The Three Essentials to Everyday German Life

Bikes: 

Germans ride their bikes, a lot. In fact, 12% of the people use a bicycle in Berlin as their only transportation. There are specific bike lanes almost everywhere you go. I have now gotten into the habit of not just looking before I cross the street, but before I cross the bike lane in order to get to the crosswalk to cross the street. Should you even dare to stand or walk on the bike path, the Germans will ring their annoying little bell that essentially means, "get the hell out of the way, NOW!"  If you remain in their way, most Germans would  have to think twice about which would be more ethical: running over you or re-routing their path. Germans also love their bikes so much, many trains and busses have a specific holding place (which then takes up seat space, might I add) for your bike when you want to take it to another part of town to ride around there. 

There are obviously (because it's Germany, duh) many rules to bike riding that everyone must abide by. So much so, when I lived here in 2006, my house mother wouldn't allow me to ride a bike for the first couple weeks because she didn't trust that I knew how to signal when I wanted to turn onto another street. When she finally gave me a bike to ride, the chain came off on my first adventure, causing an accident (only with myself), which included a nice gash in my leg. I'm not really sure she trusted me on one after that, because I couldn't ever just go get a bike out of the shed, she had to be the one to get it, so she knew when I was actually using one. Needless to say, I have not attempted any sort of bicycle anything while here in Berlin, including a bike tour of the city, or the Beerbike you can take with a group of people and a bar tender - you paddle around the city center drinking beer for an hour or two. Perhaps I'm un-German that way.

Flowers:

Germans love their flowers. There are flower stands everywhere selling all sorts of arrangements, for dare I say, cheap prices. When you get on the trains or busses or are simply just walking around you are guaranteed to pass someone carrying flowers. Why? In Germany, you don't go to someone's home without flowers in hand. Americans bring wine, or sometimes food, but in the good old fatherland you bring flowers. Not much more to add to that other than it MUST be in odd numbers - apparently even numbered bouquets just don't look full enough.

Dogs:

There are so many things I could say about dogs, but an excerpt from a reading we had for class does it all the justice in the world. Therefore I'm just going to quote what it says:

"The Germans are fond of their pets, which come in two forms  - Alsatians, and preposterously small poodles wearing little woolly jackets and ribbons in their hair. The point of these creatures is to be Obedient and Loyal (Alsatians) or to eat expensive chocolates and pooh everywhere (poohdles). Saying anything rude (or even mildly critical) to a German about his dog is more than your life is worth. All dogs are beautiful, and the world is their litter tray.

Those Germans who do not own a dog are strange (and could even be eccentric). Those who own a cat are certainly Communists and may be cut dead in the street. If the man next door acquires a budgerigar or hamster, any self-respecting German will think about moving house (and perhaps going to another town all together)." 

- "Xenophobe's Guide to Germans" by Stefan Zeidenitz and Ben Barkow

Honestly, it's true. German dogs go EVERYWHERE (the train, bus, shopping malls, etc.), and probably the most popular breed that I've seen here is the Dachshund; but, I think I've seen just as much a variety of breeds here as I would at home. They are THE most well behaved dogs you will ever see. Constantly 100% in tune with their owner, their voice and their command. Then I think of Lucy - yeah, right. The only complaint most people have is that owners do not pick up after their dogs poo, which are called land mines. Not to be confused with the myth of land mines in No Man's Land during the divide, which only actually existed between the borders of East and West Germany, not Berlin. Regardless, it's gross. Other than that minor downfall to the German order, dogs clearly only add to society here, and are far more accepted than in America.

And that, friends, is just a tid bit of what all you would need to know in order to get along in German society today. Sure there are lots of things that make this country go round, but these three things here, are all that you truly need.

Freedom

My July 4th was not spent the way I would most likely describe as ideal for such a fantastic holiday, no, there was nothing terribly American about my day at all. But, I did, ironically, have quite the conversation about freedom...

About a week ago, I was on the S-Bahn and picked up a cell phone that a lady sitting across from me forgot when she got off. Having a recent casualty to the D.C. metro, I did what I had hoped someone else would have done for me; not to mention, people have done in the past. My cell phone has been found on curbs, in intersections, locker rooms, and so on, they called one of my parents in my contacts and my phone was recovered. After trying to text from her phone to the last person she called and failing miserably (I think her friend received an attempt or two), she just called me and we went from there. Ulrike was certain that she MUST repay me, so I left my email address with her phone at an information desk in my favorite book store, for us to be able to connect. I agreed to coffee this past Sunday with her in the outskirts of the old Jewish area of Berlin, and I was actually pretty excited for it. My high expectations were certainly not let down. 

Ulrike is a 43 year old math and physics teacher at the private American based high school called the John F. Kennedy School. She's even lived in Washington D.C. between 2000 and 2004 teaching at the private German high school there. She grew up in a small Eastern German town not far out of Potsdam and moved to Berlin in 1989. She expressed her love for America and how much she enjoyed living there. We talked primarily in English but I tried to insert German when I could, and she obliged with welcomed corrections. We talked about politics, religion, history, and social problems within Germany, America and the rest of the world. But, we just kept coming back to the idea of freedom.

