Brannon's Euro-Trip

Ausgang baby!

Tomorrow afternoon (I´m going to cram in my daylight hours) I am leaving Berlin for Amsterdam. I will be sorry to leave because I have a had a really nice past couple of days. Yesterday, I went on the all-day walking tour. They didn´t take the all-day part lightly so I spent from 11 in the morning to 7 at night and I left a stop short because I had to make my opera. We had a pretty good group. Including an older woman I met in Prague, Rosemary (from New Mexico), who is going to Warsaw to visit her nephew and have her face lifted. Two Canadians, two Austrailians, two Londoners, two other Americans and a girl from Singapore, Kirsten, who I spent today with as well. Kirsten, is studying in Vienna this semester and is on holiday for a few days. We made it all around the city starting in the Jewish quarter and ending conveinently right next to the Opera house where all the books were burned. Our tour guide, Victoria (from Brighton but her father is German) was fantastic so I will struggle to keep in my brain some of the great stories about the history of Berlin. We went to a really good exposition on the Stasi, the secret police that went to extremes to keep incredibly detailed files on any "suspicious persons" which apparently meant a third of Berlin. Towards the end of the trip we also made a detour to a chocolate shop. Full of chocolate statues and hot chocolate... the later of which I got.
My opera was quite nice. I could see the whole of the stage if I leaned over and put my face against the railing... and I did. I don´t know where I got the idea that "Passion" was based on "Tosca"...they both have female leads of the same name but it is definitely NOT the same story. There were three acts, and three very different extravagant sets. They even had subtitles, but they were in German and absolutely no use to me. From what I could gather, Mario the handsome but cheeky young painter is in love with Tosca. He lives in a monastary for an unknown reason and is pulled out and put in prison for some dearly loved cause. Unbeknowst to him, the man who had him arrested had alterior motives. He too was in love with Tosca! And tries to use Mario and his position to take cruel advantage of her. So she stabs him to death. But not before cleverly getting him to sign something saying she can see Mario one last time. So she goes to see him and he´s happy and says something like "Tosca, my darling, even though you are a fat and middle aged opera singer and I am a strapping young man, I love you. But I cannot give up my principles!" Then he is shot to death by a firing squad. Tosca, who apparently didn´t catch what he was saying before hand. Thinks he is just playing and when she figures out he is dead... boy is she upset. So when the guard comes back she sings some high notes and jumps out the window. THE very dramatic END. I quite liked it. The orchestra was nice and they did loads of typical opera poses. Oh, and everyone bowed. And bowed and bowed. They bowed at the end of each act. And then for about 20 minutes at the end. At least. Yes, true opera fashion.
Today Kirsten and I met up and went to a flea market. This was actually much closer to the flea markets we have at home. Everyones actual old junk. Then we went to an outdoor exhibit on the Gestapo and Nuremburg trails. It was very good but WAY too cold. We only did about half of it and then read some of the books inside. We went to a Chinese/ Kabab place (everytings /Kabab here. And I had a huge portion of sweet and sour tofu. Good stuff. Then we found the Sony center where (Yeeeeeeees!) HARRY POTTER was playing! So I went to see Harry Potter and Kirsten went to see the Exorcism of Emily Rose. It was great. It took them 30 minutes to get through the commercials (all in German) and preveiws. Then we got a 10 minute intermission halfway through. The theatre was ultra modern there was a guy playing the piano where you bought your popcorn. And Harry Potter was amazing. I don´t think I could have waited.

posted by Brannon @ 9:03 PM