There Are No Computers in Europe
As it turns out there are no computers in Europe. That might be a surprise to all of you but i have the facts straight from the reunified teat of what was old mother Russia. There are no computers in Europe. Sure, they have boxes that are shaped like computers. Those boxes have monitors and keyboards (if you want to call them that), they even have a mouse. They are also so locked down that you can’t really use them and that is why, my dear readers, I am only now getting back to you.
It would seem that they do not trust the common computer user to do anything except browse google in German or French. You can’t change the settings and you can’t access the URL. Blogs are also off limits. Anyway, the repression is over, I am home.
The first stop on my journey was Berlin. We stayed in a small hotel near the center of town in a neighborhood called Mitte. The first impression of Berlin was it’s stunning public transportation system. The trains are well appointed and there is no shortage of them. Prompt and well-oiled, just like the German people. Berlin is a sleepy town. During the day there are few people out and about except for tourists and tourist support. I believe they were all being industrious in a very German way. I like to imagine they all had on kaiser helmets (Pickelhaube) too. There were a number of impressive monuments in Berlin that were very powerful statements about war. We saw the The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (not elsewhere, they don’t get a memorial) and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche which is a church that was bombed during the air raids on Berlin and left as a potent symbol. There was a fair bit of drinking and an even more fair bit of eating here. The food is delicious and I don’t know what the hell people are thinking when they say that German food is dull.
–Me
Munich (München) was a significant change from Berlin. It is the seat of the Bavarian region of Germany and it’s people can drink. I don’t remember in vivid detail much of my visit to Munich. I do remember the visit to the Hofbräuhaus, but after that it is quite fuzzy. We stayed at a hostel which was a blast. There was a bar filled with interesting people and after a few (too many) drinks I friends with the whole bar. I woke up and my iPod was gone and I had no idea how I made it back to my bunk bed. I called the dinosaurs that night, that’s for sure. Good times.
–Me
I will update later on the Paris portion of my vacation. Fun-filled and even more action packed!
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Apparently, there are no computers in Norman either, since Greg has failed to update his site.