Ulrike told me her parents died right after the Wende (a term used for the transition in Germany right after reunification) and only saw Germany in the eyes of WWII and divided - living in the GDR. They never got to travel, or really be free. She said her mother always dreamed of being able to travel to Paris, but never got to. And Ulrike said something like being able to travel has never made her feel more free. We talked about how some Eastern Germans don't even know what to do with themselves because even though they had nothing in the East, they had a job, and now, some of them don't even have that in a unified Germany - this being an issue we have learned a lot about in my class... Some would prefer that the division still exist! But, not Ulrike. Her concern now is for the freedom for other groups of people in our world today. 

She carries, with her, a great guilt for what happened to the Jews in WWII, and believes in the support the United States provides to Israel. So much so, that she doesn't understand why the Germans, themselves, do not do more. And, having worked in a school in the lower income areas in Berlin before her time in the US, she feels for the Turkish girls she taught who would stay at school as long as they could to avoid having to go home and do house work. It upsets her that these girls are expected to focus on working for the family business or in the house instead of pursuing things like education, which is what they really want to do. We talked about the difference in religions, extremists, and how this can taint the idea of any group of people and how good or bad they may be...

Nothing amazed Ulrike more than the idea of a black man rising to be president in our country. Interestingly, she does not know much about President Obama and his politics, merely what he "stands" for and that he is simply a change from President Bush. Ironically, there was no doubt in her mind that she agrees with the good things that are being done in Iraq or Afghanistan.  She even said that she became a little more defensive of the Americans when she returned to Germany with all the regular bashing of the government and president. Honestly, none of these mentalities surprised me, except for one: her opinion of Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

I immediately asked her, after she said how she was amazed that America would elect a black man, if she didn't feel the same way toward Angela Merkel. She is not only the first woman to be chancellor in Germany, but is also an Eastern German. Ulrike replied with one big negatory, that Chancellor Merkel is too much a power hungry, forward, rough and tough kind of female and politician. Oh. To her, she's too conservative and laissez-faire, "like Bush," and is on her way down. Interesting. I don't know if I'll ever understand how Germans justify the differences between the different kind of politicians, and what, in their opinion, makes them great or not. 

Regardless, my new friend and I agreed that the world would be way better if its problems could merely be solved over coffee on a Sunday morning in the middle of Berlin.  I was so glad to spend the morning talking with someone about nothing other than the idea of freedom on my independence day. There was no doubt to her that America has done great things for her country, and that what we stand for is a wonderful thing. Tears were brought to her eyes among the euphoric madness of Berlin in 1989 when she finally felt she could breathe again and was free. 

After I left Ulrike, with a gift in hand and a hug as she went on her way to explore Ukraine with a friend the next day, I was determined to do some things in the city that I wanted to do before I leave this upcoming weekend. I spent a lot of time walking, stopping at Checkpoint Charlie, the Topography of Terror Museum and then to the New Synagogue. All three just so relevant to the hope and idea of freedom. Checkpoint Charlie, an American station that filtered people coming in and out of the sector during a divided Berlin. The Topography of Terror Museum, positioned over the old Gestapo headquarters, had great new exhibits on the timeline and persecution of the Nazi party. There was also a fantastic exhibit of photographs taken by Jews who lived in the ghetto and were commissioned by the government in order to promote the "good things" about ghettos. The pictures were of the children going to school, the sick being cared for and the other Jews working - something the head of the ghetto used as a deterrent for the deportation of its members to extermination camps. And lastly, the New Synagogue, which was only partially restored. The museum was small because they chose not to rebuild it the way it was before the war and communist regime. But, it allowed me to learn more about the practices of the Jewish religion and prevalence of the Jewish community in Berlin pre-WWII. Two of these places I had visited before, but the third I had not. I was more than happy to repeat, because as I get older I appreciate things for different reasons. 

Freedom means different things to different people. To some it's being able to practice a religion, move from country to country, being able to buy anything you want with the money you work hard for, or simply being able to have a right to vote for your new and up and coming president. Either way, people are still people with needs... There was no doubt to Ulrike, no matter who is in office or what not, that America stands for great ideals that most people are envious of. If I couldn't have been home eating hot dogs and pretzel salad while watching fireworks, I don't know that I would have wanted anything else out of the holiday. 

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty" - JFK 

Die Ordnung

One day I was on the S-Bahn on my way to class with a few people who I live with and was eating a banana for breakfast. Sadly, the top of my banana got squished brown, so I was only really willing to eat the bottom half. Being stuck with the top half of my banana awkwardly wrapped in its peels I didn't have time before the doors shut to throw it out. A friend told me to just drop it in between the door of the train and the platform when all of a sudden a German woman looks up and immediately says in clear English, "Don't do it!" Like a 6 year old child I responded with assurance I wasn't really planning on it, as she was telling me it would make the train slip on its tracks. Ok, lady. I sat down as the train was leaving and told my friend I'll probably just throw it out the window once we get to a grassy area. Well, that was just NOT okay with my new German friend, and she pulled her pastry out of the bag from the bakery and gave it to me to put my banana in. I literally could not wait more than 2 seconds after I got off at our stop to burst out laughing. What a great start to my day... 

