Playlists

Playlists

We left Berlin today and it was a fond farewell. We had finally Become familiar with everything in the city and probably logged over a 40k in walking tours. It was a fantastic city to kick off our trip and provided us with many highlights and firsts. I traveled close to 75,000 miles last year but it was a rare trip when I was able to do it with my wife. This is our first international trip together and I couldn't ask for a better partner. Our playlist was definitely jazz inspired, as we constantly improvised on the fly, often times with chaos and discord, but we always found our way back to the heart of the song. Becoming lost a few times often led to gems of the city so maybe Tolkien was on to something.

Yesterday was our historical day and we travelled to the Jewish museum, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie and the Memorial for Homosexuals killed under the Nazis. As a former history dork, to see the places that history happened was beyond belief. It was also terribly sobering to see what evil the world is capable of inflicting upon itself. To walk the claustrophobic pathways of the Holocaust memorial, ponder the powerful simplicity of the homosexual sculpture or reflect on the empty spaces at the Jewish Museum, reminded me that we must never again turn a blind eye to injustice no matter the religion, race or sexual orientation. As I often translate my tattoo: "We are all God's children." Playlist: Adele & Death Cab

After an emotional day, we rode the S-Bahn for one last time and boarded a train for Prague. Berlin truly is a city that does not sleep, so it was calming to my usually introverted soul to watch pastoral countryside roll serenely past our window. Fields of green, small farms and buildings that have seen more history than PBS specials, dappled by the sunlight that waged war with the grey clouds and won the day. Perfect playlist: Naked and Famous (Passive Me, Agressive You is my new favorite album).

Now I sit in a Prague hotel lobby, enjoying wifi, ultra grotesque american techno remixes and second hand smoke. Oh well, it's castles and CrossFit tomorrow. If that doesn't get me through, savory memories of roasted pig knuckle with sauerkraut will carry me off to my happy place. Playlist: Gaga, Britney and all things 80's. (not my choice, but when in Prague...)

-Brian