5 Months In

All right, people, I'm sorry I haven't updated this in a while. Now, after a few complaints, I bring you my rundown of my Berlin experience so far: what's hot, what's not, and how to cope with gray skies day after day, especially when you have only four hours of daylight.

HOT
1. The general mood of Berlin is unbeatable. This city is so relaxed, devoid of pretention, and couldn't really care less about you. That sort of ties into disadvantages about Berlin (i.e., anyone you interact with couldn't care less). But I didn't go through an adjustment period. There was no culture shock. When I first got here, I kept waiting for it to hit me. And it never did, and most of my friends voiced the same experience. Far from welcoming you with open arms, Berlin just gives you a little stare, and then goes about its business. However, that makes it very easy to fit in.
2. The price of falafel. Yes, I know this is my favorite topic. But, hey, it's my favorite topic! I'm still a big fan of lil' ol' Lale and their 1,50€ falafel with spices sauce and spicy sauce (that's how it translates, I promise).
3. The public transportation (the BVG). It's phenomenal. Where else do you find a transport system that tells you when the next train is arriving (and it's accurate)? You can get anywhere using the BVG, and it's cheap, and easy. Berlin is a big city, and the BVG lets you see all of it.
4. The rent. When I move in a little over a month, I will be paying 280€, and living in a highly desirable location, right in the heart of Prenzlauerberg. In contrast, I will have to pay $600 (440€ish) to live in Toronto next year, and the flats here are much, much nicer.
5. The diversity of the nightlife (and general social life). When the fateful day comes and I leave Berlin, I will dearly miss the range of activities to choose from. I have been to a Johnny Cash night that was attended by everyone from middle-aged Americans to Danish hipsters, a house party with a neon-dress code, two parts in a once-a-month rap history series, and a reading of pieces that Berlin writers had written about Mitte, the midtown-Manhattan-like neighborhood.
6. Bakeries, everywhere.

NOT
1. People aren't polite (but that's Germany as a whole).
2. People will, and do, stare (also all of Germany).
3. There's not much good shopping to be done.
4. We see the sun so seldomly that, in my humble opinion, sunny days should be declared impromptu national holidays.

That's about it, really, which segues nicely into my bonus section,
HOW TO COPE WITH THE LACK OF SUNSHINE/DAYLIGHT
Accept it, don't try to fight it, and don't expect other Europeans to commiserate. They are used to it. Embrace the day when you first realize that it's 4:30 and it's not pitch black yet. Try not to sleep in until 3pm, because then you will have missed all of the day's light. Enjoy everything else that Berlin has to offer, and try to forget about the fact that you haven't seen the sun for two weeks.

"Ešte! Papaj!"

These words have been my Christmas. They mean "more" and "eat," respectively. Basically, I am discovering what it´s like to be an only grandchild. Mamama, who is essentially my Slovak grandma, has been putting plates of food, especially desserts, in front of me continuously for the past two days. I am well on my way to gaining approximately 21 pounds.

I am spending Christmas in Slovakia with relatives, my cousin´s family. I was in Bratislava from 21 to 24 December, and since then I have been in Levice, which is southeast of Bratislava, about 40 minutes from the Hungarian border.
The past two days have gone really well, though, considering our only language connection, Juri, who I am staying with in Bratislava, has been visiting friends in Levice. Through a mix of very broken Slovak, German, and English, the grandparents and I have been able to communicate quite well.

Today we went into Hungary, to a small town called Esztergom, to see a big church. It was very pretty, and the museum part contained a lot of cool, old, gold-plated relics. Then we went to a pool, not really sure if it had mineral spring water or not. But it had a hot tub of sorts outside, so that was fun, to just sit out there with all the oldie Slovaks and Hungarians and look up at the completely white-gray sky and think about how my life is interesting. And how I ended up in a ghetto pool near the Hungarian border where I would be hard-pressed to find anybody who could speak a word of english.

Tomorrow is back to Bratislava, where I will hit the post-xmas sales in one of the biggest malls I have ever been in, then onto Vienna, where I can finally realize my Christmas break dream of sitting in a cafe reading, though I may have finished all three of my books by then.

Veselé Vianoce!

Istanbul III

On Saturday, we had a late, laid-back breakfast at a nearby cafe with one of Kate´s housemates, Sahzene. Then, the three of us got on a bus, a rather lurchy experience, and went along the Bosporous, up past the first-ring suburbs, to the Sabanci gallery. They had a huge exhibit on Abitin Dino, a Turkish artist active during the 50s and 60s. It was a relaxed afternoon. It was also the first time I had seen the sun in probably about two weeks. And, just for the record, I have not seen it since.

