Zurich

From Munich, we took a Sunday morning train to Zurich (Zürich) and dropped our bags and Dan and Leslie's apartment (Dan is working in Google's Zurich office for a few months before Leslie starts her job). I did a couple loads of laundry and then spent a couple hours walking around the city.

Zurich struck me as much smaller than its fame would indicate. That was nice, however, as it allowed me to see a great deal of the city in a short amount of time. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon, and the locals were taking full advantage and relaxing along the shore of Lake Zürich.

I liked Zurich--it has a very nice, clean, classy vibe going on. And the Swiss are a bit quirky relative to other Europeans--for example, they will not break the law, even if following it is entirely impractical. If you have a red "Walk" sign with no cars in sight in any other country in Europe, that is generally an effective sign to cross the street, even if a cop is standing right there (I have observed this directly). In Zurich, however, they will wait for the green signal, and if you cross without it, locals will look at you funny. They also value time above pretty much everything. Punctuality is key, trains must not be late, you get to meetings early, etc. Dan remarked that he always wears his watch because when he wasn't wearing it at work, people would look at him during conversations like he was giving them the finger. In NYC, when people are stopped at a crosswalk, they look at their iPhones. When the Swiss have a pause like that, they all swing their elbows and look at their watches. But hey, no wonder they make such great watches.

I should note, however, that Zurich is probably the most expensive city I have ever been to. The city was founded by the Romans as a point of tax collection on a major trade route, and it's still bearing the torch of extracting money from passers-by today. I ordered a simple dinner entree that probably would have been $12-18 in the US, and it was about $32 USD in Zurich. A simple coffee is at Starbucks in Zurich will run you about $5-7 USD, and Nathan's lunch of chicken nuggets and a milkshake was over $13 USD. So if you decide to go for an extended stay in Zurich, bring wads o' cash.

Overall, we had a nice, relaxing day walking through the town and hanging out at Dan and Leslie's place. We had a nice dinner with some of Dan's coworkers from Google, one of whom was Swedish and created an atmosphere that could only be compared to sitting with Wikipedia . . . in every language. Intricate points of Russian history, German films, Swedish trivia, etc.--this guy was a sponge. I bet he even codes pretty well, too.

The next morning, I left for Interlaken on a 9 am train so that I could take advantage of a full day there. You can view my Zurich photos here. Thanks for reading!

- R

Munich

We arrived in Munich (München) around 1 pm after a six-hour train from Berlin. After checking in to our hotel, we went to the city center to meet up with our friend Dan at Munich's Google office. Dan's wife Leslie, one of our Berkeley Law classmates, also joined us there, and after getting a tour and verifying that it was another colorful, cool, quirky Google office, we set off to see some of the city center, take pictures with the Champions League trophy, and grab a late lunch.

Munich is not huge, and the city is pretty relaxed and charming. It really feels like a place with no pretense--just relax, enjoy the city, and have fun. It is pretty easy to see why so many people have a special affection for the city.

One of the sites I wanted to see in Munich was Hofbrauhaus, a nearly 400-year-old brewery and restaurant located in the city center. It is on almost every list of "must-do" things in Munich. Hofbrauhaus might be the most famous beer hall in the world. [Beer Hall Putsch?] The place is really cool--it holds 2,000 people, a Bavarian folk band is playing, a crowd of locals and not-so-locals is yelling and clinking their massive steins, beer is served by the liter, and the dishes are hearty Bavarian plates of sausage and roasted pork. It makes for a pretty fun experience. I had read about one of their signature dishes, roast suckling pig, and that was absolutely delicious.

After that, we walked over by the English Gardens, which is Munich's great city park, covering more area than NYC's vast Central Park. We spent a few minutes watching local surfers ride the river's standing wave. If you go to Munich, try to find the wave. It's really fun to watch this landlocked surf community jump in and shred it up.

I'm not a fan of going to clubs, but I did let Leslie and Dan drag me to one for about an hour, and in the case the club itself does merit some discussion. The club, P1 ("P-ein") is actually one of Germany's most elite, and it sits in a large museum. The museum was built under Hitler's orders to be a site for Nazi propaganda, and because of that history, the site is taboo to all museum committees and conventional businesses--only club managers will touch it. The place still didn't sell me on the club experience, but I found the story to be interesting.

The next day, it was September 18, i.e. Day 1 of the 200th anniversary of the first Oktoberfest. This year's festival is not actually Oktoberfest 200 because about two dozen have been canceled due to war or famine, but it was still touted as the 200th anniversary. We arrived at about 10:30am, which is cutting it close if you want to sit down and don't have a reservation. Luckily, a table of German kids that were generally a couple years our juniors had just enough space for the four of us and let us sit down with them in the Spaten tent. Then, everyone sat and waited for the next 90 minutes. The festival officially begins at noon when the mayor enters the Schottenhamel tent and taps the first barrel--until then, none of the special "Oktoberfest:" beer can be served.

Soon enough, the traditional Bavarian band came marching in, the mayor tapped the first barrel, and then the servers started coming out with arms full of as many steins as they could carry. After that, everyone was singing with the band, standing on their benches, and clinking steins with every table in their general vicinity. It was pretty cool to be in a tent of 6,000 people where everyone is relaxed and having fun, and I think the atmosphere that creates is what makes Munich's Oktoberfest so special to those who attend.

