Excursion Friday (October 1, 2010)

Today was the first Friday I was able to sleep in. It felt amazing! One of the only perks of your last name being at the end of the alphabet, I didn’t have to meet until 11:20 AM. We went to the Bundeskanzleramt, where Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, works along with other government figures. 

We had to go through security that resembled airport security to get in the building. We even had to have a passport to get in. The building is very neat! It was built around 1990, with the fall of the wall. They wanted an open feel to the building to symbolize that the government is open, and there are no secrets. They also wanted something modern and unlike any other buildings. That is exactly how the building is. It is very visually appealing. They even have an open air arboretum to increase the presence of fresh oxygen in the air. The building is very bright inside with tons of cool artwork (or at least what I like). Unfortunately Chancellor Angela Merkel had just stepped out. They said when the US President comes they have to close off the streets, airspace, and the river surrounding the Bundeskanzleramt. Our tour guide remarked how much of a problem that creates, especially with the numerous boat tours going by on the river in front. We saw their press conference room and their assembly room, where they meet with leaders from other countries or committees.  The room is designed to be in a circle. Chancellor Merkel has no specific seat, she takes any seat in the inner circle. It is designed to show that everyone is on the same level at the discussions/meetings.

After our tour, Trevor and I ate at a cute little restaurant near my house called “Okeh.” It was better than ok; it was quite delicious and not badly priced either. I got the daily special, which was a breaded chicken sandwich with French fries and slaw, with a grosses (big) Fanta of course. It was so nice to have a good ole American meal haha. I can’t get enough Fanta. It’s so good!! That and Haribo! I have been converted….those crappy American brands of gummy bears just won’t cut it anymore. I am quite the diva and now will only eat Haribo. 

After “lunch,” Malia, Anna, Lisa, Chris, Keith, & I met to plan our trip to Italy. For our fall break, we decided to spend the week in Italy. Planning took forever. We spend 4 hours on it and still didn’t have all the tickets booked. We decided to each book things the next day. The plan was to fly into Milan because it is super cheap to fly there from Berlin. Only 35 euros, but checked baggage is where they really stick it to you. We planned to spend 1 day in Milan, 1 day in Venice, and then 6 days in Rome, and then sadly flying back to Berlin. 

When we finished that night, it was nearly 10 already. When I got home, I had my “salad” waiting for me on the table. I have yet to see salad dressing here. They don’t even know it exists as far as I’m concerned. The salad was quite interesting. It had lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, onions, olives, and tons of cheese, feta cheese I believe. All this was drowning in a vinegar sauce. It was a nice change, but I found myself missing my bread haha.

I watched Julie & Julia with my host family. They weren’t too entertained by the movie. Andre left after 20 minutes and went to bed. Thimo fell asleep. So it was me and Corry watching the movie. She wasn’t too thrilled about the movie either. I had previously seen it, so it wasn’t completely lost since the whole thing was in German. Sleep came so easily that night.