Nürnberg und Mainz – ist wunderschön

You've probably clued in that I love *good* museums. I love them so much that I visited three Berlin museums in 1 day (they were awesome museums but I have to admit I spent a lot of time indoors in part to avoid the cold!). The Pergamon Museum was by far my fave: like the British museum, it houses magnificent sculptures and friezes from former colonies. And on top of that they have a whole STREET from Babylon. I would also recommend the “Topography of Terrors” and the Stasi museums, which are both free and which contain lots of sobering information about Berlin’s Nazi past and secret police, respectively. 

Pergamon Museum - Entrance to a Babylonian City

My last morning in the Haupstad (Capital City) was spent wandering around Kreuzberg checking out the Turkish market, the canal and the little boutiques.  

Berlin's funky Kreuzberg neighbourhood, boasting a canal....I even saw some swans. 

I’d have to say Berlin was my favourite German city – no contest – but it was quite nice to experience some of the southern Franconian-quasi-Bavarian culture.

Nürnberg was quite fun and relaxing to visit, thanks to my amazing host who I’ll nickname Queen of Hearts. She introduced me to her friends – including one guy who gives guided tours of the city in his leisure time, who generously showed me around town – and basically planned a really pleasant weekend for me. I visited the famous Nûrnberg Christkindmarkt (Xmas market) as well as the Kaiserburg and Stadt Fembohaus. My favourite word of that weekend is “Feuerzangenbowle” which refers to a sweet, hot drink which is made by setting fire to a bowl – or basin – of alcohol and sugar.  

Nürnberg Xmas Market - Marché de Nöel

L'ancienne demeure du bourreau, convertie en apparts étudiants - This is the former home of
the Executioner (back in the Middle Ages), which now serves as a student residence.

I said goodbye to the Queen of Hearts on Sunday and visited the Nazi Party Rallye Ground – a fascinating exhibit uses videos and pictures to explain how the Nazis used Nürnberg as a base for their propaganda rallyes, which attracted several thousand participants each time.

Then I headed to Mainz for the final leg of the journey. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend staying in Mainz on a Monday in December – it’s a very small town and the Gutenberg museum is closed on Mondays. But I did find enough to do for a day, including visiting the Christkindmarkt – naturally – and indulging in some retail therapy.

Les maisons à colombage de la ville de Mayence - Mainz's Timber Frame Houses

I'm back home for the holidays. Hope to see you soon. Merry Christmas to all!!
xoxo's  Miss Engagée

Ich bin ein Berliner.

Guten Tag alles,

"Ich bin ein Berliner" as an American President once said (thus inadvertently covering himself in ridicule - since the word "berliner" outside Berlin can also mean Jelly Doughnut).

Berliner Krapfen *Jelly Doughnut*

I am enjoying Tee und Schokolade (tea and chocolate) whilst sitting in a very cosy and übercool flat in an übercool neighbourhood of Berlin.  This neighbourhood, Kreuzberg, is quite multicultural and filled with Italian pizza joints, Turkish bakeries, Vietnamese pho restos and the like.

Last night we walked down the road (quite literally) to a little club to attend a gig by Flimmer FrühStück, a pop-rock band composed of a pianist, a saxophonist, a percusionist and a bassist. The band members are friends of my hosts' so it was nice to get to know them a bit, plus I really enjoyed the show.

Today I walked around Kreuzberg before visiting the Jewish Museum. The museum is quite informative although I have to admit I looked in vain for mentions of the Maccabees (thanks to our friend David's Hanukah stories I have retained this little bit of Jewish history) before it dawned on me that, of course, the Berlin Jewish Museum would be mostly about the German Jewish experience. It is actually a very child-friendly museum (with play areas interspersed throughout the permanent exhibition) and I almost wished I were 5 again to be able to play with the giant cut-out Hebrew letters.

East Wall Gallery

In the afternoon I joined 40-or so other people for an English-language free tour of Berlin. Our guide Barry was a wisecracking Irishman/former Law student who clearly loves his adopted city. I have to agree that Berlin is a fascinating city indeed - how can one not be amazed by its central role in the history of the 20th century, along with its unique blend of modern, shiny, gritty and grand. We saw the major sites including Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Reichstag and a number of memorials. It was a great tour but by the end, most of us were cold and wet!

I also stopped by the Alexanderplatzen Christmas Market - which I must say was a lot more enjoyable in rainy weather since there wasn't much of a crowd. I ate some gingerbread and ooh'd and aah'd at all the Germany food like pretzels, WeiBs Wein, Glögg, and Flammkuchen (aka tarte flambée).

XoXo's Miss Engagée

The Radical East End

Bonjour tout le monde,

Petite mise à jour de ma fin de semaine. Dimanche dernier, j'ai fait une visite guidée de l'"East End" avec un dénomé David Rosenberg. La visite, intitulée "The Radical Jewish East End", nous a permis de voir d'un autre oeil le célèbre quartier où Jack the Ripper a fait ses victimes; qui est célèbre pour ses caris (sur la rue Brick Lane); où des milliers d'immigrants se sont installés à leur arrivée sur les quais de Londres; et qui est maintenant un lieu très à la mode. J'ai appris que le quartier abrite plusieurs centres communautaires (comme Toynbee Hall) et plusieurs lieux de rassemblement pour les groupes anarcho-radicaux (par exemple, le bureau de Freedom Press), pour les syndicaux, et pour les communautés religieuses.  

