Berlin
Hopped off the ICE at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, stowed my luggage in one of those 24 hr pay lockers and went directly to the venue where Frank & Justin were playing. I made it only for their last song, but that's ok. I'll see them play in Zurich Thursday.
The venue was crowded, the dj was pretty crappy. Room was full of smoke. We stayed until ~4am. I didn't have much to drink, but woke up with a sore throat and was dragging. It was the smoke inhalation again. I'm convinced now that the 20 years of hangovers I used to have were caused more by excessive smoke inhalation rather than alcohol consumption. I'm so glad Chicago enforces the smoking ban.
Wednesday, we went to the dullest DDR museum. I had hoped the one in Berlin would be good, but it was mainly a room with reading material and very few artifacts from the DDR period. The museum in Leipzig is probably the best DDR museum I've seen.
Later, I went out with my friends Chris & Angeliki for drinks and then dancing @Dunker for a great 80's night. I couldn't stop dancing, which also means I couldn't stop drinking. Mental note: Don't get stupid drunk the night *before* NYE. It hurts. Everyone was so nice at Dunker and I made a few new friends.
When I arrived back from Zurich, I had dinner @ Voner, a vegan doner place w/Natalia. My friend Sascha works there, so I was able to chat with him a little. Later, Natalia & I chatted over a couple of glasses of Gluh wein, warmed red wine with "winter spices." I need to find the recipe. It's rather nice this time of year. My last day in Berlin, I wandered around Potsdamerplatz and ended up in a casino. Shady characters were all around.
It was more difficult to gamble when you don't know the words, but I was able to win 66euro on a 20 euro bet. Hey, I'll take it after spending that much on a cab ride in Zurich. Later I caught up with transylviania who is my oldest German friend. I met her in Dresden in 2002. We caught up again over Gluhwein (a pattern emerges) and I headed back to SLS' place at ~midnight, stay up for no reason until 4am, just being goofy.
I was telling sylvia that I will probably live in Europe at some point in my life. It just agrees with my values and lifestyle. It's not like I dislike the USA, it's just that it's kind of like an ATT cable/internet/phone package. It's seems like a deal, but it's all stuff I don't really need nor value. Having been to Europe at least 2-4 weeks/year for the past 13 years, I think I have a fairly informed opinion of it's peoples/society/culture and how people live daily. I like it much better. I love the trains, the food, the diversity, the way people really enjoy life. There are a lot of things I love about the USA, but I just feel more at home in Europe.
jv
The venue was crowded, the dj was pretty crappy. Room was full of smoke. We stayed until ~4am. I didn't have much to drink, but woke up with a sore throat and was dragging. It was the smoke inhalation again. I'm convinced now that the 20 years of hangovers I used to have were caused more by excessive smoke inhalation rather than alcohol consumption. I'm so glad Chicago enforces the smoking ban.
Wednesday, we went to the dullest DDR museum. I had hoped the one in Berlin would be good, but it was mainly a room with reading material and very few artifacts from the DDR period. The museum in Leipzig is probably the best DDR museum I've seen.
Later, I went out with my friends Chris & Angeliki for drinks and then dancing @Dunker for a great 80's night. I couldn't stop dancing, which also means I couldn't stop drinking. Mental note: Don't get stupid drunk the night *before* NYE. It hurts. Everyone was so nice at Dunker and I made a few new friends.
When I arrived back from Zurich, I had dinner @ Voner, a vegan doner place w/Natalia. My friend Sascha works there, so I was able to chat with him a little. Later, Natalia & I chatted over a couple of glasses of Gluh wein, warmed red wine with "winter spices." I need to find the recipe. It's rather nice this time of year. My last day in Berlin, I wandered around Potsdamerplatz and ended up in a casino. Shady characters were all around.
It was more difficult to gamble when you don't know the words, but I was able to win 66euro on a 20 euro bet. Hey, I'll take it after spending that much on a cab ride in Zurich. Later I caught up with transylviania who is my oldest German friend. I met her in Dresden in 2002. We caught up again over Gluhwein (a pattern emerges) and I headed back to SLS' place at ~midnight, stay up for no reason until 4am, just being goofy.
I was telling sylvia that I will probably live in Europe at some point in my life. It just agrees with my values and lifestyle. It's not like I dislike the USA, it's just that it's kind of like an ATT cable/internet/phone package. It's seems like a deal, but it's all stuff I don't really need nor value. Having been to Europe at least 2-4 weeks/year for the past 13 years, I think I have a fairly informed opinion of it's peoples/society/culture and how people live daily. I like it much better. I love the trains, the food, the diversity, the way people really enjoy life. There are a lot of things I love about the USA, but I just feel more at home in Europe.
jv