The German "order" is something that I feel can be fairly notorious among other people in the world. Honestly, I have found nothing to disapprove such a stereotype. The Germans have an idea as to how things should be: don't cross the street unless the little Ampleman is green, don't be too loud on the subways and most definitely do NOT put paper in the waste basket for bottles, or the wrong kind of wrapper in the basket for the paper, if you're early, you're on time, if you're on time your late, demonstrating in the middle city is only acceptable if there are police officers accompanying you the whole time, etc. And most definitely do not even THINK about smiling at someone unless you actually know them. 

Germans are a funny people. They can seemingly be pretty hard to read, hard to approach, but are definitely easy to love, particularly the older generations. But, for them, it works. So, I just thought I'd share a little anecdote to feed all the hunger of what the Germans may be like... The Answer? Exactly like what you'd imagine. 

With a blue shoe on my left, and a black on my right...

Last week I went to Copenhagen for a whooping day and a half. This trip was sparked somewhat last minute because a) I felt like I wasn't traveling enough away from Berlin and b) it was inexpensive to get there. Little did I know what little adventure I was getting myself into... 

On Tuesday night I left my dorm on a bus at 12:30 to catch my 6:30 flight. Why you ask? Well, I'll tell you with two simple words: public transportation. The bus that comes to my area shuts down between 12:30 and 4:30 am and the train I typically take shuts down between 2 and 4 am. Perfect when I needed to be at the airport on the other side of the city by 4:30. Anyways, I took a bus to the train, and then the train to a night bus and finally arrived at Schönefeld Airport by 2:30. When I hopped on the night bus, I propped my feet up to sleep for the hour ride, and realized I had one blue flip flop on, and one black one. Awesome. But, for the first time, I was that person who you pass on the bench at the airport, totally wiped out. Thankfully I had my pillow, my faithful companion, and could get almost 2 hours of sleep on a bench right by the EasyJet check in desk. The discount airline was also a new experience for me - having to walk across the tarmac to get on a plane where I did not have an assigned seat with no boarding preferences. But, it was easy and the flight went smoothly. I got to the airport in Copenhagen decidedly exhausted and on a mission to get a map they pass out for free of the city, get some cash in the local Danish Kroener and somehow navigate their pronounced prestigious public transportation system. Some even argue it's better than London's... I can't really say either way because I only used it once. But I was only able to figure it out with a very friendly transportation employee who got me the right ticket. I arrived at my hostel very easily by 9:30 am. Motivating myself to actually go into the city was the next step.

I first stopped at a 7 Eleven which are EVERYWHERE in Copenhagen, and bought myself a banana, Diet Coke, and a snack pack of cashews for a whopping $10. Welcome to Scandinavia! Feeling better, though, after eating (since I hadn't for over 12 hours) I went on to wander to the middle of the city. Honestly, there's so much to see there I wasn't sure where to begin. I'm sure most will appreciate that one of the first things I managed to find was the major pedestrian shopping street, by accident, of course. I also went into the town hall without going through any security. And, eventually landing myself at the Amalienborg Palace where the changing of the guard would take place around noon. 

I sat and observed the guards who had patrolling duties based off their little posts, only moving for the ceremonial steps at every 15 minute chime from the clock in the square. There are actually four palaces in this immediate vicinity, each with a guard. These guards are around 20 years old, and are on their last leg of their one year duty. Apparently the two or so months spent as the guard are highly dreaded, and I don't blame them. Their uniforms were incredible, but they most definitely lacked the discipline to the easily comparable to the guards in London. They are also permitted to talk, as to make sure all visitors remain beyond 5 meters of the walls of each palace. The actual ceremony took a half hour and afterwards, as I was walking back, I passed the barracks for these guys and two of them being reprimanded outside by the sergeant who I saw swarming during the entire ceremony. 

I got back to my hostel to finally check in a re-group and was terribly surprised when I walked into my room to find that the bed I was assigned was literally 9 feet off the ground. I could not reach the top of my bed from the ground. There were 9 people in my room and it was super small. And, on top of that, the hostel charged me extra for needing sheets. So, by the time I got settled a bit and complained enough about my hostel situation, I went back out to the city with the determination to go on a boat tour. This decision was by far the best I made throughout this entire extravaganza. 

