The incredibly useful Berlin transport trip planner app for my iPhone was today rendered near useless with the removal of the map. This, I have found out is because BVG (the company responsible for running the transport in Berlin) decided they didn't want the map to be included in the app.
They have not released and app of their own, and therefore there is no logical reason for this. So far I've liked BVG, the trains run on time, the prices are fairly reasonable and I've had no run-ins with the ticket inspectors, but this has really pissed me off. The worst thing is, I can't do anything about it, the weather is getting worse here which means getting a bike isn't an option and walking everywhere is just impractical.
So I'm now back to carrying a paper map around with me, one that has considerably less detail detail than the one on my iPhone. Technology is awesome, it's just sometimes people that suck.
Thursday 30 October 2008
Wednesday 29 October 2008
Season Tickets
The details for my German bank account arrived today (still waiting on the card) along a rather nice gift. In England when you open a bank account they may give you a Railcard or £30, but DKB gave me three season tickets for Berlin football team for the 08/09 season.
I'm not what you'd call a big fan of football, but it'd be remiss of me not to go at least once and I'm sure I could find someone who'd appreciate the tickets.
Tuesday 28 October 2008
Fixed the bugger
You may or may not have noticed that the blog has been missing date-stamps on the posts, and on my side of things the 'quick-edit' button had vanished. This was due to some cock-up on my part when initially tweaking the theme for the blog. Until now I've just left it as I've been too busy/lazy and not wanted to break it. But I've finally fixed it and it's all as it should be.
Catch up
While I have been keeping up with chronicling my time here in Berlin, some of the smaller or less exciting things have slipped through. So I'd like to get a few items posted so everything's up-to-date.
First, I'm back looking for apartments again, I'd taken a bit of time off from it after arriving at my current place as I got rather sick of it before. But as this is only a temporary arrangement I need to be getting back on with finding a longer term solution. It should at least be easier now as university has started so most of the students will have found places to live.
Next, I will be looking into getting a job as I am becoming very aware of my financial limits and not having a bank account is causing a certain amount of stress. Once I have this and a regular income I can more easily live within my means and it will make the idea of living in Berlin for the whole two years much more achievable.
My tutoring sessions are on hold at the moment. I taught two lessons then due to various things didn't teach any more. I'm now waiting for my 'student' to move apartment and some other stuff and will hopefully resume from where we left off.
I have looked into Kung Fu classes in Berlin and managed to find somewhere that not only teaches Wing Chun (the style that I learnt for a year back in York) but the teacher is English speaking and quite happy to speak English if I were to go. The classes are twice a week and I'll be going as soon as my stuff arrives from England.
My German classes are progressing well, I'm starting to be able to form some basic sentences outside of the examples we are given to a fair degree of accuracy, although I sometimes pick a word that is technically correct but is generally not used. A few days ago I added a small bio to the sidebar (see right).
One final thing, my copy of this month's PC Gamer arrived from England and there is a nagging part of me that still misses gaming. But when I'm outside the apartment going out and doing all that I've been doing it rarely crosses my mind. Still, it doesn't help that one of my flatmates has a decent gaming PC and offered to let me play on it if I wanted.
First, I'm back looking for apartments again, I'd taken a bit of time off from it after arriving at my current place as I got rather sick of it before. But as this is only a temporary arrangement I need to be getting back on with finding a longer term solution. It should at least be easier now as university has started so most of the students will have found places to live.
Next, I will be looking into getting a job as I am becoming very aware of my financial limits and not having a bank account is causing a certain amount of stress. Once I have this and a regular income I can more easily live within my means and it will make the idea of living in Berlin for the whole two years much more achievable.
My tutoring sessions are on hold at the moment. I taught two lessons then due to various things didn't teach any more. I'm now waiting for my 'student' to move apartment and some other stuff and will hopefully resume from where we left off.
I have looked into Kung Fu classes in Berlin and managed to find somewhere that not only teaches Wing Chun (the style that I learnt for a year back in York) but the teacher is English speaking and quite happy to speak English if I were to go. The classes are twice a week and I'll be going as soon as my stuff arrives from England.
My German classes are progressing well, I'm starting to be able to form some basic sentences outside of the examples we are given to a fair degree of accuracy, although I sometimes pick a word that is technically correct but is generally not used. A few days ago I added a small bio to the sidebar (see right).
One final thing, my copy of this month's PC Gamer arrived from England and there is a nagging part of me that still misses gaming. But when I'm outside the apartment going out and doing all that I've been doing it rarely crosses my mind. Still, it doesn't help that one of my flatmates has a decent gaming PC and offered to let me play on it if I wanted.
Monday 27 October 2008
A Long Sunday
After the great time had by all last Sunday we decided to meet up again. This time we arranged to meet at 'Morgenrot Cafe' for a buffet brunch. The way they do things at Morgenrot is rather unique, instead of having a set price for the food, you simply eat as much as you want then pay however much you feel is fair. There is a minimum of €4 which feels like it goes against the whole 'pay what you want' idea but it's still pretty cool. Overall I think there were 12 or so people and we slowly colonised one of the corners of the cafe.
After brunch a few people left and the rest of us were set to head to the flea market, but just a couple doors down from the cafe there was a block of flats that had some really cool art inside the entrance and courtyard so we went to have a quick look:
Once we got to the Flea market we split up and arranged to meet after an hour and a half. Some of the things being sold were just so random; one stall we saw had a rough pile of clothes with the man behind them shouting 'Ein Euro' with a look that he knew he wasn't going to sell anything and wasn't really trying. Melissa bought a Soviet cigarette case and lighter for €10 which the man then offered to me also, when I said I didn't smoke he said "Ah, but you drink" whilst holding up a hip flask, great salesmanship but I politely declined. One stall did catch my eye though, it was selling cool looking urban canvas art which I was very tempted by. We finished looking round early so we decided to go on some nearby swings. Suffice to say, my inner child enjoyed it thoroughly.
