(Another) Night at the Museum...

This winter's installment of one of the coolest city-wide events I've ever seen took our intrepid explorer to some amazing exhibits. In case you missed my blog about Lange Nacht der Museen (Long Night of the Museums), this event is a Berlin-wide event in which all of the city's museums (84 at last count) are not only open late, but for the price of one ticket, you can visit as many as you can in one night. A truly amazing way to experience the amazing cultural smorgasbord that is Berlin's museum scene.
This time, as I said above, took me to some amazing exhibits, though mostly with an animal theme. Regrettably scheduling difficulties got us on the road late, but our first stop was at the German Natural History Museum. I don't know if you gentle readers have ever made it as far as New York to see the American Natural History Museum, but Berlin's could certainly give it a run for its money.

The museums foyer consists of a giant vaulted hallway, in which 5 fully complete and full size dinosaurs are on display. I had quite the dinosaur fetish as a kid, and I must say it took me back to see Allosaurus, Brachiosaurus, and a relative of the stegasaurid family on display. (I still remembered the names! Amazing.) The museum did not disappoint after such a grand entrance, with fascinating exhibits on Earth Science, some neat and historical displays on mammals and fossils, and a fabulous multimedia planetary display. But for me, the real treat was the biodiversity and the Darwin exhibit. Now I'm not sure where you come down on the whole issue, but it was utterly fascinating to see facial reconstructions of all the hominid predecessors, as well as some helpful English displays to help Luddites such as myself understand what I was seeing. On top of that, realistic and often life size models of over 200 species illustrated the overwhelming degree of biodiversity on our planet. and as if that weren't enough, the museum had a bit of a behind-the-scenes display, with a very engaging (and discomfiting to boot) of how the museum makes the models of all of the animals, extinct to modern, from enormous to microscopic. (It really is quite something to see a house flea rendered as large as a small house cat.)

After touring the Natural History museum for what seemed like five minutes, we set out to discover the Berlin Zoo Aquarium. After some initial missteps in trying to locate it, eventually we arrived and set out to see some fishes. I'm not sure if it's because I've been spoiled by some great aquariums back home (Monterey, Chicago [Shedd], etc) but I was a little disappointed. To be fair, the aquarium took great pains to highlight endemic species and those threatened in N.Europe, but aside from a couple gorgeous Blacktips and Wobbegong, I came away less than satisfied.

At this point, we ran out of time, it being 1:30 in the morning. Though once again, Lange Nacht der Museen has proved to be one of the most fun things I've done here in Berlin. Maybe I'll make it for this coming summer's again!

Social Networking: Just Friends?

Recently on Facebook (any collegian's best friend and time-waster) I've noticed a fairly new trend, in which various friends write 25 things in a note and tag other friends, who in turn post notes of their own. I don't necessarily have any +/- feelings on this particular phenomenon, nor is that the point of this post. I was simply curious as to the origin of this particular trend. With MySpace, such trends are often commonplace, if not somewhat expected. Why now? Why with notes on Facebook? Part of what inspired this particular blog is the unexpectedness of this note thing. To be fair, I too wrote a note about this particular topic, but in writing, I found that it is rather hard to conjure up 25 things about one's self. In addition, it raises the prickly problem I (and I'm sure it is by no means restricted to me) have with social networking sites. At what point do our private and public lives separate? Where is the line between appropriate and "over-sharing" get drawn? I found myself wondering about that as I went through my own list.
Anyway, to those of you interested in what I deemed random enough to share, here is the list in all its glory.

