I hope you enjoyed reading my elementary German writing :)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wie man kann einen Vegetarier oder eine Vegetarierin in Berlin sein
Sind Sie ein Vegetarier oder eine Vegetarierin? Haben Sie Angst von dem Ruf in Deutschland, dass Deutschland vielen Fleisch überall hat? Obwohl Deutschland vielen Fleisch hat, ist Berlin sehr freundlich zu den Vegetariern. Man kann vegetarisches Essen überall finden. Lesen Sie eine Speiskarte mit Würste, Huhn, und Fisch? Haben Sie keine Angst! Viele Restaurants in Berlin haben auch vegetarische Menüoptionen. Man kann auch unterschiedliches vegetarische Essen finden. Berlin hat viele unterschiedliche Restaurants. Man kann Essen von Deutschland, Amerika, Japan, China, Thailand, Indien, Italien, Griechenland, Frankreich, und Türkei essen. Zum Beispiel kann man Gemüse, Kartoffeln, und Käsespätzle in einem traditionellen deutsche Restaurant bestellen oder man kann Glasnudeln mit Gemüse und Tofu in einem asiatischen Restaurant bestellen. Man kann vegetarisches Essen auf der Strasse finden. Zum Beispiel verkaufen meisten Imbissstände Falafel, Pommes, oder vegetarische Pizzaschnitten. Am besten Imbissstand ist neben die Charlottenberg S-Bahn Station, er „Max und Moritz“ heißt. Während der Woche sind auch viele verschiedene Märkte in Berlin, die frische Obst, Gemüse, Käse, und Brote verkaufen. Am besten Markt ist der Türkische Markt in Neukölln am Dienstag und Freitag. Er hat gutes Essen! Berlin hat auch viele Bäckerei, Konditorei, und Chocolatier, sie wunderbare Kuchen, Plätzchen, Mehlspeisen, und Schokolade für Nachtisch verkaufen. Am besten Konditorei ist bei der Schlesisches Tor U-Bahn Station. Wie man sieht, hat ein Vegetarier oder eine Vegetarierin viele Auswählen in Berlin. Deshalb ist es sehr einfach zu sein ein Vegetarier oder eine Vegetarierin in Berlin!
I hope you enjoyed reading my elementary German writing :)
I hope you enjoyed reading my elementary German writing :)
Dresden
Yesterday, eight of us decided to use the wonderful Schönes Wochenende Ticket (39 euro ticket to travel anywhere in Germany with up to 5 persons from midnight Saturday or Sunday to 3am the following day) to travel to Dresden, the capital city of the German state Saxony that is situated on the Elbe and that was bombed heavily at the end of WWII. Although we left Berlin in the early morning, we did not arrive in Dresden until a little before 1pm, mainly because we had an almost 2-hour long layover in a little town in the middle of nowhere (Falkenberg, Germany, anyone?). When we arrived in Dresden, we immediately sought out a Deutsche Bank for those of us who needed to refill our empty wallets/pockets. And afterward, everyone but me enjoyed some sort of Wurst (sausage) with Senf (mustard) and Brötchen (roll) in the market of town.
Once everyone had satisfied their hunger pains, we continued to walk around the city for the next 7 hours. Our self-guided tour began at the Frauenkirche square, where we were greeted with offerings of free beer. Since it is rude to decline anything--especially free beer--we each took a cup and consumed the beverage before entering the Frauenkirche. The church is one of the most notable sights in Dresden, and for good reason. It has a beautiful interior that isn't too godly, with the right amount of gold and color decorating the alter, the walls, and the organ. After marveling at the church for a bit, we made our way over to the Elbe, which divides the city in two (it resembles Budapest and the Danube, if you ask me). We crossed Augustus Bridge and entered the other side of the city, where Mohit and I found an amazing Bäckerei (Pecan Streusel + Käse-Brötchen + Quarkzipfel = €1,50) and where we visited one of the oldest dairy markets in Europe. After consuming various products that would probably not make a great mix together (e.g.: mustard, cheeses, ice cream, pastries, etc.), we continued our exploration of Dresden, gaping at the wonderful buildings and views. We ended our day with some of us climbing up to the top of the Frauenkirche, which offered a wonderful panoramic view of the city.
