Bremen: Our Feet Hurt

Jack and I spent last weekend in the city of Bremen...about a 4.5 hour bus ride from Berlin. We had the perfect weather...60s and sunny both days that we were there, which was perfect, as Bremen is one of those towns that you experience on foot and out doors. I was very much looking forward to this trip because Bremen is the setting of the Grimm's Fairy Tale "The Musicians of Bremen". We use this story our 2nd graders to help with inferences, characters, and predictions. It's a fabulous fairy tale!

If I had to sum up our 2 days in Bremen in one word, it would be "walking". We did lots, and lots, and lots of walking. After checking handy dandy Google Maps, we found that on Saturday alone, an underestimate of how much we walked was about 13 miles. Phew! Our feet hurt! While walking, my camera was in full force, taking pictures at and from every angle possible. This blog post is going to be the spit-up of just a handful of the pictures that I took. Enjoy!

The Schnoor:
An adorable little cobblestone quarter with shops, restaurants, and homes

One of the many statues dedicated to Grimm's fairy tale

Altstadt:
Small but gorgeous area of town

This boy refused to move

Famous shopping street (Böttcherstr.) with a candy shop that made the whole street smell of sugar

Jack's "home" for 3 weeks

Bürgerpark:

Huge park that we walked around

Misc.

Pictures from walking along the Weser, a famous cobblestone shopping street, and the Beck's Brewery

River on one side, big houses on the other

Beck's Brewery off in the distance.

What Movie Are We Watching? #2

These are the direct German translations for famous movies. Guess what they are! Answers are on the Movie Titles tab. Good luck!

• Pure Question of Nerves (Reine Nervensache)
• I Think a Horse Hits Me (Ich glaub' mich tritt ein Pferd)
• Girls Club- Care Bitchy

Give me a High Five #7: Laura's Visit

Laura came to visit last week, and took Berlin by storm...literally. It basically rained the whole time she was here. No matter, we still had an absolute blast! We saw a good portion of Berlin. In fact, Laura and I did some things in Berlin that I have never done before! This is a major accomplishment, as I usually see and do the same things over and over when we have guests. With that, I bring you a list of 5 new things that I did with Laura that I had not done yet in Berlin.

Source: Laura

1. Friedrichstadt-Palast
Friedrichstadt-Palast is a theater that holds glitzy, over the top, costumey shows. Singing, dancing, flashing lights, and water are all a part of this show. I compared it to Vegas or "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the beast, only take it up a notch with the glitz and glamour. We had front row seats at this performance, which was lovely, as men thrusted their who-haas in front of us. I really enjoyed this show, as it was cheezy and glitzy in all of the right ways.

Source: Laura

2. Drinks at the top of the Fernsehturm
The Fernsehturm is the tallest structure in Germany, and also my Meine Lieblingsgebäude. Laura reserved tickets for us to go to the top of the tower, where they have a bar. We celebrated the completion of her thesis with a glass of wine at the top of Germany :)

Source: Laura

3. Reichstag

Speaking of going to the top of things, one early morning, we went to the top of the Reichstag (government building) as well. While the morning was somewhat foggy, it was great to see the city from above. Unfortunately, the cafe where I had hoped to get my morning cup of coffee was not open yet, but that is something to save for when my parents visit in a couple of weeks!

4.Stayed/Tea in Hotel Adlon
Hotel Adlon is the prestigious hotel located in the Platz directly in front of the Brandenburger Tor. Laura stayed there, and kindly invited me to spend the night with her. I couldn't resist. I slept on a wonderfully comfortable bed, wore a terry-cloth bathrobe, and ate at a gourmet all you can eat breakfast. The same afternoon we had afternoon tea and snacks. Yummy!

5. Went inside the Berliner Dom

The Berliner Dom is a gorgeous church located on the Museum Island in Berlin. It is one of my most photographed buildings, yet I had never been inside...until Laura came. While magnificent from the outside, the inside is only ok, but now I can say that I've been inside!

What Movie are We Watching? #1

zum Beispiel = for example
Macht Spaß! = Have fun

Germans have some strange translations for American movie titles. Zum Beispiel (z.B) Miss Undercover is the german version of Miss Congeniality. While this one make sense (although why they didn't just keep the title as it originally was, I don't know), I thought it would be fun every so often to post some movie titles and see if you can guess what their original English title is.

Here's how it will work. In the blog post, I will write the German versions of a few popular Hollywood movies. I will write the answers in a new tab called "Movie Titles" next to the weather graph. Before looking at the answers, see if you can guess what movie the german translation is talking about! Post in the comment section if you wish! Macht Spaß!

• At the First Time (Beim ersten Mal)
• The Knights of the Coconut (Die Ritter der Kokosnuss)
• You Should Be my Lucky Star (Du sollst mein Glücksstern sein)

*Source

Give Me a High Five #6: Berlin Specialities

The other day, I went to KaDeWe to run an errand. Since I can never go to KaDeWe without visiting the 6th floor, I went to go see if they had Snapple. I cannot tell you how badly I am craving Snapple's Diet Peach Ice Tea. Sadly, no Snapples were to be found, which shocked me, as I would consider Snapple a staple drink in American culture.