We then walked to a Thai restaurant which was rather expensive and the service was a bit off. There were 5 of us at this point and for some reason we weren't allowed to sit at one of the long tables as they were reserved for couples. So they bustled into a small space next to the door. Laura recommended one of the teas, and what arrived was nice but wasn't exactly what I'd call a tea:
Most of us ordered a desert only and on this front they succeeded in making something rather delicious:
On the way to the Thai place we'd seen a shop selling Ben & Jerry's ice cream so after the bad service and on receiving no change from the bill we felt no guilt in stealing the small spoons to have with some Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
After buying the ice cream we took a pleasant stroll through Prenzlauerberg on what was a very mild evening (for Berlin) and it was still early when we arrived at the Shisha bar. For those of you who don't know, a Shisha (Shicha in German) is a large tobacco smoking contraption with a tube attached that you suck the smoke through. You choose from a selection of sweet flavoured tobacco. We ordered a shisha between us and a few drinks then spent the next hour or so chatting and playing cards.
Surprised at how early it still was (around 9pm) we walked to Alexanderplatz to look at the Festival of Lights which was ending the next day. From there we slowly walked to the Brandenburg Gates stopping frequently to look and take photographs of various things. Katy had a Digital SLR camera with her and is going to host her photographs online so I may be able to post some of them up here at a later date. But for the time being, here's some of the ones I took with my compact:
Part of a large clock projected on the ground by a company called Fossil.
The actual clock-face itself was projected onto the ground.
These ruins used to be the East Berlin government offices, but they are now being torn down. I quite liked how they looked behind the fence.
This building is part of Humbolt University. I was leaning against a tree trying to take this and wasn't able to keep it steady.
I had a small tripod perched on top of a bollard to take this and despite the movement of the people the 2 second exposure has really brought out the detail in the trees.
By the time we got to Brandenburg Tor it was around 11pm so we decided to call it a night and when I finally got back to the apartment it was coming up on midnight. I'd spent 12 hours out of the house and I was knackered but it was an awesome day.
After brunch a few people left and the rest of us were set to head to the flea market, but just a couple doors down from the cafe there was a block of flats that had some really cool art inside the entrance and courtyard so we went to have a quick look:
This picture has a very similar style to Banksy.
Once we got to the Flea market we split up and arranged to meet after an hour and a half. Some of the things being sold were just so random; one stall we saw had a rough pile of clothes with the man behind them shouting 'Ein Euro' with a look that he knew he wasn't going to sell anything and wasn't really trying. Melissa bought a Soviet cigarette case and lighter for €10 which the man then offered to me also, when I said I didn't smoke he said "Ah, but you drink" whilst holding up a hip flask, great salesmanship but I politely declined. One stall did catch my eye though, it was selling cool looking urban canvas art which I was very tempted by. We finished looking round early so we decided to go on some nearby swings. Suffice to say, my inner child enjoyed it thoroughly.
We then walked to a Thai restaurant which was rather expensive and the service was a bit off. There were 5 of us at this point and for some reason we weren't allowed to sit at one of the long tables as they were reserved for couples. So they bustled into a small space next to the door. Laura recommended one of the teas, and what arrived was nice but wasn't exactly what I'd call a tea:
Most of us ordered a desert only and on this front they succeeded in making something rather delicious:
On the way to the Thai place we'd seen a shop selling Ben & Jerry's ice cream so after the bad service and on receiving no change from the bill we felt no guilt in stealing the small spoons to have with some Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
After buying the ice cream we took a pleasant stroll through Prenzlauerberg on what was a very mild evening (for Berlin) and it was still early when we arrived at the Shisha bar. For those of you who don't know, a Shisha (Shicha in German) is a large tobacco smoking contraption with a tube attached that you suck the smoke through. You choose from a selection of sweet flavoured tobacco. We ordered a shisha between us and a few drinks then spent the next hour or so chatting and playing cards.
Surprised at how early it still was (around 9pm) we walked to Alexanderplatz to look at the Festival of Lights which was ending the next day. From there we slowly walked to the Brandenburg Gates stopping frequently to look and take photographs of various things. Katy had a Digital SLR camera with her and is going to host her photographs online so I may be able to post some of them up here at a later date. But for the time being, here's some of the ones I took with my compact:
Part of a large clock projected on the ground by a company called Fossil.
The actual clock-face itself was projected onto the ground.
These ruins used to be the East Berlin government offices, but they are now being torn down. I quite liked how they looked behind the fence.
This building is part of Humbolt University. I was leaning against a tree trying to take this and wasn't able to keep it steady.
I had a small tripod perched on top of a bollard to take this and despite the movement of the people the 2 second exposure has really brought out the detail in the trees.
By the time we got to Brandenburg Tor it was around 11pm so we decided to call it a night and when I finally got back to the apartment it was coming up on midnight. I'd spent 12 hours out of the house and I was knackered but it was an awesome day.
Saturday 25 October 2008
Party on the S-Bahn + The Wrong Fork
A week or so ago I posted up about 'party on the U8'. Well it wasn't really a party, but what I went to last night was. It was rather quietly organised to avoid being stopped by the Police. As a result we had to go to Frankfurter Tor station where we were then given whispered instructions to go to Neukolln.
Getting to Neukolln required a couple of connections, and as we got off the train at Alexanderplatz Ben pointed out a tall and rather pretty looking girl and we both somehow managed to lose sight of everyone else. Assuming they'd gone to the U2 we went and got on the train, after ringing them we realised they'd taken the S-Bahn instead. Strangle we ended up arriving in Neukolln on the same train.
We waited at Neukolln for a short while then all piled onto an S-Bahn train. There were a few people with large speakers playing music, and everyone had alcohol.
It was a very unique experience, everyone was jumping up and down which made the train shake and were singing loudly. After we'd been going for about 30 minutes we changed trains going in opposite direction. After we switched trains everyone started chanting in German, I couldn't say what about but everyone (the Germans at least) seemed to know the words.
We then pulled into Treptower Park and everyone got out for a quick break. When we went to get back on, eight or so Police Officers had turned up with some rather angry looking dogs. Ben decided to go to a couple of bars near Warschauer Straße then head home, as did Dominike, the rest decided to head onto another party. Unknowingly, I was stood at a fork in the road, join Ben and Dominike for a couple of quiet drinks, or follow a group of people I'd just met to a club. Foolishly I chose the latter, a decision I grew to regret.