On the bus back, Kate called a friend, Julie, to see what she was up to. Kate told me that she was at her friend Mike´s, which was decorated with lots of Uzbek stuff, and that I would like it. So we grabbed a sandwich and headed over to Sultanahmet. That was when my one not-so-wonderful taxi experience happened. I wasn´t nervous for my life at all, but it was so lurchy it made me wish I didn´t have a full stomach. Like most drivers in Istanbul, he would gun it, then two seconds later, stomp on the breaks to avoid hitting a person or a cat.

It ended up that Mike´s place was a hotel. And that Mike is a 65 year old guy who co-owns the hotel and deals in antiques/rugs/other Central Asian collectibles. We had an enjoyable evening drinking wine in what Mike calls his "museum." Kate saying that I would like Mike´s place was more than a bit of an understatement. It is a medium-sized room covered in things he collects. There are tassels and laterns all over the ceiling, rugs on the floor, walls, and in big stacks, and a few racks of clothing, etc. etc. It was awesome! I decided that until Uzbekistan is safe enough for me to visit, this room would have to stand in. With its semi-dim lighting and the wonderfully bring Central Asian colors, it could just as well be the real thing.

On Sunday, we took up Mike´s offer to go to an antiques market in Uskudar, on the Asian side. We had breakfast at the hotel, then hopped on a ferry with some other Americans: Katherine, Gretchen, and Ethan. The wares were in a space that was configured like a small mall, with tiny stores selling only antiques. It was really cool; we saw some beautiful items. The winners were a big set of wooden doors from the "far East," elaborately engraved and painted turquoise. They were 3000 USD. After poking around the market, Mike, Kate, and I bought vintage sunglasses. Mike bought 11 pairs! Almost all of them were 20 YTL, really cheap. I came away with 2 pairs of RayBan wayfarers... now if only there was some sun to necessitate sunglasses.

After a huge, delicious meal at Kanaat, which Mike thinks is one of the best restaurants in Turkey, we went back to the hotel. Kate and I had intended on going to see the Suleymaniye mosque, but we were sidetracked by wine and good company. I also got to see quite a few of Mike´s rugs, as a few customers came by while we were hanging out. Plus, missing the mosque is a great excuse to go back!
Sorry I didn´t add any photos, I am not on my own computer right now.

Istanbul II

Looking back on my days in Istanbul from Sunday the 9th:
My head has been spinning nearly non-stop during this trip. Istanbul is so wonderful! One little thing, though: on Thursday, I was frustrated because I kept getting approached by guides. As I learned, though, that only happens around the touristy areas. When I went to Topkapı Palace on Friday, everything was fine.

Topkapı was amazing (ha, there's my word again)! I figured nothing could beat the Sultanahmet Mosque, but Topkapı might be able to. I got the audio guide, and while it wasn't outstanding, for 10 YTL (about 5€) for Topkapı and the harem, it was worth it. The architecture was pretty. In the old treasury (the whole thing is set up as a museum), they have various articles like turban pins and daggers with emerald-encrusted hilts. And the biggest diamond ever after the Hope diamond. It was seriously large, something like 60 carats. Well, I just made that number up, but I may be close. Also of note was the summer pavilion/ circumcision room. Very beautiful tiling inside-- I took an inordinate amount of pictures. Oh well, everybody else was, too. Then, of course, there was the harem. It was just stunning; it seemed to somehow strike me as it was intended to be low-key and elaborate at the same time. I know that sounds weird, but what I think I mean is that the gorgeous tiling everywhere that I was (and still am) so in love with was semi-commonplace at the time. If that makes any sense. Anyway, walls were tiled floor to ceiling, and then there were the ceilings. I will stop on Topkapı before I start repeating myself.


I then met Kate for lunch in Sultanahmet, and then we went to the Grand Bazaar. I don't care if only tourists go there, the Grand Bazaar was cool. I read that a lot less hustling happens there now than used to. It showed, but of course there were still plenty of men saying, "you want a scarf?" The first little shop we went into was the perfect experience. Kate was looking at some bracelets at a shop with plenty of Central Asian items, and the owner, Aziz, came out and invited us in for a tea. He was the sweetest guy-- I am serious, before anything else, he just looks nice. We had tea with him, his sister, and a German girl who was staying with them for a month. He and Kate chatted, and I pretended like I wasn't in awe of the entire situation. I found a necklace that I really liked, and Aziz said I could have it for 75 instead of 98 YTL (40/60€). I left it at first because it was the first place we went to, but later, I went back to grab it. I think it's really unique; I didn't see anything else that came close in the bazaar.