I learned and saw so much about this country and the city in the hour an a half, more than I could have ever hoped for... this is all thanks to the man made canals throughout the entire city which were produced by prisoners of war at the time. It's also worth noting that the water in Copenhagen is RIDICULOUSLY clean. As in, it used to be terribly dirty and then they spent 30 years scraping all the bacteria out of the canals, as in, people can swim in select places of it now, as well. In fact, the water used to be so dirty, that in medieval times they realized it would be cheaper to produce beer than to clean the water for its people and more importantly and specifically the sailors. This led to a daily ration for 16 liters of beer per sailor for he and his family. Enough said.  

The Danes can boast some of the longest standing civilized history in the world. They came through just about every stage of mankind possible and are 100% in tact on the other end. Not to mention they have the oldest royal family in the world. Copenhagen will do whatever possible in order to preserve the medieval facade of its buildings, the flag (really a pendant, like Ohio - holler to MC and all his pendant flag pride) is possibly the oldest flag in world history and the navy in Denmark was, all of which still seem to be a great pride of the people. In order to do something, like preserve the old look to their city, they put copper in the material when building new buildings, so eventually over time it'll take the same look as the buildings that have been there for hundreds of years. 

Another side note about Copenhagens is their love of their bikes. Everyone rides their bikes everywhere. So, if there's a way to do it on bike rather than car, they'll do it - pushing or pulling children or dogs or food; bicycling with one hand or no hands, in tandem or solo, in the morning, late at night, to work in suits, or to play in bathing suits. You name it, they do it. The city even has free bikes for tourists located around the city that you can take to tour around. The only rack that I found had one bike left with a broken chain, though, so I didn't get to be a part of this luxury... Regardless, I have never seen so many people who ride bikes, not even Japan. 

After my boat tour, I wandered around a little more, looking for a pub recommended by my Lonely Planet book. I found it, realizing I needed more cash, and had quite the time finding an ATM to get more. Once I did, I was really excited to get a bite to eat in this place described as a place that truly "distils the essence of everything great about Nyhavn's salty sea-dog atmosphere, with nightly live folk music." Perfect. Only, when I got there it was not so perfect as I was one of three people eating in this pub. My faith in Lonely Planet, however, is not gone, as this is the first time I've ever found them to be kind of wrong. I'm sure this place can be exciting... just maybe on the weekends? I got a bacon cheeseburger with fries, which I wish I would have gotten a picture of, because it was most definitely not what you were thinking. The burger was automatically cooked rare and I'm not really sure what kind of cheese was on it, all with some lettuce, I think, and a couple crazy sauces I'd never tried before all between thick dark(er) bread. It was fantastic, for sure, and the bar tender and I got to talk for a while which was really nice. 

My new friend doesn't even live in the city, probably because he can't afford it, and couldn't even tell me the really great places to go out at night in Copenhagen because he's always working at the pub until 2 am. He was REALLY interested in why a young American would come to Copenhagen all by herself, and wanted to know what life was like as a student in the US. He told me that I should try and visit the other Nordic countries, but that Denmark is the best, so I made the right choice. I appreciated our conversation, during which, he also said, that tonight was the night of the week when he gets his tips, so he would maybe stay in the city a little while longer and grab a drink himself. I made sure to tip him better than what is typical in Europe, and with a great thanks from him, I found my way back to my hostel. 

The next day, I woke up a little later than I wanted to, so I felt REALLY rushed to do everything I wanted to... After getting my breakfast at the hostel, I made my way to the shopping street once again to find the standard bell for my mom, and magnet for my grandma. Then went on my merry way to the Nationalmuseet (National Museum) to take an hour long free English tour of the exhibit on the beginning of Denmark, and well, civilization. It was VERY cool, with lots of artifacts from the bronze, iron and golden ages. Our tour guide, I think, was being observed by her boss, which was also an interesting dynamic, as she tried to chorale us around, pay attention and even laugh at her not so funny jokes. The museum is HUGE with tons of exhibits from all different time periods, but I could have spent an entire day just in there. But, instead I crossed the river to climb the Rundetarn (round tower) of the Trinitatiskirke (Trinity Church) to see the entire city. It was amazing! And part of the climb was around the golden staircase on the outside of the tower. What a beautiful city! 

Not far from the Trinitatiskirke was a neighborhood that everyone says you should visit while in Copenhagen: Christiania. Described to me by the Danes as the youngest child that no one wants to talk about, this is an alternative community based from a group in the 1970s of military squatters who took over some run down military barracks. You're not allowed to take pictures within the compound of this area where its residents do not pay taxes and live by their own education system. The majority of people I picked up as residents were young adults and people who probably were there in the beginning of its foundations and have never left. The housing is run down and people were selling things on the street I was afraid to ask as to what it actually was, knowing the amount of soft drug trade here. There were lots of little artsy shops and cafes to walk around and an outdoor market, too. I had planned on spending an hour here, as the books rave that it's a must see, but I only lasted 15 minutes. I felt terribly uncomfortable amongst these people. Maybe it wasn't a fair evaluation of them in the small time that I was around, but it was just NOT someplace I wanted to be roaming about all by myself. 

