there are trees in this city

guten abend, i#m in berlin, adjusting to zet another kezboard configuration. i've been here 24 hours, and i need to take care of some basic 'get settled' tasks before dinner, but i just wanted to say that i am safely arrived in northern europe, at a very welcoming homestay in the southwest neighborhood of zehlendorf. this morning i went to the market with my host mother daniela and her daughter antonia, and this afternoon we went on a boat tour of berlin. that was very nice. here are the differences i have noticed thus far between germany (here) and italy (there):

1. here you eat all your food on one plate. fork and knife are both placed to the right of the plate, and the spoon across the top. i was delighted to learn this.

2. here, wheat bread exists. it is almost black, and after eating it i feel capable of unifying a nation.

3. germans love trees, and like to have them around for company. even in the center of berlin, i am amazed by how green the landscape is, and i don't think a month will be nearly long enough to see all the branches hanging over a dark oak trellis or all the ivy climbing up a black lampost.

4. there are many more buildings here that have been built in the last 50 years, and a particular wealth of public buildings designed by the most prominent architects in the last 15.

i am here in berlin to pound grammar and vocabulary into my skull, and, departing from this last point, to be a part of a culture that has witnessed two moments of profound destruction. the allies bombed the city. a wall was built, then they tore it down.