Best day ever?

Could it be? Can any day overshadow a previous day? Judge for yourselves...

Randy and I went on a cold war walking tour with Insider Berlin Tours. This is the second walking tour I've been on now and I can tell you it is well worth the 10 euros if you have any interest in spending four hours wandering around and learning about history and geography. Mike of Berlin (by way of New Zealand) was our tour guide. He filled us in on his credentials up front, masters in european history, married a former DDR woman who's family were hardcore party people (politically not like, wooooo paaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrtttttttttyyyyyyyyyy!) who to this day won't open their stasi files because they don't want to tarnish their memories of the DDR. Anywho, he took us to the stasi museum which contained spy apparatus straight out of a James Bond film. As he was fond of saying, "You can't make this stuff up it is so ridiculous." Trabants with spy cams in the back for being followed, cameras in water cans at graveyards (even in death there is no escape from the stasi). Drugging drinks and taking incriminating photos for blackmail at a later date. At one point there was over 100, 000 people on the stasi payroll not including informers, and they are still discovering defunct wiretaps pressed up against the inside of wallpaper in east Berlin flats. In my time here it's not hard to become interested in the effects on the German psyche of so many years of totalitarian control, first with the nazis and then the communists. I mean, think about it, how does a society become liberated and then fall prey immediately to liberty crackdown before you even have time to breathe a sigh of relief...

Needless to say, we needed a drink after the tour to help wash down the countless numbers thrown at us over the four hour period. We stopped by the Gatzaenkers and picked up the kids, grabbed some beers and went to the playground where I played with Emery and chatted with German mums. On the way home I grabbed some pizzas and U-Bahned my way home (and I bought an Allez Allez record for five euro.)

Some of you might be asking, where is your bike in all of this, and I'll tell you, it was locked up at zoo station where I ventured later in the evening on bus to pick up. On the ride home I passed many very young, very well dressed prostitutes. I mean they looked pro, and they certainly were not impressed by me on my "little shopper" as our host Daniel referred to it.

Anyway, I'm tired so until next time there is always a next time...

Ok, so now it's the next morning and I'm sober and upon reading last nights blog Veda joked that people could misconstrue "little shopper" with "last turkey in the shop." Let me be clear that "little shopper" is my bike and generally one sees older ladies use these bikes to pop down the road for groceries...and me as well.

Secondly, I want to make it clear the observation that both the third reich and the ddr were similiar totalitarian states would be much enlightened if I lived through either. I'm sure I would notice a very clear difference between the progression of persecution each regime had, but it seems the end results for questioning authority were the fairly extreme punishments of prison, torture or death. Anita basically said that during either I'd be the first up against the wall because I have difficulty censoring myself. Whatever man.

xo j