A Day in Berlin

Tuesday I spent the day traipsing all over Berlin, mainly seeing a few museums. I especially enjoyed seeing the German Impressionists at the Gemälde (Painting) Galerie on Museum Island. Fun to see how the work of these Prussians changed after they'd spent time in France and were influenced by the Fr. Impressionists. Their themes shifted from work to play and there was suddenly more light in their paintings.

After a few hours, I found myself actually feeling homesick for Hamburg. I missed the fresh sea air, cleanliness and overall visual appeal of Hamburg, not to mention the better public transport system. Berliners are a bit more relaxed and friendly than Hamburgers; they also dress more casually and with a bit more daring. Hamburgers are more reserved in clothing and behavior, but also more polite. All this time, I'd been thinking of Hamburgers as slightly rude but since this visit to Berlin, they almost seem like proper English gentlemen and -women, by comparison, proving once again that it's all relative! On the plus side, I got quite a few smiles from strangers and even a few whistles.