Hello everyone,

Here's a little update on my weekend. Last Sunday, I participated in a guided tour led by a gentleman named David Rosenberg. The tour on "The Radical Jewish East End" showed us another side of the East End, a neighbourhood made famous by Jack the Ripper and curry houses, where thousands of immigrants first settled upon arriving by boat to London, and which is now a very up-and-coming area. I learned about the many organisations which are located in this area, such as Toynbee Hall, the offices of Freedom Press, the former offices of trade unions like the Jewish Bakers' Union, as well as many places of worship like the Mosque on Brick Lane. 

Our Guide telling us about the radical-anarchist movement

Under an overpass, we found this beautiful map of London' s East End.

A plaque commemorating London's Jewish history, including the Soup Kitchen
which fed up to 5,000 people in its heyday. 

These houses sell for 2-3 million pounds. They are kept deliberately shabby on the outside,
so that film crews can use them as sets for Depression-era movies. 

This being my last week of term, my brain is already on vacation! Will post next about my holiday plans. XOXO Miss Engagée

Hyde Park Xmas and Harrod's Department Store

Hello all and happy First Sunday of Advent (yes, I'm counting the days til Xmas!)

Just a quick post today, since I have a mountain of readings to do (this week's theme is: State fragility - tons of material to cover) plus I plan to go to church for once, and make a pasta salad for a potluck with friends tonight.

I had a good week, not too stressful since I didn't have any presentations or essays due. On Friday we heard a really interesting speaker, Gabriel Palma, who teaches in the Cambridge Economics Department but who has a two phDs (one in economics, one in politics). He's from Chile which somehow made him seem even more "sympa", and used his country to illustrate why there are stark inequalities across countries (in other words, income distribution in Chile is quite unequal compared to Korea, for instance).

And yesterday I went to the Hyde Park Christmas Market, which should really be called the Hyde Park Christmas Amusement Park. There were tons of rides, including a Haunted House (with a Thriller soundtrack) and a ferris wheel. We walked around wishing we were little again, then went to Harrods' where we decided that it's quite nice to be in our twenties with some spending money of our own.

Inside Harrods'

Well I've got to go. Only two weeks of left in Michaelmas Term at LSE!
XOXO  Miss Engagée

Hampstead Wannabe

Hi everyone,
I hope you are well. I had a great day today - ditching the library in favour of Hampstead Heath, one of London's oldest parks situated north of Central London. It was a beautiful sunny day so I just had to be outside!! I love London, but sometimes you just have to leave the concrete jungle and go commune with nature.

There were swans in the pond! although I didn't take a picture of them. I really enjoyed wandering around Hampstead itself, too, it's a very upscale and pretty neighbourhood. Since I worked up an appetite walking through the Heath, I stopped for tea in a charming shop called Melrose and Morgan. Would definitely go again.

xoxo Miss Engagée

London Sky

Greetings everyone, I hope you are well.

Been a while since my last update so I just wanted to indicate that I'm still alive (and still procrastinating from homework). I had a wonderful weekend with the friends who hosted me in Aix en Provence! We did a bit of London sightseeing - wish I had remembered my camera. We went to the Old Spitalfields Market in the East End on Sunday; saw Trafalgar Square and ate in the Crypt Café at St-Martin-in-the-Fields (a great place to grab a bite); took pictures with a group of Marines who participated in the Remembrance Sunday parade; gaped at Big Ben and the London Eye (which my friend called the "London Sky"); watched the Sunday buskers entertain the crowd; had a much-needed nap; ate fish-and-chips at a local pub; took a long walk along the Thames and had a thought-provoking conversation with Occupy London Stock Exchange participants. Just listing everything we did in one day makes my feet ache!! ;)

I am keeping busy with essays, presentations, readings and planning (American) Thanksgiving dinners. Hard to believe there is barely a month left in the Michaelmas Term! I am looking forward to the Christmas holidays, that is definite. Hugs to all,

xoxo Miss Engagée

Quirky Profs at LSE

Another week has flown by...I can hardly believe that it's mid-way through the semester, which means that I 'm actually a quarter through my taught Masters' courses at LSE!

This week I felt like it was really time to settle down. I had a presentation on Friday on the topic of "Hirschman`s Forwards and Backwards Linkages" (leave a message if you really want me to explain this to you) which went surprisingly well considering I only practised what I was going to say an hour before our seminar started. I've also started to think of the essays that are due in the next few weeks...luckily most of them are formative, meaning that our professors will give us written feedback in the hopes that we can integrate their advice for our final essays. 

Given our workload and the sometimes dry nature of what International Development students study, it's refreshing when we encounter teachers with memorable quirks or peculiar teaching styles. For instance two of our professors have referenced pop culture in their lectures- one guy shares the name of the Hollywood actor who voiced  Buzz Lightyear in the movie Toy Story, so naturally we were treated to a Toy Story theme one day. I think the take-home message that day was: "To infinity, and beyond!"  

Another prof of mine, Diana, came to class in a "Star Trek"-inspired dress and  recounted how she found the dress while shopping in Marks and Spencer. One key point of that day's lecture was that institutions matter for economic development and that economic growth strategies are determinant for future generations. This continuity was illustrated by showing the striking ressemblance (and thus, we assume, genetic ancestry) between Jean-Luc Picard (the character played by Patrick Stewart in Star Trek) and the Kenniwick man. 

Photo Credit: Great Archeology 

Wikipedia entry for Jean-Luc Picard

I wish every lecture was as entertaining (imagine, I could organize my notes by theme..."Hollywood references", "Pop culture", "Corny jokes"...).

I'll leave you with this quote from Picard which I should adopt as my slogan given the copious amounts of tea I consume:
"Tea. Earl Grey. Hot".

xoxo Miss Engagée