After that, Kate and I did more talking to people than buying things. It was great, the bazaar was not very crowded, and I started to sort of understand Kate's conversations! After finally finding some scarves we liked, we hit the trail. We ate dinner at a place up by the Galata Tower, called Enginar. Cool place with good food and an attractive waiter. We had some mezas, which are like Turkish tapas, and beer.

Istanbul I

Istanbul was wonderful! I have alternately described it as amazing, gorgeous, awesome, and beautiful. I think you may get the idea: I'm full of hard-to-articulate praise. I could talk, and write, I'm sure, about my Istanbul trip for as long as I was there, so I will try to do it semi-concise justice through a few blog posts. While I'm working on those, be sure to look at my pictures. Yes, I went a little crazy with pictures of tiles, but they were beautiful! The urge to whip out a camera at some of the tourist sites in Istanbul is often irresistible.

Here's something I wrote to my mom the day I arrived:
"Obviously i haven't really seen any of Istanbul, but it is full of character, I can tell, and the minarets are calling people to pray. The streets are all really narrow and everybody's honking. I think it will turn out to be like a Middle Eastern NYC.
I could burst I am so excited to be here."
That comment about NYC turned out to be a little off, but I think it gives a good idea of what my first impressions were like.

From Thursday:
Istanbul is beautiful and overflowing with character. It is the real deal-- grimy, with broken down sidewalks, beeping cars, unreliable trams, and guys just standing outside their shops on a rainy day out of boredom. I think it's a little like NYC, but without any polish. Seriously, even the touristy areas aren't obviously touristy (well, at least not in December). I got in yesterday, and after an almost two-hour trip, I arrived at my friend Kate's. It's really nice to see Kate-- who would've thought two years ago, when we were in Beginner's Turkish (at U of T), that we would be meeting up in Istanbul, with me in Berlin and Kate living here? We had a good, but non-Turkish dinner at a cafe, then went to a bar for a glass of sour cherry wine. Then we went to what Kate calls "her steps," which provide super view of the Bosphorous and the city.

Today I went to the Sultanahmet area, which includes the Sultanahmet (or "Blue") Mosque, Ayasofya (Haghia Sofia), and Topkapı Palace. I went to the Blue Mosque first. It was so amazing, the tiling in that place, that it's hard to believe it's real. And that it is as old as it is. I just stood there and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes at a time, and then moved to another place and did the same. It's incredible and so lush, especially in the colors (especially the blues). Ah, wonderful. I was bummed that I couldn't get good pictures due to it being big but not particularly well-lit. But it was gorgeous. I'd like to be able to go and take it all in whenever I wanted.

Then I went to Ayasofya. It's even bigger, and from the outside, it's more impressive, but the Sultanahmet mosque is more regal. The Ayasofya is now a museum, because it is not a working mosque anymore, and I thought it was pretty well done. It looks a little shabby inside, it's showing its age (originally built as a church between 532 and 537 AD). It also showed its age in the artwork, which is not as detailed. However, since it's a museum, there were lots of different things to see. Like tiles.

I also went to the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum. It was great, seemed to be very unassuming but ended up having a very large collection. The Korans were stunningly gorgeous. They were my favorite part (and one of my favorite things from the whole trip). The intricate designs around the words were amazing.

Alright, you are getting a taste of what my vocabulary has devolved to. More in the coming days.

Meteorological Blues II

Berlin these days seems to have hit a new gray note: just when you thought it couldn't get too much more dismal, you realize it's not nearly winter yet, and February and March are bound to be worse. First there was a big storm system up on the North Sea, which gave us a decent amount of rain and a drop in temperature (ooh- and our first snow). But the low temperatures have stuck around, and so has the drizzle and the intermittent snowflakes. And today it was dark before 5, to which I say, wow.

Just checked the weather, though, and it's supposed to be back up to 50 before long-- what is up with this weather?

I don't really have the blues, though, it's just a little hard to get up and go when it's 34 and drizzling!

