I watched a report on TV this morning that showed the South Korean fans cleaning up their own mess after the match against France in Frankfurt. They actually bring there own bags and once the place starts emptying they get to work. That’s pretty impressive. Someone should tell them however that the city clean up services in Germany are darn good. For example, during CSD in Berlin the BSR comes directly behind the parade and everything is clean before the parade ends.

Last night Annika and I went to the Adidas Arena to watch the Italy vs. USA match. The Arena is made to look like the Olympiastadion in Berlin and holds about 10,000 people who can watch the action on 2 not-so-big screens. The Arena is located on the lawn between the Reichstag and the Kanzleramt and just a few blocks from the new main train station (Berlin Hauptbahnhof.) It was actually quite nice there. You get a more stadium-like feeling than at a normal viewing because the supporters play off of each other better and of course there was the “wave”.

We left just before 11pm. The area looks really impressive at night. Makes me feel homesick when I think about leaving Berlin next month. I’m of course American but I’ve lived here since 1999, met my wife here and this feels like home. I’m not sure if San Diego will feel like home but I’ll give it a try. Annika’s really looking forward to move anyway.

The new Berlin Hauptbahnhof is really going to change the city I think. It is aready impressive to look at and has turned an area that had been dead since I arrived into a quite pleasent place to hang out along the river while seeing the sights or preparing for a journey by train. In the next couple years a lot will change for the area just to the north of the station, I think. It will probably turn into a Fisherman’s Wharf type thing but I I guess every major city needs one of those.

Oh yeah, the match ended in a 1:1 draw. There were 3 red cards though.

Annika and I watched the match against Germany and Poland last night. We watched the match in the Kulturbrauerei‘s court yard (3 EUR, no outside drinks allowed in.) The place was full and we had a nice place right in front of the big screen. The match was one of the most exciting matches I’ve every seen. It’s right up there with the 2005 Champions League final; not as amazing but just as exciting.

Unless you actually watched the match you’re probably wondering how a match with a single goal could be so exciting. Firstly, the match was against to neighboring countries that share an often complicated history. Second, two of Germany’s strikers were born in Poland and still speak Polish at home. Third, a loss by Poland meant that their tournament would be practically over and a win by Germany would almost guarantee advancing to the next round. Lastly and most importantly, the Germans had so many great chances to score that as the match went on the suspense built and built till finally the only goal of the match fell in injury time, sending the crowds that had gathered throughout Germany to just explode in euphoric celebration.

On the way home along Schönhauser Allee, the street and side walk was filled with people celebrating. I think that goal did a lot to make the atmosphere even better than it already is now. The World Cup is turning out to be really fun. I hope it continues to be so.

Ok, Germany winning it’s opener is old news but I haven’t blogged it yet. So I’ll ignore that.

Yesterday I went down to the Fan Mile, between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory column, to watch the World Cup opener, Germany vs. Costa Rica. The weather was absolutely perfect which is a fortunate change from the last few weeks of cold (it snowed in the Allgäu) and rainy weather. Once the match started the atmosphere was really good. Everyone just stared up at the big screen until a goal fell, then threw there hands in the air, turned to there friends, jumped around and waved thier flags till it was time to start staring up at the screen once more. When the match was not being played there were unfortunately a group of drunken teenagers beside me who kept falling into everyone around them and spilling beer. Otherwise the people were quite alright.

What annoyed me the most about the Fan Mile is that it’s all basically a big commercial. Before and after the match and at the half, the sponsors are pretty much given the stage to do what they want. There was the Hyundai quiz show, Coca-Cola Heimspiel, MasterCard half time crowd quiz. Being someone who absolutely hates to be sold stuff, I found it ruined the whole atmosphere. But like I said earlier, once the match started everythog was really enjoyable.

I probably won’t be goin back there to watch another match, though. The atmosphere is much more cozy and intimate at the many cafe’s, open-air viewings or just the TV’s that are sitting outside for people to gather around. I did buy 2 tickets to the Adidas Arena for the Italy vs. USA match. The tickets were only 3 EUR a piece and I though it might be interesting to see what it’s like in there.

Well, the next 4 weeks I’ll probably watch way too much football and get way to little work done. Ahh, life is good!

