All good things must come to an end and I’m on the flight back to JFK, saying my “auf weidersehen” to Berlin and to a spring break that I will never forget. I’ve seen so much this week — the city’s architecture, embassies, a soccer game, the major monuments and the day-to-day activities of Berliners on the U-Bahn. I’ve laughed so much and was just silly with new friends in a remarkable city. It felt so good to return to Europe and made me certain that I will do it again — soon.
All right, we’re at cruising altitude. It’s time to get some homework done, as I know reality will hit like a brick once I return. But the Berlin memories will keep me going for a long, long time. And as Marlene Dietrich, the famous Berlin actress said, “Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin.” I still keep a suitcase in Berlin.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
13:30 Berlin — Saturday, March 17, 2007
That open-air market was quite incredible. Let’s just say it was sensory overload. There were rows after rows of fruits and vegetables, carts of sausage, stacks of cheese, bouquets of fresh flowers, little jewelry stands and the hustle and bustle of a Saturday morning. This was the real Berlin and not what you see on the postcards. It was remarkable to me that this was how people lived their lives. They lived with this magic each day. They actually bought fresh fruits and vegetables each Saturday, sat in cafes with friends and ate long dinners with bottles of red wine. It was natural to them. Looking at all the people surrounding me at the market, I was happy to be a part of it — even for a few hours.
8:30 a.m. Berlin — Saturday, March 17, 2007
A rainy morning in Berlin. I’m pretty tired, but still extremely happy from the soccer match last night. It was a Hertha BSC (the Berlin team) v. Cottbus (a city in Bradenburg, Germany) and even though Hertha lost, it was still absolutely insane. Held at the Olympiastadion, where the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals were played. It was the stadium where, in the 1936, Jesse Owens shocked the Nazis. Music was playing and people where everywhere, all decked head to toe in their Hertha blue and white gear. The smell of sausage and beer permeated the air.
We walked into the stadium itself and stopped to gawk again. It’s absolutely enormous. Throw in about 51,000 screaming, intoxicated and soccer-crazed fans, and you’ve got a good night.
The game was intense and even though we didn’t understand half of the cheers — my German classes didn’t prepare me to translate soccer match chants — we tried to chant along anyway. We left the game with a herd of fans, anticipating chaos when we arrived at the U-Bahn. But the Germans, always efficient, got us out of there in no time. Plus, we had two students on the trip with us, Josh (who became the U-Bahn direction extraordinaire) and James (who always picked the exact right spot for train doors to open). We rode home in a packed car full of still-cheering fans — and we all counted it as one of our best nights.
OK it’s time for breakfast and another day. We’ve been touring all week and we have a free day today. We’re going to the largest and oldest open-air market in Berlin. I can’t wait.
We walked into the stadium itself and stopped to gawk again. It’s absolutely enormous. Throw in about 51,000 screaming, intoxicated and soccer-crazed fans, and you’ve got a good night.
The game was intense and even though we didn’t understand half of the cheers — my German classes didn’t prepare me to translate soccer match chants — we tried to chant along anyway. We left the game with a herd of fans, anticipating chaos when we arrived at the U-Bahn. But the Germans, always efficient, got us out of there in no time. Plus, we had two students on the trip with us, Josh (who became the U-Bahn direction extraordinaire) and James (who always picked the exact right spot for train doors to open). We rode home in a packed car full of still-cheering fans — and we all counted it as one of our best nights.
OK it’s time for breakfast and another day. We’ve been touring all week and we have a free day today. We’re going to the largest and oldest open-air market in Berlin. I can’t wait.
16:00 Berlin — Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Well this day has been grand. I just arrived back at the hotel from my adventures. I met up with Jeffrey Fleishman from the LA Times and we talked for an hour about all related to journalism, from my ambitions to his time covering the Iraq war. He gave great insight and put such an emphasis on the importance of young journalists learning the basics of reporting. It was fascinating to hear his perspectives — and I was flattered that he wanted to hear mine. He agreed that all is turning to the Web and how journalists now need to know print, radio, TV and online work to stay in the field. We just sat at the Starbucks bouncing around our views on the state of journalism and foreign correspondents today.
I walked back with him under the Brandenburg Gate and shook hands to part ways. I smiled as I walked back to the Potsdamer Platz U-Bahn station. Here I was, in Berlin. I knew exactly how to get home in this enormous city. I just had two free cups of coffee with two very different but extremely kind and intelligent reporters. And it was only Wednesday.
I walked back with him under the Brandenburg Gate and shook hands to part ways. I smiled as I walked back to the Potsdamer Platz U-Bahn station. Here I was, in Berlin. I knew exactly how to get home in this enormous city. I just had two free cups of coffee with two very different but extremely kind and intelligent reporters. And it was only Wednesday.
Noon Berlin — Wednesday, March 14, 2007
I am going to cut just to the chase on this entry because I am quite excited. I just met with Matt Schofield, bureau chief for McClatchy newspapers. We met at the Charlottenburg S-Bahn stop — I figured he was American by the Harvard T-shirt he was wearing. He was such a nice person and each day I am convinced more and more that some of the best people are journalists. I arranged for this meeting and another one I am having this afternoon via e-mail — I wanted to speak with some foreign correspondents while I was in Berlin to get a taste of international journalism. Luckily for me, these meetings worked and I am in shock at my luck. Matt and I talked about U.S. newspapers cutting their foreign offices. This year is terrible and U.S. papers are in a panic. He told me, however, that it seems as if European media sources aren’t having the same problem. Because the U.S. was so used to having historically about 20 percent profit margins, once it dips, media corporations go into a panic. In Europe, it isn’t so. We also spoke about how it is sad that there are less and less foreign correspondents, truly sacrificing the quality of coverage. He told me of how he was embedded in Iraq and his thoughts on it. That was quite interesting, as I’ve been reading a Helen Thomas book and she weighs her thoughts on the practice as well. Our discussion was amazing. Absolutely amazing.
