mainly Berlin

In Prague now, which is agreeable thus far. I actually really like the room we are in, its this loft, 9 flights of stairs up, with two windows that open a little. You can stand on tip-toes and strain to see a rather cool view of the city. Right now I'm sitting in an easy chair under one of the windows, the sounds of a local soccer match drifting in. Its a couple of blocks away at a small stadium, but the crowd is really belting out the tunes, Which I'm sure are the Czech equivalents of 'your going home in the back of a divvy van'.

I should talk about Berlin, I suppose. Berlins a great city, I didn't see everything I wanted to, but I saw plenty still. the Jewish museum, the memorial to murdered European Jews, the homosexual memorial, Brandenburg gate, the wall, a bunch of museums. All in all, plenty to keep you occupied (get it - occupied... groan). Didn't see the East Berlin museum, I'd really like to see that sometime.

So much has happened in the recent history of Germany, Berlin in particular, you just kind of wonder whats going to happen next. In all though I found Berlin as a city not trying to deny its shady past but to try to move forward. And its poor, apparently. "Poor, but sexy" Berlin's gay mayor likes to say. Lots of construction projects. Lots of demolition projects. Things in Berlin have been burnt down and rebuilt a lot. And the weirdest thing was this district with massive scaffolding covered in vinyl that look like buildings. Big Fake buildings. Crazy.

The Jewish museum was a real highlight, a real architectural treat. Designed by Daniel Lieberskind, its zigzag structure sets up all these really interesting spaces and voids. There's forced perspective to some of it too, and the architecture really enhances the experience, creating this disorienting uncomfortable space. There is a room called the "Memory Void', which I won't describe but you definitely see if your in Berlin.

Its a similar feeling at the Jewish memorial, this sloping undulating land with all of the blocks standing upright creating something like a maze for you to wander through. The entire structure is coated in this finish that makes graffiti wipe right off (there were seven swastikas painted there in the first year...). Unfortunately, the company that makes that coating is a subsidiary of the company that manufactured the gas used to kill millions of Jews during the war. So there is a bit of resentment about it from the Jewish community.

Across the road is the homosexual memorial, to those who were killed during the war. Its a big ol' block of concrete that has a window in it. When you peer in to see whats up, its a video of two dudes kissing. I thought it was cool.

We stayed near the massive soviet built TV tower. An awesome, big phallic icon of communist might. However it backfired on the godless commies, as when the sunlight hits its massive glass bulb it refracts as a massive cross, a veritable beacon to the almighty. The locals call it the 'Popes Revenge'.

If any of the above sounds like I paid attention on a bicycle tour of the city, its because I did. As I rode around I found myself thinking of Justin a fair bit, especially when we reached the big statue of Marx and Engels. You can go sit on Uncle Karls lap and get a photo, although I didn't. I think Justin would have liked it here.

Berlin, and now in Prague, 15 or so years after the velvet revolution  have had me thinking about how different the map of Europe is now compared to a century ago. As a kid I thought maps were permanent and didn't realise they were constantly in flux. Strange to think of the changes in just my lifetime, that when I was a child this city was divided down the middle and people died trying to cross it. It makes me wonder what things will look like by the end of the century.

The crowd outside is getting really riled up now. We're going to try find a local pub to eat some goulash, or I will anyway, don't know what Liz will eat.