I'll explain why, firstly by the time we got the club most of the original group had left, leaving two guys and two girls. We didn't go in because the queue was too long so we headed to a small Indie bar instead. Now, despite my like for Indie music, most indie bars/clubs tend to be rubbish because the DJs (a term I use loosely in this instance) tend to play one great song, then five awful ones.
After paying a €5 entry plus another €1 for the cloakroom we headed to the area designated 'dance floor' which in an Indie bar is the place where skinny people stand and sway slightly. All there is to do in an environment like this is dance, or try to have some sort of shouted conversation, neither of which particularly appeal to me. The music, was pretty poor with only one track now and then that I actually liked. The highlight was a Crystal Castles song, which I happily bobbed away to, unfortunately it seemed that no-one else knew it.
On top of all that, the two guys were making rather obvious moves on the girls, which wouldn't have bothered me if I'd had someone else to talk to, but as it was I was the fifth wheel, stood there feeling like a right pillock. One of them also started to cock-block me; this is the phenomenon of 'blocking' another male by dancing in front of him in-between you and a woman. This pretty much excluding me from the group. I naturally responded in a mature manner by doing the same to him for a couple of minutes ignoring his subtle attempts to push me out of the way and he seemed to stop after this. It could have been worse though, I had the real urge to just turn round and hit him.
After another couple of terrible songs I'd had enough, I told the guys I was going for a drink and went to get my coat and headed off home. I've only done this a couple of times before and that was back in Sheffield after particularly bad nights out. Proper clubs in Berlin have better music so I may give the whole loud music, dancing thing another try.
This last week I've not gone out much and I've not been getting enough sleep which has made me quite moody. I also think the last couple of weeks of partying may have caught up with me. Apart from more sleep, I need to go out more, but somehow spend less and possibly find some physical outlet like a martial art.
If I take nothing else from last night, it's that it's not where you go, but who you go with.
Getting to Neukolln required a couple of connections, and as we got off the train at Alexanderplatz Ben pointed out a tall and rather pretty looking girl and we both somehow managed to lose sight of everyone else. Assuming they'd gone to the U2 we went and got on the train, after ringing them we realised they'd taken the S-Bahn instead. Strangle we ended up arriving in Neukolln on the same train.
We waited at Neukolln for a short while then all piled onto an S-Bahn train. There were a few people with large speakers playing music, and everyone had alcohol.
It was a very unique experience, everyone was jumping up and down which made the train shake and were singing loudly. After we'd been going for about 30 minutes we changed trains going in opposite direction. After we switched trains everyone started chanting in German, I couldn't say what about but everyone (the Germans at least) seemed to know the words.
We then pulled into Treptower Park and everyone got out for a quick break. When we went to get back on, eight or so Police Officers had turned up with some rather angry looking dogs. Ben decided to go to a couple of bars near Warschauer Straße then head home, as did Dominike, the rest decided to head onto another party. Unknowingly, I was stood at a fork in the road, join Ben and Dominike for a couple of quiet drinks, or follow a group of people I'd just met to a club. Foolishly I chose the latter, a decision I grew to regret.
I'll explain why, firstly by the time we got the club most of the original group had left, leaving two guys and two girls. We didn't go in because the queue was too long so we headed to a small Indie bar instead. Now, despite my like for Indie music, most indie bars/clubs tend to be rubbish because the DJs (a term I use loosely in this instance) tend to play one great song, then five awful ones.
After paying a €5 entry plus another €1 for the cloakroom we headed to the area designated 'dance floor' which in an Indie bar is the place where skinny people stand and sway slightly. All there is to do in an environment like this is dance, or try to have some sort of shouted conversation, neither of which particularly appeal to me. The music, was pretty poor with only one track now and then that I actually liked. The highlight was a Crystal Castles song, which I happily bobbed away to, unfortunately it seemed that no-one else knew it.
On top of all that, the two guys were making rather obvious moves on the girls, which wouldn't have bothered me if I'd had someone else to talk to, but as it was I was the fifth wheel, stood there feeling like a right pillock. One of them also started to cock-block me; this is the phenomenon of 'blocking' another male by dancing in front of him in-between you and a woman. This pretty much excluding me from the group. I naturally responded in a mature manner by doing the same to him for a couple of minutes ignoring his subtle attempts to push me out of the way and he seemed to stop after this. It could have been worse though, I had the real urge to just turn round and hit him.
After another couple of terrible songs I'd had enough, I told the guys I was going for a drink and went to get my coat and headed off home. I've only done this a couple of times before and that was back in Sheffield after particularly bad nights out. Proper clubs in Berlin have better music so I may give the whole loud music, dancing thing another try.
This last week I've not gone out much and I've not been getting enough sleep which has made me quite moody. I also think the last couple of weeks of partying may have caught up with me. Apart from more sleep, I need to go out more, but somehow spend less and possibly find some physical outlet like a martial art.
If I take nothing else from last night, it's that it's not where you go, but who you go with.
Thursday 23 October 2008
Living in the Hood
I do apologise to my Dad for quoting him in the following post, but this just made me laugh and I had to post it. In the course of a chat on Skype he posted this:
I showed this to Michael and he laughed. He said that Neukolln used to be a rough place 10 years or so ago but is perfectly fine now, and has a lot of students living here because of the cheap apartments. But just in-case I'll be sure to carry my shotgun and flak jacket on me at all times.
Our Lonely Planet guide says that Neukolln is the poorest district in Berlin, plagued by unemployment with a pervasive drug culture and an unintegrated immigrant population!Now, I'll accept that there are a few more Turkish here around these parts (mostly selling phones at suspiciously cheap prices) but I'm not sure if 'unintegrated' is the word. Unemployment is a city-wide problem in Berlin as are the drugs (as you'd expect in any Capital city).
I showed this to Michael and he laughed. He said that Neukolln used to be a rough place 10 years or so ago but is perfectly fine now, and has a lot of students living here because of the cheap apartments. But just in-case I'll be sure to carry my shotgun and flak jacket on me at all times.
