Berlin, Germany

The student hostel's wireless connection's pretty weak where I am now, so if this entry goes through (together with the pictures), I'll have to thank my lucky stars. Berlin has been pretty much a disappointment for most of us. We were hoping to see more of history rather than to just read/hear about it. Unfortunately, most of the historical monuments have been either renovated, refurbished or destroyed by bombing. It just doesn't feel right viewing history through a reconstruction, or imagining Hitler's underground bunker in my head when all that's left to represent it is an empty parking lot amongst residential blocks. Strange, if you ask me.

One area Singapore definitely has got to learn from Germany is improvements to its recycling culture. In Berlin, the convenience stores charge an extra 25cents for their recyclable plastic bottles (e.g. mineral water bottles) which they will refund when you return the bottle to the store. It's like a recycling voucher. The Germans also have the habit of sorting out their garbage--paper, plastics, general waste. Quoting our tour guide, Mariska, "the Germans are really extreme when it comes to recycling!". Perhaps the public transport system should take after Germany's too since we've managed to escape paying fares for our trips since we arrived. Nobody checks if you've gotten a ticket so even the locals don't care about buying one!

If you want to feel like E.T., Germany's the place.