So, I always thought the whole ``Aryan Race´´ thing of Hitler´s with blue eyes and blond hair was a little odd, because, seriously, blond hair and blue eyes is not that common.

Uh, not in Germany. I swear, the last time I saw that many identical blue eyes was at a family reunion (Seven out of eight of my cousins have blue eyes. My sister is the only exception with her green eyes. My grandma had one brown-eyed child, my dad, and the story goes that after the birth of each grandchild she sang to her little brown-eyed baby, even though none of us were). Guess that´s what growing up in a city of first and second and third and MAYBE more if you´re special generation citizens does to you - the idea of ethnic homogeny within caucasians never occurred to me. I mean, there are obviously lots of brown-eyed Germans, but I didn´t see them.

Only been in Berlin for a few hours, mostly have just napped an ate. The train station was intense - shiny new metallic and glass thingy. We´d arrived from four nights in Prague, which I do believe has been, hands down, the most overall beautiful city we´ve seen. I´d only really heard of Art Nouveau architecture before, but now I think I really understand it! It´s a funny city, in a way, such a hodge podge of architectural styles that somehow all work together. I loved loved loved the gothic cathedral in Prague Castle, St. Vitus´s, especially: I´m often underwhelmed by cathedrals but the combination of the enorminity and relative starkness of the interior architecture and the lush and incredibly colourful stained glass that warmed the walls made it really quite stunning. But mostly, Prague was our musical city! (Paris was art, Rome ancient history, Florence food, and Prague music. Not on purpose, this is just how it´s worked out.) We saw the Prague Symphony Orchestra in the (amazing Art Nouveau Smetlana hall of the) Municipal House, a string quintet doing Vivaldi´s Four Seasons in the Hussite Cathedral in the old town square, and on the last night, we had dinner on a jazz boat with a ridiculously fun swing band doing Louis Armstrong era jazz. Serious win! Also, Czech beer for the win.