Berlin and Instruments

Today, the 31st of March, we visited two museums in Berlin.  One was an art museum, with mosly Picasso and a few Klee paintings. Some of the Picasso was hard to interpret because of the style in which he draws.  The ones I could interpret were really cool.  I really liked one called the The Yellow Sweater because of the contrast of the colors and the way he drew the arm chair behind the girl sitting in it.  It was cool to see that some of Picasso's work was not in the cubist style, but was very easy to understand what was going on.  I didn't quite like the Klee paintings and drawings because he didn't use much color.

The other was museum with musical instruments from the past 300 years.  Some were types of horns, strings, and keyboards that I had never seen before!  For example, there was an instrument with 25 strings, as shown in the picture.  This instrument is called a Viola d'Amour, or the Viola of Love.  I thought that this Viola was very interesting because it is bent at the peg box.  I can't imagine how long it would take to tune before each practice, or to replace one of the strings!

It was really windy and rainy in Berlin today!

Berlin Wall

Today, we visited the Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin after WWII.  It got taken down in 1989.  This section of the wall has been saved is now called the East Side Gallary, which explains all the murals and the graffiti.  In this picture, I am standing on both East and West Berlin.  This would have been impossible before 1989. (It would have also been considered illegal.)  But since it is 26 years later, and the two Germanies are unified, I am not going to get arrested.


In the background of the third picture, you can see a bridge called Oberbaumbrücke.  It is considered a sign of unity, since it connects East and West Berlin.  For dinner tonight, we had ham steaks, boiled potatoes, and sour kraut (a very traditional German meal).

World War II and After

Yesterday, we visited two museums from the post-World War II period when East Germany was under communist rule. This period was called the "DDR Period." DDR stands for Deutsche Demokratische Republik or "German Democratic Republic." The museums had some really cool spy gear, including special cameras, microphones built into various items, and special machines that read other peoples' mail.  All of this taught me that there was not much "democratic" about this period. Eventually, the people in East Germany were so fed up with the oppression from the Stasi (secret police) and the popaganda (posters and performances that tried to convince people that the government was helping them) and the lack of resources (such as fresh fruit) that they started a revolution. In 1989, the wall that divided East Berlin and West Berlin was smashed down.

This stadium exhibition shows the partnership between the DDR and the USSR

After we visited these museums, we went on a super luxurious speed train from Leipzig to Berlin, where I am now.  It went at 200 kilometers per hour, or 124 miles per hour.  Faster than most cars! It was a really cool experience. Today, we're going to see the remains of the Berlin Wall.

This is my brother, my mom, and me in the speed train.

Bach in Leipzig

Dacha and I played a Bach piece and earned a few Euros.

Today, we visited the church in which the composer Johann Sebastion Bach played the organ and worked as canter for about 20 years.  We also played our violins outside of the church, to earn a little money.  It was fascinating to play a piece by Bach, in front of his church.  He is also buried there.  Here is a picture of my brother and me playing outside of the church.  I also posted a picture of me next to a statue of Bach.  The flowers that are there are not there to commemorate Bach. They are in memory of the people who died in the recent GermanWings plane crash.

Me, in front of Bach's statue at Saint Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany

Leipzig Zoo

Today, we visited the Leipzig zoo, and the Saint Nikolai church. At the zoo, we saw some animals that I didn't know about (like lung fish and common squirrel monkeys). It was very interesting to see the habitats of a variety of different animals. We also got to see the underside of an alligator from a viewing area that was below the level of the water.

St. Nikolai Church is famous for having been the meeting place for East German people who were tired of the Communist government. Starting in October of 1989, they would gather peacefully at this church and march into the town square (which is the largest town square in all of Germany) and protest the government. The feelings that these people had eventually spread across all of East Germany and West Germany. And in early November of 1989, the wall in Berlin that separated the two countries was smashed apart. East Germany became a capitalist democracy, like West Germany and two countries became one.

The church                                                                                                                   The zoo                      

127 MPH!

Here is a picture of the speed we are driving on an Autobahn on our way to Dresden.  The speedometer indicates 202 k/hr, or 127mph!

Here is a picture of the inside of the church in Dresden that got rebuilt after the Berlin wall fell in 1989.  It was constructed using some of the same stones as before it got bombed during the second world war.  Dresden got quite destroyed during the war.  The center has been rebuilt in the same old beautiful baroque style as it was before the war.  However, the new buildings outside of the city center are built in the plain and boxy socialist style.

We went to the top of Frauenkirche, which means Church of Our Lady.  The observation deck is 67.06 meters above the ground.  This picture was taken by my dad, Chris, with my brother and me on the deck.  Behind us is the cathedral (on the left) and the old castle tower (on the right).  On the right you can also see the River Elba.

Old Rolls

I didn't get to drive this old Rolls Royce in Prague, but I'll have my license in 6 short years!

Cheese Like Old Socks

  Here is a really interesting food called "beer cheese'' it tastes like a Camembert cheese although it smells like a three year old glass of milk that got stuck in the back of a stinky gym bag, with a slight scent of stinky shoes.  I also ate a roast trout with all the bones and the head.  The scene was a little unappetizing, but the fish was delish. So, I thought that I shouldn't post a picture of it.  My mom loved it (oh, wait; no she didn't!).  I'll post a picture of it anyway.

Holocaust Memorial

When we arrived at the Leipzig Train Station in Germany (the largest end-line station in Europe), we visited this memorial. It marks the spot where the last train of Jewish prisoners were transported from Leipzig to concentration camps, at the end of World War II. People had left flowers and stones and wreaths.

Trip Summary

In a couple of days our big trip to Europe and Australia begins.  We will first head to Europe where we will visit my mother's home town of Belgrade, Serbia, as well as Berlin and Leipzig, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic.  Then we will return home to re-pack and do the laundry.  After a very brief time at home, we will leave for Australia.  There, we will see Uluru, a sacred place of the Aborigines, Tasmania, and drive from the southern Australia, up the East coast, all the way to the Great Barrier Reef.  After being in so many different places and time zones, I will hardly know if it is day or night.

Ready for Action!

Hello everyone,




I am getting very pumped to go to all the places including Australia and I will update my blog as soon as possible!

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