Frauenkirche
Martin Luther
The inside of Frauenkirche
The Elbe
View from the other side of the Elbe
The golden equestrian sculpture of August the Strong
Allegedly the greatest dairy shop in the world
Dreikönigskirche
The opera house in Dresden
The Hofkirche
Fürstenzug, the Saxon sovereigns depicted in Meissen porcelain
A view of Dresden from the Turm of Frauenkirche
It's a shame, however, that the city was almost completely wiped out during the bombing of Dresden by the Brisih and the American air forces. Therefore, most of the landmarks and things that we saw have been rebuilt and renovated since 1945. Thus it was interesting to see the mixture of burnt and new materials. Nevertheless, Dresden is a beautiful city that everyone should visit at least once in his lifetime!
Once everyone had satisfied their hunger pains, we continued to walk around the city for the next 7 hours. Our self-guided tour began at the Frauenkirche square, where we were greeted with offerings of free beer. Since it is rude to decline anything--especially free beer--we each took a cup and consumed the beverage before entering the Frauenkirche. The church is one of the most notable sights in Dresden, and for good reason. It has a beautiful interior that isn't too godly, with the right amount of gold and color decorating the alter, the walls, and the organ. After marveling at the church for a bit, we made our way over to the Elbe, which divides the city in two (it resembles Budapest and the Danube, if you ask me). We crossed Augustus Bridge and entered the other side of the city, where Mohit and I found an amazing Bäckerei (Pecan Streusel + Käse-Brötchen + Quarkzipfel = €1,50) and where we visited one of the oldest dairy markets in Europe. After consuming various products that would probably not make a great mix together (e.g.: mustard, cheeses, ice cream, pastries, etc.), we continued our exploration of Dresden, gaping at the wonderful buildings and views. We ended our day with some of us climbing up to the top of the Frauenkirche, which offered a wonderful panoramic view of the city.
It's a shame, however, that the city was almost completely wiped out during the bombing of Dresden by the Brisih and the American air forces. Therefore, most of the landmarks and things that we saw have been rebuilt and renovated since 1945. Thus it was interesting to see the mixture of burnt and new materials. Nevertheless, Dresden is a beautiful city that everyone should visit at least once in his lifetime!
Potsdam
On Friday, my fellow classmates and I had to attend an almost all-day excursion to Potsdam. I grudgingly went, confident that I would leave soon after checking in, due to a week's worth of sleep deprivation and a long night of partying. Many factors reinforced this preconceived plan: For starters, it was once again gray and cold in the Berlin region, and the thought of being too tired to see straight while attempting to battle the cold was enough to justify why my presence would not be necessary.
However, after chatting with some friends, and walking to our first activity of the day, I decided I would wait until after lunch to leave. "Why," I thought to myself, "would I leave before seeing the Schloss Sanssouci, the palace that Frederick the Great had designed himself?" That first thought of hesitance led to many more for the remainder of the day. Before I knew it, we had just finished a brief tour of the Cecilienhof (where the Potsdam Conference was held) and it was now 4pm. Somehow I had managed to get through the day, with a smile on my face and a belly full of gelato (something that I have seemed to develop a reputation ["einen Ruf", auf Deutsch] for).
Potsdam, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the city, is the capital of the German federal state, Brandenburg. It is located approximately 40 minutes via train away from Berlin Mitte. It is the city where the Prussian royalty decided to set up their residence until 1918. I had the pleasure of going on a tour of Schloss Sanssouci (the summer palace of Frederick the Great) and the Cecilienhof (a palace that hosted the Potsdam Conference of July 17-August 2, 1945).
The tour of Schloss Sanssouci was spectacular for many reasons. First, many of us agreed that our tour guide was one of the best tour guides that any of us have ever had. He was a pleasant, young German fellow who told humorous jokes and recited effective quotes in addition to his plethora of historical knowledge of Potsdam and the Prussian royalty. The tour guide told us how Frederick the Great did not want the palace to be built until he returned from war because he did not see any sense of a summer palace if he were to die before his return. Second, the palace was exquisite--not too lavish, but not too plain. It was the perfect combination of luxury and simplicity. It is obvious that Frederick the Great really did put a lot of thought behind what his summer palace would look like and function as. Third, the gardens revealed an array of knowledge of both the reputation of the Prussian royalty and of Frederick the Great himself. For example, they continue to plant only flowers in the garden that were present during the time of Frederick the Great. They also buried Frederick the Great in front of a semi-circle of six important philosophers throughout history, and since 6 is an unlucky number, they regard the body of Frederick the Great as the 7th, since, he, too, is seen as a great philosopher and lover of the arts.