I am enjoying my Civil Rights movement class. My friend Elisabeth, who's in the class with me, and I bought David Halberstam's The Children to supplement our education. My copy came today and I can't wait to dive into it. One last little bit: the other day, BBCWorld, which I listen to all the time on my radio, had an interview with someone in Erie, PA as part of a small story on an anonymous donor giving a lot of money to Erie charities. It was very funny to think that I have been to Erie many times, and yet, here I am, sitting in Berlin, listening to the same radio story that people in Capetown and Kuala Lampur are listening to.

Praha

Prague was beautiful! I was there from 1-5 November, and met up with my good friends, Olivia and Meaghan, from Toronto. As beautiful (and refreshingly typically European compared to Berlin) as Prague was, it was wonderful to see my friends again.

Olivia and I stayed in a hostel in the neighborhood of Zizkov. After initially being a little worried that the hostel would prove to be too far out of the city center, we soon learned that pretty much all of Prague is very walkable. The entire time, I used the subway probably four times, and two of those were because I had luggage. Olivia and I spent a lot of time walking from one place to another, taking in the impossibly narrow streets and the oh-so-pretty buildings. Olivia is convinced that Disneyland was modeled after Prague. We walked up to the top of the hill in the old city where the castle and main church are, but were too tired to be interested in paying more than the cost of dinner to go in. That's one thing I really liked about Prague-- it's so cheap! It manages to make Berlin look expensive, which is very hard to do. One night, five of us (Meaghan knew some other people in Prague from Paris) ate dinner for the equivalent of about 18€, including a beer or two per person. Speaking of which, beer is the cost of bottled water there. No joke.

One sight that I did see was the Jewish cemetary. Well, we peered in through a door (it is walled), and couldn't figure out if it is possible to actually go in. At any rate, it was sufficiently creepy, as it was Sunday, so the city was fairly empty, dark, and you knew some of those graves are super-old. It was cool. We also saw the astronomical clock (smaller than you think it's going to be) and peeked into St Jacob's Basilica, but couldn't figure out how to get in there, either.

During the train ride home, I realized how excited I was to be coming back to Berlin. It's nice to like your home base!
Next stops: Istanbul, Bratislava

Prague Photos

I have uploaded my pictures from Prague onto Flickr, and, if I remember correctly, there is a link to my Flickr on the right-hand side of this blog. There aren't too many, I know, but I thought for three out of four days that I was there that I had forgotten an outlet convertor. I finally found the outlet convertor on Sunday, but on that day my friends and I spent hours eating a late brunch, and when we left, it was almost dark. And then by the time we walked into Old Town, it was dark. Daylight Savings Time is killing me!- it was dark today by 5, and I mean completely, middle-of-the-night dark. So between the weakness of my battery and the weakness of the sun, I ended up with only a few pictures. I'm going to get some more off of Olivia, though, who became our official picture-taker when I thought my battery was going to die.

I Am in School, After All

I know a lot of you want to hear about my classes, but, subconciously even, I feel like if I don't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say anything. I, along with many other people, was disappointed with my classes. Additionally, a lot of us had to scramble to get into a German class, since they filled up very quickly. It's also been a frustrating experience because the Humboldt system is so different from the one I am used to in Toronto. Then my credits got confused, and all of my schedule disintegrated except for three classes. So, as of Tuesday, I was only in three classes, when I should have been in about six or seven.

My classes are International Human Rights Politics, Contemporary British Fiction, Gender & Leadership in the Civil Rights Movement, German, and Turkish. I won't go into details, 'cause that's when I start to sound like a cranky foreigner. I will just say that Humboldt needs to build some bigger classrooms.

Falafel!

After biking around with your bike basket full of Ikea goods and dressing for the deep freeze when it's only 52, nothing could be more Berlin than falafel.
Well, at least in my mind.
Falafel is so cheap and plentiful here that I often think of prices in terms of falafel, usually to help me save my money (e.g. that dress is 10 falafel, which, even as I think about it now, sounds like I should really not be buying that dress). I also generally refuse to pay more than 2.50€ (2€'s even better), though Elisabeth got me to shell out 3€ the other day to try "the best falafel ever." In case you're wondering, it was worth it.

Falafel is a serious thing. For example, don't get a falafel around Hackescher Markt. I had the disappointment of my life there: 2.50€ and bad. Even though it was 8 pm and it was my dinner, I couldn't finish it. Don't ever eat at a falafel place that doesn't fry up fresh falafel. I've also become friends with all the guys at Ali Baba, who so far are the winners. Ali Baba is 2€, prime location- right by the U-Bahn stop I use to get home, and 24 hours.