Best laid plans
On Sunday, Katy (the Australian girl) told us about a musician she'd seen playing at the Flea Market that who'd playing at Die Fabrik in Kreuzburg on Tuesday evening. So we came up with the excellent plan of going to a proper Sushi place, conveyor and all beforehand to get food then head to the gig and onto a Shisha bar after.
We arranged to meet at 7pm and for the first time in a ages I actually arrived promptly, unfortunately no-one else did. By the time everyone had arrived it was 7:30 and the gig was supposed to start at 8. We looked round for somewhere to eat and with no Shushi place to be found we were pondering whether to just get food in Die Fabrik itself when Dominike spotted that they had 'weisswurst' and got all excited and rushed inside, so that settled that. Weisswurst (white sausage, in case you couldn't fathom that out) is a Bavarian specialty, it's essentially two white sausages cooked and served in boiling water, you then have to peel off the skin and eat the sausage with sweet mustard. Despite being unnecessarily awkward it was incredibly nice, especially with beer.
The bar itself was classic Kreuzburg, with a cool and unique look to it:
Around 8pm after chatting with us, Rob Longstaff (the musician) started playing. It was a really relaxed atmosphere, with the music, the beer, and just chatting away to everyone. I'm not trying to demonstrate that point with this picture, I just couldn't be bothered to get up and take it from a better angle.
Around 11pm we started thinking about moving on, so I did a quick Google maps search for 'Shisha bar' in the local area and apparently there was one quite close. As it turned out, Google maps had pointed us to a Lawyers Office, not quite the same. So we went to a nearby bar and had a final drink there before heading home. Of course, that wasn't until after the last train so I took a taxi home.
Not exactly to plan, but a bloody good night nonetheless. Hopefully our plans for Sunday will go a bit better. We'll see.
We arranged to meet at 7pm and for the first time in a ages I actually arrived promptly, unfortunately no-one else did. By the time everyone had arrived it was 7:30 and the gig was supposed to start at 8. We looked round for somewhere to eat and with no Shushi place to be found we were pondering whether to just get food in Die Fabrik itself when Dominike spotted that they had 'weisswurst' and got all excited and rushed inside, so that settled that. Weisswurst (white sausage, in case you couldn't fathom that out) is a Bavarian specialty, it's essentially two white sausages cooked and served in boiling water, you then have to peel off the skin and eat the sausage with sweet mustard. Despite being unnecessarily awkward it was incredibly nice, especially with beer.
The bar itself was classic Kreuzburg, with a cool and unique look to it:
Around 8pm after chatting with us, Rob Longstaff (the musician) started playing. It was a really relaxed atmosphere, with the music, the beer, and just chatting away to everyone. I'm not trying to demonstrate that point with this picture, I just couldn't be bothered to get up and take it from a better angle.
Around 11pm we started thinking about moving on, so I did a quick Google maps search for 'Shisha bar' in the local area and apparently there was one quite close. As it turned out, Google maps had pointed us to a Lawyers Office, not quite the same. So we went to a nearby bar and had a final drink there before heading home. Of course, that wasn't until after the last train so I took a taxi home.
Not exactly to plan, but a bloody good night nonetheless. Hopefully our plans for Sunday will go a bit better. We'll see.
Monday 20 October 2008
Great things happen when you make them
After spending the night in on Saturday I had intended to have a lazy day on Sunday, catching up with various things but I kept thinking what a good idea it would be to go to the Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop cafe and have some ice cream with a few people.
So I sent a text round to a few of the people I'd gotten numbers from on Friday and also to Dominike as we'd not met up in a week or so as we'd both been busy. Anyway, Dominike and three other people replied to my text saying they'd be turning up and I also got a phone call responding to a post I'd put up on the Berlin CS group.
I ended up being late as I had to stop off at Hauptbahnhof to cash some Traveller's Cheques so by the time I arrived everyone except the Couch Surfer who'd rung me earlier was there. I ordered a bagel and some ice-cream (separately, not together that would be silly) and joined the others. We stayed for around an hour chatting away. I did the annoying thing of making everyone pose for a photo, thanks to my flash taking ages to charge I managed to keep everyone waiting for a good 30 seconds, carrying on my family's tradition of slow photo taking.
From left to right: Dominike (Germany), Melissa (Canada), Katie (Australia), Ben (Australia), Laura (Romania)
Katie and Laura had both mentioned the nearby Flea Market that they'd been to earlier in the day, so I suggested going and catching the end, which everyone was up for. We ambled to the Flea Market which was about 10 minutes away and although it was starting to close up there was still plenty going on.
I've been to a Flea Market once before, in Liverpool with my sister, which was awesome but this place was so much bigger and we only had time to look round a small part of it but from what I saw there was what I will politely call an eclectic selection. One of the stalls had three SNES's in various boxes, one looked fine, one had the innards missing and one looked like it had been in a fire:
I'm not entirely sure how they were expecting to sell this, but you never know someone out there may want a severely burnt SNES. Joking aside, one thing that really caught my eye was a stall selling very old looking cameras and cine-cameras. I've wanted an old cine-camera for a while now, especially after seeing and playing with one that a friend from my course bought off eBay.
I decided to buy the 'Zeiss Ikon M808' for a mere €15. He even threw in 6AA batteries to power it. The condition is fairly good, although I need to figure out what some of the dials do and find a photography shop to buy a film for it which will probably cost more than the camera. I nevertheless look forward to using it.
After we'd finished looking round the Flea Market we got a drink at the bar there and I managed to take a photo, somewhat quicker this time:
Another English Couch Surfer had posted up earlier in the day organising a drink at a bar in Kreuzberg called Hannibals and as it was getting close to the time he'd put up, I suggested going; Dominike had uni work to do and Laura and Ben had to go back to drop on some stuff so would join us later, which left Melissa, Katie and I to take the U-Bahn there (stopping off at Alexanderplatz to get noodles first).
