I started out by trying to find the Marx-Engels forum. This area contains a statue of, you guessed it, Marx and his buddy Engels, built during the GDR era in East Germany. They stand now where residential and commercial buildings once stood, representing a true socialist state. It was so cool. I guess it's hard for me to believe that these guys that I read are so revered in an area like this. I also thought the whole time of a certain someone who loves his Marx-Engels reader so much :P ... :D
Les amis:
Then I headed over to find the train station I needed for the zoo. Even though I'd been in this area before, I'd never been to this train station. This was my first chance at using the map. I was successful, though it most certainly was not that difficult. On the way, I decided it would probably be a good idea to get lunch before going to the zoo because they'd probably overcharge for food. I found a Subway (yes, I know. But I just love it!) and the 6" sandwiches there are only 2.50 EUR! That's what I'm talking about. So happy.
And, though it looked very far away on the map, it was only about a ten minute train ride to the zoo. Either those trains go super fast, or it's really not that far. It made me think that maybe when I finished at the zoo, I could go see the Olympic Stadium (where they held the Olympics under Hitler's regime) since that's one of the farthest points from the city centre. But then I realized that while the stop was listed on my train map, my street map didn't extend that far. I figured it was probably a very bad idea to go someone without even a map. Especially since it would probably be dark. Oh well, it's not like I like sports anyway :P
When I arrived at the zoo, I suddenly got super excited. I don't think I've ever been to a zoo without little children (I suppose that sort of makes sense...it's kind of a childish thing to do?), but since starting this quarter, I've learned so much about mammals (and, of course, primates in particular :P). I was excited to be able to notice things about the animals that I hadn't before. I think things are so much more interesting when you have more knowledge. I love learning!! :) And now, prepare for my fun zoo pictures! If you don't like animals, or think I wasted my time in Berlin going to the zoo (which, actually, is the largest and most renowned in Europe....just sayin'), feel free to skip ahead. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy looking at the animals as much as I did (I'm going to give you a play-by-play of what I thought was coolest) :D
First stop: elephants. Thoughts: those are huge.
Sideline: crows. Thoughts: those are huge. GROSSSS.
Next stop: GIRAFFES. Thoughts: Why have I never noticed how cool giraffes are before? Why is the only thing I can think about is how they actually have the same number of neck vertebrae as any other mammal, just enlarged each one? I never noticed before how much longer their forelimbs are in comparison to their hindlimbs. Giraffes are so cool.
Bonobos!! Thoughts: Ohhh, it's a baby! I'm glad they're not in estrus like they were at La Vallée des Singes. That was gross. (PS, don't google that unless you fancy anatomical grossness)
Orangutan. Thoughts: I bet he's thinking, "Yeah, I've got it good." I wish I could just chill like that :P
Chimpanzee. Thoughts: Ugh, I'm not going to spend long here. I no longer like chimps-they're too violent. But wait, what is this one doing? He sat in the corner the whole time (I watched him for at least 20 minutes) and was picking at his ear. I realized he had some sort of scab and he totally picked it off and his ear was like...in half. It was so sad. I tried to find a worker or something to tell, but I couldn't find anyone.
It's at this point that I start realizing how small the animals' habitats are. Yeah, they have more space outside, but it's way too cold to go outside (it was like 10 degrees all day). A lot of the animals were just laying around, or pacing. I felt kind of bad--they need to have some sort of stimulus. That is something I really liked about La Vallée: it's designed to give these guys a good place to live. I understand that that sort of space and whatnot is just not really feasible. Nor is it really the best way to go about designing a profitable zoo. But still, the dilemma :/
Big cats. Thoughts: Wow, they're so majestic. Rooaaaaarrrrrr. I'm so cool. Too cool for you. They really are just big cats. Like, their mannerisms are the same as Lucky's. It's so crazy. They totally have the cat attitude. The black panther was sitting there staring at something in the distance just growling. It was crazy!
A...bird...of some sort. Thoughts: I feel like my hair looks like this some days.
Zebras. Thoughts: Cooooooool, yo.