After my rude awakening back into the reality of the REAL Denmark, I wanted to see one last thing before I left, the Marmokirken or Frederikskirken, the royal church. The dome of the church is the 5th largest in the world. It was beautiful, yet simple at the same time with one organ for decoration and one for actual use. I stayed for a little, wanting to gather myself, get out of the heat, and just enjoy someplace so quiet and beautiful before I needed to head back and get on my crazy way to Berlin.

My bus ride was suppose to last seven and a half hours back to Berlin, but ended up lasting closer to nine. It was actually pretty nice, because I was the only one on the bus who didn't have anyone sitting next to me, and therefore could sleep in a more sprawled position. My nap was interrupted by our ferry ride which lasted almost two hours. It was beautiful, though, to see the Baltic Sea, and I actually befriended a couple Americans from Charleston, S.C., and played cards with them for part of our ride. When we got back to Berlin, I helped them on their way to their hostel and finally got home myself at about 2 a.m.

Copenhagen was a crazy kind of trip - an experience like none other. When I first arrived there, I didn't get it. I was truly almost mad that I made the trip, but by the end, I became a changed woman. I loved it there among all the beautiful people and their bikes and water and boats. They are quirky people, not really afraid to put themselves out there, especially when it comes to street performing; I'm pretty sure I even saw a Viking leaving Burger King. They love to talk, smile, laugh, and their English is better than mine! As a first time to Northern Europe, it was a great experience, and I definitely want more. I underestimated this expensive city, but now there's a special place for it in my heart. Realizing, with the help of Google Maps, I walked probably close to 15 miles while I was there, I was glad for my second pair of shoes that I packed. But, with a blue shoe on my left, and black on my right, I left this quirky city, as quirky as I myself could be, very pleased with how my little trip to Copenhagen turned out.

On Turkish Ground

Yesterday, I went on an excursion with my class to someplace I had been looking forward to since I found out we were going. We spent our afternoon at the Berlin Türk Sehitlik Camii Mosque. I had never stepped foot into a mosque before. Honestly, I’ve never stepped foot into a synagogue, either. Anyways, dressed according to their dress code of pants and a conservative shirt, and socks packed in my bag to wear in the mosque, I was excited. When we got there, mid-day prayer had just ended and so we waited outside the gate until the HUGE crowd of primarily men flowed out. Also, accompanied out were two caskets, without any kind of special procession. We finally entered, and while our professor was checking in and finding our tour guide a few of us had to go to the bathroom.

I know what you’re thinking, TMI, but you’ll understand in a moment why I’m mentioning this. The women’s bathroom was on the side of the building in the back. We had to take our shoes off to even go up the stairs to get to the bathroom, where we found flip flops to wear while in there. Which, by the way, we tried asking the woman in the bathroom if they were for everyone to use, but barely could communicate an answer with her (later I learned is because their primary language is Turkish – awesome). Next to the bathroom was a room for women - none of them were talking, though, which I also found interesting because if there’s one thing that may be irregular in this situation, it’s not that there’s a room specifically for women, but that they weren’t talking with each other. Now, I’ve taken a class on women in Islam, because it fascinates me... I don’t think Muslim women are oppressed because they are Muslim, I believe they are oppressed because of the cultures that Muslim women typically live in. Our tour guide, who we had a great conversation with, assured us that the reason women and men do not pray together in the Mosque was because of the idea of distraction, not oppression. Women can choose to pray on the same floor as the men, they just have to be behind them all. Their prayer involves bending and kneeling and Muslims understand the “nature” of men and feel that men would be more concerned with the female bending down in front of them than on the prayer they were to be saying. It is also worth noting that what women choose to wear or not on their heads and bodies is their choice. Their teachings are clear that BOTH men and women need to be modest in their dress, that nothing is to be too form fitting for either sex, so as to take away from distractions. Our tour guide also assured us that in his thoughts, if a woman can be confident, with self-respect and restraint in tight jeans and shirts, then let her dress that way. But, the Muslim girls I have talked to believe that if a girl wears tight clothing, but a Hijaab (the head covering), they shouldn’t bother with even that. All interesting.

So, our tour began outside the actual mosque, but within the compound and we were told we were officially on Turkish ground. That Germany had given this space to Turkey, so that one of their dignitaries could be buried within the gates. As you can imagine, then, we were standing among a cemetery, as well. He explained that the graves are to face Mecca… something I had already figured to be true. We entered the beautiful five-year-old Mosque, taking our shoes off again, into an open carpeted room. We learned that the different colors and designs were chosen to represent the world: blue ceilings – the sky, a chandelier in the middle – the sun, gray pillars – the earth, green carpet – the grass. It has a lectern just like what we would see at a church or cathedral and a main alter where the person who leads the prayer stands. Calligraphy was the decoration all throughout, unlike our usual stain glass windows depicting saints or Jesus. Muslims do not believe depicting something so unfathomable, that God or Mohammed are too holy and too great to be able to be brought into human form through pictures in windows.

