Reichstag
On Wednesday night I went with my "language exchange" partner (although I think we could just be called friends, now) Ricarda to the Reichstag. I finally made it! I remember when my first Herald article was published about Berlin in 2000 and they included a photo of the Reichstag and I felt a bit like a plonker for not even going to see it. It is free, after all.
So we took a right at the Brandenburg Gate, right before Tiergarten, and queued during the sunset to get in. I have mixed feelings when I look at the Reichstag. It's a magnificent building with thick columns at the top of the stairs and the glass dome peeking over from the top. But in the corner of my mind I also see Hitler in this building and so being there is a chilling experience as well..
At the bottom of the stairs is a huge lawn where people lie on warm days. Today wasn't even close - autumn is well and truly here, with dark, low clouds and a biting wind. Like being at the airport, we had to pass strong security checks before they let us in.
Inside they have photos of the Reichstag from the late 1800s to today. Yes, that includes the Kaiser, soldiers, Hitler and the Wall. There was a photo of Michael Jackson giving a concert in 1988 outside the Reichstag. Ricarda said it was common knowledge that concerts would be staged near the Wall so East Germans could crowd onto Unter Den Linden and hear them too.
There is a spiral staircase that you can walk up and on the way you can look out at Berlin. It was already dark, but we could still see the TV tower at Alexanderplatz (old DDR relic that it is, it looks like an old disco ball or the Death Star stuck on a large pole), the illuminated Berliner Dom, the Spree river sparkling from the night lights.
I've been commissioned to do some more work, which is a relief - three articles.
I've also found some more ways to practise my German - I have two pen-pals (in Bavaria) and an MSN Messenger friend. I've decided to apply for a job that was advertised in Tip yesterday, it's for a German to English translator. Native-speaker levels of English are required and fluent German (which is a maybe - my German is relatively fluent but there's no one day you wake up and realise you're fluent. But my ZMP exam is in November so that might count for something). Anyway, as someone in my life used to say, If you don't ask, you don't get. It's a simple but effective philosophy.
Today is Friday and it's Claire's last day in Berlin, so we're going out to lunch. Love going out to lunch! Though the choice of where to eat out in Berlin is overwhelming.
So we took a right at the Brandenburg Gate, right before Tiergarten, and queued during the sunset to get in. I have mixed feelings when I look at the Reichstag. It's a magnificent building with thick columns at the top of the stairs and the glass dome peeking over from the top. But in the corner of my mind I also see Hitler in this building and so being there is a chilling experience as well..
At the bottom of the stairs is a huge lawn where people lie on warm days. Today wasn't even close - autumn is well and truly here, with dark, low clouds and a biting wind. Like being at the airport, we had to pass strong security checks before they let us in.
Inside they have photos of the Reichstag from the late 1800s to today. Yes, that includes the Kaiser, soldiers, Hitler and the Wall. There was a photo of Michael Jackson giving a concert in 1988 outside the Reichstag. Ricarda said it was common knowledge that concerts would be staged near the Wall so East Germans could crowd onto Unter Den Linden and hear them too.
There is a spiral staircase that you can walk up and on the way you can look out at Berlin. It was already dark, but we could still see the TV tower at Alexanderplatz (old DDR relic that it is, it looks like an old disco ball or the Death Star stuck on a large pole), the illuminated Berliner Dom, the Spree river sparkling from the night lights.
I've been commissioned to do some more work, which is a relief - three articles.
I've also found some more ways to practise my German - I have two pen-pals (in Bavaria) and an MSN Messenger friend. I've decided to apply for a job that was advertised in Tip yesterday, it's for a German to English translator. Native-speaker levels of English are required and fluent German (which is a maybe - my German is relatively fluent but there's no one day you wake up and realise you're fluent. But my ZMP exam is in November so that might count for something). Anyway, as someone in my life used to say, If you don't ask, you don't get. It's a simple but effective philosophy.
Today is Friday and it's Claire's last day in Berlin, so we're going out to lunch. Love going out to lunch! Though the choice of where to eat out in Berlin is overwhelming.
posted by Shona @ 8:33 AM
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