What?!? Can it be? Has the sun really come to tempt Berlin with hints of springtime? I’m not expecting that the clouds and misty rain cover will never return, but I am pretty damn excited that Berlin held onto legitimate sunshine for four days straight. Even my uncle Ronny from California would have liked the weather...
The incredible and well-traveled Eliza Wilson was already in my apartment when I arrived, bronzed and making tea. Luckily Kate was there to pick her up from the airport the day before. Anna and Diego were around too, although Anna has been working at least one shift at her restaurant/cafes per day. Eliza and I went out walking as soon as I got in to take advantage of the sunshine (how could we have known it would’ve stayed for three more days?) – we walked through the Viktoriapark and into Kreuzberg to the Turkish market, where we stopped for gozleme and coffee. We bought eggplants, some zukes, a kilo of strawberries and a few other ridiculously cheap pieces of produce. We essentially cooked dinner and passed out no later than 9 pm. Eliza, who was recovering from two weeks on Safari in Krüger National Park in South Africa, had as much sleeping to catch up on as a jet-lagged Melissa.
More to come, but for now I’m planning on FULLY taking advantage of the following fact: I have no homework! I am on vacation! Robert has a few classes this week, during which I plan to do a liiiiiiittle bit of german-studying. But other than that there will be plenty of sleep and pierogi-eating (super tasty) and picture taking. And hopefully I’ll keep up with this blog a bit better in the weeks to come.
The incredible and well-traveled Eliza Wilson was already in my apartment when I arrived, bronzed and making tea. Luckily Kate was there to pick her up from the airport the day before. Anna and Diego were around too, although Anna has been working at least one shift at her restaurant/cafes per day. Eliza and I went out walking as soon as I got in to take advantage of the sunshine (how could we have known it would’ve stayed for three more days?) – we walked through the Viktoriapark and into Kreuzberg to the Turkish market, where we stopped for gozleme and coffee. We bought eggplants, some zukes, a kilo of strawberries and a few other ridiculously cheap pieces of produce. We essentially cooked dinner and passed out no later than 9 pm. Eliza, who was recovering from two weeks on Safari in Krüger National Park in South Africa, had as much sleeping to catch up on as a jet-lagged Melissa.Anna waitressing at the Kant Cafe in Charlottenburg -->
The next few days happened incredibly quickly. We saw a few touristy sights but mostly went café-hopping and walking through the sunny streets. Robert joined us on Thursday afternoon so that he could see Eliza before she left (and I hadn’t seen him for a month!). I spent most of Friday editing my last paper (on Immigration politics, just ask if you want to hear more) and after I mailed it to my professor we celebrated with beer and hot chocolates. We topped the night off with another good meal and a round of “Europareise”, a really fun board game that I found at a thrift shop for 2 euro earlier in the week. On Saturday we spent the day in Prenzlauer Berg, where we saw Berlin UNION play against Jena. Perfect weather, fabulously routy fans, and even though Robert’s favorite team pretty much played like shit (they won on a penalty kick, I mean PLEASE!) I really had fun taking pictures and drinking glühwein from the stands. Cupcakes followed, as is customary on my trips to Prenzlauer Berg. Then we went to Judith’s house for dinner and met up with Diego at the restaurant where Anna was working for drinks until late.
<-- me at the Turkish market in Kreuzberg
The next few days happened incredibly quickly. We saw a few touristy sights but mostly went café-hopping and walking through the sunny streets. Robert joined us on Thursday afternoon so that he could see Eliza before she left (and I hadn’t seen him for a month!). I spent most of Friday editing my last paper (on Immigration politics, just ask if you want to hear more) and after I mailed it to my professor we celebrated with beer and hot chocolates. We topped the night off with another good meal and a round of “Europareise”, a really fun board game that I found at a thrift shop for 2 euro earlier in the week. On Saturday we spent the day in Prenzlauer Berg, where we saw Berlin UNION play against Jena. Perfect weather, fabulously routy fans, and even though Robert’s favorite team pretty much played like shit (they won on a penalty kick, I mean PLEASE!) I really had fun taking pictures and drinking glühwein from the stands. Cupcakes followed, as is customary on my trips to Prenzlauer Berg. Then we went to Judith’s house for dinner and met up with Diego at the restaurant where Anna was working for drinks until late.
<-- me at the Turkish market in KreuzbergExhausted but somehow still energized, Eliza, Robert and I managed to pack everything in under an hour and get a couple of hours of sleep before Eliza’s taxi came to pick her up the next morning. And now she’s gone! Gone to spend a week in DC with her own family, and then to go back to Chicago for the spring quarter. Meanwhile Robert and I have also left Berlin behind us. We took a train to Brelsau mid-morning and six hours later were buying tram tickets to go to his apartment. Of course, no more sunshine. Frigid and foggy, but that’s just how it is around here. Robert is glad to be “home”.
F.C. Union, Eisen Union, Union Berlin!
A walk around east berlin (wish you were there, Erika):
More to come, but for now I’m planning on FULLY taking advantage of the following fact: I have no homework! I am on vacation! Robert has a few classes this week, during which I plan to do a liiiiiiittle bit of german-studying. But other than that there will be plenty of sleep and pierogi-eating (super tasty) and picture taking. And hopefully I’ll keep up with this blog a bit better in the weeks to come.
1 comment:
ein sonniges berlin? ist ja unglaublich!
plus, geile fotos!
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