Berlin Day 4 - 8/27

I think I am finally adjusting to the time change and relaxing into the fact that I am on the other side of the earth from my home.  I woke up this morning at 8am and decided to meditate for the first time in a week.  Boy, did I need that!  Afterward I thought I might run or grab an early breakfast and a latte and journal.  But no...instead I laid my head down and got the deepest and most relaxed sleep I've had since I've been here.  I woke up at noon!!!!

Feeling the pressure of housekeeping outside my door, I hurried to get myself together for the day.  Originally, I thought I'd do Museums today, but somehow that wasn't really working for me.  I decided to do the very touristy Brandenburg Gate.  So I figured out transport and headed out.  I was to take the U-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz and then switch to the S-Bahn (different train lines).  Well, when I got out of the tunnel at Potsdamer Platz (which is the "Tomorrowland" of Berlin!  Really) I figured I ought to find the Sony Center and take a picture. Then the Sony Center led me to the Berlin Philharmonic building (which is gorgeous, by the way).  Then right across the street was the Tiergarten (Berlin's version of Central Park only a real forest!!)...You see how this is going.  So, I just walked the rest of the way.  I must say, this city is REALLY easy to get around.  Maybe easier than NYC.  When you look at a map and think, "Oh, that's pretty close"; it really is pretty close.  So I walked for 2 hours and saw so many of the "must see" sights.  What strikes me the most about it is the fusion of past with present.  An old German-style building fused to a contemporary glass building.  This is a repeated motif everywhere.  Just another place the wars' impact shows itself on this city.  

So today I wandered into the Guggenheim and saw an exhibition that again has a direct relationship to my thesis.  I would think this is wacky, but I know better.  Things are just flowing to me right and left!  

Finally, I went to a lecture on dance and writing (again with the connections to my greatest interests) and then a massive performance by the dance artist Sasha Waltz (great name).  Elizabeth, have you ever heard of the theatre Schaubuehne?  The most amazingly beautiful and contemporary space I've ever seen work in.  And they used it very well!  

I love that I can share this with all of you in this strange way.  It is super fun for me.  I am thinking about all of you at various times throughout the day and look forward to sharing my experiences.

Much love,

Alicia