Snow Snow

Snow snow go away, come again another day.








Before I get any emails, I'll say that I am well aware that this is nothing compared to Ontario (or New York state).

Taschentucher

I could not for the life of me find a box of kleenexes. Instead I had to settle for a 30 four-ply tissue packs for 1.65€. Ridiculous!

Kitten and Bunny

There is a store on our street that, from what I gather, is a cat-sitting service. This past week there has been a kitten and a bunny in the space. I suspected that they've become good chums, but didn't have proof until now. Witness the kitten sleeping in the bunny's cage:

S41

Clip of a view from the S41 (S-bahn line) that runs a giant ring through the city. The 42 goes counterclockwise, the 41 clockwise.

Pastels

What do you do to beautify giant ugly apartment buildings downtown? Paint them pastel pink and yellow of course!

Pretty Lights

Hopefully more to come before I take off to Scotland mid-month, but here is a taste of some of the lights around town (there are actually not a lot outside of the touristy areas).






My favourite so far.

Hitler's Bunker

The site of Hitler's bunker, where he spent his final 2 weeks. The allied troops drilled holes through the 4 metre thick concrete, eventually causing the structure to collapse. Now an unmarked parking lot that dogs use as a washroom. Very befitting.

Babel Platz

Some pictures just around Babel Platz.

The bank that Lola robs in Run Lola Run (no longer a bank).


The State Opera House. Not much to look at from the outside, but supposedly tops on the inside. This isn't the original, it's a GDR rebuild. The original parts are the darkened bits.


The 18th c. Roman Catholic cathedral from Frederick the Great. Instead of ostricizing the Catholics as had previously been done, he welcomed them and even donated land for their cathedral in this very prominent square.


Humboldt University (Einstein, the Brothers Grimm, and Karl Marx). Babel Platz was the scene of the infamous Nazi book burning, many volumes coming from Humboldt. Shamefully, many staff and students were active in the event, destroying the only known volumes of important works. As a gesture of good will, the school runs a book sale out front everyday, selling many of the works that were not permanately lost for a very cheap price.

Broach 2

I forgot (I don't know how) that on Saturday at the junk market I found another 'ruby' broach, this one a circle. I got it for a super cheap price too.

Weather Chaos in Germany

I woke up this morning to find:

Snow on the balcony!



Snow on the cars!



Snow in the trees!



Much to my delight when I left the house later in the morning it was really snowing!







I headed out to Schoneberg district, first to the Konigskolonnaen (Royal Colonnades) which is a pretty park with neoclassical columns and Greek-replica statues. Something tells me these roses are not going to make it too much longer.




The columns flanking the entrance to the North,


and to the South of the main entrance.


View from the path.


View from far end of the park.


At the back end of the park is Kammergericht court house. A few nights ago I watched the movie 'Sophie Scholl - the Final Days' about a group of young students from Munich who tried to incite a resistance movement against the Nazis in 1944. True story and a good movie. Before being sentenced to death, Sophie's final statement predicts that soon the evil Judge Freisler will be where she is then. Quite dramatic. Turns out her prediction was not too far off. In 1945 allied bombing caused the back end of this building to blow up, further causing a giant beam to crush Judge Freisler to death. Rather poetic I thought. The building was restored in the late '90's and is once again being used as a court house.



So, after 4 hours of freezing my butt off in Schoneberg, I returned home to Greg who told me that today's newspapers called our recent weather 'chaotic' and even CTV news mentioned our 'crazy' weather. On that note I leave you with this:

DZ Bank

Imagine having this in your atrium? The DZ Bank offices off of Pariser Platz was actually designed by Frank Gehry. The outside is a bit of a boring bust, but the inside is phenomenal. I couldn't get too close though as it's security-pass only beyond the lobby. The scale is just huge, and the impact is obviously immediate. Don't know if it's just hightened nostalgia for 'home' but it really felt Canadian for me.

Dusk Sky

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor's warning." Hopefully this applies to pink-tinted clouds and tomorrow we get a break from the wetness.

For these videos, I am stationary, the clouds are moving.

Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum

What better way to spend a rainy afternoon than looking at diseased and dissected body organs and now-barbaric medical instruments? Admittedly I didn't take pictures of the more disgusting specimens or the more sad cases. I didn't have the 'stomach' for it. Seriously though, this small museum is inside the grounds for Berlin's 'Charite' university hospital, Europe's largest hospital-teaching institution. Enjoy!

This little bunny had syphilis.


Why does this model for measuring nerve conduction (on the left) remind me of a clock my mother once had? Fyi, it's beside acousitc resonators.


Military surgeon's portable instruments from 1940.


Cataract knives c. 1900.


Wax models with various eye diseases, also c. 1900.



Loops in the small intestine, 1956. Strange how much it looks like a jelly fish.


Relief of the Mucous membrane of the stomach, from 1936.


Gallbladder, spleen and kidneys, oh my!


Who knew gallbladder stones could be so varying and pretty?

M13

A snippet of my ride today on the M13 Tram Line, starting near Weißensee Cemetery.