April 25 2010

outside of the pergamon

outside of the pergamon

in front of the pergamon altar

in front of the pergamon altar

profile perspective

profile perspective

us in front of the giant altar

us in front of the giant altar

3 female figures in front of the altar

3 female figures in front of the altar

taking pictures of wendy taking pictures

taking pictures of wendy taking pictures

pergamon stairs

pergamon stairs

model pergamon altar vs. pergamon altar

model pergamon altar vs. pergamon altar

moving visitors

moving visitors

taking pictures of zeke taking pictures

taking pictures of zeke taking pictures

at the pergamon museum where we ran in 45 minutes before closing and dashed through the ancient greek and roman collection.

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the gates of ishtar

the gates of ishtar

lions

lions

lions on parade

lions on parade

"by the rivers of babylon..."

"by the rivers of babylon..."

little dragons

little dragons

baby bull

baby bull

gate of  miletus

gate of miletus

closing time: being ushered out

closing time: being ushered out

bye bye, pergamon

bye bye, pergamon

we did manage to run through the gates of Miletus (120 AD) and the Ishtar gate of Babylon (575 BC, ordered by King Nebuchadnezzer II)

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roman emperor caracalla

roman emperor caracalla

imitating the couple on the grave relief

imitating the couple on the grave relief

athlete with rasheed wallace's hairstyle

athlete with rasheed wallace's hairstyle

roman lion

roman lion

artemis (the hunter) not seeing the lion

artemis (the hunter) not seeing the lion

sculpture wing

sculpture wing

athena: "this is my house"

athena: "this is my house"

Trajan between porphyry columns

Trajan between porphyry columns

Trajan (Roman Emperor 98-117)

Trajan (Roman Emperor 98-117)

caesar augustus aka: octavian

caesar augustus aka: octavian

some favourites

for further inquiry: emperor caracalla’s infamy 

and in case you’re not up on your roman emperors, here’s a portrait gallery/timeline

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April 22 2010

Berlin Trip (Day 3)

We woke up on our third day in Berlin determined to hit up a German flea market we had heard about. Our friend Rich was especially determined to find some Nazi artifacts, which you apparently have to ask secretly about because hardly anyone displays them out in the open. Sure enough, when he asked vendors about souvenirs from the Third Reich, a few of them looked side to side, then pulled out a secret box with a few items here and there, most of it vastly overpriced (a Nazi phone book was around 140 euros). There were plenty of other gems to be found as well, such as this vast array of fur coats that left Wendy simultaneously intrigued and squeamish:

Zeke also found this sweet top hat:

And Wendy sizing up some classic Bavarian clothing:

After the flea market we were ready for lunch, so we tried to track down a restaurant that served traditional German cuisine. On the way we were happy to see a familiar cultural institution, Dunkin Donuts! (They don’t have these in Manchester, just a ridiculously overpriced Krispy Kreme). We took a few pictures just for you, Sandy!

We also passed the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on the way which is one of the only buildings preserved in the Breitscheidplatz in Berlin since WWII. Part of it was destroyed in bombing raids in 1943 but the spire is still standing.

Our traditional German meal was excellent (less so for Wendy, as vegetarianism is about as popular in Germany as salsa dancing). Zeke tried a Berlin ale and pork schnitzel covered in marinated mushrooms, maybe his favorite food of the trip.

But we had something even more fun in store for dessert: a visit to the Ritter Sport store!!! 

This place was amazing! Not only did they have seemingly every flavor of Ritter Sport ever created, but they had something even better - a chance for you to create your own Ritter Sport flavor!! Can you tell we were excited about this?!

While Wendy went with a more adult mix of almonds, hazelnuts, raisins and dark chocolate, Zeke’s mix was comical enough that when he ordered it the guy behind the counter actually stopped to ask “is this for your little brother?” and couldn’t stop laughing when he found out it was actually for Zeke. Zeke’s bar was milk chocolate with gummy bears, jelly beans, mini-marshmallows and colored sprinkles with even more sprinkles on top - so yes, it’s basically his favorite candy bar ever.

We also posted a few more pictures from the Ritter Sport store in the slideshow below. Is it sad or awesome that one of our favorite visits of the entire trip was to a chocolate store?

