Currywurst, fries and champagne?!
Book burning memorial. I finally got the right angle and saw the empty shelves.
"Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man bald auch Menschen." - Heinrich Heine, 1820 ("That was only a prologue, where Man burns books, Man will end up burning human beings.")
German authors; part of "Germany: Land of Ideas" campaign
I watched a concert in a concert house called, of all things, Konzerthaus. Bloody hell.
W. A. Mozart: Missa c-moll, Sinfonie C-Dur („Jupiter-Sinfonie“)
Harald Schmitt, conductor; Chor und Jugendkantorei der St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale Berlin; Ensemble für Alte Musik der St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale Berlin
MFM would've disapproved, but Mozart is good, albeit soporific, when you're tired.
I paid €4 for a student ticket to watch this. The timpanis were too booming. I suspect they get toned down in recordings. Otherwise there wasn't much to remark about the music; perhaps I was too tired, but then the orchestra was only a student one. Hell, they didn't even have the budget to give the conductors and soloists proper bouquets (padded as they are with leads) but gave them a pink flower stalk each. And at the end almost no one gave a standing ovation - Berlin audiences might be less appreciative than Dutch ones, but I suspect that's not the reason.
I saw a woman in the bass section. Maybe she used to be on the East German swim team. Meanwhile one male violinist wasn't wearing a tie (the collar of his inner shirt was pulled out over the jacket). There is hope yet.
Some people clapped after the third movement of Jupiter. Tsk. There was also very little clapping.
TV 4 Men. Gotta love these Europeans.
In the metro they pronounced 'Bellevue' properly (the French way). That's more than they deserve.
In the U-Bahn (metro) I saw advertising taken to the next level - as the train shot through the tunnel an ad flashed on the tunnel wall, moving at approximately the same speed as the train.
For some reason I didn't see any John F Kennedys in Berlin, though I always see them in the market in Utrecht. I must've been looking in the wrong places.
East Germany did a really good job in protecting its citizens from moral decadence - the first 2 things to sell out when border controls were lifted were a brand of cigarettes and pornographic magazines.
Why are there so many Dunkin Donut outlets in Berlin?! And for some reason I didn't see any John F Kennedys in Berlin, whereas I always see them at the market in Utrecht. Mmm, JFKs...
I was talking to a Cretan at the hostel. She said the University of Crete has the maths, science and computing faculties in Heraklion, Engineering at Rethminion and Arts at Hania. Good luck to them if they ever try implementing a liberal art ssystem!
For some reason Berlin U-bahn drivers like to release the catch on the subway doors (they don't open automatically) before the cars have come to a halt. I suppose this is part of German efficiency.