Now we've discovered falafel in Kreuzberg, and I think I might be making extra trips to Kreuzberg in the future. 1.50€ and just as good as the 3€ falafel that's in Mitte. Oh, Turkish people, I love you. Thank you for making Berlin your home.
I had a falafel for breakfast this morning on my way back from sleeping at Elisabeth & Jen's, and I was thinking about how nutritiously sound it is. You've got everything: protein, good carbs, dairy (yogurt sauce), veggies. Mmm. Perfection.

Without rereading it (because my internet is so unreliable), I'm going to guess that my last post was pretty boring. And I'm sorry for that. The thing is, I did have things to say, I just forgot them as soon as I sat down at my computer. Let's try again, and see if I can be more interesting.

I have done some cultural activities lately. Going back into tourist mode felt a little weird at first. As part of getting cultured, Elisabeth and I went to Martin Gropius Bau. I originally thought that this was the Bauhaus Archive, and that's why we went there, but I was wrong; it's a small museum with no permanent collection. When we were there, it had two photography exhibits from Eugene Atget and Roswitha Hecke. They were both really interesting, though I was baffled by how Atget managed to take so many photos of Paris streets with no people in them. Atget was a photographer way back in the day, so it was interesting to see photos from the 1890s, but there were rooms upon rooms of his work, and it got a little redundant. Hecke's work was much more thought-provoking. Most of her photos were from the '60s-'80s. I think I will definitely go back to the MGB to see other exhibits there.

I also went and saw the new Fatih Akin film, "Auf der anderen Seite" (On the Other Side). Another one of Akin's films, "Head On," is my favorite movie ever, so I was very excited to read all of the press he's getting for his new film and then go and see it. It was great! All of his films deal with the Turkish-German experience, and he says that the two movies ("HO" & "OtOS") are part of a trilogy he is making on "life, death, and the devil." Not sure what to make of that, but I would really recommend seeing "Auf der anderen Seite" if you have a chance (definitely would involve a trip to Squirrel Hill for those of you in Pittsburgh).

Another place I've discovered is the House of World Cultures. I think it might have an art gallery (still trying to figure that out), but I've been there for a few talks. They were having a conference on transatlantic relations of some sort a few weeks ago, where Hikmat and I went to talks on transatlantic law and global corporate responsibility. This weekend they are having a conference entitled "New York- Berlin: Cultural Diversity in Urban Spaces." I went to the keynote lecture, given by a prof from Columbia, on Thursday evening. With conferences like that, they have speeches in English and German, with simultaneous translation. It's a cool place that'll stand in as my Munk Centre (where I usually like to attend free talks) while I'm away from Toronto.

I don't have anything in particular to blog about right now, but I figured an update was overdue. The past 1.5 weeks have gone very quickly, even though we had last week off and a few friends went home. I've been enjoying the nightlife of Berlin, not enjoying the fact that the subways shut down at night, buying tons of produce at the Turkish market, and thinking about how great Berlin is. I felt very much like I fit in biking back after a trip to Ikea one day. It's easy to understand if you've been here: there is little that is more Berliner than someone biking with their bike basket full of Ikea goods. At Ikea my friend, Elisabeth, and I bought fabric to sew into tote bags for our Turkish market shopping. The fabric will definitely brighten things up when it's cold and dark, which, unfortunately, I think might be sooner than we'd like.

We started class on Tuesday, but I'll write more about my classes after next week, because I still have one tomorrow and two of them don't start until next week. I successfully used the laundry room again. Last week I hooked up with a pub tour group and decided to go on the tour with them after some American guys invited me along. It was fun to talk to Americans-- I must say, we are friendly. Some might be conservative, some might be ignorant, some might be obnoxious, but we've got personality. And you can find those traits in any country. I like all of the people I've met here, but it was nice to spend some time with the Americans.

I'll be going to Praha on November 1 (with a 29€ train ticket!), meeting my Toronto friends Olivia and Meaghan, who are studying in Paris, there. I'm very excited to see both them and the city! Now to find a hostel... Additionally, it looks like I'll be going to Istanbul, where my friend Kate is, for Thanksgiving. It feels great to be making these plans. I love Berlin, but I can't wait to see some more of Europe!

Today I finally made it to the famous Turkish market at Maybachufer, in Kreuzberg, the traditionally Turkish neighborhood. And I was in heaven! Good, cheap food, including ready-made stuff that all looked amazing plus boisterous Turks advertising their produce made a combination fit to make me spend every penny there. The best find were pomegranates-- which weren't really a find at all, since they were everywhere-- that are absolutely gorgeous. I bought two of the deepest red pomegranates I have ever seen, and I've since cracked one open, and it is unbelievably sweet.

