Mrs O and I are fresh back from a weekend in Berlin. It was one of those exhilarating lightning-quick city breaks, the kind of thing that convinces to you give adult life a second chance. We both clambered on the plane home yesterday afternoon with a feeling of unfinished business. We didn't stop once the whole time we were there, but still left with the feeling that we'd only scratched the surface of this fascinating place.
So - we've resolved to go back. We're also going to get some rudimentary German under our belts. We're not setting our aim too high, just the ability to order food and drink in a reasonably fluent manner would be nice. Mrs O studied German at school, which is useful because she has the vocab, albeit buried. But I'm a complete novice. I find it sufficiently close to English to make listening comprehension fairly easy, however, so that's half the battle won. French, which I speak reasonably well, is a nightmare in this regard. I find it murderously difficult to follow people's responses to me in France. I'm hopeful that German will be less tortuous on the English ear.
Another benefit of German is that now and again you encounter the oh-so pleasing instance of a German phrase that is exactly the same as its English cousin, albeit with a more sinister accent. "Brown beer" or "all in order?" are examples of this charming phenomenon.
It's funny too that one feels a certain unspoken affinity with other northern European races. The Dutch, the Germans and the English are very much cousins as far as outlook and society is concerned. And, cliche though it is, I always feel comforted when in Germany because things are so well organised.