1. I love the word potato. And pistachio. I have no idea why.
2. I have full-on dialogues with myself (posing/answering questions) even with others around.
3. Rather unfortunate, but I am a hopeless romantic.
4. I hate sharing a bed. But I can sleep anywhere.
5. I sleep like a rock.
6. I have really random, often disturbing thoughts about things.
7. I have real issues with my weight, and cannot stand the nickname "Big Boy."
8. I would love to move back to Texas.
9. I love watching movies. I know no one else that has seen as many movies that I have.
10. I am excellent speller, and cannot stand (I mean it) when other people misspell things. Its so irrational but there it is.
11. I tend to regret a lot of things, and wish that I was a better person sometimes.
12. I wonder what people think about me, and how I get related to other people by my friends and acquaintances.
13. I wonder if I can think of 25 random things about myself.
14. I am one of the biggest nerds you could meet.
15. I love comic books (and graphic novels), and can read them all night and day.
16. Encyclopedic knowledge frequently coincides with occasionally epic failures.
17. I can sleep all day and stay up all night.
18. I love not sleeping. Its so bizarre, but sometimes I like to see how long I can go without sleeping.
19. I would like to rob a bank.
20. I am really rather secretive. I keep them well, and like secrets for some reason.
21. One of my all-time favorite things to do is to lay out on the sidewalk on really hot days and soak up the warmth.
22. I can't swim in bodies of water where I can't see the bottom.
23. I have been religious and atheistic at different times in my life.
24. I am left-footed, left-handed, and generally prefer things on the left or that associate with the left-hand side.
25. I have a coin that I regularly use to decide things.

Odds and Ends

Those of course, would be the odds and ends of my body that have been progressively freezing off. When the high for your lovely city has been hovering around 20 degrees (and that's being generous), you tend to redefine your notions of cold.

A while back, a couple of requests were made for a summary of great Belgian beers I enjoyed on my way to representing my country in the clink for a night. Here they are in all their glory (ratings subjectively assigned by my beer connoisseur buddy and roommate)
Tripel Karmeliet (10)
Orval (8)
Rochefort 10 (8)
St. Feuillien (8)
St. Bernardus
Malheur (7)
Waton Tripel (8)
Rodenbach (6) We weren't wild about this one for reasons since lost to history.
Hop-It (8)
Dominus (7)
Cuvees des Trolls (9)
Le Trappe Tripel (8)
Duvel
Kwak *These last two are probably some of the more common Belgian types and are somewhat excluded from the more elite of Belgian brews.

Finally, I would love it if some of you lovely readers would regress with me and indulge in some postal correspondence. Send me a line with your address and I will endeavor to write you post, and feel loved as my postbox is filled with things other than pizza fliers. My address here in Berlin is:

William Jacobson
Wrangelstrasse 71
Berlin, DE (Deutschland) 10997

A Little Slice of Americana Pie

So, to start 2009 with a bit of blog bang, I thought a sweet double post would do the trick. The first part is actually blog, the other a bit of odds and ends and posting of answers to comments and things.

This holiday season, our noble adventurer (i.e. Me) was home in the good ol' US of A for some well-earned R&R. Now before you get all up in arms over me not seeing you, I need also mention I was only home for a scant 10 days, 2 of which were consumed by travel. Which, by the way, is a novel concept when one lives in Europe. My time was spent in the company of my wonderful family, with many anecdotes, adventures, and good times too numerous and of a familial nature to post here. It bears mention that I had enough pizza, burgers, and glorious tacos, burritos (I'm thinking of you Cancun) and general American cuisine to catch me up on my supposed deficiencies this fall.

However, I was slightly hesitant to post a blog, especially a travel blog, on a trip involving a return to my home country. Wouldn't it be just like going home? I spent a lot of time contemplating such a question. My problem is this: Just where am I from? Does it involve where my family lives? Where they're from or I'm from? Part of my identity is so rooted in a sort of geographic free-form that for me to not write about going on a trip to America would be counter to who I am and where I'm at as a person right now. In that same sense, after really integrating into a German/European mindset and worldview (to some extent anyway on that last point) it was utterly fascinating to experience America as someone who had never been here. I mean that in the sense that obviously I knew where I was and recognized things I knew and loved, but in a very real sense, a lot of things felt very foreign. The sights, the smells, the weather, simply everything, but particularly the land itself. Distances in California, and having places sufficiently far away to drive to, but still in the same state was simply mind-boggling! I can't understand how people come to terms with just how big America, or even California really is. Driving to my mom's in lovely but remote Humboldt, is roughly the distance from Berlin to 3 different European countries.

