Week Three - High Culture (and Istanbul and Rome next week!)

Sun 20.1.13: 

I got up around lunchtime and chatted with Anna for a bit before meeting Adrienne, Jodie, and Kayo at Tiergarten around 3. We wandered through the market again and took a different path through the Tiergarten, which granted us views of a few frozen-over ponds and several cute doggies out for walks with their owners (sorry, no pictures). We walked to Victory Column, a monument to the Prussian victory over the Danish in 1864 and revamped during the Nazi rule, in the center of the Tiergarten. Apparently, the French soldiers tore off parts of the column upon seizing Berlin at the conclusion of WWII, and only recently was the tower restored (for historical purposes, yet still left slightly unfinished to remember the losses). 

Whoooooo wants an owl?

Victory Column (you can go to the top!)

We progressed through the Tiergarten until we came upon the same cozy cafe, and this time we each got drinks (yummy chai latte for me) and split an apple strudel and a scrumptious German delicacy called Kaiserschmarrn, which consists of a raisin-filled dough that is halfway between thin pancakes and bread pudding, along with apricot and plum sauces! Far and away 100% amazing :) 

Continuing the theme of wonderful food, we met up with Sherri and Zixiang and went on a 'Food Tour' in which we progressed from restaurant to restaurant, ordering and sharing one communal plate at each place! We began at Angry Chicken, where we sampled the eponymous dish of chicken wings in a cinnamon sauce; next was the Hühnhaus (chicken house), where we got two half-chickens replete with salad, fries, and unlimited pickled veggies (these probably didn't really count towards the 5-a-day target, but they made us feel like we were being healthy); and finally, we ordered the sampler platter at the Moroccan place. All told, everything was incredibly tasty, and all six of us filled ourselves up for just 6€ - quite a deal! The others wandered around for a while afterwards, but I had to head back to get some work done (much distracted by the NFL conference championship games) before sleeping.

Mon 21.1.13: 

After a long day of class, E40 lab, and learning about 'joiking' - a traditional Sami style of singing that sounds similar to Native American melodic chants; we will see a joiking performance at the Berlin Philharmonie on Wednesday - I grabbed dinner with Shane at a burrito place called Dolores at Wittenbergplatz. Slightly afraid of eating Mexican food in Germany, we were very impressed with the burritos - great variety and spices - and plan to return soon! And, that's about all I have time for on Mondays (and Thursdays, I guess) since E40 ends so late - after dinner, I just came home and crashed.

Tu 22.1.13: 
Today was absolutely AMAZING! In a nutshell: improv dance party, snowball fight, desserts, core workout, fancy dinner, and happy hour :D
Right, so after German, as I was preparing lunch, I was called down to the basement game room for an apparent dance party (such a memorable dancing style I must have). The others had found some old CDs that we rocked out to for a good 30-45minutes, just having a blast and happy to be dancing! Then Maria, one of the staff, provided us with a lovely lentil soup that was perfect on such a chilly day. However, the cold made for perfect snowball fight conditions! We got a group of ~8 of us on the front lawn, ducking and dodging each other's assaults, interspersed with other nonstandard tactics like tackling others to the ground (sorry, Bekah!) or ambushing others from behind (Tyler, Josh, you guys win this round), all of which made for great fun.

Before long, we headed back inside and began to disperse in preparation of our Bing program dinner later. But first, Esther, Sarah, and I scouted out the bakery that Dr. Jander suggested on last week's Dahlem field trip, and by retracing our steps we found Aux Dèlices Normands. We shared a pair of berry cakes and a pistachio cream torte, and were suitably impressed - definitely returning to try its other offerings! We stopped over at my house, allowing me to do a quick core workout (sadly, I've been unable to walk, let alone run, without discomfort/pain for the last week or so, as my shoes have raised and aggravated a blister on my heel. Thus, core and cross training will become my outlet for exercise until I am whole again) before we walked the couple blocks to the program dinner at Max und Moritz (reminiscent of the old German cartoons!).
Every Stanford abroad program has a Bing-sponsored dinner that features a delicious meal at a culturally-significant venue during which the students recognize and toast their program sponsors and benefactors. We thanked Peter and Helen Bing, as all programs do, as well as George Will, specific to the Berlin program, as we dined on a lovely spread of salmon with creamed spinach, roasted chicken with mixed vegetables, potatoes gratin, melon with prosciutto, caprese salad, mixed cheeses, smoked salmon, potato soup, fruit salad, and tiramisu. As is typical for these Bing dinners with all 35ish students gathered together, we quickly devolved into taking tons of pictures (and photobombing, of course), which I will upload once I get them from whoever took pictures. 