As we arrived early we were the first there but eventually there was a little over 10 people. We had a good time chatting and drinking from some very beefy looking 0.5L glasses and I was outdrank by Melissa (yes I'm a lightweight). Afterwards a few of us got food at 'Kreuzburger' and then headed home.
All in all, a pretty damn good way to end the week.
So I sent a text round to a few of the people I'd gotten numbers from on Friday and also to Dominike as we'd not met up in a week or so as we'd both been busy. Anyway, Dominike and three other people replied to my text saying they'd be turning up and I also got a phone call responding to a post I'd put up on the Berlin CS group.
I ended up being late as I had to stop off at Hauptbahnhof to cash some Traveller's Cheques so by the time I arrived everyone except the Couch Surfer who'd rung me earlier was there. I ordered a bagel and some ice-cream (separately, not together that would be silly) and joined the others. We stayed for around an hour chatting away. I did the annoying thing of making everyone pose for a photo, thanks to my flash taking ages to charge I managed to keep everyone waiting for a good 30 seconds, carrying on my family's tradition of slow photo taking.
From left to right: Dominike (Germany), Melissa (Canada), Katie (Australia), Ben (Australia), Laura (Romania)
Katie and Laura had both mentioned the nearby Flea Market that they'd been to earlier in the day, so I suggested going and catching the end, which everyone was up for. We ambled to the Flea Market which was about 10 minutes away and although it was starting to close up there was still plenty going on.
I've been to a Flea Market once before, in Liverpool with my sister, which was awesome but this place was so much bigger and we only had time to look round a small part of it but from what I saw there was what I will politely call an eclectic selection. One of the stalls had three SNES's in various boxes, one looked fine, one had the innards missing and one looked like it had been in a fire:
I'm not entirely sure how they were expecting to sell this, but you never know someone out there may want a severely burnt SNES. Joking aside, one thing that really caught my eye was a stall selling very old looking cameras and cine-cameras. I've wanted an old cine-camera for a while now, especially after seeing and playing with one that a friend from my course bought off eBay.
I decided to buy the 'Zeiss Ikon M808' for a mere €15. He even threw in 6AA batteries to power it. The condition is fairly good, although I need to figure out what some of the dials do and find a photography shop to buy a film for it which will probably cost more than the camera. I nevertheless look forward to using it.
After we'd finished looking round the Flea Market we got a drink at the bar there and I managed to take a photo, somewhat quicker this time:
Another English Couch Surfer had posted up earlier in the day organising a drink at a bar in Kreuzberg called Hannibals and as it was getting close to the time he'd put up, I suggested going; Dominike had uni work to do and Laura and Ben had to go back to drop on some stuff so would join us later, which left Melissa, Katie and I to take the U-Bahn there (stopping off at Alexanderplatz to get noodles first).
As we arrived early we were the first there but eventually there was a little over 10 people. We had a good time chatting and drinking from some very beefy looking 0.5L glasses and I was outdrank by Melissa (yes I'm a lightweight). Afterwards a few of us got food at 'Kreuzburger' and then headed home.
All in all, a pretty damn good way to end the week.
Friday - Couch Surfer Meetup
On Friday night there was another large Couch Surfer meetup to be held this time at place called 'Tresspasser Bar' which was apparently going to be big enough to hold everyone.
Again a few people were meeting for food beforehand so I decided to go along. We walked for about 20 minutes to a Persian place that was said to be pretty good. Unfortunately it didn't serve alcohol and didn't even let us drink our own alcohol there, which we didn't find out until an Aussie called Ben had come back from buying us a bottle each. They wouldn't even let us put them in the fridge, very unreasonable I'd say. However, the food was excellent and very reasonably priced.
It's good to get to the 'pre-meet meals' as there are usually only a few people and it allows you to get to know them a bit better than when your in a bar full of people.
After we'd eaten we ambled back towards Tresspasser Bar along Kastanien Allee, walking past 'Ben and Jerry's Scoop Shop' which I'd seen the previous time I'd been to Berlin but not been to (more on that later though). We arrived back at the bar around 8:45 so there were only three other people there. I ordered what I thought was just a normal beer but turned out to be beer with lemonade in. It wasn't exactly terrible, but it's not something I'd choose to drink again.
By 9:30 a few more people had arrived and by 10:30 the place was heaving, drinks were flowing and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I managed to get a comfy seat at a long table and talked to a fair few people, and made a point this time of getting numbers. I also had another long chat with fellow Yorkshireman Dan (incidentally, his 'how do you know Will' on Couch Surfers reads "Worked together down t'mines 20 years").
Around 12:30ish I left the the bar with an American girl called Nari and an Argentinian guy (who was couch surfing in Berlin) called Lean and went to a club near Jannowitz-bruke. Now, to go to a good club in Berlin you have to prove your worth and that you are there for the music by finding it, a much harder task than you may think as most clubs (like the place I went to a couple of weeks ago) are hidden in the oddest of places. So after a fair amount of wondering, we found it. Like the club I'd been to before it was essentially just two small rooms. The music however was excellent and we stayed there until around 3:30. Before leaving I made the foolish mistake of going to use the toilet but it was clearly only there to facilitate the use of drugs, so I made a swift departure and used the 'facilities' outside.
We left around 3-3:30am and the plan was to head onto another club called Arena but by that point I was exhausted so headed home, leaving the other two to search for the next club. Clubbing in Berlin is supposed to be amazing which I don't dispute, but I think to fully appreciate it you need to have spent most of the day asleep, otherwise without a 'boost' of energy you just can't last the whole night. Well, I can't anyway.
Ironic really as I've had plenty of all-night gaming sessions and managed fine, but I guess they are somewhat less strenuous physically.
Again a few people were meeting for food beforehand so I decided to go along. We walked for about 20 minutes to a Persian place that was said to be pretty good. Unfortunately it didn't serve alcohol and didn't even let us drink our own alcohol there, which we didn't find out until an Aussie called Ben had come back from buying us a bottle each. They wouldn't even let us put them in the fridge, very unreasonable I'd say. However, the food was excellent and very reasonably priced.
It's good to get to the 'pre-meet meals' as there are usually only a few people and it allows you to get to know them a bit better than when your in a bar full of people.