We sat in a circle for about an hour, there, in the middle of Mosque, where the people pray and talked about Islam. Our introduction began with being asked what does Islam mean. And learned that Islam means peace, and Muslim means people of the peace. Peace between mankind, peace between man and god and peace between man and our world. Therefore, as Muslims, they are embarrassed that something like people flying airplanes into buildings has become their image within the media. We reviewed the 5 Pillars of Islam and passed around a Koran. We asked any question we wanted to, and our guide was willing to answer anything and everything. We cross-referenced stories from the Bible, Torah and Koran, and learned that Muslims accept all the prophets that I, as a Christian, do, including Jesus, as prophets of the word of God. The obvious difference is that they do not believe Jesus as a savior, and talk of Mohammed as the last great prophet. He showed us how they pray and recited some verses out of the Koran. The teachings in their service are in Turkish, but anything out of the Koran and the prayers are always in Arabic. Our guide told us he was taking a class on Fridays to learn the translation of the Koran, so that he knew what the teachings were. And this is my greatest problem is Islam.

Unlike in Sunday School, where young children are encouraged to read the Bible out loud and take one home to read more about the stories we learn, many Muslims do not know the stories in the Koran because they can’t read them. Many only know the teachings by what their told by the Imam (leader). The Koran cannot be found written in any other language than Arabic. How can you understand and profess teaching you yourself do not even know? This is how the extremists are bred, I think, because they only hear bits and pieces of stories and teachings, and never the WHOLE story, unless they take the time to go to class. Their mosques aren’t like our churches where you have a “family” and go to classes and studies, and fellowship together. You go, you pray, you leave. And even then, men are only required to come and pray on Fridays one time. They even have an electronic board that tells you what times the five prayers are to take place - one was a little past midnight, another ridiculously early in the morning, that it was basically nighttime still and then others throughout the day. Regardless, their faith and relationship with God is completely internal. There is no one following up on their understanding of the teachings and what the faith truly stands for. So, when the Koran says that if someone tries to hurt you, you’re allowed to fight back, but only at the force that someone is forcing upon you, it can be misinterpreted for so many things. Define attack. Does it have to be physical? Or is it Spiritual? Emotional? This is where things get messy.

Being devout is very hard for Muslims. They are constantly targets because of the media and the image few have made for many. The population of Muslims in Berlin is around 300,000 and most of them are peace-loving people who want to work hard and provide for their family. Many came to West Berlin during the Cold War as Gastarbeiter (guest workers) and never left. Berlin has the second highest city population of Turks in world after Istanbul - beating all other Turkish cities. Some Germans, typically of the working class low-income ilk, have a great problem with them because they are "taking up the jobs and cheap housing." That's before the issues some have with their faith. I was already familiar with many aspects of Islam from my once-upon-a time Ohio State days, but this was a fantastic experience. When we first walked in, I had never felt more out of place in my entire life. But, the people there were so welcoming, and were eager to educate us on their lifestyles with the mission to break the barriers the media and extremists build. And I hope this helps anyone who’s read this. Do we have to agree with other people’s beliefs? Of course not. But my little trip to Turkey one Friday afternoon in Berlin really taught me a lot more than I could have asked for. I couldn’t imagine having to be eager about teaching others about my religion, not to try and spread the word I believe in, but with the hope that people know not to fear me for my faith.

Where the Lights Go Out at 12

Up until this weekend, I hadn’t spent more than a day away from Berlin. I traveled to Dresden, which was a 2 ½ hour bus ride south of Berlin. It’s considered the Florence of the North here in Europe, but having never gone to Florence, I didn’t really grasp what all that that meant. It is also the capital of the German state of Saxony. I was meeting with a German friend who I met a few years ago on a mission trip with my church youth group. He was doing his civil service alternatively in America (at age 18 every German male is required to do about a year of military or civil service).  Part of Freddy’s was coordinating the groups that would come in and out of a farm that housed homeless people in Maryland, like our youth group. I was excited to get out of Berlin for a little bit, as well as seeing Freddy, and just spending some time with actual German people who were my age. Anyways, as we were driving into Dresden I woke up just in time to see the city across the river. I was impressed.  I had read about Dresden but really hadn’t looked at any pictures of the city to know what to expect… but even then, I’m sure pictures just cannot do this place justice. 

