After an interesting Econ class (we're now focusing on the German economy, so we read and discussed information about the German auto, mechanical, green energy, and chemical industries), several of us headed to Olympiastadion for the Hertha-Union rivalry match! Hertha is the main West Berlin team, and Union is the main East Berlin team, so thousands of fans turn out to cheer! Apparently, there were 74,244 people in attendance, nearly double the stadium's average! And based on the crowds we encountered on the public transportation trying to get to the game, that doesn't surprise me one bit: trying to get onto the S-Bahn at Westkreuz station, the platform was jam-packed, and the six of us struggled to wedge our way onto a train (returning, when the trains were empty, we were absolutely propelled by the crowd onto the train, unable to move of our own volition).
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| View of the overhang |
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| Record of the 1936 gold medalists (lists Jesse Owens for the 100, 200, long jump, and 4x100) |
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| Shane by the Olympic Bell |
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| Waiting to get in - Union supporters sighted! |
Once there, Wolf (the professor of the sports class) gave us a brief history of the stadium - constructed specifically for the 1936 Olympics, had a specific viewing box for Hitler and his officers, his refusal to shake Jesse Owens' hand, the various iterations and reconstructions of the Stadium, etc. Anyway, we found our seats (we had to sneak me past the ticket lady so I could join the others, as my scalped ticket was for a different section) and watched the place fill up. We were directly in the middle, surrounded on the left by Hertha supporters, and on the right by Union fans. A few minutes into the game, I decided to cheer for Hertha, and Molly, Adrienne, and Kennan opted for Union - let the trash talking begin! Though Hertha was the favorite, Union started stronger and jumped to a 2-0 lead; the Union fan base erupted wildly and cheered enthusiastically, with accompanying drums. Optimistically, I maintained that we were just waiting to make our comeback. With 17 minutes left, Hertha got a corner, and just for kicks I turned on my video camera... and lo and behold, Hertha scored! As I can be heard in the video, what a coincidence! Now the Hertha fans finally had something to cheer about; the entire energy of the stadium, and of the game itself, shifted dramatically - could Hertha get another goal, with just 17 minutes left to play? Hilariously, I decided to videotape a Hertha free kick with 5 minutes left to play, and what do you know, they scored again! I actually got both goals on video!!
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| Hertha fans: "You alone should be the pride of Athens" |
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| Kennan, Adrienne, and Molly |
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| The Olympic Rings! |
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| Union supporters set off fireworks prior to the game |
That was the final goal, however, so we left without either side able to brag extensively. After waiting for the stadium to clear out, we headed back home - Molly and I stopped at Mustafa's (Berlin's best döner!) - and I skyped Mom. I then sifted through pictures from Rome and Köln while chatting with Susan about the past three weekends of traveling - expanding our horizons, reflecting on Istanbul and whether our group's reactions to/during the sheik's discussion was appropriate, the pomp of Karneval - before sleeping.
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| Our crew after the game |
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| Departing the game - another sense of how crowded it was! |
Tue 12.2.13:
Today was my 21st Geburtstag! After a lively German class, I went to lunch with Shane, Iqbal, Anna, Lilia, and Kayo, getting a pizza and some wine followed by tiramisu. I returned to the center for E40 section, but afterwards several of us met up at Tyler's for a few more celebratory drinks. Around midnight - and after Tyler's host dad brought in some leftover donuts from Karneval week, how nice! - Keziah, Mikaela, Molly, Susan, Hector, Shane, Tyler, and I (later joined by Kennan and Zixiang) headed to Bar 39 and relaxed there until it closed, generally having a wonderful time. The subways stop at 1 on weeknights, but fortunately Bar 39 is already at my U-Bahn stop, so I could just walk home afterwards and sleep blissfully, while others had to share taxis to get to someone's house (there were a few sleepovers tonight since that was easier than figuring out night buses/paying individually for taxis).
Also of note this week is the Berlinale film festival - hundreds of films, short and full-length, from all over shown here in Berlin! Though I don't plan on seeing any films, several of the other students have seen several they've enjoyed, and seen celebrities such as Anne Hathaway, James Franco, and more. It's fun to at least be here during the festival and hear others' stories!
Wed 13.2.13:
Today's 'Berlin vor Ort' field trip took us to Klösterstraße and Hackeschermarkt areas for a discussion of Jewish history. Sadly, I forgot my camera, so I'll do my best to remember the tour and hopefully can mooch pictures and add them later. We walked through a very Parisian-feeling part of town, with small cafes and shops with a fun outdoors feel, and Dr. Jander pointed out a few top-notch restaurants. After a stopover in a coffee shop (pigeons flying in and out!), we came to a monument remembering the exodus and return of Jews in the 17th century, and Dr. Jander explained the demographic growth of Germany at the time. We concluded at one of the main synagogues in the city, marked with plaques remembering Kristalnacht, which was particularly moving to take in.
I joined Sherri, Zippy, Juan, Tim, and Peter for an early dinner at Dada Falafel, which offered yummy tabouleh and falafel (and had very fancy bathrooms!), before returning home to write my blog (each day of Rome so far has taken ~3 hours to write, ugh. though this time I was distracted by football videos Kennan suggested). Finally, I looked up more Berlin restaurants for a Friday birthday dinner, though finding a large group reservation on a Friday evening was terrible - in any case, at least I have several on my list to go to at some point before I leave!
Thu 14.2.13:
Valentinstag! Several of us brought chocolates to the center, so we had a communal supply throughout the day. Our class also saved Jochen (our German professor) by reminding him it was Valentine's Day, as he'd forgotten! For lunch I whipped up a scrumptious omelette with gouda, bell pepper, and smoked salmon, then attempted a brief nap (unsuccessfully) and did the Econ readings. They, and the subsequent discussion, were particularly interesting to me, as they dealt with various German companies' business strategies in adapting to globalization from the 1970s onward. After that we had our E40 lab, in which we designed and soldered our own amplifier! The one downside, however, was that it took us until 10 to finish :/ Afterward, I met up with Bekah and we made pesto pasta (my second time cooking dinner this quarter haha) and chatted for a while. Finally, I had to call my bank to sort out an issue, and was on hold for 45min of my hour-long call, which ended when they told me there was nothing I could do at the moment besides wait and hope the problem resolves itself... gee, thanks for making me wait so long to tell me that :(
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