PHOTO: Here's a beautiful photo of the Bundesstag in Berlin. This center of German government has a glass dome that people can walk in to get views of the legislators doing the people's work below. The idea for this architectural style is meant to symbolize that the new Germany will be a place where the people rule the government instead of the other way around as it was in World War II. It's a beautiful idea.
Another day in Berlin. We are loving it here as we knew we would. The people are laid-back, the streets are colorful, and everyone minds their own business. My kind of town.
I've mentioned before that Berlin reminds me a lot of Portland, Oregon: The nature-loving folk, the emphasis on greenery in the city, the book culture, the love of cinema and the arts, the beer culture, the libertine culture, the high value on multi-culturalism etc.
And just like Portland, people love their bicycles. Bikes have the right away and cars and pedestrians are a distant second and third. There are bike lanes here in the streets and in the sidewalks. It's not something I am used to. I've already been nearly decapitated about three times because I keep finding myself wandering into the bike lane on the sidewalk. Marco's not sure he likes bikes flying by his little body at full speed all the time.
It's not just a few people on their bikes either. It's many people of all ages. And pretty soon we are going to join them. We are going to do as much biking as we can. We will go to the store and the bank on bicycle like the other Berliners do, and we will find ourselves getting in great shape. The culture here really promotes health. I've noticed that we all have already lost weight in the first few days now that we are back to walking and eating a non-American diet.
This is something we are really looking forward to about living in Berlin---the health factor. Clean air, lots of nature, and regular excercise. I feel the stress leaving my body just walking through the streets here. I'm down with the Berlin vibe.
In my next post I'll talk about our Three-Worlds Team and what we aim to do.