Politic

Hello All! I have exciting news- this post has pictures! I couldn't post all of them, but here is a picture of Bern, Switzerland:I guess to see all the other Munich and Switzerland pictures, you'll have to come and see them with me! Haha. Well I am happy to say that I made it safely to Berlin- the political heart of Germany, and it is a great city. I have to say though, that last night in Frankfort, I had a very nice time hanging out with the same people from the day, with an added guest from- get this- Tazmania! We had a fantastic time trying out German cider and having sausages at a pub. I always love a nice bit of socializing.

Waking up way too early this morning, I got my 715 AM train to Berlin, which took about 4 hours. I was lucky to find a seat despite not having a reservation, and I just slept and listened to my iPod for the whole trip. A good way to start the day, I think.

When I got to Berlin, it was a 30 minute walk to the hostel, where I deposited my pack and learned of a 3 hr free tour of the city starting soon, so I snagged some lunch and joined the tour. All in all, there were only 16 of us, and I was the only American. Our English guide was decent, but not as good as Ricky. He led us around all of the major sights of Berlin, including the TV tour, the former palace, Hitlers bunker, and the Berlin wall. Here I am with some of my tour buddies at a section of the wall- WEST SIDE...of the Berlin wall, which explains my hand signal.

But despite seeing all of the great sights, my day was yet to take its dramatic turn. Just after we stopped at the Berlin wall, we were sitting down as a group, listening to the tour guide talk about the wall. When he asked if we had questions, a quiet South Korean proceeded to comment at length about how the Berlin wall is just like the wall between South and North Korea, and how they all want it to be unified and how Russia, China, and most of all the USA was responsible for repressing the people of Korea. During this speech she pretty much only looked at me and lectured me about how America sends South Korea tainted meat and won't leave the DMZ.

At first, I was confused as to why she was talking to me, but as she continued, I was amazed! Not because of her outgoingness or passion, but about the subject matter- I had never heard of South Koreans either resenting the US for their involvment or wanting to join with Communist North Korea, and I have met many South Koreans, especially on this trip. So, as we walked along, I discussed with her this viewpoint, and we had a nice talk. She would not answer my question directly when I asked if she was at least grateful for the US saving them from the Communist invasion in the 50's. Instead, she told me about how she thinks the US assasinated the second president of Korea. Very interesting, and I was too intrigued to be insulted. haha. I can't wait to research this and ask other Koreans if they feel the same. However, that was not the end of tense political discussion for the day.

After that we visited this controversial memorial to the "Jews Murdered in Europe", which looks like this;
As nice as this was, it was beginning to rain, so we put the already-late tour into turbo mode and made it to our last stop, which was the Brandenburg Gate in a big square which also included the brand new US embassy, the French embassy, as well as many big banks and the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his baby from a balcony. Important history, you know? Here's the gate:
The tour finished, and I started walking back to the hostel with a group of 4 Australians, one of whom was on his own, and we began talking about the Korea thing. Seemingly the next moment, we were in the midst of a very tense and passionate debate on everything from North Korea to Iraq to the 2001 election! It was one of the most fiery debates I have ever been in, and boy was it invigorating! It was a shame, though, that after we had finished, much to the dissappointment of the other Australians who were enjoying the entertainment, the guy was not very cordial. I viewed it as an impersonal debate, but I guess he did not. Oh well- I definitiley got a run for my money, and he had many good points that I will think about for a long time. The walk back to the hostel seemed like a blink of an eye. Haha

Later this evening, I met up with the three Australian girls who had walked with us, and we went to a very cheap and very good Asian dinner place, and I really enjoyed their company. They are on their gap year before University, so we talked about that. Once again, I was overcome with jealousy that Australian culture accepts trips of 10 months or more from real life. If only Americans were open to that....

Well that is all for now, I have two more full days in Berlin- doubtlessly going to be filled with museums, but I am happy. Stay Classy!