Seals, baby! Thoughts: I keep thinking about "The Pebble and the Penguin." But that was a bad seal. These are just small. They're SO FAST. Also, they swim upside-down sometimes! I was super enthralled when I noticed this. Also, did you know the US Navy has trained seals to detect underwater bombs and rescue people. So freaking awesome. (I gathered this info from a picture and my VERY limited German-English app I installed in my iPod :P)
Look! It's a seal behind me!
Penguinnnsss! Thoughts: More "Pebble and the Penguin." They're so cute! These guys are so agile in the water, too. Seeing stuff like this at the zoo makes me minorly less scared of the water. But the seals are still scary. I was so close to this penguin, it was awesome. Though it smelt very fishy.
Beavers. Thoughts: Ummm....am I supposed to go in here?
It's a beaver! Cool tail, yo.
Ha. Success in the beaver dam.
Wolves. Thoughts: They remind me of the Dunn's dogs. They seem so gentle. But it's weird because I can totally see them being ferocious. White is such a beautiful color.
Flamingos!! Thoughts: Thinking of the movie, "Gnomeo and Juliet." For those of you who have seen it, you know why I was so enthralled. For those of you who haven't, just imagine a flamingo talking. Proceed to laugh.
Rocks. Thoughts: This is not right. There are supposed to be polar bears here. I walked through the whole zoo looking for these darned polar bears, and all I get is a pile of rocks? Emotions proceed from very sad....to angry. :P
But hey, zoos are cool, right?
If you haven't gathered by now what a loser I am...you might be slower than I. It was fun to just enjoy myself and not worry about what anyone thought. I was able to go at my own pace and take breaks to gather energy when I wanted. I was feeling much better today, anyway.
On the way over to the DDR Museum, guess what I saw!? A Jumpsuit Store! It must be the thing! I now understand why that guy and his friend were wearing one the other day. What a weird fashion trend...
The DDR Museum is a hands-on, interactive museum that gives a glimpse into what life in the GDR (it's DDR in German...) was like under the Socialist Regime. It was super informative (again) and it was cool to get to touch and play with actual artifacts. It was also pretty surreal because so much of the stuff sounded like, straight out of a book. I mean, all the stuff we learn about is not exagerated. I don't know how people here in the US can even think about saying we're anywhere near Socialist. Don't they see how bad things can get? I mean, sure, maybe the German administration had good intentions, and the people thoughts so too, at first. But when enough was enough, they stood up for themselves. Peacefully. it's such a great example to look back on.
It's also very scary. I think it's great that as Americans we're always aware of what's happening around us and quick to criticize our leaders. But at the same time, there's a line that needs to be drawn. Where that line is, could be the million dollar question, I guess. If the answers were easy, I guess we'd already have found them. I'm just grateful I was able to get a glimpse into another world today. A world people lived in less than 30 years ago. How quickly things can change...
Most of the pictures I took were of signs that described the life, which is probably not very interesting to most of you. But, here's an example of what all of the East Germans' flats looked like. Everything was standardized, but cheap.
Oh, and the East German Prison. I guess in the beginning, the proponents were saying that after ten years, they would be rid of all prisons and penitentiary systems. However, it turned out that the prison was one of the GDR's greatest tools. They accomplished their goals by fear.
So, today was good. It was chill, and I got to do what I wanted. I found a restaurant for dinner and had lasagna, salad, and a chocolate cake. Not so German, but so delicious. I feel so independent traveling on my own, and I love it. I definitely couldn't do it all the time, but short spurts are definitely welcomed. Berlin is such a nice city, and I constantly think about the contrast between here and Paris. I do realize that Paris is kind of an exceptional culture, which shouldn't necessarily stand for all of French culture. I hope to continue to travel throughout my time here on earth (even in the states!), but I want to remember to see more than just the tourist sites. So much of the joy comes from experiencing the way people live. Trying to picture myself here.
Another really big part of traveling is who you're with, I've decided. Yeah, I've seen so many amazing things during this trip that I never in a million years thought I would see...and it's been amazing. But thinking back to my trips this summer, I can say with full confidence that being anywhere with people you love can instantly top being anywhere without them. This isn't something I've always believed. I'm so grateful to realize this. I love that I can see myself growing and changing, even if what I see isn't always good. There are always things I can work on, and I really hope seeing all this, and all these different ways of living this time we're given, will help me make the most of what I've been given. Thank you, to everyone who is helping me through this journey :)
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