Less aggravation in this post...

You'll all be happy to know that nothing more came about from the racism. Mostly because he didn't really have the guts to show up to class on Wednesday...or Thursday. But he was there today and was awfully cranky. Yea, well, whatever. He can think and do what he wants.

But anyways, tonight I had breakfast for dinner! I made myself French toast! And because there's no maple syrup in Germany, I used nutella. Oh yea, super healthy dinner! But that's what I wanted, so back off!!! haha. Wednesday night a few of us tried to go to a Sigur Ros concert (oh man, I loooove that Icelandic band!!!), but they were all sold out...entirely! I was so upset. Before then we had yummy cheap Middle Eastern cuisine and then for a drink at this nifty nifty cafe/bar/movie theatre place. We're planning on going to the movies there at some point, I think. It was really cool. But when we couldn't get in to the concert we ended up making our way down to this international boat party. It was ok...too many English speaking people, or people who wanted to practice their English, so I just stuck with the people I already knew so I would be forced to speak Deutsch. It wasn't that great, really. It was really late when we left, too, but thank God it was just a few blocks away from my apartment, so I didn't have to figure out how to get home. Though I did have to help everyone else figure out how to get back home. So I ended up walking Angelika 15 minutes to the night bus that led to Alexander Platz...oy, too much. I was soooo tired.

Last night I had no plans, but ran into Luiz on the UBahn and he said he was going to a photography museum, so I decided to go with him, having nothing else to do. It was super cool. It was paparazzi photography! It was entitled: "Helmut Newton Foundation presents Pigozzi and the Paparazzi". Helmut Newton is a famous photographer for many magazines about celebrities, and also photographed, I think, for Maxim and other various magazines. Beware, there may be some nudity in the photos I have linked. But it was really awesome. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures in the museum. Otherwise I'd have an awesome awesome awesome awesome picture of David Bowie and John Lennon TOGETHER in the same photograph. *drooooools* Never thought so much beauty could be captured in one photograph. hahaha.

But anyways, that's enough of that, here are some photos from one of my earlier tours: Berlin Mitte! Berlin Mitte is a city district...erm, in the middle of the city. It's the oldest part of Berlin and was mostly in East Berlin. It also happens to be one of the most expensive areas of Berlin. haha. Berlin has been in existence since 1700's something, not sure exactly when, but it was originally two little villages (one of which had lots and lots of Czechs and Poles, so the names of many areas in Berlin are very Eastern European sounding: ex. Pankow, Jannowitzbrücke, Hönow). Berlin Mitte includes these oldest villages.

Ah, the Marienkirche...with the most famous and ugliest Soviet symbol of the Deutsches Demokratik Republik (GDR - East Berlin - for you Americans, lol): the Fernsehturm (TV tower)!! Of course the church was there first...and the tour never actually really worked... But it's an excellent example of Socialism! The only tower higher than this is the one in Moscow. Tja, there's Soviet Russia for you. haha. It's just super funny to see a famous religious building and a famous Soviet Socialist symbol in the same area.

Ah, you can't really see it too well, but inside the Marienkirche is a wall painting depicting "The Dance of Death". Our guide didn't really talk much about it because he was more interested in showing us the Kommunismus vs. Kapitalismus in Berlin Mitte. haha. But the church was very pretty. It was originally Catholic but now it's Anglican.

The pulpit...very pretty...

Ah, the alter! Sehr schön!!!

It's Jesus!

And of course the organ. I can't go into any church without taking a picture of the organ...

The church is pretty much in constant renovation. Here's a mosaic they're fixing up, but to do that, they have it set up as such: you can "buy" one of the little mosaic ceramic pieces for like 1euro and they put it up. At least that's how I understood our tour guide...

Aha! Berlin's water system (sorry...the link leads to a page that is only auf Deutsch...I can't figure out how to get it in English!) is celebrating like 50 years or something, I don't know. So they have these severely interesting advertisements for them all over the place that say things like, "Eau wie gut!" with a flower grabbing a watering can or something. Click on the large picture and you can see all of them. It's a word play (I LOVE when I understand word plays in German!!!): "eau" is actually French and means "water", but it's pronounced like "oh". And "wie gut" means "how good". SO the whole thing is "Oh, how good!", referring to the wonderful water system in Berlin. haha. Yea! Anywho, this is what the new man hole covers look like...it has all the famous places in Berlin: Brandenburger Tor, Fernsehturm, Hoppel des Reichstag, Gedächtniskirche, erm...can't remember, can't remember, and Viktoria!

Woot! Das rotes Rathaus! "The Red City Hall!" It was actually used in East Berlin. Now the Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel works there! Whoa, she has her own website! woop! Go, woman, go! Erm, in case no one knew, she's the Prime Minister/President of Germany... haha, our tour guide told us that she worked there, but that we unfortunately couldn't meet her because she was on vacation, otherwise we would have met her. haha...he was joking, of course. AND OBAMA WAS THERE!!! I tooootally got to see what he wrote in their little bookie thing inside. That was super cool.

Ah, Socialist architecture...so, erm...cheap and economical?

Ah, Nikolaikirche, the oldest church in Berlin. Located in Nikolaiviertel, the oldest part of Berlin! And super beautiful. Mostly destroyed in the wars, however...but the Soviets actually sort of rebuilt it...

Here is one of the only places they actually tried to rebuild...it's a pub! haha, typical German food here...

The front of Nikolaikirche. We unfortunately didn't go into it. It no longer has services...it's a total tourist attraction now. How sad.

haha, this picture is for Kristina and Lesley. It's Saint Georg und der Drachen (St. George and the Dragon)

!!!

Oh yea, who wouldn't want their picture taken with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the fathers of Socialism?!?! haha, this used to be a serious area of Socialist Berlin, located dead center and in the area of the Fernsehturm and the rotes Rathaus. Now it's a huge photo opportunity. haha. Super awesome.

Ok, and now I must be off to meet some people for drinks or something, I don't know what. I just know that I have to be at Postdamer Platz. So, ich gehe jetzt! Tschüss und bis gleich!