Had it not been for a cheap and direct flight from Tel Aviv to Cologne, I couldn’t have expected to find myself in Germany of all countries. Of course the main images I had were laden with the atrocities of the Holocaust – I really had no other strong sense of what it would be like here. Although the cold weather has been a shock to our system, our time here has really turned out to be a wonderful experience. I never would have thought I’d use the words “quaint” and Germany in the same sentence, but I feel that really sums up much of the character of this country.

Even the large cities of Hamburg and Berlin have a “small city” charm to them. The lack of high rises, the tree lined streets, the rivers that cut directly thru them, the beautiful monuments, clock towers, churches and synagogues, and the distinct character in each neighborhood gives these cities a very homey feel. I’m not saying that Berlin isn’t a ginormous town, but unlike the frenetic cities of Tokyo or Bangkok, it doesn’t feel overwhelming.

We’ve managed to cover a lot of ground in Berlin on foot, spending hours each day roaming the city. After walking for 5 hours yesterday, we realized when consulting the map that we had only covered about 1/10^th of the city. Although this town has a lot of history, many of the historical structures were destroyed during the war. One of the newest installations is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe opened in 2005. This is a very poignant memorial that occupies 5 acres of land in a very central location in the city. The 2,711 coffin like structures that are arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field, create a serene and confusing atmosphere in which you enter into.

What has been incredible for us is seeing pieces of the resurrecting Jewish culture and institutions throughout the city. There are many synagogues, kosher restaurants, Holocaust memorials, Jewish museums, all which are on the forefront. That’s not to say we haven’t taken notice of the large amounts of security personnel that are guarding these Jewish places, but it still has made us happy to see Jewish life beginning to thrive here.

On a non-kosher note, I have to mention the delicious bratwurst we indulged in a couple days ago. These are the sort of things we don’t typically eat, but figured while in Germany we had to splurge on this juicy, flavorful piece of goodness. Jason of course was beaming like a proud parent as he watched me eat the thing, since this is normally not my style!