Henry, Vien, Family and Friends

Boston and my childhood atop the blackforest, Freiburger Münster.

They kind of look alike don't they? My roommate Tobi teaches Henry how to make Spätzle, a noodle and cheese dish found in southern Germany. Spätzle cooking in our kitchen continues below.

Another morning: Mama Jone Pancakes make it to Germany! Henry and I called her in the U.S. for an emergency recipe consultation. Successful shopping and American Breakfast ensued.

Henry and I went to Vienna via what are normally fast and reliable German trains. They were off the mark this weekend due to rail construction, we missed several connections. A skeptical me and a very optimistic Henry approached the Deutsche Bahn to see what they would do for our missed connections that certainly rested in their hands. Not only did they cover all our trains the next day and repay 50% of all the trains we took that day, they put us up in a junior suite room in their employee Hotel. They also bought us drinks at their bar. DB, I'm sorry I doubted you.

View from our suite (the one with the TV screen that welcomed us when we enetered the room). We were directly above the train station. Roll out of bed and into Austria's extremely comfortable high speed trains.

Weekend in Vienna with Nick, Sylvia and Henry. Best weekend in Europe?

Their White House has a statue of Athena. And no fence.

France's opening game of the World Cup in a bar with many french friends of Sylvias who constantly apologized to us for having to watch the 'despicable' performance of their 'utterly incompetent' soccer team (paraphrased).

Stephansdom/St. Stephen's Cathedral.

We went to a ballet At the Vienna State Opera. Everything about it was amazing, including the pouring thunder storm during second intermission, during which we drank white wine and ate chocolate on the balcony and watched little europeans live their lives below us.

I'm afraid the Vienna storm got the worst of my friends.

Luckily the city's magic brought them back to life the next morning for this beautiful view atop the Stephansdom.

WATCH OUT FOR THE SPINNE!

Tobi moderates a beer sampling for Henry and I. Lucia reminisces about her time abroad in Colorado with Henry.

I went to a music festival. There were 70,000 people. On Friday before the shows started everyone gathered to watch Germany's world cup game against Serbia. Great amusement: For the three and a half day festival, there were of course many food stands, fun stands, water stands, be what there may. There were also vendors walking around. However. There were no water vendors, no food vendors, no refreshing ice cream vendors. There were only cigarette vendors. American Spirit. Music Festival in Germany.

Our lovely pavillion after one night, a night in which rain and winds turned a grounds for 70,000 housed in tents into a mock Red-Cross Rescue effort. This picture was taken during one minute of perhaps 35 during which the sun said hello.

Vampire Weekend.

This was a treat. It's the SPECIALS. How cool? It's like I was meeting Mike Kolton in 8th grade Latin class all over again.

Rain= Too Matsch too Matsch too Matsch. Look at all that refreshing, thirst quenching tabacoo.

Also there: The Strokes (if you ever want to feel what it is like to be dissappointed, go to a Strokes concert with absolutely no expectations whatsoever), Beatsteaks, Billy Talent, Skindred, Phoenix, Massive Attack, Marina & the Diamonds, Moneybrother, Stone Temple Pilots, Deftones, Coheed, Bonaparte, Dropkick Murphys (I happily recruited members to watch them solely based on Boston pride), Tegan & Sara, La Roux. Lots of Native Americans selling cigarette's.

Until my next installation of pictures in my blog-turned-photo-album.

ciao!

Dresden In Pictures

An Lou Andreas-Salomé

Lösch mir die Augen aus: ich kann dich sehn,
wirf mir die Ohren zu: ich kann dich hören,
und ohne Füße kann ich zu dir gehn,
und ohne Mund noch kann ich dich beschwören.
Brich mir die Arme ab, ich fasse dich
mit meinem Herzen wie mit einer Hand,
halt mir das Herz zu, und mein Hirn wird schlagen,
und wirfst du in mein Hirn den Brand,
so werd ich dich auf meinem Blute tragen.



-Rainer Maria Rilke

A terribly weak representation of Berlin.

The Boss.

Mike Kolton Konnections allow vip access to Boston Band (A Wilhem Scream) hardcore show in Berlin where we ate the bands free food in the green room. We then went with the band to their Hostel--a "rock and roll hostel for bands on the road"-- and spent the night with them. The hostel had several, several Boston shout-outs, most notably of all: Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Awesome.

MY GOOSES BROTHER IS IN BERLIN!!

Cute/scary playground.

Berlin: alles ist möglich. Berlin. Everything is possible.

Yes, I went up Fernsehturm and treated myself to a (somewhat) elegant meal of stuffed mushrooms.

Administration Buidling at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Sachsenhausen was one of the first C.C. in WWII. It served as a model for C.C.s built after 1936.

Going to a Concentration Camp was one of the most fruitful decisions I could have made this trip. It brought to life the vulnerability and utter helplessness of every individual prisoner there. The numbers and methods are overwhelming as well, but have no realism to them in text book. Walking through the confines I had the full realization that there have been and are places and times in history in which you haven't the slightest control of your life. There is nothing you can say each morning to determine whether you will live or die, that decision is entirely in the hands of someone else and you are helpless. Simply helpless.

Entrance to Sachsenhausen. "Work Brings Freedom," the slogan that would later be replicated on the gates of Auschwitz in 1941.

In front of the barricading walls was the neutral zone shown above. If a prisoner was seen with a foot in the neutral zone (about 4 feet wide), he would be shot at (as warned above: "Will immediately shoot aggressively and without warning"). Often during roll call (twice a day) gaurds would play games with prisoners such as throwing a hat in the neutral zone and telling a prisoner to retrieve it. Not retrieving the hat disobeys orders, and retrieving the hat is attempted escape.

Depictions made by a prisoner at the camp.

Another prisoner artist illustrating abuse. "You've loitered enough in your life."

Inner city apartment hallways in Berlin.

I may be a creep for this but I wanted a picture of a Berlin child. He's got a cute pink carriage.

Man with kites in front of the Berliner Dom on a gorgeous frisbee playing day.