After leaving the festival, I met up with Harry, a Berkeley Law classmate that served with me on my year's Executive Committee for the California Law Review and will also be joining me at Orrick as an associate (I'll be in Silicon Valley, he will be in SF). Harry will be living in Munich for the next year, and I had the pleasure of meeting his girlfriend, Mirjam, and their beautiful new daughter, Oriana. It was great to see Harry in what will be his hometown for the next year, and I look forward to working with him at Orrick down the road.

My time in Munich was short, and I would definitely like to return. It is a very nice, relaxed, fun city, and it has a distinct charm. I can see why world travelers and Oktoberfest patrons often become repeat visitors when it comes to this great Bavarian city. You can view my photos here. Thanks for reading! Cheers!

- R

Berlin

We only had one day to explore Berlin, but I had planned out a walking route that would allow us to see much of the city, and I think that actually covered things pretty well.

Berlin surprised me quite a bit. First, I expected the city to be more cold (socially speaking, like NYC vs. Chicago), but did not really find it that way. Second, I was very surprised by the openness with which modern Germany faces its 20th-century past. It's actually quite impressive that they face it as head-on as they do. The Holocaust Memorial (specifically, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe) and the Topography of Terror are extremely engaging, and they neither shy away from any detail nor water down any fact. In fact, I found the message and warning from these two sites so impressive that I have compiled a second Berlin photo album in addition to my more traditional album. I know the material is heavy, but I would encourage all of you to take a few minutes and look through it on full screen, because I think it is important that we remind ourselves not only of what happened, but also how and why. Over less than a decade, what started as general animus snowballed into open hate and oppression, and a "civilized" society found itself carrying out barbarian acts in a cold, methodical, systematic fashion. "It happened, therefore it can happen again." I organized this album in such a way that it tells the story by itself. Please take a few minutes to look through it--I'd prefer you look at that over my traditional Berlin album.

Our walk started at the Reichstag, the home of Germany's legislature. The Reichstag was not used much during the Nazi era--mostly because of the 1933 Reichstag fire and the fact that parliament held little political power under the Third Reich, but returning the legislature of the newly united Germany to the Reichstag following the collapse of the Soviet Union was a very controversial decision given Berlin's history under imperialist and then Nazi Germany. Today, the parliamentary chamber is covered by a glass dome that lets in natural sunlight, symbolizing transparency to the people.

Next, we moved on to the Brandenburg Gate, one of Europe's most famous landmarks, and one you may recognize from photos of Nazi rallies in Berlin during the 1930s.

From the Brandenburg Gate, we walked to Berlin's Holocaust Memorial, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Photos from this are in my other Berlin album. The memorial itself is stunning and strikes a very appropriate tone. It is meant to be disorienting and confusing when you enter it, and this effect was intentional, as the evil of the act itself should instill similar feelings. Underneath the monument is an absolutely incredible exhibition with historical information, letters from Holocaust victims, and more. In this case, I really mean it--no trip to Berlin would be complete without at least an hour to wander, educate yourself, and reflect here. I also found it appropriate that this memorial sits within view of the Reichstag itself--a subtle reminder that government actors and beaurocrats can effect great evil from legislative chambers and agency offices, even if they never personally participate in the acts themselves. Nathan and I did not really say anything to each other for quite a while after leaving this site--the sheer weight of the evil it recounts is far more disorienting than the grid itself. It's hard to write about more than a week after visiting.

(I should also say that reflecting on the cities I have seen that were heavily affected by the Holocaust has made it more real to me. I did not have many Jewish friends before law school, but now I have a large number of dear friends that are ethnically Jewish. As clear as the evil of the Holocaust was before, it is beyond heartbreaking to imagine a society in which these friends would be threatened simply on the basis of their ethnic and religious identity. And in a way, this shows how education and travel make the lessons of history all the more real.)

Next, we followed the path of the Berlin Wall (still marked in the city's streets and sidewalks) and walked to the Topography of Terror, which occupies the site that used to hold the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS. This also took far longer than expected, as the information and presentation are extremely gripping. I couldn't leave until I'd read every display over the roughly 100-yard walk.

We then followed the Berlin Wall's path a bit further to the site of Checkpoint Charlie, a powerful symbol of the Cold War--where East met West, and Communism met freedom. Thankfully, today, traffic flows freely from both sides, and papers are not necessary. Also marking the site are souvenir stores, a small museum, and a McDonald's.

We continued our walk by the museum island, the cathedral, and Alexanderplatz, and then made our way back to our hostel. Our hostel was in a very nice residential neighborhood, and that area of Berlin really took me back to Lincoln Park, Chicago. North of Alexanderplatz there are many nice, charming neighborhoods.

I couldn't handle another plate of rich meat paired with (1) something pickled and (2) some ultra dense bread or potato dumpling, and southeast Asian food is pretty trendy in Berlin right now, so we ate dinner at a great Vietnamese restaurant on a quiet street north of Alexanderplatz. Then, with two packed days in Munich awaiting us, it was time for bed.

- R