There's an entire month missing from this blog. A month in which many incredible things happened, beginning with a weeklong trip home to "Ami-land" (as they call it here sometimes). Right after that my father and my sister successfully flew to Berlin to visit! I had never expected for that to happen, and I am unbelievably happy that it worked out. We saw some great views at my guest-mother's birthday party, went to a ballet (of Snow White at the deutsche Oper), ate currywurst and food from Alsace, hung out in Cafe Bilderbuch, and enjoyed walking around in Nancy's diverse and boutique-filled neighborhood. Erika and my father were just getting over their jet-lag by the time they had to leave. But as classes and work were calling to me, and my parents missed each other, and erika missed her cat and montreal, a short but sweet visit was just perfect. There's of course an endless amount of things in Berlin to see, but getting to spend time together is really the most important.
(Gisela's birthday party)
(David, Judith, my dad, Erika, and I)
Two weeks later the illustrious traveling duo Maya and Jess made a stop in Berlin! They were here literally from a Thursday evening to Saturday morning, but no time was wasted. After being in Turkey for more than five months, Jess was pleasantly surprised by the delicious food one can find in Berlin. Maya and Jess especially enjoyed collapsing on my bed (after five flights of stairs) and being fed toasted multigrain bread with Jiffy peanut butter. We went to an incredible small Argentinian restaurant around the corner from my apartment (Janna would have approved) with Anna and Diego that night. There was a crazy mix of Spanish and English and German spoken at dinner - man, I didn't know which language we were speaking by the end. The next morning I went to a class in a Schrebergarten (really cool) while Maya and Jess took an extensive walking tour to get a taste for the history in Berlin Mitte, sometimes dark, sometimes complicated, sometimes entertaining. We went for Döners and Jess ordered all in Turkish, much to the surprise of the vendors as not many Germans make an effort to learn turkish in these parts. Cupcakes in Prenzlauer Berg ensued, followed by Dawson's Creek episodes, German beer (Maya had some trouble with the Hefeweise...) and preparation for the travels ahead.
(Maya Berkowitz and Jessica Weaver!!)
The next day they flew to London from Schönefeld airport, and five minutes after I was picked up by Robert's aunt Ingrid. We drove together to Tegel, the other airport in Berlin (there used to be three, but one closed in the Fall), and two hours later we were on a plane headed to Stuttgart. Robert and his brother Steffen picked us up. We drove to Karlsruhe to help with the party preparations: Katrin turned 50 that Sunday. Three highlights: lighting lanterns over the city with good wishes for Katrin, SWIMMING in a lake at dusk with Robert and his brother Tommy, and going on a little hike in the Black Forest and eating fabulous ice cream (walnut ice cream with warm blackberries and fresh whipped cream...).
I flew back to Berlin on Monday night with Katrin's best friend and her 9-year-old daughter Vanessa (who adored me, as all nine-year-olds do). I then cleaned my apartment and read the entirety of Berthold Brecht's Dreigroschenoper for class on Tuesday. We had an exciting seminar with a guest professor who really made the opera come alive. I got a short rest when Nancy and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire (finally!) on Tuesday evening at a tiny one-screen theater near her apartment. But as you can see, it has essentially been pedal-to-the-metal mode since then. Today I even had a "block seminar", meaning four 2-hour classes smushed together all in one day. That means I was in a classroom on one of the hottest and most humid days of the summer from 9am until 6pm. I gave a short presentation that I am not too proud of, but at least that class is finished and I will have Monday's free for the rest of the semester.
So now, dead and tired (but clean at least!) I am finally turning to the more important things in life, namely reflecting on some of the visits this past month and calling my parents to wish them a happy fourth of July. Happy fourth to you too! Kate and I plan to celebrate with a hamburger and mac-and-cheese dinner party tomorrow (saturday) night with some other americans we've been in contact with this semester.
And now for some pictures....
(one week in Ami-land)
(Tintin in Istanbul)
(Judith, Thomas, and Gisela, my berlin Guest-family)
(Judith and I with the berliner skyline)
(in Nancy's courtyard)
(view from the Akademie der Wissenschaftlers)
(bavarian brewery, Potsdamer Platz)
(Erika holding the TV-tower, Alexanderplatz)
(Rosenthaler Platz, the stop for one of my favorite cafes)
(student STRIKE across Germany: the strike headquarters at the FU)
(a Columbian dinner-party in our living room)
(Kate and I experimenting with casseroles)
(visit to a "Schrebergarten" for my Daily Life in the DDR class)
(Lantern-lighting in Karlsruhe!)
(Katrin and Cathrine with ice cream)
(letztendlich, the sky over Berlin)
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