our home base for the first several days, and decided to try a restaurant called Haus des 100 Biere (House of 100 Beers--and B drank every one! Just kidding.). The food was quite good and the restaurant had several large floor to ceiling windows shining sun into the dining room. It was a very nice place to rest and make further plans. After the restaurant, we walked around the Potsdamer Platz area more and noticed markers indicating where the Berlin Wall had stood, which was quite interesting. It was difficult now, almost 20 years later, to see any separation in the central area of the city. A few sections of the wall remain at Potsdamer Platz, commemorating the very real symbol of Cold War division of West and East Berlin. Also in the area is the Sony Center, which houses several restaurants and shops, as well as the Legoland Discovery Center and a movie theatre that showed original version (non-subtitled/non-dubbed) and IMAX movies. After exploring this area for a while, we met our friends for another Indian dinner and then some drinks. We had a nice, albeit long, evening and soon headed to bed.
Saturday was another sunny, though slightly chilly day, that allowed us to do more outdoor sightseeing. We had a nice lunch at an Australian themed restaurant in the Sony Center and then took a tour of the Legoland Discovery Center. The Legoland Center has a 4-D movie with a knight theme in which all the characters are made of Legos. There was also a short ride called Drachengurg, which took folks past several medieval scenes, in which the scenery and actors are all made of Legos. However, by far the coolest thing in the Legoland Center is a room called MiniLand, in which Berlin was recreated to scale entirely in Legos and a timer was set to create day and night scenes and sounds of Berlin every few minutes. It was truly fantastic! After the Legoland Discover Center, we walked down to the Brandenburg gate, erected to celebrate Prussia's military victories. Inside the gate area are several embassies, including the American and French Embassies, as well as a surprising museum to the Kennedy family (apparently that is what you get for declaring "I am a jelly doughnut!" to the world). We were able to find some nice souvenirs in a shop in the courtyard and then walked towards the Bundestag, the German Parliamentary building. Here we took a small break and sat under a tree for a bit of rest and then walked around a bit more. We visited a memorial to Soviet soldiers who died during WW II and then made our way to the memorial for Jews murdered during the Holocaust, which is a unique outdoor memorial that is potentially vertigo-inducing due to its intentional dips and peaks and slate slabs of varying sizes. Though the architect of the memorial, who B has heard speak in the past, insists the slabs are not meant to represent specific victims of the war, its hard not to relate to them as graves. Therefore, the several groups of visitors playing hide 'n seek among the slabs shortened our visit as neither of us were able to visit the memorial as we would have liked. At this point, we found ourselves pretty hungry and tried a Mexican restaurant opposite Potsamer Platz we had noticed earlier called Cancun. The food was pretty decent and we were once again pleased to notice such affordable prices. After our dinner, we decided to visit the movie theatre we had noticed in the Sony Center and bought tickets for "The Reader" starring Kate Winslet. The theatre was quite nice, with plush large seats and a large screen. We both very much enjoyed the movie and then headed back to Elizabeth's apartment for some shut eye.
Sunday was yet another sunny day, though even chillier, so we bundled up and visited Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie was one of the most famous Checkpoints along the Berlin Wall, separating the Soviet from the American zone. Now there is a memorial to the wall with a replica of the sign that was posted notifying visitors "You are now leaving the American Sector", as well as a Wall Info Point, giving the history of the Wall as well as stories about successful and unsuccessful attempts to escape from East Berlin. After a short coffee break, we visited a very haphazard museum to the Wall, Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. Though some of the stories of escape were interesting, the disorganization of the place made it quite difficult to really focus on the exhibits, so we decided to get a quick snack. We had some nice spring rolls at "Asia Snacks" and then headed back to the Sony Center, where we purchased tickets for "Slumdog Millionaire". We had about an hour before the movie started and so we went to a Dunkin Donuts around the corner and bought some time at their Internet cafe. We then headed back to the theatre and found our assigned seats for the movie and settled in. We thoroughly enjoyed the movie and were so excited to have seen it in a theatre with no subtitles. We are now so happy that we had not seen the movie on the Internet as we had thought of doing. It is clear why this movie is an Oscar winner. When we left the theatre, we walked for a bit in the drizzle until we found an Asian fusion restaurant we decided to try to dinner. The idea is that you choose from a variety of sauces and then take a bowl to an enormous buffet of options for your stir fry. Once you choose all the fillings you would like, you leave your bowl with the chef who prepares your meal with your chosen sauce. The idea is interesting and B's choice of sauce was better than mine, but the experience was diminished by the less than friendly wait staff. Full and tired, we headed back to our friend's apartment and finally relaxed before getting some sleep and readying for another busy day of sight seeing.
To be continued ....
We left Bucharest on Thursday morning and had our second experience with the local budget airport, Baneasa. Using the lessons we learned from our trip to Milan, we paid ahead for our luggage and seats and did not arrive as early and therefore limited our wait time. In just a short couple of hours, we were in sunny (if a bit chilly and windy) Berlin. Immediately upon arrival, we could sense that we were in Western and not Eastern Europe. Things were much cleaner, more organized and easier to navigate. Our friend, Elizabeth, met us at the airport where we took the S-bahn (train) back into town to her apartment (about a 45 min ride) and later the three of us met her friends for dinner at an Indian restaurant she enjoys. The dinner, especially the company, was pleasant, but the German dislike for spice of any kind was quite obvious in the dishes. After staying up far too late chatting and catching up, we got some shut eye and got ready to see Berlin in the morning.
