First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

Friends, I am afraid this will be my last message from Europe, for now. I have decided I will return sooner than later. I am in Munich now overnight, and am yet undecided as to what to do. Perhaps I will stage a Putsch or dressup as a barmaid or visit Dachau. Munich has so much to offer! I must reiterate that Berlin is really quite fantastic. I don´t know where to begin, and it will probably take a few blogs to write down everything I have seen, but here´s a start. On Saturday morning, I decided to go to Synagogue, so I went to the Neue Synagogue, which was recently partially rebuilt. It used to be the largest religious building in Berlin, and was constructed as a tribute to the king who gave Jews full citizenship... They have only reconstructed part of it, and there is a small congregation that meets there... they are egalitarian orthodox, which means that they fallow a traditional service, but women can participate fully. The service was really great... Everyone was singing, and the cantor, apparently is the best in Germany. It was very weird to hear German in the context of a Jewish prayer service, though.. funnier still was hearing Hebrew with a German accent. Anyway, I started to talking to the woman next to me, and it turns out she is a lesbian naturopath, who is in the process of immigrating to VANCOUVER. I couldn´t believe it... Well, if there was ever a place for a Jewish lesbian German naturopath, Vancouver would be it. So, now I have a new friend in Berlin, and will gain a new friend in Vancouver in a few months! Then, I went to hear the Berlin Philharmonic perform Bach's St John Passion at the Philharmonie. The Philharmonie is completely unique. Basically, they constructed a space where that had the best accoustics possible, and sort of put a shell around it. The shape is very bizzare, but the sound is wonderful. I couldn't believe how good the concert was! Anyway, I am running out of time, but I just wanted to say that my roomates at the hostel and I decided to go to a disco club at 3 in the morning last night. You can do that on a Sunday in Berlin. Seriously, if you throw a stone, any time of day or night, it will hit a party. And GOOD parties at that. The club I went to last night was in the basement of a building that had been damaged during the war. They haven't really redevoloped it, but instead have turned it into a `canvas' of sorts for people who do graffiti art. They played everything from the Supremes to Vanilla Ice to Kraftwerk and Nina Hagen... Ecclectic, weird, and fun. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite like dancing to the song `I will survive' in Berlin. Amen to that! Stay tuned to stories about professional skateboarders, Prussian city planning, and the best pasta you will ever find, anywhere!