Anyway, to close, California and my family was great, but I must say it was quite another very odd sensation coming back to Berlin. It felt like when I left, that I had had a good time, but that it was time to get back home and in the swing of things. Which of course, set my mind in motion once again. Is home really where the heart is, or is it where we make our place, our niche in the world?

From Brussels With Love

First things first, a couple of newsworthy bits for everyone out there. As I'm sure you've noticed, this here blog got a face lift from its rather austere origins, as well as a name change. This name change was necessary for me to better reflect this blog's aim and purpose: rather than help me to adjust to Germany (of which it was quite successful) to instead share with everyone what it is that I am up to in this strange land.

And, as the title might suggest, this blog marks the first in a multi-part travel series! I hope to capture the essence of my madcap adventures throughout Europe and give all the folks back home something to talk about.

This weekend found us on the road to Belgium. We decided to capitalize on Adam's sister's hospitality and spend a weekend in Brussels. Being the excellent planners and logistical coordinators that we are, the only available option was a nine hour bus ride through exciting locales like Magdeburg, Braunschweig, Hannover, Antwerp, and finally Brussels. Few have experienced the magic that is a nine-hour bus ride through the night, replete with the noisiest snoring people ever thrown together in a small space.

Despite the lovely bus ride, we were undeterred in our efforts to experience Belgium. Upon stumbling out of the bus at the bleak hour of 6 in the morning, Adam's amazing sister Agnes met us at the station, and then proceeded to begin showing us all that Belgium had to offer with a half-hour car tour. We finally arrived at her flat, and after some catching up (Adam) and some much needed Z's (me) we hit the town. It really was quite amazing, with the Grote Markt, the City Hall, the Palace of Justice, and the EU Quarter dazzling us as we walked through the city. To be honest, our trip truly started when we hit the historic pub A La Mort Subite (which translates in French to the Sudden Death). We ordered gigantic beers and proceeded to drink away, finishing the tasty brews in no time, unaware that such drinks are meant to be enjoyed in the Belgian style (i.e. they take an hour to drink). Thoroughly feeling our oats, we toured the Marollen district, with some awesome comic pictures on the walls, stopped for another beer, and then got thoroughly drenched by the lovely Belgian weather. (In the same day it was clear, cloudy, rainy, foggy, and windy.) Day one ended at a lovely dinner party thrown by a friend of Adam's sister, in which we were introduced to a monstrous 10.5% beer, a portent of the following day.

After sleeping off our numerous libations from the night before, we woke up early and decided that we needed to see Bruges. We arrived an hour later (Belgium is tiny btw), having successfully smuggled ourselves in first class without paying. Bruges is of course famous for its historic atmosphere and apparently for its enormous churches. On the recommendation of Agnes, we embarked on a brewery tour of the Halve Maan Brauwerij (Half Moon Brewery). I feel it necessary here to comment on the Flemish language. Like its mother tongue Dutch, it seems as if a stupid, illiterate German person is attempting to communicate important information. Images of Calvin from C&H speaking with aliens/Suzy frequently came to mind throughout our Belgian encounter. French also sucks. Anyway, while the brewery tour was rather pro forma, the beer they made was delicious. One of our stated goals for Belgium was to try as many of their amazing brews as possible, and if we got loaded on the way, all the better. We proceeded to tour two of the finest local pubs, sampling some heavy beers (11.3%!) and mostly delicious and memorable beers. (If you too love beer, let me know and I'll give you our list of tasties) Satisfied that we had soaked up enough Brews/Bruges culture, we headed back to Brussels for some uninspiring Cuban food with Agnes.