After we'd eaten we ambled back towards Tresspasser Bar along Kastanien Allee, walking past 'Ben and Jerry's Scoop Shop' which I'd seen the previous time I'd been to Berlin but not been to (more on that later though). We arrived back at the bar around 8:45 so there were only three other people there. I ordered what I thought was just a normal beer but turned out to be beer with lemonade in. It wasn't exactly terrible, but it's not something I'd choose to drink again.
By 9:30 a few more people had arrived and by 10:30 the place was heaving, drinks were flowing and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I managed to get a comfy seat at a long table and talked to a fair few people, and made a point this time of getting numbers. I also had another long chat with fellow Yorkshireman Dan (incidentally, his 'how do you know Will' on Couch Surfers reads "Worked together down t'mines 20 years").
Around 12:30ish I left the the bar with an American girl called Nari and an Argentinian guy (who was couch surfing in Berlin) called Lean and went to a club near Jannowitz-bruke. Now, to go to a good club in Berlin you have to prove your worth and that you are there for the music by finding it, a much harder task than you may think as most clubs (like the place I went to a couple of weeks ago) are hidden in the oddest of places. So after a fair amount of wondering, we found it. Like the club I'd been to before it was essentially just two small rooms. The music however was excellent and we stayed there until around 3:30. Before leaving I made the foolish mistake of going to use the toilet but it was clearly only there to facilitate the use of drugs, so I made a swift departure and used the 'facilities' outside.
We left around 3-3:30am and the plan was to head onto another club called Arena but by that point I was exhausted so headed home, leaving the other two to search for the next club. Clubbing in Berlin is supposed to be amazing which I don't dispute, but I think to fully appreciate it you need to have spent most of the day asleep, otherwise without a 'boost' of energy you just can't last the whole night. Well, I can't anyway.
Ironic really as I've had plenty of all-night gaming sessions and managed fine, but I guess they are somewhat less strenuous physically.
Saturday 18 October 2008
iWill
It's about time I did a 'Techy' post, if you can't follow it all please feel free to direct all questions you have: here.
I've been thinking about buying myself a shiny new 'smartphone' since the details for Google Android (Google's move into mobile phones) started being released. There are essentially three options if you want a good smartphone:
Windows Mobile is basically like Windows, it's functional, has good support and is on a lot of good phones, but doesn't really have the cool 'location aware' applications that both Android and the iPhone have and requires a bit more effort to set things the way you want.
Android looks awesome, and has a lot of potential as it is completely open source and there are already a lot of great applications for it (like local price comparison). However it is only properly available on one phone which is just about the come out in America and won't be in Europe until next year.
The iPhone is the prettiest of the lot by far and has a lot of downloadable applications for it which are easily downloaded from the iTunes store. It was these apps and what they do that swung it for me.
So after an undisclosed sum of money I have my very own 8GB iPhone:
This may seem like a wholly frivolous purchase, but it has been incredibly useful. Some of the more productive applications are:
If I wanted to do all of the above without an iPhone, I'd need a U-Bahn map, a timetable, a street map, a Filofax for my appointments etc, a pad of paper for To-Do's, a book, a dictionary, a phrasebook and a camera which would take up a fair bit more room than 115.5 mm by 62.1 mm by 12.3 mm. So it saves me a lot of space, although I still carry my Metro map around in my bag, just in case.
iWill: Macbook, iPod, iPhone.
I've been thinking about buying myself a shiny new 'smartphone' since the details for Google Android (Google's move into mobile phones) started being released. There are essentially three options if you want a good smartphone:
1. Windows Mobile
2. Google Android
3. Apple iPhone
Windows Mobile is basically like Windows, it's functional, has good support and is on a lot of good phones, but doesn't really have the cool 'location aware' applications that both Android and the iPhone have and requires a bit more effort to set things the way you want.
Android looks awesome, and has a lot of potential as it is completely open source and there are already a lot of great applications for it (like local price comparison). However it is only properly available on one phone which is just about the come out in America and won't be in Europe until next year.
The iPhone is the prettiest of the lot by far and has a lot of downloadable applications for it which are easily downloaded from the iTunes store. It was these apps and what they do that swung it for me.
So after an undisclosed sum of money I have my very own 8GB iPhone:
This may seem like a wholly frivolous purchase, but it has been incredibly useful. Some of the more productive applications are:Berlin Metro App: This is essentially a mobile version of the BVG online route planner, with a map built in and it can automatically tell you which station you are closest to (using the iPhone's GPS). This is especially useful late at night when the U-Bahn stops running and you need to get a tram or bus.
iCal: The calendar that syncs with iCal on the map, which I have set up to automatically subscribe to the Berlin Couch Surfers Events calendar so I can keep an eye on what is happening in Berlin.
Google Maps: This is a lot like using a GPS like TomTom, which is has helped me find a few things in Berlin. But you can also search for things nearby, like bars, restaurants, balloon shops (anything really) and then get directions to them.
OmniFocus: This is a 'to do list' application that allows me to note things down as I think of them (as my memory is just atrocious) and then set reminders to do them. What is really cool with this though is that you can set certain location based parameters, so I can select 'Nearby To-Do's' and if I'm at home it'll tell me what I have to do at home. When I'm in town and I have shopping to do for example I need to buy a notepad, it'll search for nearby stationary shops then gives me directions to them. This make getting things done inifitely easier and a lot more engaging.
Stanza: This is a book reading app, I had been looking for a book to read on the metro and this solves the problem eloquently. It has links to download a huge library of free books. I decided to download all of the Sherlock Holmes books as despite listening to the radio dramatisations (long car journeys on family holidays) I never read any of the books. I'm currently reading 'A Study in Scarlet'.
English-German Dictionary: I've been meaning to buy a dictionary for my German class since I started. This app allows me to simply type in the word I want to translate and it gives me the translation along with examples and it's gender (der,die,das). It can also conjugate verbs and convert numbers into text (i.e. typing 120 writes hundertswanzig). A real help for my course and mush quicker to use than a paper dictionary.
Speaking Phrasebook: A digital phrasebook that also has sound clips for each phrase.
