U-Bahn

heading out today on the u-bahn and the s-bahn on my own for the first time without my cousin to guide me. being in a foreign country where you don't speak the language makes even the simple things like getting on a public transportation kind of intimidating.

but, i'm armed with two simple words: "entshuldigung" and "bitte" which mean, "excuse me" and "please." the combination here--to my mind anyway--is designed to provoke a response in english.

dollars to euros on the other hand are easy to negotiate, as long as you remember to add on about 40% to the price of what you're buying in order to bring what you're spending into dollar perspective.

this afternoon am heading to the Jewish Museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind, the same architect responsible for the new Contemporary Jewish Museum opening in San Francisco this June. this after cycling out sunday night to the Jewish Memorial near the Tiergarten - it is a field made up of a series of concrete monoliths of varying heights. they remind me of coffins that have somehow risen from under the ground (as is said to happen in New Orleans when it floods due to the city being under sea level) to reveal the ghosts below. it's both somber and stunning.