My Fahrrad

Here's a picture of my bike hanging out in its parking spot at the subway station. After purchasing it for 40€, I quickly had to put the chain back in place twice in 21 hours. Things weren't going so well. Since it's an old mountain bike, it has finnicky gears. I'm not sure why, but that's what the mechanic who sold it to me told me. I went back to the mechanic for a quick lesson in how to not end up popping the chain off. We've since worked out a very amicable relationship, and enjoy squeezing past busses and riding off curbs together.

Adventures in Laundry

Laundry-- who knew it could be such an ordeal? After accidentally washing a load on the table linens setting, because you can't change the settings after you've pressed the start button, and some frustration due to the fact that the washing machine informed me that my clothes would be washing for 58 minutes, I finally got some clean clothes. But, no. They still needed to dry. I was trying to read the long instructions (17 steps, no joke) on top of the dryer when another guy came in. We quickly started chatting in English: he's from Venezuela, in Berlin for one month now, studying German. He could understand even less of the drying instructions than I could. After 15 minutes or so of standing around, slamming doors, sticking our laundry cards in the machines and randomly pressing buttons, we both gave up. I just decided to dry my stuff in my room. So last night and this morning, there was laundry hanging off of everywhere possible. Every hanger was taken up. There was practically no space in my tiny bathroom due to the fact that so much was hanging on the shower curtain rod. I don't know what I'm going to do next time. I do know, though, that I will leave much more time to figure it out; last night, Venezuela and I were pushing the time limits of the laundry room. Which brings me to my next question: why does a laundry room have a closing time?

My Movie, Finally

Amazingly, my internet held out long enough for me to upload a little movie I made of Berlin onto YouTube. Here it is:



Note that the statue is not of Friedrich von Humboldt, it's Friedrich of the Hohenzollerns, aka Freddy the Great.

My Class

This is my class, as photographed by our teacher during our field trip to the Wall Museum. I'm not sure why I am so in the foreground. It looks like we are a big band and I am the lead singer. Huh.
I just realized that, if you are so inclined, you can click on it to see a larger version.

Today we (my German class, 14 kids total) went on a field trip! It was fun for a few reasons: I really like the class; it was like the old days of taking fields trips-- they don't happen too often at a huge school like U of T; and our teacher took us on this totally on her own, it was not planned and no other class did it. She's great, big-hearted. Anyway, our field trip was to the Berlin Wall Museum, which is a small, but nice, museum a bit north of Mitte. It is one of two places where the wall still stands in its original place. It was very interesting, and the exhibit there is in both German and English. Across the street, you can peer through cracks in the wall to see what no-man's-land looked like. The place where you would stand for this is gravel, so it's pretty effective in making the visitor see how hopeless escaping East Berlin felt/was. There is also a chapel across the street, and every business day at 12 they commemorate someone who died trying to get over the wall. We stayed for that, and it was quite moving. I think it's a little too bad that it's only in German, because I'd recommend it widely.

My teacher also said that she would definitely recommend this museum over the one at Checkpoint Charlie because the Wall Museum is more objective. I haven't been to CC, but the information laid out at the WM was very objective, that was plain to see. The visuals are also more effective at the WM because there aren't tons of tourists around; you're allowed to think.

Pictures!

Be sure to check out my photos by clicking on the link on the right-hand side of this page. Right now, they're typical touristy pictures of Berlin, but oh well. I'll get better ones.

I met up with my friend Viktor last night, who I know because he studied at Toronto last year. He’s been in Berlin this summer with an internship at the German foreign office. After going to a bar in right outside of Mitte, where we enjoyed the German special of light wheat beers mixed with either raspberry or some green flavor syrup, we went into Prenzlberg. On our way there, we met a guy from California, who was on his way to work at a club in the same area we were going. After parting ways with him, Viktor told me we were going to go to a hole in the wall that he’s fond of because it sells beer on Sundays. We walked for a while, glad it was no longer raining. Just as we were walking past some scaffolding, Viktor said, “It’s right here.” It was literally a hole in the wall. Imagine a break in the scaffolding to allow for an entrance, and then a shabby walk-up window selling only beer. It was hilarious-- I was imagining a dive bar, and he literally meant a hole in the wall.