Yes, I traveled through time-- a quarter of the way around the world, into the future. I didn't know how to feel, so I decided to eat. Whenever I feel down, I know my blood sugar needs a literal kick in the pants. Here in Germany, I didn't know anybody, and I didn't really know my way around, aside from a few tourist maps. I roamed around the streets of Northern Mitte and searched for a suitable meal.
At last, I came upon a stand that read, "Currywurst, Insel" selling what looked liked plain old hot dogs with fries.
Now let me tell you first, before I allow anyone to jump to conclusions. The Germans -- even ordinary street vendors -- really know how to prepare sausages like professionals. However, they may not be as well known here in the capital city as the Middle-Eastern dishes known as 'Doeners,' which are quite similar to gyros or shawarma packed firmly with sauce and cabbage and plenty of lamb, freshly carved off of a spit. Picture, if you will, a roll of meat -- vertical, and spinning so that the master of the delicatessen can shave off the outer layer. These are likely to become the common street meal of the 21st century here in Berlin if they aren't already.
But why should I start describing my travels with images of food? I enjoy the drinks here, too, don't get me wrong. If I draw back in a chronological order, I first set an oath that I wouldn't eat any McDonald's during my stay here in Deutschland. Of course, half an hour before I boarded my flight headed to Frankfurt on the afternoon of 31 August, I ordered myself a 10-piece McNugget and large fries. Yes, I know I can live without it, but I was wondering if Lufthansa would be serving us our supper on board. In fact they did, but first, their custom was to hand out warm, moist washcloths to all passengers... very nice. Different country, different customs.
I didn't get much rest on that flight. We headed up past Newfoundland, and the dark of night rushed over us like a blanket, but far too early in the evening, perhaps around 7pm. I could see both horizons by 8. I want to think it was my excitement that kept me awake, but of course, I had a good deal of trouble getting comfortable. When 5am Frankfurt time in Germany rolled around (about 11pm Eastern US), I didn't feel so excited anymore. The first thing to please me in Germany was the sunrise, which I saw coming up over the clouds on the secondary flight, connecting Flankfurt and the Berlin-Tegel airport. The clouds eventually cleared, and I could see long shadows extending from rows and rows of tall wind turbines surrounding Berlin. Many farms and several small forests allowed me to smile and tap my forehead against the window in exhaustion.
I learned from my cabbie, who practiced his english with me, that Berlin has a square-mileage layout that is perhaps just about as large as Los Angeles, but a total population that is much, much smaller. I have never been to LA, but as I have heard, the smog-filled city of angels is made up of numerous districts without a concentrated downtown. Berlin, on the other hand, has a much better environmental policy - with different bins for various types of waste. The downtown area of Berlin, called Mitte, is where I will be studying for the semester. Having visited the district for a couple of days already, I must say that I am incredibly impressed. Right now I am writing this message from my apartment in Charlottenburg, which is to the west of Mitte.
To continue, my arrival date for the program was yesterday, a muggy, humid day. Following my independent evening of experimentation with Currywurst, I decided to gamble with a doener for brunch. I don't think I could have made a better choice because the gyro tasted incredible and was larger than I could have imagined, so I could not finish all of it. And so I packed all of my luggage into another cab and headed towards Mitte- Unter den Linden.
In Mitte, the IES (Institution for International Education of Students) was not far at all from the Spree River. When I say not far, I mean less than 5 minutes, and you can throw a key for your lover down to the bottom of the bed (I heard that was a tradition). We are also quite close to the Friedrichstrasse station, where all students went together -- all 16 of us -- and we purchased rail tickets for the month of September. This weekend we plan to head over to Potsdam, where one might find quite a few palaces. The next weekend we will have the opportunity to travel to Hamburg.
And then there is my host, Sabine Berger. She works as a publicist, and lives here in Charlottenburg. She drives around in a little smart-car, into which I feared I might not fit all of my luggage, but it worked out just fine.
Any way I look at my situation, I cannot believe how lucky I am. I'm meeting lots of new students like myself. I want to see if I can't learn from them as well as I can extract knowledge from the city itself.
"Glance into the world just as though time were gone:
And everything crooked will become straight to you."
Friedrich Nietzsche
