Berlin Memories

the streets of this town are populated mainly by ghosts of "mistakes" in the past. the only reminders splashed in bright complementary colors on the wall and scattered in charred rubble on the ground surrounded by cigarette butts and doughtnut wrappers.

For spring break last week I went to Berlin and Prague. Our first stop was Berlin; we arrived at 8 am to cold gusts of wind and gray skies. We decided to go on a walking tour to learn more about the city and its landmarks. Here are some pictures from that first day:


































The second day it was very cold and rainy. Unfortunately, this is the day that my umbrella decides to explode in the high winds and we are forced to walk around in the rain without protection. We decided because of this to get a pass that would admit us to all the museums in Berlin. After museum hopping the rain had stopped so we decided to explore elsewhere including a chocolate cafe, a square with cool, futuristic buildings, and a mall. That night we tried to explore the Berlin nightlife with little success. We did end up meeting some nice prostitutes on the street, though, who gave us directions. Here are some pictures from the second day:













The last day in Berlin we went to the East Side Gallery, which is a preserved part of the Berlin Wall where artists were commissioned to create murals about peace. It was really cool, but I think this walk along the wall was what finally killed my knee and I've been limping since! Here are some pictures from the last day in Berlin:













After three very long days in Berlin we hopped on a bus to overnight to Prague. Pictures coming very soon!

Out of touch...I blame the leap year.

Hello blog readers.

It seems interest in my blog has peaked this past month and I'm happy to say I have considerably more readers than when I was in Dublin. I think most of that is thanks to my mom passing the link on to my relatives, which was a very good move.

I'm also happy to announce that I finally have a good internet connection in my apartment after the very tragic breaking down of my airport card about 9 days ago. It's kinda pathetic how attached to the internet I've become over the years. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off this past week, not understanding how to survive without internet. I don't know what I would have done w/o my blackberry and its tiny little screen to do such painful tasks as checking facebook, reading my usual blogs like Post Secret, and doing research for my cinema class. There's nothing like reading about Antonin Artaud in french on a screen the size of a post-it. Couldn't live w/o it, though!

These past few weeks have been devoted to school work because classes have really gotten going and I finally decided on a schedule after the fiasco of classes being full and my sociolinguistics class being taught in english. But I'm chugging along because after my class tomorrow, I will be free for an entire week for spring break! I will be traveling to Berlin and Prague and I'm so excited. My mom suggested that I look up any Eukels in Prague. I'll let everyone know if I find a long-lost cousin or great-aunt.

With that I leave my faithful blog readers (again) for new adventures in foreign lands. To those expecting postcards and emails...very very soon!

Cheers.

Pictures of cemetaries in Paris

the modern is now

Last Sunday, the 3rd, some friends and I wandered on over to the Centre Georges Pompidou to visit their modern art museum. This rather unusual building is not only home to one of the most famous museums in the world but also has a cinema, a children's museum, a performance space, one of the the most sought-after cafes in Paris (the view is phenomenal), and a rather popular library (there was a line to get in). But we only went for the museum. Outside the museum, people hang out, sell art, do street performances, walk around, eat at cafes and food-stands and other general merriment.

Here are some pictures from my adventure at this particularly fun (and colorful) paris museum:

A Visit to a Fairy Tale

Last Friday Sweet Briar took a trip to Versailles. I've been to the chateau a couple times before so that wasn't too exciting, although we did get a personal tour from our art history professor, but I was very excited that I finally got to go to Marie Antoinette's village.

Marie Antoinette was like 15 when she became queen so she was pretty bored with royal life, so she had the royal architect construct a life-sized play village for her where she could go with her courisans to dress up as a peasant, dye sheep to match her outfits, play gambling games, and have affairs with various men.

Here are some pictures from my visit...enjoy!

I see famous people sometimes

Paris is one of the most visited cities in the world, so sometimes I see famous people. Last week was Paris Fashion week and we went to try to spot some designers and models. We stood outside the Giorgio Armani show "Privé" for awhile and guess who we saw? Giorgio himself. Don't believe me? Here's a picture: