Deutschland (Gerrrrr-ma-ny)

Berlin and Thüringen, GE (Dec 19, 2007- Jan 4, 2008)- Pack die Badehose ein, nimm dein kleines Schwesterlein, und nichts wie auf nach Berlin. Actually, it wasn't the swimsuit we packed, but the heavy snow jackets and long johns. After not having been back in 4.5 years, we spent two frigid weeks in Andreas' hometown of Berlin. Although it is still as gray and as cold in the winter as we remembered it, with bratwurst in our bellies and glüwein warming our throats even the harshest of Siberian winds felt like a warm breeze on a tropical island. Let's be fair- we had a great time with Andreas' family and catching up with old friends. Here's the lowdown: Getting hammered with Andreas' PhD supervisor (and wife!) at the Christmas Markets, being lost in the plot of a ballet (I didn't see any nutcrackers, did you?!?), being overfed by the über-zealous German mutter (mom), getting educated the hard way about alternative energy and German efficiency (did we really have to climb up a modern 100 meter windmill in -6 degrees Celcius?), getting a crash course in German history at the Wartburg fortress in Thüringen (did you know that the first Christmas tree was brought into a home by a German, Martin Luther, who just happened to be the first to translate the Bible from Greek to German?), understanding the secrets to successful mating in the Jewish museum (your future love must show proof of her wealth before you take her out on a date- check out our snapfish photos of the "Modern J-Date"), and amongst a thousand other things, leaving the days of college drinking behind playing "Mensch, ärger dich nicht!" ("Man, don't get pissed off"- a game consisting of drinking a bottle of champagne each, etc. tailored to the occasion, of course) on New Years with a bunch of random, but roudy Germans. Bis zum nächsten mal. Ick stehe uf Berlin, eh.