After the tour of Schloss Sanssouci, we were given 2.5 hours to eat lunch and explore the city ourselves. We ate lunch and went into shops in the Old Town. Afterward, we walked around and saw Potsdam's version of the Brandenburg Gate and its Dutch Quarter, as well as a few churches in the area.
Then we took the tram and a bus to Cecilienhof, where we had an unexciting and brief tour of the palace. Apparently it was the last palace to be built by the Hohenzollern family (the noble family of Prussia). In modern times it served as the location for the Potsdam Conference, which is the conference where the three major players (Churchill, Truman, and Stalin) discussed what would they would do with the fallen and defeated Germany. The tour guide discussed how influential Stalin was to the layout of the conference, which is why many of the rooms in the palace were renovated. Because Stalin feared that the two democratic societies (the US and Great Britain) would scheme while he was away, he made sure to house them in divided parts of the palace, in which they had to enter and exit through their own personal doors. Moreover, Stalin did not want any power to have an unequal footing, thus he ensured that the chairs for the three heads in the conference room had engravings that would be indicative of the person's head position. Each nation's flag was also found at the center of the table and it faced in the direction of the head's respective chair/seating position around the round table.
However, after chatting with some friends, and walking to our first activity of the day, I decided I would wait until after lunch to leave. "Why," I thought to myself, "would I leave before seeing the Schloss Sanssouci, the palace that Frederick the Great had designed himself?" That first thought of hesitance led to many more for the remainder of the day. Before I knew it, we had just finished a brief tour of the Cecilienhof (where the Potsdam Conference was held) and it was now 4pm. Somehow I had managed to get through the day, with a smile on my face and a belly full of gelato (something that I have seemed to develop a reputation ["einen Ruf", auf Deutsch] for).
Potsdam, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the city, is the capital of the German federal state, Brandenburg. It is located approximately 40 minutes via train away from Berlin Mitte. It is the city where the Prussian royalty decided to set up their residence until 1918. I had the pleasure of going on a tour of Schloss Sanssouci (the summer palace of Frederick the Great) and the Cecilienhof (a palace that hosted the Potsdam Conference of July 17-August 2, 1945).
The tour of Schloss Sanssouci was spectacular for many reasons. First, many of us agreed that our tour guide was one of the best tour guides that any of us have ever had. He was a pleasant, young German fellow who told humorous jokes and recited effective quotes in addition to his plethora of historical knowledge of Potsdam and the Prussian royalty. The tour guide told us how Frederick the Great did not want the palace to be built until he returned from war because he did not see any sense of a summer palace if he were to die before his return. Second, the palace was exquisite--not too lavish, but not too plain. It was the perfect combination of luxury and simplicity. It is obvious that Frederick the Great really did put a lot of thought behind what his summer palace would look like and function as. Third, the gardens revealed an array of knowledge of both the reputation of the Prussian royalty and of Frederick the Great himself. For example, they continue to plant only flowers in the garden that were present during the time of Frederick the Great. They also buried Frederick the Great in front of a semi-circle of six important philosophers throughout history, and since 6 is an unlucky number, they regard the body of Frederick the Great as the 7th, since, he, too, is seen as a great philosopher and lover of the arts.
After the tour of Schloss Sanssouci, we were given 2.5 hours to eat lunch and explore the city ourselves. We ate lunch and went into shops in the Old Town. Afterward, we walked around and saw Potsdam's version of the Brandenburg Gate and its Dutch Quarter, as well as a few churches in the area.
Then we took the tram and a bus to Cecilienhof, where we had an unexciting and brief tour of the palace. Apparently it was the last palace to be built by the Hohenzollern family (the noble family of Prussia). In modern times it served as the location for the Potsdam Conference, which is the conference where the three major players (Churchill, Truman, and Stalin) discussed what would they would do with the fallen and defeated Germany. The tour guide discussed how influential Stalin was to the layout of the conference, which is why many of the rooms in the palace were renovated. Because Stalin feared that the two democratic societies (the US and Great Britain) would scheme while he was away, he made sure to house them in divided parts of the palace, in which they had to enter and exit through their own personal doors. Moreover, Stalin did not want any power to have an unequal footing, thus he ensured that the chairs for the three heads in the conference room had engravings that would be indicative of the person's head position. Each nation's flag was also found at the center of the table and it faced in the direction of the head's respective chair/seating position around the round table.
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