After dinner, several of us walked around in search of a nice bar, eventually ending up as a group of 10 in Cafe 39. Cocktails were just 4-5€ each, so we sampled everything from the Alabama Slammer to the Bahama Mama, from a Boston to a Mississippi Burning, and were very pleased with each of our selections (and, at relatively good prices, we may just have to return). Though we did feel bad for being that group of 'loud, obnoxious Americans,' we had several great quotes, like, "You guys are like three douches put together" or "How would you rank us, in terms of douchiness?" Eventually, once we felt like we'd overstayed our welcome, we departed and headed home (so far for me! haha I like living at Kottbusser Tor, since it seems very central to many of the main attractions and/or places we meet up).

Wed 23.1.13: 

We started the day with an introduction to Turkey (our Bing program trip is to Istanbul, from the 27th to the 30th), discussing its cultural changes over the past couple decades, its religious disparities and laws, and its ongoing efforts to join the E.U. We gathered that the population of Turkey is divided on several of these issues regarding liberalization and integration into the E.U., and so it is unclear how the citizens will respond if and when Turkey is accepted into the E.U. One of the classes offered this quarter is about the E.U. and its state of affairs, and so Professor Uli is leading this trip to Turkey.

I decided against the field trip today, thinking it was to the East Side Galleries (apparently it was to Bernhauer Straße, where other portions of the wall still stand - I'll have to check it out), choosing instead to do a bike workout (rather difficult in jeans) to help me work off all the chocolate I've been eating. Pleased yet exhausted, I went home and collapsed immediately on my bed for a quick nap.
I awoke around 6pm and dressed up for the Berlin Philharmonie at 8, arriving just barely in time after snagging some Gemuse Kebab (I felt out of place wearing a dress shirt and slacks in the fast-food-feel joint) and coordinating a ride over with Iqbal. Let me first acknowledge the reception area and the concert hall - the reception area was very elegant, with sweeping staircases and high, vaunted ceilings, and the auditorium was even more impressive, with 360 degree visibility and a very ornate layout. As for the concert itself, I was very pleased with the performance. Most of the 2 hour program involved an accordion and a bass guitar, evoking several different themes and imagined scenarios, and these were occasionally accompanied by a pianist and a pair of joikers dressed in traditional garb. Many of us had very low expectations for the joiking, given our brief exposure to it, but I was taken in by it and I could really envision the original spirit and object of the song manifesting its way through the singers' voices. I understand that the Berlin Philharmonie attracts several of the top-notch musicians and groups in the world (last Tuesday, the Vienna Orchestra - considered the best in the world - came and performed), and I felt as though these musicians definitely maintained the concert hall's reputation. 

Th 24.1.13: 
Once again, I saved Thursday morning to write my 300 words of German journals, only just finishing in time to arrive at the center on time (yay procrastination!). Our German is coming along pretty well, though I hope we start speaking more in German in class to help us practice our conversational skills (we've covered lots of grammar, and thus have used a lot of English to help us understand what is what). Anyway, prior to Econ and E40, Brianna, Josh, Kennan, Shane, and I did the Insanity cardio/plyo workout, after which we were absolutely exhausted and sore. Somehow I remained awake throughout both classes (the combination of showering and devouring the loaf of bread Esther brought me from Aldi's must've helped), and afterwards Kayo, Shane, and I went to an Italian place by Shane's house. Each of our pizzas/pastas were quite good, though I had to use my pasta to help me palate the 'Tomate Insalate' I ordered, thinking it was a salad with tomatoes, rather than a salad of tomatoes! Haha well, lesson learned - I'm not Italian enough :) 
On that note, though, we did discuss other sites in Europe we'd like to visit while we're here, and one of Shane's top interests is Rome, so we started tentatively planning that out and getting very excited about that prospect. Once we dispersed for home, we started researching flights - I'm not only considering Rome but also hoping to make it to Munich/Southern Germany as well as to Switzerland! - and gauging whether our ideal plans could indeed become feasible. 