Last night I went to the Berlin Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake) release party at Danial Holbach‘s (dholbach) place. It was nice to meet other ubuntu lovers. I arrived at 8pm and left at ~4:30am. By then the sun was already on the rise and by the time I arrived home it had already become completely light out. I finally woke up at 12:30pm with a sore throat from all the talking I did.

It seems as if Daniel and I share a love for a certian british band from the 80′s and the singer of said band. I met Ellen, a kde usability contributer. I envy her persistence with such a thankless task. I also met Daniel Elstner, co-maintainer of gtkmm as well as a very easy-going and likable guy. Furthermore, Matthias Klose, Nina Feyh and about 20-30 others including a couple people from Frankfurt were there.

So it seems as if the Berlin Ubuntu community is pretty strong. Too bad I’ll be leaving in a few months. Of course, the wonderfull thing about the open source community is that it really doesn’t matter were you are. The community is global.

Soon many people will be coming to Berlin for the 2006 World Cup. For many it will be their first time in Berlin, so I thought I’d provide a tour of the places that I’ve found interesting in my 6 years here in Berlin. Some you will have heard of while others may be new. Bold links lead to a satellite map provided by Google Maps while most other links lead to a Wikipedia entry.

Culture:

• Museumsinsel (Museum Island) is a collection of some of Berlin’s best museums; The Pergamon, Altes Museum (Old Museum), Neues Museum (New Museum), Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery). It also incudes Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden), Palast der Republik (Palace of the Republic) and Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) and is located in the heart of Berlin.
• Checkpoint Charlie was a border crossing while the city was devided. It is now home to the most interesting exibit about the Berlin Wall.
• Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) is the city’s largest modern art Museum.
• Hamburger Bahnhof is one of the best places for Modern Art lovers.

Sightseeing:

• The Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) is THE symbol for Berlin. During the Berlin Wall era it lay in no man’s land. You can now move freely (when there is no building) around its pillars.
• The Reichstag is home to the German Parliment. With the addition of the glass dome designed by Sir Norman Foster it has become a tourist magnet. Go early to avoid lines.
• The Fernsehturm (TV tower) is the tallest structure in Berlin and has a rotating cafe. It offers the best view of Berlin from above. For the World Cup the sphere at the top has been decorated as a football.
• Gendarmenmarkt is located in Mitte and is home to the Konzerthaus (concert hall), the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral) and the Deutscher Dom (German Cathedral). A statue of Schiller is the center piece of the square.
• Potsdamer Platz (Potsdam Square) lay in no man’s land. Once the wall fell the real-estate was the most sought-after in Berlin. It was the largest construction site in Europe throughout the late 90′s and early 00′s. It is now a maze of modern architecture. In the 20′s, it was the busiest place in all of Europe and even had Europe’s first traffic light.

Parks:

• Tiergarten (Animal Garden) is Berlin’s largest and most central park. It gets it’s name from the Zoo located in the south west corner. It is bordered by many of Berlin’s most visited tourist destinations.
• Gölitzer Park is located in the multi-cultural borough of Kreuzberg. It’s a great place to relax and people watch.
• Volkspark Friedrichshain is located on the border of Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain. It is home to an open-air movie theater and is great for taking walks along the tree-lined paths.
• Mauerpark (Wall park) is located on the border of Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding and was formerly the no man’s land between the Berln Wall and the residential area. It’s were you want to go to hang with the drum-playing, fire-throwing crowd. On the weekends it’s home to one of Berlin’s best flee markets.

Memorials:

• The Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe) is Berlins newest memorial. It’s located only steps from the Brandenburg Gate.
• The Soviet Memorial in Tiergarten is located between the Siegessaüle and the Brandenburg Gate.
• The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church) is located across from the Zoologischer Garten (Zoo). Its tower was destroyed by the bombings during WWII and has been left in that state to remind us of the destruction of war.

Shopping:

• Kaufhaus des Westens (Department Store of the West) or KaDeWe for short is the largest department store in Europe. It’s located on Tauenzienstrasse, an extension of Ku’Damm.
• Kufürstenstrasse or Ku’Damm as it’s known is the premier shopping mile in Berlin and one of the most famous in Europe. It’s located near Zoologischer Garten train station. You can find lots of stores from designer labels here.
• Friedrichsstrasse is quickly becoming the Ku’Damm of East Berlin. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall it has slowly been gaining the prestige that it once had.
• Hackescher Markt includes Hackesche Höfe, a series of courtyards and it’s surroundings. It’s thriving with trendy shops and galleries. It’s one of the “coolest” places to be.