That sparked the idea for this post. When I think of typical "American" foods, I think BBQ, peanut butter, burgers, Kraft Mac & Cheese, pizza, Snapple, Relish, Chips, and the list goes on. Most of you are American; you don't need me to tell you what typical American specialities are! However, many of you do not know what typical Berliner specialities are. With that being said, here is a list of 5 (unordered) specialties that are native to Berlin. Notice that I said native to BERLIN...not Germany!

1. Berliner Kindl Weisse
This has been mentioned a few times in my blog. Click the link if you want a refresher.

2. Currywurst
You either love it or you hate it. Jack loves it, I hate it. Currywurst is very popular in Berlin, found at fast food stands (called Imbiss) and in German restaurants. It is a wurst (aka sausage/hot dog) sliced into rounds with a curried ketchup. Usually, it is served with Pomme Frites and a colorful plastic fork. You can make a DIY currywurst. Mix a generous portion of curry powder with ketchup. Get a Hebrew's national, top it with the curried ketchup. Voila!

Source

3. Döner Kebab; aka, Döner
Döners are everywhere...not kidding. Döner shops are more popular than Starbucks are in the States, and for good reason; they're delicious. Döner Kebab is actually a Turkish dish made popular here in Berlin, but I'm counting it as a Berlin delicacy anyways. A Döner is a pita with veggies, meat, and your choice of garlic and/or hot sauce. Basically, it's a gyro. The meat, however, is unknown. Is it beef? Chicken? Pork? No idea...you see the meat on a vertical spit that spins around a grill, and the Döner man scrapes the meat off per order. Unless the Döner place specifies (and they usually specify Chicken when they do), you're guess is as good as mine as far as what the meat actually is. However, they are absolutely delicious, unless you find a bad Döner, in which case, they are disgusting. A tip to those in Berlin; the best Döner is in the Wilmersdorferstraße U-Bahn as you walk out to the S-Bahn. It's a chicken Döner, and they even grill up artichoke hearts. Super lecker and Amaze-balls!

Source

An amazing picture of "Mutti" (Angela Merkel) shaving meat from the spit for a döner

Click here for an article on how to order a döner properly, as well as a few German words!

4. Berliner Pfannkuchen
It's a jelly doughnut filled with plum jelly. Yep...that about sums it up...

Source

5. Boulette
This is a food I have yet to experience, but was recommended by some American friends. Boulettes are large meatballs, served with a side mustard, pickled eggs, and pickles. Most of the time, they are the size of falafels, but I have seen them as large as a burger and as small as swedish meatballs. Most bars and German restaurants serve it, sometimes with a bun, making it a Berlin version of the hamburger.

Source

Bon Appetit!

Walk with Your Head Down

Stolperstein = Stumbling Block

Stolpersteine = Stumbling Blocks

When walking in Berlin, or anywhere in Germany for that matter (and many other countries), try looking down. Eventually, you will come across Stolpersteine. These are little golden blocks that you find in front of businesses and/or apartment buildings. Usually, you walks by these blocks without even noticing them. However, once they are pointed out, you will see them everywhere.

It's hard to read, but each Stolperstein has the words "Hier Wohnte", meaning "Here lived" followed by a name, two or three dates, and a place. The name is of the Jewish, homosexual, african, disabled... person that lived or worked in that building during WWII. The first date is the date of birth (JG= Jahr Geburtstag). The second being when the individual were taken and put into concentration camps, and the third of when they died. The one above says:

"Hier Wohnte 

Elly C. Schindler

JG 1907

Deportiert 1.11.1941

(something I can't read)

Ermordet 8.5.1942 in

Kulnhof"

Like I said, most of the time, people walk by the Stolpersteine without even noticing them, and in the previous picture, you can see why. They're not that big...the size of the other cobblestones in the cobblestone sidewalks. However, for me, Stolpersteine are one of the biggest and most important things to see in Berlin. They commemorate those who died and the few that survived the Holocaust. This commemoration is small, but very personal, as each block is placed in the last known residence or workplace of the individual(s). Sometimes, you will see candles, flowers, or wreaths around the blocks. Many times you'll come across a Stolperstein for a child. For me, those are the most emotional. While I did not take a close enough picture to see, this is a set of Stolpersteine for a family.

So next time you're in Germany, instead of looking up at the Street Art, the buildings, or the beautiful (hopefully blue) sky, walk with your head looking down. You'll find Stolpersteine all over the place.

Frühling ist hier!

Frühling = Spring
ist= is
hier = here

The ice cream shops are opening, people are sitting outside cafes and restaurants, the weather is warmer, and spring flowers are up. I think that Frühling ist hier!!!