Berlin, in pictures

The pictures from my trip to Berlin, along with various other things. Enjoy.

Me, in front of... Something. I can't quite remember what that is... I know its between the Deutsch and Französiche Dom, but what it is, I can't really say...


The DeutscheBahn Building in Berlin. Although it is one of the most hated organizations in Germany, its building is pretty cool...


Parliament


Brandenburg Gate


Typical German decoration: Umbrella, umbrella, sword that's older than the United States, umbrella...


The previous location of the Berlin Wall. Sorry about the angle of the picture...


The Sony Dome. Pretty cool design, I think.


The Holocaust Memorial, located in the middle of Berlin.


You asked for it, Dad. A beer I drank while in the pub under Philip's appartment. This one is called a Berliner, as it was brewed in Berlin.


A Government building built to make up for the lack of space in Parliament.


A salt and pepper Shaker set from Moritz's uncle's home that look suspiciously like a set my family used to own...


Statue of Fredrick the Great


A Museum, one of the many on Berlin's MUSEUM ISLAND


The Deutsch Dom


A Statue outside The Deutsch Dom


The Berliner Dom


And finally...


They even know it in Germany!

-Elliot P.

Berlin, in words

Meine Damen und Herrn-

Unfortunately enough, due to a technical difficulty involving batteries, I will not be able to post pictures of my trip to Berlin tonight. I will, however, post them as soon as I get my camera opperational again, wether or not it is a Thursday. On the bright side, I can tell you about my trip in exruciating detail so that pictures will not be necissary. Moritz and I arrived in Berlin on the ICE (a really fast, really comfortable train) at about five in the afternoon on Friday. About twenty minutes thereafter, we took another, slower train to a suburb about a half hour out of Berlin. We then met with Moritz's uncle and aunt, with who we would be staying for the weekend. They were a nice couple, very proper and, surpisingly enough, vegitarian. After dropping off our luggage and having a quick cup of tea, we again departed to the heart of Berlin, to see the Government quarter and meet up with Moritz's brother Philip.

An interesting fact about Berlin is that, for the most part, it is an unfinished city. This is because of the split during WWII. Everywhere you go you see renovation and restoration begin done to the still war-torn buildings. Another interesting side effect of the split is that, while the buildings that made it through the war are preserved and restored to their former mideval/gothic-style glory, all of the new construction is done in an extremly modern style. Unfortunately, you loose some of the effect without pictures... Anyway, we met up with Philip and had a couple beers at the pub atop which Philip lives. The next day, we went the more Religious route and saw three of Berlin's major churches: The Französische Dom, The Deutsch Dom, and of course, The Berliner Dom. We had to wait until the next day to see the inside of the Berliner Dom, but man, that is possibly one of the fanciest churches I've ever seen. I think the fact that we, even in our fallen state, could build something like that by God's will, truly expresses the vastness of His power...

The 'main event' of the trip, the AFS Deutschland 60th Anniversary, turned out to be a total bust. It was pretty much just a huge meeting of something Moritz and I have come to refer to as the 'AFS Cult'. Moritz was never that into AFS, and I don't think I will be either. The people are fine, its just that since AFS is run primarily by volunteer workers, they have a way of making zealots out of people... Well, we got back from Berlin at about eight in the evening on Sunday. It was a good trip, although I would have liked to see more of the night life... Speaking of 'night life' (not really, I just needed a segway...) I went to another party at Philip's house last night (not Moritz's brother Philip, another Philip) and we hung out most of the day today. Just walked around Stade and talked about nothing all day. It was pretty cool.

School starts up again on Monday... Ugh. Same old, same old. By the way, Ben, you brought up a good point in your last comment. A lot of people who SHOULD know about my blog DON'T. Get the word out! I want people to know that I'm still alive over here. And don't be afraid to comment. Even if its nothing important or profound, I still love hearing from you guys. I'll have pictures up as soon as I can get my hands on them. I'm gonna go eat something and go to bed. Judo tonight was killer.

Bis bald!
-Elliot P.

Sehr Schwehr

Meine Damen und Herrn-

Its getting harder. I'm starting to see the differences between the German and Amercian cultures. Every social interaction outside the family is difficult. Even getting around is a challenge at times. Don't get me wrong. I like it here. Its just... frustrating. Its like I'm a small child or early teen-ager again. All of the independence I earned in the States counts for nothing here. I am completely dependent on those who understand the system. Gives new meaning to the phrase 'born again'. You have to learn EVERYTHING again, because you are new to this part of reality.

Anyway, the past few days have been REALLY slow. I guess it just gives me insentive to get out there and make some friends, though. I did go out with Moritz and his friends a few times, though. Watched a soccer game between Germany and Whales. Didn't see the end though. I assume Germany won. The basic vibe I got was that Whales didn't stand a chance, but that might just be patriotism. Here, if something is German, then it is good. Not only good, but better than the equivilant from any other country. The people here REALLY love their country.