11:35 a.m. Berlin — Monday, March 12, 2007
Where do I begin in describing the best day in Berlin? Following breakfast at the hotel, we headed out and caught a bus from the Zoologische Garten U-Bahn stop. We rode it all the way down as our “pre-tour,” then trekked back on the same route on foot. The city is just amazing. It’s a kaleidoscope of old and new, young and experienced, historical and modern. A brick line of the former wall runs on the pavement through the entire city, even its most cutting-edge districts. We saw the Reichstag, which is full of history, both glorious and tragic and the place of the current German government. Later, a small group of us traveled to the top of the Reichstag and watched the sun set over Berlin.
Touring with the group thus far is going well. Chelsea wanders off at some points, but always finds her way back. Jason, another student on the trip, has a huge camera and has been mistaken multiple times for a paparazzi. We still really don’t know each other and it proves for some awkward interactions, but with time that will disappear.
We ate lunch at Humboldt University today, the historical university in Berlin where famous people such as Albert Einstein studied. The sun was shining and it was quite warm — almost 70 degrees. There was a book sale outside the front of the building and we pieced through both English and German books, from romance novels to collected works of Marx. Once we walked inside, it felt odd to be in a foreign university, but still strangely familiar. These were students and even though they spoke a completely different language and lived a different lifestyle — with U- and S-Bahn stations and Turkish kabobs for dinner — we were still quite similar. The lunch there was delicious and inexpensive. Berlin is an affordable city, and is known to be “arm, aber sexy,” which translates to “poor, but sexy.” I think it’s accurate.
The rest of the tour was like a whirlwind, with the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden and being pointed out various architecture monuments.
I love Berlin because anything goes. You’ve got your classic, Gucci-wearing women meeting for lunch because they have nothing better to do. You have your 22-year-old art student with bright red hair, who rides her bike to work down the Ku’damm each day.
Either way, everyone is happy to be alive and there are people from all over the world.
And in terms of my profession, people read newspapers all over. They read on the U-Bahn, in the park, at a café — wherever. I feel as if papers are part of the routine, the in and out of the city. The headlines are all over and I just love it.
I am exhausted. Time for a nap, touring wore me out.
Touring with the group thus far is going well. Chelsea wanders off at some points, but always finds her way back. Jason, another student on the trip, has a huge camera and has been mistaken multiple times for a paparazzi. We still really don’t know each other and it proves for some awkward interactions, but with time that will disappear.
We ate lunch at Humboldt University today, the historical university in Berlin where famous people such as Albert Einstein studied. The sun was shining and it was quite warm — almost 70 degrees. There was a book sale outside the front of the building and we pieced through both English and German books, from romance novels to collected works of Marx. Once we walked inside, it felt odd to be in a foreign university, but still strangely familiar. These were students and even though they spoke a completely different language and lived a different lifestyle — with U- and S-Bahn stations and Turkish kabobs for dinner — we were still quite similar. The lunch there was delicious and inexpensive. Berlin is an affordable city, and is known to be “arm, aber sexy,” which translates to “poor, but sexy.” I think it’s accurate.
The rest of the tour was like a whirlwind, with the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden and being pointed out various architecture monuments.
I love Berlin because anything goes. You’ve got your classic, Gucci-wearing women meeting for lunch because they have nothing better to do. You have your 22-year-old art student with bright red hair, who rides her bike to work down the Ku’damm each day.
Either way, everyone is happy to be alive and there are people from all over the world.
And in terms of my profession, people read newspapers all over. They read on the U-Bahn, in the park, at a café — wherever. I feel as if papers are part of the routine, the in and out of the city. The headlines are all over and I just love it.
I am exhausted. Time for a nap, touring wore me out.
15:26 Berlin — Sunday, March 11, 2007
Welcome back to Europe. I’m sitting in my gorgeous hotel room with my new roommates, almost too exhausted to write, but giddily happy at being in Berlin on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I got maybe three hours of sleep on the plane, which for me is great. But Berlin … the city, the smells, the people … it’s all so strange and wonderful.
It feels good to be back. Very odd, but homey. I fall into the same routines and it’s quite nice. It’s weird how a part of you can be in one place and the other part of you can be elsewhere. Odd but comforting.
I am rooming with three girls, all quite different but we seem to get along fine so far. Kori is quiet, but sparks out the most witty and sarcastic comments if you give her the chance. Amy loves to laugh and claims to have a good sense of direction, but we quickly learned to trust it otherwise. Chelsea is one of my favorites. She has a completely random personality with a child’s sense of adventure. She is a honey connoisseur and wants to study archeology. Plus, we have three eccentric professors on the trip who love German, architecture or both. This trip is going to be quite a good time.
What will tomorrow bring? I love being in a city again. It feels right. It wakes me up and makes me feel completely alive.
It feels good to be back. Very odd, but homey. I fall into the same routines and it’s quite nice. It’s weird how a part of you can be in one place and the other part of you can be elsewhere. Odd but comforting.
I am rooming with three girls, all quite different but we seem to get along fine so far. Kori is quiet, but sparks out the most witty and sarcastic comments if you give her the chance. Amy loves to laugh and claims to have a good sense of direction, but we quickly learned to trust it otherwise. Chelsea is one of my favorites. She has a completely random personality with a child’s sense of adventure. She is a honey connoisseur and wants to study archeology. Plus, we have three eccentric professors on the trip who love German, architecture or both. This trip is going to be quite a good time.
What will tomorrow bring? I love being in a city again. It feels right. It wakes me up and makes me feel completely alive.
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