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Goodbye, Berlin!

So here I am, the only one left at the Transit Loft. My train leaves in 3 1/2 hours, so I thought I would make another post. I had a fantastisch time.  Berlin is such an interesting city. I met some great people on this trip, had some unusually interesting experiences, and took some good photos.  I go to Paris tonight, and plan on meeting up with Julianna and Caitlin soon.

Here are some of the last Berlin photos.

Goodbye Berlin!

But just one more, for fun…..

People watching

One of my favorite things to do is people watch, and Berlin has provided the perfect backdrop for this activity. While visiting historic sites and museums is enlightening, ordering a coffee and plopping down at a cafe to watch passerbys is sometimes more telling of a city. You get to see how native Berliners carry out their every day lives without tourist interruptions. When I’m not meeting with my subject, I have been people-watching and picture-taking.

A girl sits at a fountain in Alexanderplatz Wednesday afternoon.

I shot this picture with my telephoto lens because I was scared that they might get upset.

The past couple of days have been less group-oriented. On Wednesday, a group of us went towards the Tacheles house and ate lunch at an outdoor café. Afterwards, we walked toward Hackescher Markt and went in a few vintage shops. Julianna and I met up with Stine near Alexanderplatz and went to her house for a coffee. We sat around her apartment and talked about Berlin and traveling and the differences between Europe and the U.S.

A street performer blows bubbles for spectators on Wednesday afternoon.

She drove us about 30 minutes out of the city to “Minnie the Moocher’s” band practice. It is the ska-punk band that she told us about on the first day. If my original photo subject, Katy, does not work out, I think I will use Matteo, the trumpet player, for my photo story. All the band members were really nice and accommodating. Julianna and I will travel with them to their show on Saturday to get more shots.

Today we were able to sleep in because we had nothing planned until 6:15. Yay! Amy, Caitlin, Julianna and I went out and explored the Tiergarten. We walked through some of the paths and found discarded items of clothing. We also saw someone use the bathroom in the middle of the park. Nudity doesn’t seem to be much of a concern for Germans, especially in their parks. We practiced panning on bikers in the park, until we got scared away. One of our “subjects” flicked us off as he rode by, and then proceeded to turn around and head back in our direction.

We left the Tiergarten only to walk right into a major news event. The Berlin Philharmonic caught on fire, and officials did not know the cause. All four of us were able to get passed the red tape and take photos with all of the other news reporters. It was kind of exciting. Caitlin even got her photo on CNN’s i Report.

We left around 4:30 and got back to the hotel in time to get ready for the theater and take our head shots. The theater was really fun. There were a lot of acrobatic acts, and choreography that reminded me of Busby Berkeley’s style.

After the theater, we walked to the Kunsthaus Tacheles, which is an old squatter building-turned-arthouse. It was covered in graffiti and had a lot of great art for sale. I want to go back tomorrow to get some prints!

Breaking away

Today we went on a double decker bus! We also walked through a beautiful neighborhood with gorgeous houses and trees everywhere. It was a nice change of pace from the gray/cementy city. The weather was actually sunny, too.

We saw the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The original was bombed in 1943. We watched some breakdancers, and they got mad at Andrew because they said he didn’t tip enough!

Afterwards we walked to a fancy department store called Ka De We that had an amazing dessert selection. Saw museum where Freeman popped popcorn. Somehow the tours keep getting better and better!

We had some time alone to go shopping and do and wander around. We all broke off into little groups and got to explore the city without a huge tour group. Afterwards we ate dinner at a cute Italian restaurant and walked home in the freezing cold.

Berlin Day 3

Today we went on a 4 hour walking tour around Berlin. We saw part of the old wall, Hitler’s bunker, the American and Russian embassies, Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial, and a few museums. After the walking tour, we walked around a little bit and met up with a couple of Berliners. They gave us some ideas for our photo stories. Afterwards, we walked to the Sony Center and found the way back to the hotel by ourselves. Quite a long day, but we are still planning to see some Berlin nightlife!

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