When I arrived in the city, Freddy was there waiting for me (thank goodness) and we went straight to his brother’s apartment right in the middle of the Altstadt (old city). The location was AWESOME, and his brother was gracious enough to allow us to stay there while he was away visiting friends in Frankfurt. I was given approximately 10 minutes to drop my stuff and change for a big street party that was being held in the Neustadt (new city). And when I say big street party, I mean there are really not words to justify the size of this, truly. We met up with some of his friends for this party both on Friday and Saturday night. There were police officers at each entrance checking to make sure no one was bringing in glass bottles, which were apparently banned, because they can be dangerous? I found this to be the case also when I went to the Fanmeile (fan mile) for the World Cup at the Olympic Stadium; an interesting safety precaution that I appreciate from the Germans. The party was CRAZY, each block had to have had at least one or two DJs playing their German techno dance music ridiculously loud, stages with live bands playing, and all the restaurants were open and serving to the party-goers. Interestingly enough, this was not just attended by young Germans wanting to get drunk and dance to weird music, but there were also middle aged people along with families with young children. Never EVER do I think we would find that in the US. The first night we just walked around, meeting up with different people, etc. and the second night we spent a good amount of time at a Disko (our equivalent to a club). Freddy’s friend was connected to the bouncer and we got in without any problems. This was actually my first adventure into a Disko since I got to Germany this time around. We had fun dancing to, what I feel, was a surprising mixture of music. Germans like old American songs and weird techno beats. They’ll dance to anything without any inhibitions. It’s great.

Saturday was spent walking around Dresden. There were honestly so many buildings of interest that (dare I say) kind of ran together. There were churches and palaces and gardens and bridges over the river, fountains galore, an opera house or two, and did I mention, churches? (Naturally, Matthew, I didn’t leave one without pictures of the organ.) Of course, there was the usual weekend tourist crowd; surprisingly a mix of old Italians, students from Poland and middle-aged Germans. With the tourist crowds come the typical tour guides dressed up in garb and the crazy street performers, including a man who was singing soprano solos, in full voice. Fun. The Zwinger is listed in my Lonely Planet Guide to Germany as the number 4 site to visit– a party palace for the royals of Saxony. It just has gardens and terraces and fountains on every side. We also were able to walk up on the roof where there were many balconies to overlook the city. Fighting the lines to get up in some of the towers of the churches, however, was just not something I was really wanting to do...

So, we admired what we could including the Frauenkirche, which was absolutely 100% destroyed in World War II. This is a little bit of a sensitive subject in Dresden, though. The complete annihilation of Dresden happened two days after the end of the war. Why would the United States clean out a whole city for no reason? The argument is that the Western Allies were afraid the Nazis would run to Dresden (which, as I mentioned isn’t far from Berlin) to rally once more.  After the bombing, all that was left were the women and children of the city cleaning up the rubble from all of the buildings, because the men were either off in the war, dead, or prisoners of war. This is the first city I’ve really been to, I think in all of Europe, that was truly still feeling the hurt of the Allied Powers from WWII. It was a bit humbling, whether or not I wanted to really admit it at the time. But as Freddy and I were talking about it, I couldn’t really think of a good answer as to why we would have really bombed the city full of innocent people and gorgeous buildings. Dresden’s all better now – it’s all rebuilt and beautiful. I guess it’s just the nature of war. But don’t I look special when 70 years later people are still asking why, and I didn’t even know our military carried out such an attack.

After walking around the Altstadt and enjoying a nice long meal where we just talked and people watched, we made our way over to the Neustadt. There wasn’t too much there to see, but there was a gorgeous gold statue called the Goldener Reiter (Golden Rider) of Augustus the Strong. Dresden is very into remembering all of its kings in the feudal days. There’s a mosaic on the side of a building in the Altstadt that is called the Fürstenzug, displaying all the kings of Saxony lasting about 800 years. Little reminders like that allow us to understand German history, because it really didn’t have it’s own history as a whole Germany at all. It was broken into different feudal states including that of Saxony.

Sunday we ventured to Freiberg, not to be confused with Freiburg which is located in Bavaria. This is where Freddy attends school, and is very much a small college town – something I can relate to. I appreciated it for every little thing it was. It has the VERY old theater, solid university, and a VERY unique and large collection of minerals and stones. Random, I know, but Freiberg University actually has the top ranking geology program in Germany. Who knew? So, I got to see where Freddy lives... a great space for seven college aged guys, and got to see a smaller university with housing on campus, and a university with a clear outline of campus - much different than what we have here in Berlin. We toured this mineral/gem stone collection which is located in a castle not far from campus, though, nothing was really far from each other. Another big part of this town is its history in mining - another thing I can relate to. Apparently men did not go around saying „Guten Tag“, or „Hallo“ when greeting each other, but „Glück auf!“ Meaning “Good Luck!”, because it was so dangerous to be going down into the mines. Some buildings in Freiberg were completely run down… no one has cared for them for years. Which is typical in East Germany. So many people are moving out and into the West, that it’s becoming a problem for the East. So many people were trained in one specific job usually within a certain industry, and when reunification happened many of these factories were shut down because they were producing more than anyone on their side of the world needed. Therefore a lot of the Easterners have moved to the West to possibly find a job. The government also spent a good chunk of money in the Eastern part of Germany and more specifically Berlin, building all these new places for people to live, only for them to become empty and run down.

Our last night in Dresden was really kind of special. We walked around taking pictures of Dresden at dusk and then Freddy and I met with a couple more of his friends he hadn’t seen in a few years and we sat by the river, drank wine, and talked. The city was gorgeous at night. It was cold, but the water was clear and the reflection of the lights from all the buildings in the Altstadt just shimmering on the surface was breathtaking. What a gem. How had I not been here before now? How had I missed such a great place in Germany? Freddy told me he fell in love with Dresden all over again this past weekend and I certainly fell in love for the first time.

