Yesterday's excursion to the exhibition at the German Cathedral at Gendarmenmarkt was interesting. It's definitely an area I would like to explore more. However, the exhibit itself was fairly average, covering more modern span of German history. There was a nice bonus, as they give out lots of materials on the government, politics, and history here, so many of us grabbed a free textbook, essentially on the exhibit's topic, German Parliamentarianism. I also got a couple smaller thicker pamphlets on related topics which was neat.
After the exhibit, we joined up with the rest of the group outside the Reichstag, and were given a guided tour. Highly recommend it. The building is a rich mix of modern architecture blended in with the original building, with transparency being the ultimate goal. Everywhere there were high windows of glass, surrounded by chipped and graffitied brick wall with writing from Russian soldiers at the end of World War II.
The main parliament room was gorgeous, modern and sleek, and of course, upstairs, the famous dome exceeded all expectations. Visitors can wander around outside of it on the building's roof, and then ascend the spiraling ramps to the top of the glass dome. I'm sure that the view is gorgeous during the day, but at night it's breathtaking. Each direction brings a new wonder into sight, and on the interior of the dome hangs a massive chandelier of mirrors designed to reflect light into the parliament chamber below. Definitely worth investigating if you're ever in Berlin.
Once our visit concluded, I headed out and met up with my local friend, who took me to get my first döner kebab, and then promptly laughed at my while I ate it messily in her apartment. It, of course, exceeded all expectations and went quite well with a beer. In fact, I ate the leftovers as I was typing this entry out.
Today, my program and I attended orientation at the local college where we are also taking classes (two there, three at our program center). Nothing particularly exciting happened. The "campus" (and by that I mean the small lot with three buildings) is on the far west side of Berlin, towards the lake. It will be nice to go there once a week and be able to breath in air that feels fresh and less tainted by the urban sprawl. The main building was built in the early 1900's and was the residence of a Nazi minister who was close friends with Goering and Hitler, both of which had been to the building for receptions.
Other than that, today has been fairly mediocre. I grabbed gelato at a mall with some friends before I headed home, which made me miss being in Rome and my good friend studying there to no end. It did feel nice on my sore throat though, as alas, I am still sick. Tomorrow, I'm meeting up with my potential language partner, attending architecture class (whoohoo! - not sarcastic, genuinely excited) and doing homework.
The sharp stabs of homesickness come and go, but they're gradually turning into a steady ache. I miss a fair number of people, and my house at school, which recently accepted eight new members, one of which is my best friend. I'm overjoyed for him, and would love to be there to celebrate, but, alas, distance is a thing, so I'll have to settle with constant congratulations for him and all of the other new housemates.
Also, I just booked tickets to go to Copenhagen in two weeks with friends from my program, whoohoo!
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