Family Reunion

 

My parents and brother arrived from St. Petersburg (not the one in Florida, Emery) last week to spend time in Berlin. We covered the whole city - from the Karl Marx Allee to KaDeWe. It was fantastic to finally see family after 7 months in a foreign country. The hightlight of the trip was finding the perfect Matjes herring for my dad while my mom and Danielle stood by and rolled their eyes. Nothing like spending QT with the 'rents!

Christmas Fun (Part III)

 

Our friends' Nat and Maja arranged for us to see a Christmas concert at the oldest church in Berlin. The performance was Handel's "Messiah" with a full choir and orchestra. I was sitting so close to the cellist that he could have picked my nose with his bow. Fantastic! The concert was followed by a gathering of the neighborhood outside the church to sing Christmas carrols - many of them in English.

Christmas Fun (Part II)

 

The coolest Christmas Market constructed was the one put up in Alexanderplatz, the center of former East Berlin. The organizers brought in a spectacle of rides and amusements for adults and kids. It was the most crowded place I've been so far in Germany (rivaling the state fair in Dresden this past summer). We went at night and were able to collect a few great shots of the rides.

Christmas Fun (Part 1)

 

The most important part of Christmas in Germany is the Weihnachts Markt or Christmas Market. Many locals do their shopping at these temporary bazaars spread throughout the city. Most importantly, they are open Sundays, which make them a magnet for those suffering from the cabin fever caused by closed businesses during the rest of the year. Some had rides, others had high class goods, and all had tons of food. Pictured above are our friends in Berlin enjoying a wurst (German sausage) in a roll. The sausages are always way longer than the tiny bun and make for interesting eating. We took this picture that the Gedamenmarkt Market in Berlin which is the most "exclusive" since it charges a heft 1 Euro entrance fee (apparently to keep out unsavory characters). By the way, I had no permission from the people photographed above to use their image. I hope I don't get sued.

Back on the Wagon

Okay, I was yelled at by my two disgruntled fans for not posting for a while. It's been nearly a month since my last entry, so my apologies for holiday season laziness...

Frankfurt - The Crappiest Town in Germany

 

I went to Frankfurt am Main on Monday and here are some thoughts I jotted down while visiting...

Frankfurt is a remarkably ugly city - a judgment I have not passed on any of the towns that I have visited since arriving seven months ago. Its boulevards are excessively wide and poorly adorned unlike the Stalinist structures that inspire fear in the cities of eastern Germany.

It seemed that Frankfurt's commercial area was a hodgepodge of cheap jewelry and clothing stores interspersed with large chain outlets found in every other big city.

Walking along the road from the main train station to the center of the city, I saw bankers in their well tailored suits rush to eat power lunches at a multitude of second rate restaurants against a backdrop of strip joints and sex shops. Everywhere I turned were squat buildings from the 1950s that looked as though they had just sprung from a Mies van der Rohe nightmare. I managed to reach the reconstructed Old Town (Altstadt), but it too was a disappointment. The dolled up buildings couldn't even pass on "Main Street USA" at Disneyland.

Even Cologne, it too completely destroyed in World War II, retains some element of charm in its gently radiating streets and alleys. But Frankfurt is just a confused patchwork of urbaness. It is strange to think that it is the financial heart of continental Europe.

I Can't Believe I Forgot My Camera

I'm in Friedrichshafen (southern Germany) right now visiting my professor and doing some research. Before I came, the administrator of the department told me that everyone would be going out to dinner on Tuesday night. I thought we would be going to a local restaurant but it turned out they had a whole evening planned in the town of Bregenz, Austria. Even though I didn't have a camera, I think it was worse that I wasn't carrying my passport. Fourtunately, they don't have any stops at the border, so I was in the clear. I'll make sure my next trip is fully legal.