Some thoughts on Berlin and Munich

People in Berlin and Munich: I have noticed a couple things about the people in Germany, the first being that everyone I have talked to is very friendly. Be it people I have stopped and asked for directions from, waitresses, or people on the train, everyone who can speak English is willing to help us out, or just chat about why we are here. I have made more of an attempt to talk to local people here in Munich than I did in Berlin. With the slower atmosphere here, it is easier to sit down at a pub and chat with people around you.

What can the maps tell you about these cities' histories:

Looking at the map of Berlin and Munich, it is easy to see how crowded the cities are.  Compared to Oregon, the open spaces and trees in these cities are few and far between. Noticing the architecture and by what we have heard on the tours and from Gudrun, in order to accommodate so many living in the town in such a confined space (the population of Berlin is 3.45 million, which is about the same size as Oregon, and the population of Munich is 1.4 million people) people decided to build up. I have yet to encounter a building in the city just one story high, I would say the average is about 6. One can think about the history of Berlin when looking at the map, and where it was divided into east and west.

How might access to major waterways affect trade in cities:

Waterway access in these big cities is crucial for trade. Importing and exporting goods through these waterways is most likely much more practical than using trucks, which I have seen very few of here. Because the cities are so densely populated, it makes much more sense to use the waterways as means of trade rather than large trucks that clog up the roads even more. For brewing, in order to trade your beer most efficiently (since beer does spoil if not held at the proper conditions) using the waterways is a perfect method. It is also ideal for brewing to have this waterway there, since beer is around 95% water. We learned today that the water here in Munich is very hard, which means that it is full of minerals. This could be a good or bad thing for brewing, so depending on what type of beer you are brewing, you may have to treat the water to remove certain minerals.