Berlin Takes My Breath Away. Ha. ;)

If you haven't already guessed from the pictures, I've spent the past five or six days in Berlin, soaking up the energy, culture, and in-your-face awesomeness of this fantastic city. It's hard to describe my reaction to the place without sounding like I'm on the payroll of the local tourist board, but I swear I'm not! It has a vibrant arts scene, plentiful and great museums, people watching better than anywhere except maybe Marrakesh (and let's be honest--who can compete with snake charmers?), inexpensive restaurants, and so much history it seems like the buildings just shimmer with it. I expected that I'd enjoy Berlin, but I really didn't expect it to be a show-stopper of this caliber. After almost a week, I have just begun to scratch the surface. In fact, a couple of days ago, the thought crept into my mind that I'd love to arrange a house-swap someday so that I can live here for a few months. Maybe longer.

Cool things I've done in the past few days: watched a graffiti artist spray paint an elaborate tag on a remaining section of the Berlin Wall; visited the East Side Gallery--an open-air museum of one of the longest stretches of the Wall left, covered in murals painted by world-famous artists; wound my way for hours through the stellar German history museum; paid tribute at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the city's Holocaust Memorial, and the associated museum; walked through the Brandenburg Gate; saw Checkpoint Charlie; used the Zoo Station metro; sampled Turkish, Japanese, and Indian food (though I haven't yet screwed up the courage to try the currywurst--it looks dreadful, although I'm sure it tastes good); settled in for espresso at a couple of great cafes; and watched people bungee jump off a hotel roof.

Oh yeah, and another experience to add to the list: I had to buy a pair of jeans, because autumn hit HARD, at, I think, 8:37 on Saturday morning. Friday was so hot I felt like I was melting as I walked through the city's many concrete, shadeless plazas. Blazing sun, sticky air--it felt like being in someone's mouth. Then, that night a big electrical storm crashed through the city and the temperature plummeted into the low fifties. And me without any warm clothes, or closed-toe shoes. I guess it was going to happen sooner or later, but I really want my summer back!!!

So the most common bit of advice I received before coming to Germany was that Berliners aren't too warm; it's true that they're not effusive like Italians, but in my experience they've been exceedingly polite, if not friendly, especially when you give them a tiny opening. Today, as I was headed into a train station to catch the subway, I paused outside the door to let an elderly man with a cane pass through first. He actually stopped to thank me and gave me the best smile. Later in the day, I was near one of the canals, leaning against the bridge railing, listening to some Elbow on my iPod, apparently cranked a little higher than I had realized. A fifty-something guy in a Motorhead t-shirt walked by and gave me a huge smile and a thumbs up. (OK, I included that interaction mostly because once I go back to America, I will never again have the chance to write the phrase "a fifty-something guy in a Motorhead t-shirt." Or at least until Lemmy kicks the bucket, that is. All those German punks, goths, and metal heads from the 80s are still here--they're just a little older now, and more power to them.).

In any case, I feel as though I could stay in Berlin for weeks longer, but I'm beginning to get the overwhelming feeling that my time left on the road is fleeting and will disappear much too quickly. So I'll move on to Prague in the next couple of days, then likely on to Jordan to see Petra (and also to see if two months in Europe struggling with Spanish, Italian, and German have completely extinguished my Arabic). I passed three months on the road a couple of days ago, and I don't expect to continue traveling past the four-month mark, so I'm going to have to become ruthless about scheduling the things I can't miss.

Now is the time on Sprockets when we sleep. Good night.