Sports:

• Olympiastadion (Olympia Stadium) will be host to all World Cup matches in Berlin. It usually is home of theHertha BSC Soccer team as well as the Berlin Thunder American football team.

Boroughs:

• Prenzlauer Berg lies in former East Berlin and was quickly populated by many young people once the Wall came down. Due to this, it is now home to many young families and even had the highest birth rate in all of Europe at one time.
• Kruezberg is home to the largest Turkish population outside of Turkey. It’s historically one of the most politically radical parts of the city and home of the annual May Day riots. It’s a must-visit for anyone coming to Berlin.
• Mitte (Center) is the city center and where you’ll spend lots of your time while sightseeing.
• Friedrichshain is now home to some of the most vibrant night spots in the city. Most bars and cafes are located in and around Simon-Dach Street. It’s also where you’ll find Karl-Marx-Allee, a wide, soviet-style boulavard that leads to Alexander Platz.
• Charlottenburg was the “center” of West Berlin. The city’s main shopping street and one of its main train stations (Zoologischer Garten Bhf) are located here.
• Schöneberg is located in the former West Berlin and has been known for its gay and lesbian scene.
• I’ve only described the most central boroughs here. Other boroughs are Pankow, Wedding, Tiergarten, Weißensee, Wilmersdorf, Spandau, Steglitz, Zehlendorf, Tempelhof, Neukölln, Treptow, Köpenick, Marzahn, Hellersdorf, Lichtenberg, Hohenschönhausen and Reinickendorf.

Excursions:

• Potsdam is a small town to the south west of Berlin. It’s major tourist draw is the Sanssouci Castle, summer palace of Frederick the Great.
• Wannsee is the largest body of water in Berlin. It also has one of the longest inland beaches in Europe.
• Müggelsee is to the Ossies (East Germans) what Wannsee is to the Wessies (West Germans).
• Spreewald is a short trip south east of Berlin and known for it’s network of irrigation canals. You can cheaply rent a canoe and paddle for hours on end. It’s designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO.

This is a work in progress. I know it’s missing lots. If you have a suggestion please leave a comment.

So it looks like Berlin (and Europe) has finally gotten decent coverage from Google Maps. Now I can Finally give folks an idea of what it looks like (from the air anyways) where I’ve been living for the last 6 years.

So, a small tour is called for….

• My place
• The Reichstag
• Alexanderplatz (Alex for short)
• The Holocaust Memorial
• Annika’s Mom’s place (near Kiel)
• Where I lived when I first moved here (Yes, those are garbage trucks)

Notes for new users:

You can change the zoom factor with bar on the left. You can change between the 3 view with the buttons on the top right. If you want to send someone a link then you need to click on the “link to this page” link at the top right (above the map). If you don’t, then the link will only take them to Google Maps start page and not to your destination.

Enjoy.

On Sunday Annika and I went to Unsichtbar here in Berlin. It’s a resturaunt where you eat in complete darkness and whose staff is blind or sight-impaired. I had gotten a gift certificate for X-mas from Annika’s mom, Anja. Annika paid about 40 Euros for her meal though. It’s not cheap but it is fun.

The menu doesn’t tell you what you are really getting. It just colorfully describes basically what you get. I got the vegetarian meal, of course and Annika got the fish. You can get either a 3 or 4 course meal. We got the 4 course one.

You place you’re order in the waiting area, by the way. Otherwise it’d be hard to read the menu, duh. You are then collected be the waiter, told to put your hand on the person in-front-of-you’s shoulder and lead to your table. The tables are all against a wall that you can put your drink against. The coners are all padded just in case. It’s really liberating to eat in the complete darkness. You can sloutch, throw things at your friends and of course you have to use your fingers. I would love to have a infrared camera in there!

The food was quite good although I found it a bit wierd that they had roesties (hash brown type thing) on the main dish. I get those from Plus all the time. The desert was also a bit “easy”. The salad was really good, though and the soup was good but creamy, which I’m not a fan of.

If you’re thinking of going I suggest you go with as big a group as possible. It’s more fun. Also you need to reserve well in advance.