Fri 25.1.13: 

Professor Uli had planned a trip to the Turkish embassy for all of us at noon, so after class several of us scrambled to arrive on time (Brianna and I missed the bus, but fortunately Rob and Brigid were leaving at that moment and offered us a ride. Best of all, this gave us an above-ground view of the city, and allowed me to sort of mentally organize a city layout in which I pieced together several portions that I'd seen independently and never known just how close to each other they were). The embassy itself has just opened three weeks ago, having been relocated and thus newly constructed, so we were some of the first visitors to set foot inside! 

The sun shines through!

At the Turkish Embassy

This installation is half a million Euros!!!

View within the Embassy - very artistic!

After admiring the gorgeous main hall, we sat down for a discussion with the Turkish Ambassador and a few of the other staff members on duty (they were unexpectedly humorous, informing us that most Fridays were 'Casual Fridays,' meaning that they usually left their jackets and ties in the closet, "in case an important official showed up"). They spoke to us about similar issues as we discussed on Wednesday, primarily concerned with the current direction and strategy of the Turkish government regarding its efforts to join the E.U. (and how it plans to meet all the requirements, such as human rights recognition and nonviolation) as well as its religious and political disputes regarding headscarves in the public sphere.

After the discussion ended, Keziah, Susan, and I regrouped at my house to work on our E40 pset, since we won't want to work on it in Turkey, and then caught the tail end of the Turkish market. We cobbled together a quick meal out of the breads and cheeses and spreads we discovered (this time: honey mustard, mango curry, and a spicy pepper salsa) and then they headed out. I supplemented the appetizers by making some tricolor pasta I'd picked up, and practiced my German a bit more with Anna over dinner and while watching the news. Around 10, Sherri, Susan, Juan, Zixiang, and I relocated to Keziah's place for some wine while we decided where to go out, ultimately deciding to try Club Matrix, which is strangely underneath the Warschauer Straße station (which is above ground, so the club is ground level. But still, rather interesting placement). While the music was pretty standard American top hits, we weren't big fans of the heavy smoke, crowded atmosphere (lots of tourists go on weekends), and bad DJing, and we took off before long, stopping at Burgermeister on the way home. 

Sat 26.1.13: 

Today I got up at 1 and researched some ideas for what part of the city I wanted to explore today. Eventually, I decided to join Bekah, Mikaela, and some of the Sprachpartner people at the Nollendorf/Winterfeldt farmers' market at 2:30. We wandered through the stalls (the plaza seemed fairly full, but apparently was only at ~60% of normal capacity since it was so cold, -12º C!) and Bekah and I each picked out a new hat (sadly, I lost my beanie earlier this week, but found this one for just 6€). Several stalls were offering delicious-looking pastries, crepes, or Turkish food, but we decided to sit down in a warm cafe and grab some coffee. We chatted with the Germans for an hour or so while we de-thawed (one of whom applied to study for a year at Cal, UCLA, or UCSC, so Bekah and I encouraged her to come visit Stanford), and then Bekah, Mikaela, and I took off to go thrift store shopping :) We stayed at Sing Blackbird for over an hour, with each of us finding something fun and affordable (despite efforts to turn me into a hipster European, I resisted the call of the form-fitting thin pants and went with the safer faded black jeans). 

Tonight was Sherri's birthday dinner, so we headed home, and I had just enough time to say hi to Anna and Hanna, look up directions, and find an ATM before quasi-jogging the 10 minutes to the restaurant, Jolesch (my heel felt okay, though I've been bandaging it every day and it still isn't fully healed). We had a good group in attendance, and on our end, Esther, Kayo, Keziah, Zixiang, and I had a great time,  discussing several topics at length and a few topics, such as wanting kids, baby philosophy, and various Stanford classes, only briefly before they were silenced by Kayo for being intelligent haha. The food and wine were quite good - I had a savory gnocchi with pumpkin; several people received a huge portion of weinerschnitzel - and we surprised Sherri at the end with a dessert sampler tray that featured a slice of chocolate cake, an apple strudel and cheese strudel, and a dish of Kaiserschmarrn. All in all, everyone had a wonderful time, and we were quick to make plans to do something similar in the near future :)
We need to be at the airport at 10am tomorrow morning, so Zixiang and I made plans to meet at the Kottbusser station at 8am to avoid any hassle. Once I got home, I skyped Mom and Terence (so great to see you guys! The 9hour time difference makes communication difficult) and then worked on packing and catching up on writing my blog, since I know the next few weekends I will be rather busy: Istanbul this weekend, followed by Rome, and then a trip to Koln for the weekend of Karneval! 
So, I'm happy to be all caught up now - and be prepared for some upcoming posts about my travels outside of Germany!