Erste Fotos von Berlin

"Originale Berliner Currywurst"... the stands in Berlin must get more business when they call it that. Interestingly enough the stands in Heidelberg advertised the same thing, and it was 'original' there too! This was my afternoon snack as two students from my program -Chris and Ian - and I visited the famous Kudamm Strasse about ten minutes walking from my guest-family's apartment.

Massachusetts in Germany? I admit that I have no idea what this sign was about. Apparently there's a contingent of "Bostonofiles" here in Berlin who felt that their Red Sox pride and appreciation of lobster was best expressed through a month-long "Volksfest" in the Berliner suburb of Dahlem. I saw this flier as we toured the FU (short for Freie Universitat... NOT, you know, the other F-U) campus for the first time.

According to writer Jakob Hein there are more than 8 streets called "Berliner Strasse". Why, you may wonder, if not to confuse tourists and visitors? Before 1920 the formal boundaries of the city were in fact quite small. The Berliner Strasse actually did all "lead to" the old Berlin. Now they are part of the city and give taxi driver's the upper-hand; when a tourist asks simply for X-number Berliner Strasse the driver can pick the one in the farthest district and reap some financial benefits! We read some of Jakob Hein's "Gebrauchsanweisung fuer Berlin" today in my language class, hence the influx of information. It's a sort of insider's guide to Berlin if you will, with facts, figures, and most importantly, a bit of Berliner Deutsch for us to misunderstand, misuse and thoroughly enjoy...