Guten Abend! It's been a crazy few days since I last left you, so let's get down into it.
Thursday evening was spent in class, and then at home, with nothing particularly exciting to report. Friday morning, I was sick, but fortunately recovered in time to attend my architecture excursion to the Werkbundarchiv and Museum der Dinge (literally Museum of Things).
The Werkbund was a movement founded in 1907 in Munich by influential businessmen and politicians who wanted to fight 'ugliness' and instill values of good form and craftmanship into Germany's rapidly industrializing commercial economy. What the rest of the world considers 'German' today, good aesthetic, well-built, long-lasting, etc, is all a part of this movement. The museum itself incorporates the ideas behind this movement, and displays them as they were produced during the time of the movement, through the present, where it presents objects that it believes upholds these values. Sounds nice, right?
Well, I called bullshit as soon as I saw a cell phone from the early 2000's with a tacky plastic Stars and Stripes pattern on the casing. Or maybe it was the pillow that had a portrait of Hilter on that made me question it. Either way, it was an interesting excursion in a museum that looks like it belongs in a book of I Spy.
That evening, I met up with a friend at Potsdamer Platz and we proceeded to wander around the city. We took turns picking a direction and walking or hopping onto the U/S-Bahn. It was pretty fun, as we saw the North Korean Embassy, Potsdamer Platz, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and other things at night. Was a fun relaxing evening.
The next day was a visit to Sachenhausen Concentration Camp, about thirty minutes outside of Berlin. I'm still processing what I want to write on the topic, so that'll come later.
Today, I met up with a friend from my school who graduated last year and has been living in Cologne as an au pair. We met up at Ostbahnhof and wandered down the East Side Gallery, saw the Oberbaumbrücke, visited the Wall Memorial at Bernauerstraße, viewed the exhibition at the Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears), grabbed lunch at a really nice local cafe/bar, climbed to the top of the French Cathedral, stumbled upon a 'Free Syria' protest down Unter den Linden, and finally bid farewell at Alexanderplatz. It was a really fun day exploring and catching up with her. It also was nice to be able to show of my city.
I'm typing this post up in my spare time before I have to run to Tegel Airport to pick up my close friend who is ON HER WAY TO BERLIN RIGHT NOW (I'm not excited at all). I'm sure I'll have some more adventures with her to report back to you later.
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