Forecast

3 O'clock today:


4 O'clock Today:


The weather is forecast to be gray, foggy, cloudy, rainy, and snowy, all at the same time, for the next week. It's just like home!

So, what's been up with me, you might ask? I'll tell you.

Went to the gym on Thursday for a couple of hours. I'm feeling a bit sore now, but it's not as bad as the first time that I went while I was here. In other words, it's working out well (ha ha).

Yesterday part of the group took a trip to the Reichstag. We got to sit in on a session for about 45 minutes, and then we had the privilege of skipping the line to see the Cupola. Now, the session of parliament that we saw was, of course, in German. I was surprised at how much I understood - not that it was enough to fully follow the speeches being made, but enough to get the gist of what they were saying. It was a good feeling. Anyways, they were debating whether there should be speed limits created for the Autobahn. I'm pretty sure it won't pass. What was a little odd about the whole affair was that less than half of the members were present for the debate (aka speeches from the parties). Even more odd (and a bit insulting) was that the Transportation minister didn't bother to show up. I mean, this is kind of his area of employment; you'd think he'd try to put a bit more effort in. The more extreme parties seemed to be a bit more steamed about it than the mainstream, on the whole.
Even though the whole parliament wasn't there, there was still a fair bit of interaction between the parties. They clapped for their own speakers, shook their heads, grumbled, or laughed at the opposition, and did a lot of talking and consulting amongst themselves. According to my host mother, there is a system in place where the amount of seats you have in the Reichstag is directly proportional to the time you get for a speech. It did seem that the smaller parties were a bit more direct in their speeches, so that could explain why.

The cupola was pretty cool. You can actually see down into the main assembly hall, which is supposed to be a sign of openness and liberty. Aside from that, it's a really good view of the city. When I got to the top of the dome, though, I was surprised by a one-legged-pigeon. Yeah.
It was surveying all of the people walking around as if it owned the place.

After we left the Reichstag, we passed through the Brandenburg Gate, and saw this rainbow-neon colored wall, representing the separation of North and South Korea. An interesting installation, to be sure.

Just through the Gate, we saw a multitude of black cars and vans idling, with police and men in suits standing around and throughout the whole mix. There were lots of Mercedes and Volkswagen present, so I though that it might be some sort of auto show, but the fact that the new American embassy is right next to the Gate convinced me otherwise. Some big official must have just arrived, as all the cars were empty. We didn't stick around to see who else might show up, but I did take some pictures.

Yesterday was also November 9th. The infamous deed known as Kristallnacht was perpetrated on this day in 1938 by the Nazis.

***

Later that day, I hit up the Film and Television museum for a couple of class projects. They're both quite interesting, but even moreso was the entrance hall to the Film museum. There's a small corridor with dim lighting that suddenly turns into another room, with what appears at first to be a catwalk stretched out over infinite repeating dimensions. The room is actually pretty small, with a snaking path that travels about 30 feet to the exhibits. However, almost every surface of the room, aside from the walkway floor itself and a few odd screens playing movies, is covered in mirrors. I could look down to the left and see myself from the back and above, or straight to my right and see my left. That was how many mirrors there were. I spent a good 10 minutes in that room, just looking at myself from every conceivable angle. It was creepy, in an entertaining sort of way.

I've been trying to get some homework done this weekend, so it doesn't pile up at the end of the semester (gasp), which, incidentally, is only about a month away.

That's all for now, folks. See you around.

Pics from the Reichstag