Falling Asleep on Trains

There are a handful of embarrassing moments from my childhood I remember vividly. One I’ll admit to is falling asleep on a stranger on a shuttle from Disney world. Who could blame me? I was dehydrated, over stimulated, and exhausted, so my parents let me rest, even if it meant that when they woke me I felt completely humiliated Today is ending with that exact feeling…except instead of letting me sleep on strangers (thank goodness), my sister insisted we visit a pub for dinner.

I suspect it has something to do with her wanting to reform my morning behavior. While she was able to sleep in (6-ish) I woke at 3 and wasn’t able to fall back asleep. By the time she opened her eyes I was ready with a flood of words and energy (the choice to make myself caffeinated tea may not have helped).

When she was ready to face the world with me, we visited a supermarket and logged on to the internet for the first time in Berlin from a street café. Afterward, we joined a free walking tour of Berlin. It was a brilliant tour, igniting pangs of nostalgia from giving tours of UWL. After the three and a half hour long tour, we visited the Deutsche History Museum (free for the day!) and made a voyage back to the Topography of Terror exhibit located near a portion of the Berlin wall.

Since we visited on the anniversary of the workers uprising in East Berlin,
the memorial was bordered by hundreds of roses  

It was a great day, but extremely exhausting in every way. Today, I was glad that much of history can only be seen in black and white.  The words, the stories, and the faces of the pains of the past are enough for me. If every terrible pair of broken eyes or shattered dream were also captured in clear color, it might be too real. Berlin is steeped in history. Like every city (and more so in this case), much of what is remembered is negative. From serving as the capital for the Nazi party, resulting in shameless murders of the holocaust, book burnings, and political/economic manipulation, to the more recent struggles caused by the Berlin wall, The city is forced to walk a fine line between remembering and honoring those who have lost loved ones or livelihoods from these occurrences while trying to move forward as a city worth being proud of. The result is an artistic emotion and information overload.

The exhibit for the Topography of Terror is located in the ruins of  this building,
looking up towards the Berlin Wall

But, there is only so much one can feel in one day. So, when we dragged our feet back onto the U-Bahn, it was with sore feet, tired muscles, burnt skin, and the exhaustion of too little sleep.  But, as previously mentioned, Sue helped me stick to my no-naps plan and we made our way back to the pub Marlise brought us to yesterday. Because there were no empty tables, we found ourselves sharing one with an older gentleman (I was pretty stoked about it). When he killed a mosquito and began inspecting it, we struck up a conversation and discussed language, politics, and history for the remainder of the night.

A beautiful night to eat with a stranger

After all, tomorrow, President Obama will be visiting Berlin. It’s causing quite a stir because
a) He’ll be eating dinner in a castle that is normally reserved for only historic/artistic use
b) The set-up prevents some tourist/ building viewing opportunities
c) local residents will need to show passport identification to be let into their homes while he is visiting the castle