Climb Ev'ry Mountain
A fitting title indeed, considering we got lost. However we got significantly less lost, so we are getting better at the adventure game. I surmise that by the end of the trip, Sean and I will only get lost for 5 minutes.
At any rate, we slept in quite a bit after our adventure in Wittenberg, especially considering it took us three hours to find our way home! We woke up at about noon, but didn't leave until 3. Our journey around Berlin the second time was infinitely better than the first time, however. We visited Berlin's famous Museum Island, which is basically the non-stop joyride it sounds like. Unfortunately the museum with the Ishtar gate, the giant glazed blue mud brick gate from Babylon, was closed.
We were unable to see the Brandenburg gate because it was very dark by the time we left the museum. When we disclosed this information to our next host, my friend Tamara (who visited one month prior) laughed harder than I have ever seen her laugh before for the period of about 20 minutes. It was a delight. In light of this, we vowed to make it a point to visit it later in the trip. At any rate, we spent a lovely day in Munich. In the morning I made my way to the Koenigsplatz and ascending from the pit of the subway I was met with the overwhelming presence of a classical revival archway leading to a central street adorned with Greco-Roman architecture. I was utterly overwhelmed with the sheer beauty which greeted me. Within the shelter of the arch were two massive Greek inscriptions paying homage to former kings of Bavaria. The temples which flanked the road beyond the arch were both antiquity museums, and I can only describe the sensation of passing through halls full of the portraits of august (pun intended) Romans as transcendent. The vaulted ceilings and silence gave one the sensation of being in a church, and the busts gave me a brief glimpse into the life of many an emperor. The late Roman portrait room was particularly fun, however the most memorable experience was seeing a bust of the Emperor Titus after some time. He seemed familiar, and after a while I realized that he bore a striking resemblance to my work friend Darrien's Boyfriend.so when the time comes to retake Constantinople, we may have a Flavius from way back to take the throne. After this, I returned to our lodgings and, with Sean being awake, we journeyed into the city to visit the cathedrals. We visited a stunning cathedral (thus called for the cathedra, or throne on which the bishop sits) with beautiful white vaulted ceilings and stunning artwork and statues. We had a rather awkward encounter in a chapel wherein we followed a young lady into the chapel, only realizing that we probably weren't supposed to go in there to take pictures after she anointed herself with holy water and promptly genuflected. After this, we journeyed home and ate some delicious Greek food. I caught up with an old friend, a beer which I had the last time I was here, called Haeller Loewenbraeu, which was simply divine in many aspects of that word. Tomorrow, we journey around Munich again with Tamara.
At any rate, we slept in quite a bit after our adventure in Wittenberg, especially considering it took us three hours to find our way home! We woke up at about noon, but didn't leave until 3. Our journey around Berlin the second time was infinitely better than the first time, however. We visited Berlin's famous Museum Island, which is basically the non-stop joyride it sounds like. Unfortunately the museum with the Ishtar gate, the giant glazed blue mud brick gate from Babylon, was closed.
We were unable to see the Brandenburg gate because it was very dark by the time we left the museum. When we disclosed this information to our next host, my friend Tamara (who visited one month prior) laughed harder than I have ever seen her laugh before for the period of about 20 minutes. It was a delight. In light of this, we vowed to make it a point to visit it later in the trip. At any rate, we spent a lovely day in Munich. In the morning I made my way to the Koenigsplatz and ascending from the pit of the subway I was met with the overwhelming presence of a classical revival archway leading to a central street adorned with Greco-Roman architecture. I was utterly overwhelmed with the sheer beauty which greeted me. Within the shelter of the arch were two massive Greek inscriptions paying homage to former kings of Bavaria. The temples which flanked the road beyond the arch were both antiquity museums, and I can only describe the sensation of passing through halls full of the portraits of august (pun intended) Romans as transcendent. The vaulted ceilings and silence gave one the sensation of being in a church, and the busts gave me a brief glimpse into the life of many an emperor. The late Roman portrait room was particularly fun, however the most memorable experience was seeing a bust of the Emperor Titus after some time. He seemed familiar, and after a while I realized that he bore a striking resemblance to my work friend Darrien's Boyfriend.
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