Groeten

I tried to post pictures of Berlin, but they all showed up blank. Not sure what to do about that. So I deleted them from the blog cause a bunch of white spots on the page looked stupid.

Berlin: Very cool (I enjoy using that word, just because each time I do, I see Henderson cringe and Rose say "cool means cold!"). It was actually colder than here. Bit less windy. Saw the wall, of course. Well...the last bit that's left. There are pieces placed randomly around the city. Checkpoint Charlie (apparently well known...I'd never heard of it before...so the cool factor didn't really kick in till I read all there was to read about the place that was written on random boards around the area). Lots of old buildings - beautiful (I love old architecture. Could never tell you about the style or era built in or anything of artistic importance...but I like to look at them). Checked out a few museums. A monument to Jews (looked like a field of coffins, sorta like a maze of grey boxes...hard to explain). Enjoyed the sauna in the hotel (didn't know we were staying in a hotel with a sauna, so I didn't take a swimsuit, so I had to go in my underwear, which was fine cause actually most people there went naked...mostly older people...whatever...I'm cool with that... [k...who am I kidding? It's a little weird to sit in close hot sweaty quarters with middle and older aged people who shift positions without regard to what's...umm...showing]). We walked everywhere. I love walking through cities. And I loved the city of Berlin. It's very different from anything in the Netherlands - much bigger, and in some ways I suppose more American (there were ridiculous numbers of Dunkin Doughnuts and Starbucks to be found among the 17th century churches and government buildings), but in other ways completely different. The city exudes history. Even the way that newer buildings have been placed next to buildings centuries old speaks of its complicated past. I was momentarily sad each time I heard of or saw pictures of certain buildings that used to sit in this particular spot where that soviet style apartment block now sits or where that abnormally shaped modern office building is... War is so...scarring. I don't know what other word describes Berlin better. Scarred and beautiful.
Meh.
Getting a little melodramatic.
(Some where in the background I hear someone yawning..."Booooring!").

Funny highlight: We found a coffee shop called "Balzac Coffee". We checked it out, just to see what their coffee tasted like.
'twas good.

Other: We stopped in at the Guggenheim Musuem (much smaller than the New York version); filled with post-expressionist work. I loved it. Made me want to paint again. Some day.

Sidenote: Luuk and I are very different from each other in one very crucial manner - he is a goal-oriented person, and I am an experience-oriented person (is that a contradiction in terms?). This makes for walking together through cities and museums a very...ummm... interesting experience.
But love conquers all. (Which means: he walks slower).
:)