Notes on the Polish Language

 

The following is a quote by noted philologist Dr. Phillip Blackburn, III:

"Polish rings with the sound of centuries of triumph and defeat. It is at once a language of great sorrow and overwhelming elation. But most importantly, she is an endless string of consonants."

Frozen River

 

Part of the Oder River was frozen 6 feet deep, so we took the opportunity to walk on water. Behind us are ice fisherman. We got the bright idea for our stroll from them.

For more pictures check out our Picasa web page (Slubice, Berlin 2008 and now Berlin 2009).

Poland in 12 Minutes

My brother and I went to Poland this morning. It's only 60 miles east of Berlin. The border town of Frankfurt an der Oder, which, despite a declining population and depressed economy, is way better than crappy Frankfurt am Main. We took a train at 10:00am and by 11:30, we were walking around in another country. Since Poland is now part of the EU, we didn't even get our passports stamped. Bummer.

Frankfurt an der Oder sits on the west side of the Oder River and Slubice is on the east bank. Before 1945, both sides were part of Germany (not owing to Hitler's little romp in 1939) but post war, the Oder River became the eastern border of Germany. Anyways, the Lonely Planet doesn't have much to say about either place except that you can buy cheap cigarettes and vodka.

It's Cold!

 

Oh yeah...it reached 0 Fahrenheit this past Wednesday.

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.