Salvador Dali Is My Favorite

Today was a good day. Went out around Berlin today, and just took in some German capitol city culture. Neat city, but it seems like every third building is a bar/restaurant, at least where my hostel is. I'm guessing this is part if the ghetto side of town, or the nightlife section. I quite like the bar situation here in Europe; almost every store will sell drinks, be it coffee or booze, or water of some sort, and most sell all three. And the beer is cheap! 'Bout a euro and a half for a bottle of beer. Nice!

Back to the city wandering: went to the Reichstag first, where there was a large stage being set up in front of the building. Heard the sound test, and wandered on. Turns out that this wasn't the only stage set up, because three blocks away, just into the Teirgarten, there was a whole festival in full swing! I happen to be here in Berlin on the 20th anniversary of the reunification of Berlin, and east/western Germany. Pretty lame festival, actually, with no real activities, just some vendors peddling their crap, and food; nice upside: there were three functional stages beyond the one outside the Reichstag, all with decent to terrible music playing. . .but free music! A highlight for me was the accordion band, with such hits as "Don't Fear the Reaper" and "Rock Around the Clock." Pretty epic. Eventually, I found a flier for the Salvador Dali exhibit that is now a permanent fixture in Berlin, and i knew I had to go. I love Dali; he's my favorite. Ended up staying in the museum for four hours (it was a small museum, too), watching videos that Dali contributed to, and just wandering through a bunch of surreal art. Totally an awesome afternoon. Got a few picture of some monuments, and saw Checkpoint Charlie, then headed back to my hostel for a shower and some dinner. Then typing!

I've been noticing how sweet the grafitti is here in Europe, even that there IS visible grafitti here. I know here is some in the states, but it seems Ginger covered up really quickly and just isn't on the dam caliber as Euro-grafitti. It's part of the walls here in Berlin, and I noticed it in Italy, too. I quite like it; I think grafitti can be an amazing art form, and is generally underappreciated. Plus, it's something to look at while my train is going by.

I've ALSO noticed how easy it is to hop on board a train w/o paying for a ticket (usually just the metros; they have a pretty careful system in place for actual trains). Kristi and I hopped a few busses in Italy, and I have definitely done it a few times here. Indont know if the Europeans are more trustworthy and do the honorable thing, but the lax security is NOT the case in the USA. Tickets for everything. Oh well. I usually buy one overpriced ticket, and then have it in my pocket in case I need to coach my ticket at a guard or something. I'm sure if it ever came to that, a metroperson stopping passengers to check their tickets, I would be in trouble. . .but hat doesn't seem to happen ever. This sure does save money, though!

Tomorrow I head to Prague, the city inmost ranted to sermon this whole continent. Not destroyed by WWII, and really cheap to stay in, I have planned five days there. Maybe more, we'll see how I feel after my first couple days. Guess I'll update next from Eastern Europe!

-Dyl

P.S. - I found some awesome souvineers today; you cats are gaunna like what I'm gaunna give when I get back *wink*.