Berlin 3

There was no Internet at the last hotel, so this update is late.
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I need to learn how to pronounce unknown words in German. Last night, I confused a waiter because I ordered a drink in two languages, neither of which was German. (It had the word "Brazil" in the name, so I went for Portuguese...it's really closer to English, on the other end of the pronunciation spectrum.) Tonight, I got a Coke when I said "grog" in English -- no idea how to pronounce it in German. Of course, I can't understand German with an Italian accent to well, so I guess we're even! I'll hit the bar across the (cute little suburban) street for my goodbye Germany drink. It really should be a beer, anyway!

Twenty minutes later...even better than a beer, beer plus banana juice! I'd heard about these beer concoctions, but not seen one made with draft beer. Tada, there's one here! It's actually pretty decent, even.

Fernsehturm (TV Tower) in the rain

So today. Got up, checked out of my sleepingplace, and went out into the rain. I was going to do a lot of wandering outside today, but that idea was put on hold. I got off the S-Bahn at Alexanderplatz and walked to Nicholaiviertel. This is a rebuilt, scenic area of the city. The Nicholaikirche was first built before Berlin had it's city charter and has subsequently been built and rebuilt over the centuries. It moved from Catholic to Lutheran during the Reformation and was packed with history. The church was destroyed during a WWII bombing raid on the city and further damage was done during the final battle for Berlin. It was rebuilt during the 1980s and now serves as a museum. It was also the site of the first assembly of reunited Germany's parliament. The building is set in it's medieval style, painted using fragments found during an archaeological dig before rebuilding. Concerts are held there, as well, and the organ is apparently magnificent. The quarter was also lovely.

Government buildings

On my way to the DDR Museum, I walked by an ad for a river sightseeing trip that was only €5 with my handy city card. I've been wanting to do one of these in all the places I've visited with rivers, so I went for it. The trip was also only an hour and it was even dry(ish) by the time it was over! Nice little cruise, through areas I'd seen and some I didn't have time to visit. The operator said everything in English and German -- not too surprising for Berlin, really.

Still raining

It was time for the DDR Museum after the boat. Interesting place, giving more of a sense of Alltag (daily life), something not seen too much in the other museums I've visited. The fairly small museum is in the midst of expanding. Will be interesting to see what they add.

This is the famous side :)

I went to the Bode-Museum next, the third place I wanted to visit on Museumsinsel. It houses the sculpture collection. Again, an amazing building -- it's not difficult to see why the island is a World Heritage Site. I quite like sculpture, especially the older stuff, so was quite happy with this museum.

Back to get my luggage and head to my new hotel, the first place to actually earn the title of a full hotel instead of a combination hostel/Pension/hotel/etc. The room is by far the nicest, with a larger-than-twin bed, a TV, a minibar, and it's own bathroom with a sit-in shower. Swank! I had followed A.'s advice and booked a hotel with an airport shuttle, since I have to be there at eight tomorrow morning...except this place doesn't have an airport shuttle. Okay, fine, I'm taking a taxi instead. Oh well! The hotel has breakfast starting at 6:30, which is great for my taxi time of quarter to eight.

I both do and don't want to head back. I got a lot done, in terms of research ideas and in terms of language training. I need to do a lot more in the next few weeks, of course, but it's a good start. It will also be nice to be able to speak in complex sentences again.