On Friday morning, we got going as early as we could given our late bedtime and took advantage of the partly sunny day by going to the Berlin zoo, which has several interesting exhibits. We were especially keen to see Knut, a baby Polar bear, who had some Internet fame a few years ago when he was born at the zoo. B and I were fond of seeing the YouTube videos from time to time of his progress as a baby- they may still be available online- they are awfully cute and worth checking out if you can. Though Knut is older and less cute now, he was still quite an attraction, as were the baby elephant, monkey house, and Big Cat exhibit. After the zoo, we walked over to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was a church built by Kaiser Wilhelm and subsequently destroyed during WW II. In the postwar period, the church was restored and a museum to its history was also erected next to it. The actual church remains in its original style, however, the museum has a very 1960s look and the combination is quite a site to see. Following the church, we realized we were getting quite hungry, so we headed back to Potsdamer Platz, which would become our home base for the first several days, and decided to try a restaurant called Haus des 100 Biere (House of 100 Beers--and B drank every one! Just kidding.). The food was quite good and the restaurant had several large floor to ceiling windows shining sun into the dining room. It was a very nice place to rest and make further plans. After the restaurant, we walked around the Potsdamer Platz area more and noticed markers indicating where the Berlin Wall had stood, which was quite interesting. It was difficult now, almost 20 years later, to see any separation in the central area of the city. A few sections of the wall remain at Potsdamer Platz, commemorating the very real symbol of Cold War division of West and East Berlin. Also in the area is the Sony Center, which houses several restaurants and shops, as well as the Legoland Discovery Center and a movie theatre that showed original version (non-subtitled/non-dubbed) and IMAX movies. After exploring this area for a while, we met our friends for another Indian dinner and then some drinks. We had a nice, albeit long, evening and soon headed to bed.
Saturday was another sunny, though slightly chilly day, that allowed us to do more outdoor sightseeing. We had a nice lunch at an Australian themed restaurant in the Sony Center and then took a tour of the Legoland Discovery Center. The Legoland Center has a 4-D movie with a knight theme in which all the characters are made of Legos. There was also a short ride called Drachengurg, which took folks past several medieval scenes, in which the scenery and actors are all made of Legos. However, by far the coolest thing in the Legoland Center is a room called MiniLand, in which Berlin was recreated to scale entirely in Legos and a timer was set to create day and night scenes and sounds of Berlin every few minutes. It was truly fantastic! After the Legoland Discover Center, we walked down to the Brandenburg gate, erected to celebrate Prussia's military victories. Inside the gate area are several embassies, including the American and French Embassies, as well as a surprising museum to the Kennedy family (apparently that is what you get for declaring "I am a jelly doughnut!" to the world). We were able to find some nice souvenirs in a shop in the courtyard and then walked towards the Bundestag, the German Parliamentary building. Here we took a small break and sat under a tree for a bit of rest and then walked around a bit more. We visited a memorial to Soviet soldiers who died during WW II and then made our way to the memorial for Jews murdered during the Holocaust, which is a unique outdoor memorial that is potentially vertigo-inducing due to its intentional dips and peaks and slate slabs of varying sizes. Though the architect of the memorial, who B has heard speak in the past, insists the slabs are not meant to represent specific victims of the war, its hard not to relate to them as graves. Therefore, the several groups of visitors playing hide 'n seek among the slabs shortened our visit as neither of us were able to visit the memorial as we would have liked. At this point, we found ourselves pretty hungry and tried a Mexican restaurant opposite Potsamer Platz we had noticed earlier called Cancun. The food was pretty decent and we were once again pleased to notice such affordable prices. After our dinner, we decided to visit the movie theatre we had noticed in the Sony Center and bought tickets for "The Reader" starring Kate Winslet. The theatre was quite nice, with plush large seats and a large screen. We both very much enjoyed the movie and then headed back to Elizabeth's apartment for some shut eye.
Sunday was yet another sunny day, though even chillier, so we bundled up and visited Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie was one of the most famous Checkpoints along the Berlin Wall, separating the Soviet from the American zone. Now there is a memorial to the wall with a replica of the sign that was posted notifying visitors "You are now leaving the American Sector", as well as a Wall Info Point, giving the history of the Wall as well as stories about successful and unsuccessful attempts to escape from East Berlin. After a short coffee break, we visited a very haphazard museum to the Wall, Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. Though some of the stories of escape were interesting, the disorganization of the place made it quite difficult to really focus on the exhibits, so we decided to get a quick snack. We had some nice spring rolls at "Asia Snacks" and then headed back to the Sony Center, where we purchased tickets for "Slumdog Millionaire". We had about an hour before the movie started and so we went to a Dunkin Donuts around the corner and bought some time at their Internet cafe. We then headed back to the theatre and found our assigned seats for the movie and settled in. We thoroughly enjoyed the movie and were so excited to have seen it in a theatre with no subtitles. We are now so happy that we had not seen the movie on the Internet as we had thought of doing. It is clear why this movie is an Oscar winner. When we left the theatre, we walked for a bit in the drizzle until we found an Asian fusion restaurant we decided to try to dinner. The idea is that you choose from a variety of sauces and then take a bowl to an enormous buffet of options for your stir fry. Once you choose all the fillings you would like, you leave your bowl with the chef who prepares your meal with your chosen sauce. The idea is interesting and B's choice of sauce was better than mine, but the experience was diminished by the less than friendly wait staff. Full and tired, we headed back to our friend's apartment and finally relaxed before getting some sleep and readying for another busy day of sight seeing.
To be continued ....
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