If I wanted to do all of the above without an iPhone, I'd need a U-Bahn map, a timetable, a street map, a Filofax for my appointments etc, a pad of paper for To-Do's, a book, a dictionary, a phrasebook and a camera which would take up a fair bit more room than 115.5 mm by 62.1 mm by 12.3 mm. So it saves me a lot of space, although I still carry my Metro map around in my bag, just in case.
iWill: Macbook, iPod, iPhone.
That's better
Straight from the Ministry of Practical Thinking, I've made a slight adjustment to the layout of my bedroom. My 'bed' is now taller as the sofabed (which was just a double mattress that folds in half with cushions placed on it) is now under my mattress. This gives me more space in the room and a more comfortable bed.
There is one downside however; as the bed is essentially just three rather soft mattresses piled on top of each other, there is a fair amount of give, so much so that when I wake up in the morning I tend to be leaning precariously in the direction of the floor, I get the feeling I'm going to wake up on my way down to the floor.
Perhaps not the most exciting of posts, but with a room as small as mine you need to make the most out of the space. A few posters on the walls and it'll be much more homely.
There is one downside however; as the bed is essentially just three rather soft mattresses piled on top of each other, there is a fair amount of give, so much so that when I wake up in the morning I tend to be leaning precariously in the direction of the floor, I get the feeling I'm going to wake up on my way down to the floor.
Perhaps not the most exciting of posts, but with a room as small as mine you need to make the most out of the space. A few posters on the walls and it'll be much more homely.
Underground Opera Night
On Tuesday, continuing the spirit of trying something new I decided to go along to an Opera Night at a bar in Kreuzberg called ‘Max und Morritz’. A few people were meeting beforehand and being a Yorkshireman I was hungry so I went along to that also. Four of us met at a pizza place near the bar and spent about an hour there chatting and eating.
The Opera Night itself was held in a large room in the back of Max und Moritz. The term ‘Underground Opera Night’ was theirs and it described the event well. There was a mix of opera and songs from musicals, which made it a much more pleasant, easy-going evening. Sitting in the back, in the separate area often used for such functions felt like being in a 1930s speakeasy and the large grand piano sounded amazing.
There were two singers, a woman called Annette Betanski who sang mostly opera but some songs from musicals and a man whose name I forget. Paul Hankinson, who was introduced as ‘the coolest man in Berlin’ played the grand piano. The two singers took it in turns to sing. Annette's voice was truly stunning and really filled the room when singing opera. The male singer sang a lot of Broadway musical songs (including one from Chicago) and sang with a typical ‘New York Broadway’ kind of accent. The two also did a few duets which were really nice as they had a great chemistry.
All in all it was a very pleasant evening, and being back in Kreuzberg was especially nice as it felt as though I hadn’t been there in ages, when in fact it had been only a week. Berlin seems to be a place where time feels much longer, a week is like a month. Perhaps it’s just because I’ve been doing so much more than I would normally be doing.
Note: please excuse the poor photographs, I wasn't sat in the best place for taking them and I thought it'd be a bit rude taking lots of photographs instead of listening to them sing.
The Opera Night itself was held in a large room in the back of Max und Moritz. The term ‘Underground Opera Night’ was theirs and it described the event well. There was a mix of opera and songs from musicals, which made it a much more pleasant, easy-going evening. Sitting in the back, in the separate area often used for such functions felt like being in a 1930s speakeasy and the large grand piano sounded amazing.
There were two singers, a woman called Annette Betanski who sang mostly opera but some songs from musicals and a man whose name I forget. Paul Hankinson, who was introduced as ‘the coolest man in Berlin’ played the grand piano. The two singers took it in turns to sing. Annette's voice was truly stunning and really filled the room when singing opera. The male singer sang a lot of Broadway musical songs (including one from Chicago) and sang with a typical ‘New York Broadway’ kind of accent. The two also did a few duets which were really nice as they had a great chemistry.
All in all it was a very pleasant evening, and being back in Kreuzberg was especially nice as it felt as though I hadn’t been there in ages, when in fact it had been only a week. Berlin seems to be a place where time feels much longer, a week is like a month. Perhaps it’s just because I’ve been doing so much more than I would normally be doing.
Note: please excuse the poor photographs, I wasn't sat in the best place for taking them and I thought it'd be a bit rude taking lots of photographs instead of listening to them sing.
Having a night in
After a week of going out and partying, pretty much every night I will be spending tonight in. It's an odd feeling to have to actually think about that choice when only a few weeks ago in Sheffield every night was a night in. This is a far cry then from that life, and I can now appreciate not going out. I can recuperate from the drinking, partying and sleep deprivation.
It should also mean I can get some blogging done, which if I'm honest I probably would have had enough time to do some of this week if I hadn't been playing around with some technology or watching Top Gear.
That'll be later, right now though I'm going to make something to eat and then watch Top Gear.
It should also mean I can get some blogging done, which if I'm honest I probably would have had enough time to do some of this week if I hadn't been playing around with some technology or watching Top Gear.
That'll be later, right now though I'm going to make something to eat and then watch Top Gear.
Wednesday 15 October 2008
Too tired to write
I had intended to write a couple more posts, but I've been quite busy again these last few days and my early morning excursion today trying to find a new phone (more on that when I have one) pretty much wore me out. Fortunately, as you can see it's had absolutely no impact on my ever impeccable writing style.
So, until tomorrow, Gute Nacht.
So, until tomorrow, Gute Nacht.
My New Room
I moved into my new apartment last week, and the room is quite small. That said, it has enough room for a sofa, a bed, a large table and a chair.
As you can see it's perhaps not the most luxurious of rooms, but at €150 a month, I'm not complaining. Plus the other 4 people living in the flat seem pretty cool.
As you can see it's perhaps not the most luxurious of rooms, but at €150 a month, I'm not complaining. Plus the other 4 people living in the flat seem pretty cool.
Film Night: Chocolat and Chocolate
On Sunday night I went along to a film night hosted by one of the Berlin Couch Surfers. As we waited for everyone to arrive we watched a comedy called ‘The Skeleton of Kadavra’. It's was a 60's B-Movie style film complete with black and white and terrible acting.