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etched quote on table at ritter sport

etched quote on table at ritter sport

the chocolate

the chocolate

ritter cakes

ritter cakes

wendy's excited

wendy's excited

gummy bears

gummy bears

zeke's mix

zeke's mix

hugging the giant chocolate bars

hugging the giant chocolate bars

at the checkout

at the checkout

make your own Ritter sport!

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April 18 2010

Berlin Trip (Day 2)

after staying at kristi’s (see her below, the proud former resident of scranton- hence the shirt) we all woke up and headed to Potsdam, just outside of Berlin.

the weather was lovely and simply perfect for wandering around the baroque and rococo palaces of Potsdam.  see the slideshows for lots of pictures of the palaces and the beautiful gardens surrounding them. 

after walking around the chocolate shops and small boutiques we stopped for lunch where wendy had, among other things, a green beer called Berliner Kindl.  it is a Berliner Weisse where you order either red or green.  i believe they translated that to mean with added raspberry or herb flavours.  it was good and curiously enough, served with a straw.  zeke had a fairly traditional wurst with pomme frites (basically a hotdog and fries- not to sound unappreciative of the foreign culture).

we never really got used to the german language during our time there, and street signs were of constant amusement to zeke.  he thought it was funny that a lot of them end in “fahrt”- see below.

also, since living abroad we’ve noticed the different marketing strategies of subway restaurants across different cultures.  in the US we have jared, the guy who says you can lose a gajillion pounds by eating subs.  in the UK they have “treat yourself” as a slogan for subs slathered in mayonnaise and advertise chocolate muffins, cookies and sodas as part of your meal.  in Germany we found: the subway mascot (see below). weird.

during our time in germany we also noticed that the people were very quiet.  it seems like something you’d take for granted, but when all of sudden there is no noise on public transit- you really notice it.  we americans were always the only ones talking.  maybe they’re quiet because of threatening signs like this on the trams:

ok, i don’t think that sign has anything to do with the prohibition of talking, i think it’s something about riding without a ticket (which is “EXTREM UNCOOL!”).  and yes, it is possible to get away with riding without a ticket because it is seemingly all done on the honor system.  there are no turnstiles!  can you believe they just trust people to be honest and buy the appropriate ticket?  however, there is always the threatening sign that at any point an inspector may come through, but we didn’t see one.  i don’t think this approach would work in england or the US.  although it’s a simple anecdote about transportation, i think it says something about the culture more broadly. 

so back to our day… toward the end of our time in Potsdam we headed to the Dutch Quarter.  it was really quaint and we even stopped for dutch treats (see the slideshow below). 

then we wandered back into Berlin and saw a few shops and an unique alley filled with graffiti (that we took lots of pictures of and will post soon).  i will not to go on a tangent here too, but i think graffiti can also say a lot about the spirit of a culture and its class systems and politics. 

at the end of the night we found ourselves extremely hungry and right outside of a cozy-looking italian restaurant.  so, as you can guess we rushed right in and were so glad to enjoy pizza.  in NC we were spoiled by eating a pizza every week at IP3 and in manchester we haven’t found anything that comes even close.  this wasn’t IP3, but it was really delicious.

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Potsdam's own Brandenburg Gate

Potsdam's own Brandenburg Gate

zeke with camera, like usual

zeke with camera, like usual

german pastries

german pastries

sugar lips

sugar lips

cookie face

cookie face

rich with ice cream

rich with ice cream

top of the gate

top of the gate

doggie in the fountain

doggie in the fountain

dalmatian

dalmatian

colourful silk scarves

colourful silk scarves

downtown Potsdam, just outside of sanssouci

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approaching marly palace

approaching marly palace

the "green gate" entrance to the park

the "green gate" entrance to the park

golden gate path

golden gate path

draw your camera...

draw your camera...

it's a shootout!

it's a shootout!

sweet cycling couple holding hands

sweet cycling couple holding hands

rich, julia and wendy

rich, julia and wendy

gentleman on a bike

gentleman on a bike

imitating the statue

imitating the statue

us on the sunny path

us on the sunny path

inside the park sanssouci

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sanssouci sky

sanssouci sky

sanssouci stairs

sanssouci stairs

zeke climbing up

zeke climbing up

wendy in the sun

wendy in the sun

so rococo

so rococo

sanssouci means "no worries"

sanssouci means "no worries"

wendy at the top

wendy at the top

gate shadow

gate shadow

gate portrait

gate portrait

sun + sun gate

sun + sun gate

at the sanssouci palace in Potsdam

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on the path to the new palace

on the path to the new palace

"man, i was so tired of that old palace"

