Birdlin in Berlin: An Aidan Story

Seattle, Washington --> Berlin, Germany

Pictures:

Left: Sunset over Northeast Europe

Bottom Left: Morning over North England

This is my first time traveling internationally. Other than a week in Canada 20 minutes away from the border into Idaho, I have never been outside of the US, certainly not overseas. Thus far, it's been quite the experience, in many ways. I always hear people complain about the food served on airplanes, but to me, it was a delight to even have the opportunity, even if the food wasn't very good. After less than 2 hours of intermittent sleep on the plane, we touched down in Heathrow, London for a short layover. Although everyone spoke English and I had been exposed to British culture through shows and movies, it was still a little bit of an exotic experience. After a short while, we were back on a plane, albeit a much smaller one than before. Finally, once 2 hours had gone by, we landed at the Berlin Airport. Picking up our luggage was much less stressful than I had imagined, and after that, we headed to the bus that took us to our first Hostel. 

Berlin, Generator, Mitte

It was dark when we drove into the city. Considering that and the fact that we had been traveling for 24 hours, I was pretty disoriented. Alas, we finally arrived at our Hostel, called Generator, Mitte. A short confusing key card receiving/looking for our rooms ensued, and we dropped off our bags. We were told that we had free time for the rest of the night, and were recommended to find some food to eat. So, me and a few others set out to a Pho restaurant, one of the only foods that was familiar, still open at that hour, and not a scary looking bar. We for sure looked like bumbling clueless Americans, but I didn't care at the moment. We sat down and were served some really good Pho. Coming back to the Hostel, we were greeted by soft club music as we made our way back to our surprisingly modern rooms. It had been such a long day, I crashed into my bed and slept like a brick. In the middle of Berlin. 

The Bustle of Berlin

Our first full day of Berlin was wonderful. It began with a tour of the notable historical sights, which was the most interested and excited I had been about history in a good long while. We met our tour guide at the Berliner Dome, a gigantic church the Frederick the Great had commissioned for the citizens of Berlin. When we arrived and were waiting for our guide, we were surrounded by magnificent buildings. We knew nothing about the place that we were standing, but it was quite awesome to learn about it from our guide. As mentioned before, we saw the Berliner Dome, a huge museum also commissioned by Frederick the Great, a reconstruction of the Royal palace, a monument to victims of war, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag (German government capital building), a monument to the Jewish victims of the second World War, Adolph Hitler's death site, and finally arrived at the Topography of Terror museum, an insanely interesting museum about what life was like in Nazi controlled Berlin and the rest of Germany. Not only did we learn a lot that day, but it gave us a really good sense of places to go to in our free time. Notable places I visited after the fact would be as pictured below: 

Pictured: Me, Rosalyn Tobeck, Sarah Zundel

                Below: TV Tower view from below

Above: Me and Rosalyn

                                                    To the right: View from the tower

Below: Another view from the top

Right: Inside Saint Maries Church, one of the oldest churches in Berlin

Below: The Organ at Saint Maries

Right: Underside view of the Moravian Star inside the church

Below: Outside view of the steeple

Right: New Scarf Check

Left: Rainbow over the Altes Museum

Right: Bird Watching

Left: View from inside the Berlin Philharmoniker

Right: Some Cool Cats spotted inside the Pergamon museum

Left: Cool Ladies Convention

Oceane - Berlin Opera House

The first performance we saw was Oceane, an opera born right in Berlin. It has never left the Opera House. I had only seen one opera before, at PLU: Giulio Cesare. From what I hear from my choral focused colleagues, Oceane was nothing like they've ever seen. It certainly was nothing like I've ever seen. The music was phenomenal, I feel like the orchestra did exceptionally well. The music set the mood really really well. The plot reminded me of The Awakening by Kate Chopin. It also ends with the leading lady disappearing into the ocean, as well as highlights her struggles between what is true about her life and what she wants her life to be. Additionally, the whole experience was articulated so well that it invigorated a little bit of Thalassophobia in me, that is to say the fear of open waters. The experience was such high quality that it elicited that response from me. My slight fear kept me focused and immersed in the plot, and the leading lady did a really exceptional performance in her role. I'd say I would attend again if I had the opportunity. 

Bird Report

For this trip I've decided to become an amateur bird watcher. And by amateur I mean I have no idea what birds these are, I'm just taking pictures of them. Anyhow, here they are. 

Overall, I'd rate Berlin a 5 out of 5 star rating. There are so many birds to see, and many of them are photogenic. There are so many birds that they should rename the city from Berlin to Birdlin.