This blog will have to be short. I have to get up in the morning to pack for the trip to Berlin. Appearently, this party AFS is holding is gonna be pretty fancy, so that suit we packed is being put to good use, Dad. I'll be sure to take pictures while I'm there to show you guys. I just hope I have enough batteries. The battery charger I brought isn't working properly... Ugh. So tired. Another outstanding Judo class. It was Egon's birthday (he's the head coach), so the class consisted entirely of ron-dori. If you don't know what that is, I'm very dissapointed in you. It literally means 'free practice' which translates to 'fight your opponent like you would in a real match'. Jammed a finger. Good stuff.

Keep praying for me. I miss you all very much and look forward to RECIEVING YOUR LETTERS. Ya, you should probably get on that...

Bis dann,
Elliot P.

Meine Damen und Herrn-

How's everyone doing? I'm alright myself. Been sick this week, but thats to be expected with all the stress and such. Nothing too serious. Just some minor aches and pains. The German is coming along well. By Christmas I will probably have started double-posting - Once in German and once in English. Not much has happened this week. Went to a party on Saturday with a couple of my classmates. The Germans might be hard to get to know, but once you know them, man, they're an interesting lot. The rest of the week has been decidedly slow, what with Mortiz concentrated on his finals and me skipping out on Judo today (still not feeling well). There's more fun on the way, though. Going to a gathering of classmates on Saturday. Main event: Super Smash Bros Brawl. A little taste of home to take the edge off.

Speaking of taking the edge off, I found myself actually wanting a beer the other day. Don't be alarmed. I'm sure you know drinking is quite common here, and I've only had maybe four beers since I've been here, but still. It was an interesting realization. I've never really been all that interested in drinking, and now I actually want a beer. Anyway, we've got the next two weeks off of school. 'Potato Holiday' Heide calls it. Then we all laugh. Its become a joke with us that most of the German diet consists of potatos and meat. Unfortunatly, its not that much of an exageration... During the second week of this wonderful holiday, Moritz and I will be heading to Berlin for some sort of AFS party. Should be fun. All of the AFS people here are very younge. For example, Esther, my AFS contact person, is nineteen, and she just returned from her AFS year in the Dominican Republic a matter of months ago. She's really cool and fun to spend time with, but not exactly what you'd expect a 'contact person' to be. I think I like it better this way.

School right now is ganz einfach (totally simple). I'm actually a year ahead of them in most subjects, and everyone is impressed that the American understand German schoolwork, when he can't even speak the language fluently. I took an English test earlier this week. Yeah. That was a joke. The math test I took today was challenging, considering the directions were in German, but I think that I did well on it anyway.

Faith, once again, is a struggle for me here. In Religion class (don't let the name fool you), a classmate asked me 'Who is God?' I choked. I couldn't believe myself. I had nothing to say to this. I know who God is. I know that He is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Creator and Redeemer, the Almighty. But the challenge of expressing that in broken English-German to someone with a completely secular point of view was to much. I also started reading my Bible in school, which has gotten a lot of interesting questions. Everyone is so interested in what I believe, but thats the thing with the German culture. They want you to be middle-of-the-road. Wishy-washy. They want an answer like 'I believe in freedom' or 'I believe in science'. They are completely taken aback when I say 'I believe in God and ultimate Truth'. They don't like that they can't talk me out of what I believe.

Anyway, I must leave you now. I'd like to end on a happier note, so here's something fun I dug up from ancient Internet history. Hope you like it.



-Elliot P.

Meine Damen und Herrn-

Thus ends week two of school. As I learn more German, I'm beginning to realize that I've already learned most of the content being taught in class. Its ok though; this will make it easier to focus on learning the language and the cluture, instead of having to fight to keep up in school. I went to Judo again today. Another exhausting practice, to my delight. We're learning combination techniques and counter-opponent's-block sequences. I've been dreaming more, which is weird. All of them have something to do with my life back in the States. There is a party hosted by a classmate on Saturday, and I'm going to attend. Tomorrow (Friday, Oct. the 3rd) is the 'Tag auf Deutsch Einheit' which literally means the 'Day of German Unity', the day the Wall came down (not the exact day, but that's the basic geist (another German word) of it). Annebell is back home, so now I have a Gastschwester. Philip is also coming home from Berlin of the holiday, to join us for the meal (apparently at a seafood restraunt across the Elbe).

I've officially learned a new skill besides speaking German during my AFS stay. A few days ago, Moritz taught me how to clean a shotgun. It was pretty cool. Seeing as this house is equiped with two shotguns, a rifle, two chainsaws and a plethora of ammunition, I'd say we're pretty safe in the case of a zombie attack (here's hoping!). By the way, I've been hearing a lot about the American economy tanking lately. This seems like a pretty important subject, so I was hoping you guys would keep me posted as to how things are going over there. You can do that at , or send whatever you want. Frau Biermann and Herr Frank, you should probably brush up on your German in the next few months, because once I get back, I'm gonna need someone to talk to.

In closing, I'd like to tell you that I've been drawing a lot more. This won't seem important to some of you, but to the rest it will mean that there's something new in my head. And indeed, yes, I have an entirely new concept in the works. The style of the art is completely new for me, and unfortunately (for you, at least) I have decided not to post any of my artwork on this blog for the time being. It will pour out like a flood upon my return, but not until then. Well, bis dann!

Aufwiederlesen!
-Elliot P.