Hello all, it's been a day and a bit more since I got to Berlin and its already turning out to be an amazing experience. I got in yesterday morning, and already everything was different, at first I was a bit overwhelmed, because the small amount of Rosetta German I had studied had not prepared for me for the onslaught that is arriving in a country in a language you don't speak. Add to that the haze of jet lag and you could imagine I was sleepy apprehensive and at first of course a little reluctant. The strange streets whizzed by and the mixture of small houses and green spaces made me wonder if this was Berlin, I was in my taxi already getting worried. My driver spoke kein englisch and I was just hoping I pronounced my street name, Sredzkistraße correctly. Finally however, the beautiful Prenz'lberg came into focus, and I knew I had arrived somewhere special. There was a sweet air in the gray sky and I made my way up to my room where my dreadlocked landlady showed me a beautiful blue room with red curtains and spacious ceilings.
She was quite welcoming and made me feel right at home. Though not in the usual way youd expect, she looked quite punky and the house seemed more an artist's colony than a furbished hotel, which I love. All very clean but with a definite character that I appreciated. She told me that all her roomates are americans who have lived here for years and still dont speak german. I am starting to find out that everyone who you want to have a conversation with speaks english which may make meeting people easier! She showed me the room and the amenities and all the parts of the house and then went back to sleep.
I put my bag down and realized for the first time, that i was completley on my own. There was nowhere I had to be, nothing I had to do, no institution to meet up with no parents (except of course to confirm my arrival with) not even the familiarity of the neighborhood, everything was new. I had a table and a few books and clothing and an ambitious schedule full of foreign theatre but that was it. It was at once a totally transfixing and paralzying moment. I decided to sleep a bit and planned for only an hour or so so I could really take on the city and then I woke up of course at 3 pm, refreshed and ready. I took baby steps, emerging from my bohemian cocoon and exploring a few blocks in, calling up some contacts in the city. I then decided to be more ambitious and head over to the Volksbühne to pick up my tickets. I got into the UBahn and thankfully it was only two stops in. The subways in Berlin are much smaller and closeknit than in New York, all over there are welcoming Helvetica fonts to guide you and comfortable seats. Berlin has the guise of a European city but it is also dirtier and grittier (in a good way) Graffiti lined streets and rustic architecture marries itself to architectural prestige and very European streets, but at once you feel why so many artists have found themselves here. It is a place that does not shock you with exclusivity, quite a welcoming place - full of places to go and have a drink, write your next novel or party until the next morning.
When I returned from the Volksbühne, a bit intimidated and excited by all the tickets I held in my hand, I immediately realized my next item of business was to purchase a cell phone. I entered into a shop, that sold 'handys' as they are called here and watched the man go on and on in a rough hewn german (he looked vaguelz turkish and seemed intent on getting me to purchase the phone) he was even kind enough to go through all the instructions and set up the sim card and pay as you go card, all the while calculating prices, writing them down, crossing them out, it seemed that my eye contact and nodding was enough not only to carry on an entire conversation but also a fair amount of haggling as I was able to get a sort of discount for the phone and the sim card and the pay card. All in all, I was now in a comfortable place with a few contacts of friends staying in the city and a way of getting reached.
I then returned to my room a bit lost and excited and confused all at once and realized that I was positively starving. The rumble in my stomach hit me again, but I first needed some more sleep. I woke up an hour past seven and remembered that the Euro cup had begun - that's actually a huge lie, there was no way of forgetting the Euro cup was happening. Outside of my subway drunk germans with painted faces adorned with blonde girlfriends wearing the shirts of their favorite german star wearing flags made their way to their nearest bar, which was every bar, equipped if not with a full screen wide screen television, at least a small one - I made my way to a small falafel place and was enjoying an excellent schwarma while I watched the game with a mix of germans and very talkative very engaged americans. Germany lost 2-1, but i had the luck to catch the last german goal. it was an experience I wont forget. The entire block lit up with cries of joy, all of a sudden cars waving german flags started honking and speeding across the straße, and there was such a beautiful moment of community as you felt the everyone in your general vicinity's simultaneous joy and hope. Germany lost but there was still much cheering and team supporting anyway after the game.
That night i met up with my good friend Samantha who spent the entire semester here and her friend Melanie a mutual acquaintance of ours.
We first stopped by a German playground and if theres one thing you should know about playgrounds in germany it is that they would have made my childhood infinitely more entertaining! Free from the lawsuit riddled safety swing culture of the US there are crazy blue bumpy landscapes, swings that look more at home in an amusement park than a playground and a trampoline, yes you heard me, a trampoline!
We went to a bar called white trash fast food, and I was again welcomed by the atmosphere of German bars and culture, there is definitely a love of kitsch as the menu played with americanisms and offered american fare like fried chicken and chili - we then traipsed along the warm Berlin night, and if there ever was a city made for the night it is this one. While Samantha regaled us with maddened tales of hedonistic clubs we made our way through the quiet streets, after all it was 11 pm and the night hadn't really started. Tonight was a soccer night however and most parties were private engagements. Mitte at night is beautiful, we walked down Oranienburg Straße where there is an artists colony and stopped by at a bar that had a makeshift beach (no water though) out back. We sat among the inner tubes and reminisced about past experiences, where a semi-medical semi-humorous sort of emergency (not my own no worries) forced us back to their hostel. I returned to my room late, but not so late for Thursday in Berlin, my pounding headache reminded me that I was still 6 hours behind and my jet lag lulled me to sleep.
Tonight, hedda gabler at the Schaubühne. Ibsen meets Ostermeier! Much love to everyone back home!
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