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
Sunday, April 12, 2009
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 ....
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Berlin Bound
First we must apologize for our absence the past week. There has not necessarily been much of note here. I was approved for my residency permit (though just this afternoon we learned that despite what we had been initially told, I will have to pay some fees- boo!), and took a test in my Romanian class and received a diploma! B finished his work at the Holocaust Institute yesterday and has had some productive days at the National Archives. We had a quiet weekend spent enjoying a nice dinner with friends on Friday, sampling a new Chinese Restaurant (more on this later) and running some errands.
Currently we are preparing for our trip to Berlin tomorrow. We are excited to see our friends, see Berlin and have a break from the usual routine. We will be there for a whole week, just long enough to really see the sights and get a feel for the city. Now we just have to finish packing and get a good night's sleep. -S
PS--A particular highlight of the week was receiving a package from S's parents. Thanks! -B
Currently we are preparing for our trip to Berlin tomorrow. We are excited to see our friends, see Berlin and have a break from the usual routine. We will be there for a whole week, just long enough to really see the sights and get a feel for the city. Now we just have to finish packing and get a good night's sleep. -S
PS--A particular highlight of the week was receiving a package from S's parents. Thanks! -B
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Fun with Bureaucrats!
On Wednesday S and I finally initiated the arduous process of getting our residency permits. The visa issue is something of a gray zone here in Romania. On the one hand, Americans are allowed to stay in the country for up to 90 days, after which they have to cross an international border. Upon re-entry you're good for another 90 days, and so on. Staying over that limit and then trying to leave Romania may result in some serious fines and possibly being barred from entering the country for six months, as happened to a friend of mine (but don't worry, he got it worked out--kind of.) On the other hand, Americans staying in a Romanian city for longer than 30 days are required to get a residency permit. The coordinator of the American Fulbrighters took us and another couple to a doctor's office, where we are supposed to be certified as being disease-free and otherwise not a health risk--never mind that Fulbright required we get extensive physicals before leaving the States. Given all the above, one might think that the doctor would submit us to a physical exam, tests, or at least an interview, but nope. 50 lei each and we were approved. Good thing we don't have bird flu or the bubonic plague.
After that surprisingly painless appointment, we moved on to the next step. According to the law here, S and I need sworn, notarized statements that we are not in a polygamous relationship, and furthermore that I accept her into my living space. Make of that what you will. This took over an hour to accomplish, partly because the notary would occasionally make mistakes in our documentation (like stating our citizenship as British). Still, though, all in all it wasn't a particularly difficult trip.
The final stop, however, was the immigration office. Now, mind you, one might think that the government would post online the hours of the office, the requisite documentation an applicant needs, and how much one should expect to pay in fees and taxes. One might also wish for frogs that fly instead of hop. Essentially, if one word describes the immigration office it would be caprice. Whatever documents are required and the price one must pay are ultimately up to the bureaucrat behind the counter. I personally can't complain, because the particular bureaucrat before me was persuaded that I did not need to pay any fees or taxes as a student. Colleagues who have done this before were not so lucky. For S., however, it was determined that she had to wait in a different line--which had just closed. Mind you, the clerk who had been behind the window was still in the room, and didn't seem to be doing anything but idly chatting with his co-workers, but that was that, and so S will have to go back on Monday. Boo.--B
After that surprisingly painless appointment, we moved on to the next step. According to the law here, S and I need sworn, notarized statements that we are not in a polygamous relationship, and furthermore that I accept her into my living space. Make of that what you will. This took over an hour to accomplish, partly because the notary would occasionally make mistakes in our documentation (like stating our citizenship as British). Still, though, all in all it wasn't a particularly difficult trip.
The final stop, however, was the immigration office. Now, mind you, one might think that the government would post online the hours of the office, the requisite documentation an applicant needs, and how much one should expect to pay in fees and taxes. One might also wish for frogs that fly instead of hop. Essentially, if one word describes the immigration office it would be caprice. Whatever documents are required and the price one must pay are ultimately up to the bureaucrat behind the counter. I personally can't complain, because the particular bureaucrat before me was persuaded that I did not need to pay any fees or taxes as a student. Colleagues who have done this before were not so lucky. For S., however, it was determined that she had to wait in a different line--which had just closed. Mind you, the clerk who had been behind the window was still in the room, and didn't seem to be doing anything but idly chatting with his co-workers, but that was that, and so S will have to go back on Monday. Boo.--B
Restaurant Review #6
B and I went to one of the two Thai restaurants in Bucharest last weekend. Thai Moods is a cute little restaurant situated in an almost entirely residential neighborhood. It is in an older house and in the spring and summer boasts patio seating in their orchid garden- unfortunately it was too cold for orchids just yet. Though the location of the restaurant is nice, we would not have found it without finding the website and address first.
After a decent hike from the nearest metro stop, we were initially concerned we may not be able to get a table since the place is not large and we didn't have a reservation. However, they were able to accommodate us. The menu is not large, but certainly interesting. It is, however, a bit pricey, so it was good that we had perused the menu online prior to finding the place. After we ordered our drinks (coke and water), we were served some fried and crispy crackers to munch on while we waited. They were interesting, if a bit bland. I ordered the only expressly vegetarian entree on the menu, vegetarian Thai fried rice (with pineapple) and B ordered Beef Panang Curry. We were both quite happy with our dishes, though the portions were a bit small for the price. The flavors were right on for Thai food, the service was good and the interior was well decorated.
Thai Moods will definitely have some repeat visits, especially when the orchid garden is open. We will be sure to make reservations next time. All in all, we would give Thai Moods 7 samosas- a few more vegetarian options and better portion size to price ratio would be appreciated. -S
After a decent hike from the nearest metro stop, we were initially concerned we may not be able to get a table since the place is not large and we didn't have a reservation. However, they were able to accommodate us. The menu is not large, but certainly interesting. It is, however, a bit pricey, so it was good that we had perused the menu online prior to finding the place. After we ordered our drinks (coke and water), we were served some fried and crispy crackers to munch on while we waited. They were interesting, if a bit bland. I ordered the only expressly vegetarian entree on the menu, vegetarian Thai fried rice (with pineapple) and B ordered Beef Panang Curry. We were both quite happy with our dishes, though the portions were a bit small for the price. The flavors were right on for Thai food, the service was good and the interior was well decorated.
Thai Moods will definitely have some repeat visits, especially when the orchid garden is open. We will be sure to make reservations next time. All in all, we would give Thai Moods 7 samosas- a few more vegetarian options and better portion size to price ratio would be appreciated. -S
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