The lights went out at midnight in the Altstadt, but the chimes kept ringing through the next hour that we sat there. Perhaps a good lesson that the lights may go out, but time doesn’t stop. Wars may destroy cities, or even countries, but the people are still living there, so start cleaning up, learn from what happened, and enjoy what you can become. Dresden, despite it’s past, is a city that Germany should be proud of; it’s beautiful, clean, livable, and even though you walk there among some extremely old buildings, you can’t help but feel young.

Mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft im Bein

FIFA World Cup 2010. We all know about it, even though we all may not watch it. But here, in Germany, to not even watch Germany's games, is unheard of. This is my second time in Germany for the World Cup, and last time it was even more exciting because Germany was hosting it. This year, Germany's team is not the strongest of those entering the arena, but their 4-0 trampling of Australia last night was definitely nothing to sneeze at. The first night of the World Cup I found myself watching Uruguay vs. France (0-0) at Golgatha Biergarten. It was PACKED - about what I expected for a Friday night on top of being an opening night for this event. We showed up just in time for the beginning, so we couldn't all sit together. Eventually I found seats for myself and 4 others, sitting with two ladies a little older than us, originally from Ukraine and Russia. We had some interesting conversations with them, and ultimately I couldn't have asked for a better night. Saturday I wasn't really looking to be outside at all since it was raining on and off and I knew Sunday would be crazy. A new friend and myself walked down the street to a small cafe, usually only open for breakfast and lunch, to watch the US-UK (1-1) game on a HUGE screen with one other man. It was perfect. 

Watching the German game at Olympic Stadium deserves its own paragraph. We got there finding it to be fairly empty, though it got pretty full just in time for the game. It was just what I was wanting to be a part of, and exactly what I expected. We went through some security and found ourselves on Fan Mile which was located in the big area leading up to the actual Olympic Stadium from the 1936 Summer Olympics held by the Nazis. There were three jumbo-trons, vendors on both sides selling beer, crepes, traditional German food, fruit drinks, merchandise, and so on and so forth. There were high tech station like things from Sony, Hyundai and Coke, the major sponsors of the World Cup, where you could play video games and get a free can of coke. We finally settled in what we learned to be the standing room only, rowdy, student like section right up in front of the main stage. There, for the two hours of pre-game, a big radio personality hosted a show with various bands/artists (really, nobodies) and FIFA Live tournaments on PS3. People were crazy with their chants, songs, mosh pits, horns, and just about everything you can think of. But I did seem to find myself standing next to a German guy who had been to Philadelphia working for an American company. Crazy. They were expecting about 200,000 people there. I'm not sure that that actually was the case, but there were definitely thousands there. 

There was no doubt that nationalism was running high. Everyone runs around with flags draped across their bodies and painted on their faces. They attach little flags to their cars and chant and blow horns throughout the streets and subway. According to a video we recently watched in class, however, this is about the only time German nationalism is really showcased. The Nazis promoted the flying flags, no matter if it was at school, home, work, etc. In fact, the Nazi era was when the most German flags ever existed. But now, unless you're around for the World Cup, the only time you'll really see one is at big important building, typically of the government persuasion. Why though? The German question of identity is a HUGE one among scholars. We are just now meeting the generations of Germans who have never been divided into the East and the West. Some Germans don't know what holidays flags should be displayed for or even know the words to their national anthem; I'm not even really positive which verse they sing! The idea of "Deutschland, Deutschland, über alles" (Germany, Germany, over all people) scares the Germans more than any other nation. It's important to remember that people are still healing from the divided Germany, particularly in Berlin. That, the only area in which they want to be the Weltmeister, or Master of the World, is in soccer. In fact, anyone who suggests any other kind of "imperialistic" ideas is looked at as crazy, including the recently former President of the Federal Republic of Deutschland Horst Köhler who stepped down because of his controversial remarks about the War in Afghanistan.

The way I see it is, the World Cup, not the flag or national anthem, has been the unifying figure for this city and this country. It is the one thing, no matter how long they've lived in Germany and what they've seen, that every citizen can identify with. Having the World Cup in Germany in 2006 was probably one of the best things that ever happened to this country in contemporary history. Watching the World Cup among Germans rooting for their team is a unique experience. There is really nothing like it in the United Sates. Our entire country rooting for one single team by the thousands in outdoor plazas and parks, along with the typical bars and restaurants - it doesn't happen. My favorite World Cup song is by Sportfreunde Stiller called '54, '74, '90' 2010. It's based on the World Cups Germany has won, and how they will get it this time around...  It talks about the history of Germany and everyone knows it and sings it. They'll be the World Master with their hearts in their hands and their passion in their legs. Click this link to the watch and listen to the music video.