Paris!

Yesterday I found myself in Paris! I haven’t had a whole lot of time to look at things yet (except, it seems now, for the French keyboard), but thus far the city has been quite pleasant. We’re staying just down the street from a bakery, so everyone wandering by is stereotypically carrying a loaf of bread. Looking forward to some good French food and sites!

Sachsenhausen

On Saturday, Hannah and I took a trip out of Berlin to visit the site of the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The site is now a museum and memorial to all of those who were imprisoned or killed there under both the Nazis and Soviet occupation. As this was my first experience visiting a concentration camp, I wasn’t sure at all what to expect. I’ve heard of many people’s difficulty getting through the experience emotionally. However, while I certainly find the idea of the concentration camp horrific and seeing even the remnants of it was deeply troubling, I found myself less emotionally moved than I had initially expected. Now, upon several days of reflection, I think I may know why.

Berlin: A City of Food

The time I’ve spent in Berlin not thinking about history has largely been spent eating. While a few places everywhere make typical German food (you can always find a wurst or schnitzel or, dare I say, a berliner), the rest of Berlin has fully embraced being a city of international food. Wandering around, we passed Thai, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Italian…

"Ein Oberlin Studentin isst ein Berliner in Berlin." Thanks to the Clevers of cookerypokery.tumblr.com for the pun

Tonight we ate at the Berlin equivalent of the my hometown, Roanoke’s, Texas Tavern. The Burgermeister is located in East Kruezberg in a former city toilet. It’s burgers were classic and delicious. Be warned, however, that there’s no place to sit anymore. We stood at the counter looking out onto the street while we enjoyed our delicacies.

Berlin: A Historical Perspective

When we arrived in Berlin, it was dark, 40 degrees, and drizzling. Not much has changed since then. Despite this, I’ve found Berlin a great city to wander around looking at things. Unfortunately, the weather has prevented my photographically documenting my looking with any sort of success. Nevertheless, I will do my best to be interesting.

Ciao Ciao Amsterdam

That’s what the woman behind me on the plane said as we flew away from Amsterdam heading to Berlin. Wandering around Amsterdam’s canals was relaxing and enjoyable, we even got a little bit of sunshine towards the end.

A Houseboat

 

Now, Berlin! Haven’t done too much exploring yet, but I’ll be posting soon.

Amsterdam: The Beaten Path

A very fortunate 24 hours dropped us in Amsterdam, the streets still covered in cardboard mush from rained-on firecrackers ringing in the new year.  As a city built on stilts, the buildings have shifted over the years, and

A rare spot of sunlight

Amsterdam can inspire a feeling not entirely unlike vertigo. Despite this, the streets are about as picturesque as you could imagine, the narrow houses painted all different colors and each topped with a hook protruding above the street for moving furniture—apparently the stairways are too narrow and windy for moving furniture.

Only a Few Reservations

This January, I’m going somewhere. I’m flying standby, which means I don’t know where I’ll end up, and that I can’t plan very much or very far in advance.

I’m leaving tomorrow, flying to JFK and going somewhere from there. I’ll keep this blog updated with where I am, what I’m doing, and what I’ve seen.

More later,

Carrie