Things I've learned in my 11 weeks here (part 1)

I wanted to get some of this written down before I forgot about them. (Warning: Random list ahead.)

1. False cognates are tricky buggers. I've caught myself about to say "actually" instead of "currently" a few times since we arrived here. In English.

2. It's not bad weather that makes people fall ill. It's inappropriate/unsuitable clothing. At least that's what they say here. And to a certain extent it's true.

3. Bouché was a botanist who introduced greenhouses to the Prussian royal court. He came from a family of botanists and entomologists. (I can only imagine what dinner conversation during the holidays was like.)

4. There's more than one of everything in Berlin. C. and I joke about it, but it's more true than we thought. Two towers: the radio tower in the west, the TV tower in the east. Before the Hauptbahnhof there were two stations: Zoo in the west and Ostbahnhof in the east. Until last year, there were two airports: Tegel in the west and Tempelhof in the east. And so on...

5. "zu mitnehmen" = to go. Very useful phrase

6. Data packages on prepaid SIM cards:  O2 has decent wireless coverage in most parts of the city and the prepaid UMTS data plan worked well for me. I started with the 1GB package for €15/month then dropped to the 200MB pack for €10/month when I didn't wind up using all 1GB. Beyond the package limit they cap the transfer rate to GPRS speed, so it's still (barely) usable.

I also received more than one recommendation for Blau prepaid in response to queries about wireless data so I figured I would mention them here. Don't know what the specifics are but I suppose one could check their web site blau.de

Useful link: http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=177316