Here's where the fun begins. After a couple of pubs with Agnes sampling a good number of beers, Adam and I proceeded to Delirium, a pub that prides itself on having 2504 beers in house, and some 100 on tap. Round after round, beer after beer, we drank until we couldn't remember what we had ordered. Finally, we managed to pull ourselves away in order to catch the last Metro back to our flat, and arrived at the stop without incident. As we were waling back however, we had a disagreement (as we are often wont to do) that resulted in us tearing down the street shouting at one another, complete with monumental falls. We were almost home (to the door in fact) when a voice behind us asked, "Is there a problem here?" Any mild-mannered drinker knows the answer to that question and we aced that exam, but there we were faced with no less than three squad cars of Brussels' finest. Apparently, two people had been seen in the neighborhood vandalizing cars and making noise, and since we were in the neighborhood, drunk and making noise, we were suspects one and two. Manhandled to the nearest wall, Adam and I were handcuffed, thrown into squad cars, and hauled off to the station.

After a lengthy period of statements, searches, and scowls from what seemed like half of the Brussels' police force, yours truly was put in the holding cell for what seemed an eternity. I was rudely awakened, escorted in, and signed a statement of what we had managed to tell the nice policemen. We left the station 6 hours later, feeling a bit more sober, and quite upset. Not only had we been arrested for basically nothing, but also the police had managed to lose my Berlin flat keys and 15 euros in small bills from Adam's wallet. We grumbled back to the apartment, collapsed on our bed, and wasted most of our Monday sleeping off what should have been a very bad dream.

Sadly, our Belgium excursion took on a bit of a sour note after that. We managed to score some of the most amazing pommes frites (that's be French fries to all you Americans) this side of the solar system, and also experienced the awesomeness of buying pizza by the kilo (750g is plenty for anyone, let me tell ya). We spent most of Monday lounging around, waiting for our Berlin airlift, but took the time to enjoy a couple more Belgian beers.

In all, an amazing weekend.

Alive and Kicking in the Frozen North

Wow...I realize it has been a long time since I updated my lovely little blog. It must be said that equal parts laziness and business have contributed to this dearth of writing. However, a fair part also lies in the fact that I feel like I belong here. After 3 months and a fair share of grief, it feels natural and comfortable to be here in Berlin. Call me presumptuous, but I consider myself a Berliner, however transitory such a feeling might be. It is amusing to note as well that this realization came in a discussion with my roommate over McDonald's hamburgers and their ubiquitous Monopoly game (it really does taste better in Europe). It raises a number of questions for me, however: Where/when was the so-called "hump"? Does it work the same way for someone in America? Hmmm. Harder still to believe that Christmas is so soon! Where have my three months gone? Though I am returning to the States for the holidays, I wonder if I too will experience this same sensation of acclimatization that I have undergone here. Is there a period of time?

In any case, for the scant three of you that have wondered what it is that I have been up to, the answer is not a simple one. Though I have not yet left the Capitol City, my weeks have been a whirlwind of shows, parties, dinners, snow (mind-boggling for a Texifornian), class, and all manner of interesting though not necessarily noteworthy interactions with Germans and the strange construct that is being "German."

As the title might suggest, its fricking freezing here. Literally. But I suppose it is winter, so I will stop grousing about the weather.

Take My Love, Take My Land...

So as I sit here at the ungodly hour of 5 am, I marvel at the wonder of the internet. Sure, just about anyone with a connection north of 56k can marvel at the wonder that is the World Wide Web, but for me, being in this far off place (but by no means less wonderful) nothing makes me feel more comfortable than having some of my favorite things and people at my fingertips. Hearing that western twang (as the title might suggest) of violin and guitar, as well as receiving emails from friends and family all over, really help to bridge the gap from me to what makes me happy.


As for Berlin, classes begin in earnest tomorrow! Faced with such daunting topics like the history of public communication in Europe in the 19th and 20th century to the culture of modernity in Berlin, I daresay our intrepid hero may find himself actually experiencing what he came here for: academia! (Insert dramatic music here) I'll try not to over exert myself waking up at the crack of noon, as classes tend to orient more towards later in the day, but in truth, the prospect of sitting in on lecture, even if it is a topic I know and love is a little frightening. But in an case, we shall see. Wish me luck!