First few days at Berlin!

So far so good! Really tired though. I have the city very much so far. Thursday is when we started really looking at the buildings. That was the day we got to see the a lot of the metro system. Have you every heard that trains run on time in Europe. Well, Berlin is a prime example of that. It's train system is so complex but yet everything runs on time. But if you miss yours don't worry, you'll probably have a good chance of catching another one with in a decent amount of time, but it's better to make sure you are on time. One thing I did notice that I didn't really know of was how Berlin's Train Stations have a very strong presence of shopping centers. Imagine a mall with about 10 trains running through it at once. That's how the Haupbanhnhof or one of Berlin's main train station is setup. Later that day we were able to see where the Chancellor of Germany conducts her business. I forgot who called it this nick name but I believe they called the building the washing machine. I experienced my first Berlin Super Market as well. Some what the same as an American Super Market, except you pay for buggies and bags. My main interest was the Reichstag for that day. It's amazing how the people of Germany were able to form a capital out of a building that was so very close to were the Berlin Wall once stood and better yet a building almost destroyed during WWII, rebuilt and modernized for the unity of Berlin and Germany. On Friday we visited the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. They had a strong and emotional collection of German Art. I saw WWII Propaganda, Cold War Propaganda, but I believe the one exhibit that hit me the most was one of a parent holding their children as if she was protecting them. Covering them if you will. It was located in the WWII exhibit. I can't even began to comprehend the destruction that took place in that last year of WWII for Berlin. That day we also went to the Philharmonie. This building is different than most. It was built so that the orchestra is actually in the middle of the audience. As if to include the people. It was originally built for all of Berlin but sadly it was built two years after the Berlin Wall was constructed so only the Western Berliners were able to attend the first concert conducted in the Philharmonie. Later that day I enjoyed my first German meal. I don't know what it was called but it had two meat balls, fired potatoes and vegetable greens delicious but different. Yesterday, Saturday, I had a French Salad at at a French Restaurant and Fish Chips at another. Now the first couple of days the waiters and waitresses at the restaurants I visited were somewhat mean, however, these waiters and waitresses were quite nice. If you think only Europeans live in Berlin think again. I met a waitress at the French who was from Hong Kong. She had lived in Germany most of her life and she had family back in the states. She was hopeful to actually visit the US soon. She was friendly and joked around that the US was going to lose to England in a soccer match during the world cup, we tied. So far I have experienced more than I would back in my home town. I'm not even done with week one.