Day 13, Berlin: You Will Thank Your Party Leaders for This Glorious Blog Post, or, Biking Berlin

Today was a blast. Took a free bike tour of Berlin. Saw some cool sites and learned much about this city's intriguing and tumultuous history.

For instance, many know of the famed TV tower in East Berlin.

Eyesore.

But did you know that it was originally constructed in 1965 to house a giant rotating TV and loudspeaker, which was designed to continuously command citizens to work harder for their glorious party leaders? True story!

"I will crush you!"

Another fascinating site was the relatively new Holocaust Memorial, which, due to its abstract design, was not at all depressing.

Ooh, this is pretty! Wait, it's a memorial for what? Oh.

Our tour guide claims that the designer found his inspiration from the Jewish Museum in Prague. Those of us who grew up in the '80s, however, know what he was really thinking about.

Taking in as much actual culture as I could for one day, I concluded the evening with a rabid hunt for beer and sausage. This was much more difficult than one might expect it to be in Germany, but it ultimately paid off.

Wurst is the best!

Now that the tank is full, I'm off to Dresden to see some rubble piles.

Auf Wiedersehen, meine Kinder!

Stereotypes Created:
- Germans love anthropomorphic food (but then, who doesn't?)

American.

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