Frederick II, Berlin

In front of the statue of Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great, an important but controversial figure in European history.

Theresienschule, Berlin

Today I went to Joachim’s school in Berlin. There was a special event in his school today, which is called THEMUN. The THE stands for the name of his school which is Theresienschule, and MUN stands for Model United Nations.

In this event all students of the 11th grade have to take part. The students are divided into different delegations and they have to inform themselves about the very country and the government.
Then they meet for two days in the school to debate about different resolutions and to adopt one of them.
Mainly this event is good for the students to improve their english skills but also to get to know about the way the UN works.
I took part in this event together with Joachim. We were the Indonesian delegation. His friend on the picture represented DPR Korea. I liked this project very much because it's very interesting (and sometimes very funny) to debate with delegations from different countries. And it's very useful if your travellin' like me.

Little ramblin’ Woody rat sittin’ on Karl Marx’ lap

Marx-Engels-Forum is a public park in the centre of Berlin. It is named for Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, authors of The Communist Manifesto of 1848 and regarded as the founders of modern communism. In the Marx-Engels-Forum you find this impressive statue of these two big men, former students of Humbolt University who lived in Brussels for a while. It’s in Brussels they wrote their influential book with it famous final line: ‘Workers of all lands, unite!’

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

The Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin (Universität zu Berlin) by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities. From 1828 it was known as the Frederick William University (Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität), later also as the Universität unter den Linden. In 1949, it changed its name to Humboldt-Universität in honour of its founder.

Can you imagine … this university has been home to many of the greatest thinkers of the past two centuries, such as the philosophers G.W.F. Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Schelling, the physicists Albert Einstein and Max Planck. Founders of Marxist theory Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels attended the university, as did poet Heinrich Heine, German unifier Otto von Bismarck, Communist Party of Germany founder Karl Liebknecht and European unifier Robert Schuman. The university is home to 29 Nobel Prize winners.

Komische Oper, Berlin

Tonight I go to a Komische Opera. I didn't know opera could be fun. I hope I understand the German, but Dorothea and Joachim will join me for the translation (and the drinks afterwards).

Schinkel-Klause, Unter den Linden, Berlin

Last night, after the concert in the Staatsopern, we went out eating in Schinkel-Klause, an excellent restaurant opposite the Opernpalais. It’s famous for it typical German food.

I took the "Berliner Eisbein mit deftigem Sauerkraut, hausgemachtem Erbspüree sowie Speckstippe und Salzkartoffeln". Delicious, but much too much for a small rat like me!

Staatsoper, Berlin

That's me in front of the Staatoper. As you can see, this month they play two great opera's: Don Carlo of Giussepi Verdi and Manon from Jules Massenet.
Tonight however, I go for a Klavierkonzert of Daniel Barenboim who will play Beethoven.

Brandenburger Tor, Berlin

The Brandenburger Tor is a former city gate and the symbol of Berlin. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin. One block to its north lies the Reichstag. It constitutes the monumental termination of Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of Lime trees which led directly to the royal residence.

When the Nazis rose to power, they used the gate to symbolize their power. In 1961, the gate was closed when the Berlin Wall was built. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the gate symbolized freedom and the unity of the city. It re-opened on 22 December 1989 when the West German Chancellor walked through to be greeted by the East German Prime Minister.

9684 km from Los Angeles …

Sorry for being absent so long … but I was so busy during the last two weeks and this town is so exciting... I’ve seen so many places and met a lot of friends. In the following days I’ll let you share in what I discovered …

Let’s start with the Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall), this is the town hall of Berlin. It is the home to the governing mayor and the government of the Federal state of Berlin. The name of the landmark building dates from the facade design with red clinker bricks.

The town hall was built between 1861 and 1869 in the style of the north Italian High Renaissance by Hermann Friedrich Wäsemann. The architecture of the tower is reminiscent of the cathedral's tower of Laon in France.

The building was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in World War II. Located in the Soviet sector, it served as the town hall of East Berlin after its reconstruction during the 1950s to the original plans, while the Rathaus Schöneberg was domicile of the West Berlin Senate. After German reunification the administration of unified Berlin officially moved back in 1991.

As you can see … I’m 9684 km for Los Angeles.

Dorothea's school, Berlin

Life is quite hectic here in Berlin. I am livin' here with different people, all friends of each other: Danny, Christian, Almut, Dorothea, and a lot of other friendly people.

Today Dorothea took me to her school. It's a special school, a music-focused high school! It's in the eastern part of Berlin.
Behind me, you see the pavillon, where some of the different music groups and choirs use to rehearse and it shows also one part of the school yard.

What a beautiful day, all this music cheers me up.

Berlin, Germany

It's exactly one year ago that I started this blog as a run up for my take off to the world ... and today I am in Berlin. After a couple of days in Mittweida, Danny took me to Berlin to visit some of his friends.

In the background you can see the hughe television tower of Alexanderplatz.
The TV tower, known as the Fernsehturm or the Tele-spargel (toothpick) is one of the largest structures in Europe. The total length to the top of the spire is 365m or 1197 ft. It was built in 1969 by a team of architects with the help of Swedish experts. It contains a concrete shaft, a steel-cladded metal sphere and a TV antenna. The sphere contains a revolving restaurant (Telecafé) at 207m and a viewing platform at a height of 203m.

Mittweida, Germany

What a week (the sequel)
After a short stay in Vilnius, I travelled with Danny to Mittweida, a little town in East Germany famous for its Hochschule. Danny is an American who is actually a student at the Hochschule Mittweida.