"man, i was so tired of that old palace"

questionable fashion in Potsdam

questionable fashion in Potsdam

a matching family in front of the palace

a matching family in front of the palace

friends in front of the new palace

friends in front of the new palace

us in front of the new palace

us in front of the new palace

yes, those bricks are painted on

yes, those bricks are painted on

reflection of rich

reflection of rich

clementine snack delicious, but sticky

clementine snack delicious, but sticky

at “the New Palace” in Potsdam.  all of these palaces are so close together it’s like a royal gated community.

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April 17 2010

chinese tea house

chinese tea house

golden figures

golden figures

picnics

picnics

oh, orientalism

oh, orientalism

goodbye, tea house

goodbye, tea house

the "chinese kitchen"

the "chinese kitchen"

goodbye, sanssouci

goodbye, sanssouci

green beer! not for st. patty's day

green beer! not for st. patty's day

zeke's lunch

zeke's lunch

chocolate shop

chocolate shop

at the chinese tea house in park sanssouci, followed by lunch in downtown potsdam

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we took fake senior portraits

we took fake senior portraits

so pensive

so pensive

"cheese"

"cheese"

girlish senior portrait

girlish senior portrait

rich jumping

rich jumping

zeke jumping

zeke jumping

rich and julia jumping

rich and julia jumping

courtyard at the church of peace

courtyard at the church of peace

interior of the church of peace

interior of the church of peace

the postdam church of peace in sanssouci- where we took lots of pictures and acted silly

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where we ate poffertjes!

where we ate poffertjes!

excited dutch boy

excited dutch boy

dutch things

dutch things

cute coffee

cute coffee

too excited about the tiny sugar

too excited about the tiny sugar

the poffertjes

the poffertjes

excited about the beautiful day

excited about the beautiful day

CHARLOTTE in the Dutch Quarter!

CHARLOTTE in the Dutch Quarter!

rich and zeke strike a pose

rich and zeke strike a pose

us in the dutch quarter

us in the dutch quarter

in the dutch quarter in potsdam where we enjoyed yummy dutch treats, like poffertjes!

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bearded flower lady

bearded flower lady

angry face mob

angry face mob

"the future will eat itself"

"the future will eat itself"

protest

protest

graffiti batman

graffiti batman

zeke vs. samuri

zeke vs. samuri

benches in the alley

benches in the alley

wendy in the alley

wendy in the alley

shadow man

shadow man

gaming nun

gaming nun

graffiti in Berlin

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April 16 2010

I’m (kinda sorta) lovin’ it

The weather in Manchester today was absolutely amazing, so we felt like we had to spend at least a little bit of it outside. (Note: our bodies must have adjusted to England’s climate, because even with this amazingly warm weather, the temperature was still only 59 degrees. For reference, the low in Chapel Hill today is 59 - it’s 78 there right now.)

Still rocking the sweet mustache and soul patch combo from the boat-themed party we hosted last night for Andrew’s birthday, Zeke decided to wear shorts for the first time outdoors.

And Wendy even got to wear flip flops with her ensemble:

Where was the final destination on our little walk? McDonald’s. Sounds weird, I know, but we heard that they were featuring Cadbury Egg McFlurries for a limited time (maybe with all the leftover eggs from Easter?) and thought a warm day would be a good chance to try one. Here’s the advert beside the register:

And then we got the gooey treat in our hands, and it still looked promising…

Then we took a few steps over to a sunny spot in front of the Whitworth Gallery , where Wendy tried the first bite. What’s the verdict?

Cadbury McFlurries from Zeke Smith on Vimeo.

How could they screw up something so promising as a Cadbury Egg combined with ice cream? Well, for starters, they don’t even use Cadbury Eggs. It’s just pieces of Cadbury chocolate and orange “fondant sauce”, whatever that means. So… kinda lame.

But, be not deterred, faithful blog readers - we heard of another dessert place nearby that takes an actual Cadbury Egg and blends it into a milkshake for you! Rest assured we’ll be trying that sometime soon, and bringing you the full report when we do.

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