Once everyone had arrived and after the rather long 'Skeleton of Kadavra' chocolate fondue and fruit was brought out for everyone and we began to watch the film ‘Chocolat’. The film is about "a woman and her daughter open a chocolate shop in a small French village that shakes up the rigid morality of the community".
It was an excellent film, and the experience was enhanced greatly watching it on a projector instead of a TV. There was around 15 people there in total and it's looking like it could become a fairly regular event. I'd like to try and watch 'The Orphanage' as I have it on DVD but am yet to watch it.
Once everyone had arrived and after the rather long 'Skeleton of Kadavra' chocolate fondue and fruit was brought out for everyone and we began to watch the film ‘Chocolat’. The film is about "a woman and her daughter open a chocolate shop in a small French village that shakes up the rigid morality of the community".
It was an excellent film, and the experience was enhanced greatly watching it on a projector instead of a TV. There was around 15 people there in total and it's looking like it could become a fairly regular event. I'd like to try and watch 'The Orphanage' as I have it on DVD but am yet to watch it.
Friday 10 October 2008
Student, Film-Maker, English Tutor?
Today I finally registered in Berlin which was no mean feat but this will allow me to get a bank account and a job.
I've been pondering about this recently, trying to think of what kind of things I could do, which is limited by the small amount of German that I speak. I'd had some vague thoughts about teaching English, either to a class or tutoring as I know people who have done both with knowing little or no German, but it seemed a bit of an 'easy' job to me, and not quite a 'proper days work'.
But while I was on my break from my German lesson today, one of the guys from the other class came up and ask me if I'd be willing to tutor him for two hours a day, every day for two weeks. He said he has some 'Cambridge Edition' books to work from and seemed quite keen so we exchanged numbers and I said I'd text him my email address and a price as I wanted to think about it.
I spoke to a couple of people about what to charge and they suggested €15 per hour would be a reasonable price. Teaching for two weeks will probably mean 10 days of lessons, which is 20 hours which equates to €300 which in my current apartment is two months rent. Not bad for two weeks work and definitely not something I'm going to turn my nose up at.
So I'm going to try and tutor this guy as best I can, then if it goes well I'll look into the possibility of doing it more often, or at least as a second job. There are a few places I can advertise so I should be able to get a small number of people to teach.
Either way, it's a new experience and Berlin has taught me to embrace the new and the bizarre whenever the opportunity arises. If only my GCSE English teachers could see me now.
I've been pondering about this recently, trying to think of what kind of things I could do, which is limited by the small amount of German that I speak. I'd had some vague thoughts about teaching English, either to a class or tutoring as I know people who have done both with knowing little or no German, but it seemed a bit of an 'easy' job to me, and not quite a 'proper days work'.
But while I was on my break from my German lesson today, one of the guys from the other class came up and ask me if I'd be willing to tutor him for two hours a day, every day for two weeks. He said he has some 'Cambridge Edition' books to work from and seemed quite keen so we exchanged numbers and I said I'd text him my email address and a price as I wanted to think about it.
I spoke to a couple of people about what to charge and they suggested €15 per hour would be a reasonable price. Teaching for two weeks will probably mean 10 days of lessons, which is 20 hours which equates to €300 which in my current apartment is two months rent. Not bad for two weeks work and definitely not something I'm going to turn my nose up at.
So I'm going to try and tutor this guy as best I can, then if it goes well I'll look into the possibility of doing it more often, or at least as a second job. There are a few places I can advertise so I should be able to get a small number of people to teach.
Either way, it's a new experience and Berlin has taught me to embrace the new and the bizarre whenever the opportunity arises. If only my GCSE English teachers could see me now.
Thursday 9 October 2008
Jazz Club
I've enjoyed listening to Jazz for a few years now and I've long wanted to go to a proper Jazz Club somewhere. On Monday night I did just that. I met up with a few Couch Surfers near Rosenthaler Platz station in Prenzlauerberg (or possibly Freidrichshain). One of them, an American student called Navi then took us on the tram to an underground Jazz Club nestled in-between some rather bland looking modern office buildings, an unlikely place for such such a venue.
As we neared the entrance, and the faint sound of jazz wafted up the stairs I knew this was going to be an enjoyable evening. Inside there was an eclectic mix of odd sculptures and contraptions:
As we neared the entrance, and the faint sound of jazz wafted up the stairs I knew this was going to be an enjoyable evening. Inside there was an eclectic mix of odd sculptures and contraptions:
The band were already playing as we went in so we sat down at a table and the waitress came over and took the orders for our drinks (this is one of the German customs I'm growing to like a lot).
The band consisted of a guitar, trumpet, double bass, drums and a saxophone. They played a range of songs, now and again one of them would solo which would draw applause and cheers from the crowd. As I was enjoying some of the best live Jazz I've heard in a long time, I was looking through the programme for the club. As well as free live Jazz every Monday there is also a free Blues night every Thursday. I didn't manage to get to it this week, but I'll definitely be looking into it some time soon.
Around midnight the music finished and we took a stroll back to the U-Bahn station and somehow Diana and I managed to take the train going in the wrong direction, then after getting off we realised that we could've stayed on and gotten another tube train further along. We ended up having to get a tram (which run much later than the tube) which took 45 minutes to get back.
I've made so many errors navigating the transport system here now, I see it more as 'exploring' than just going the wrong way.
Around midnight the music finished and we took a stroll back to the U-Bahn station and somehow Diana and I managed to take the train going in the wrong direction, then after getting off we realised that we could've stayed on and gotten another tube train further along. We ended up having to get a tram (which run much later than the tube) which took 45 minutes to get back.
I've made so many errors navigating the transport system here now, I see it more as 'exploring' than just going the wrong way.
The Apartment Saga
The apartment situation has been a bit up in the air this last week. The floor of the kitchen in Michael’s apartment was supposed to be put in on Monday, but they discovered that the beams have fungus and the floorboards in the hall and possibly Michael’s room need to be removed to get at the beam (Michaels thinks it's a lie though).
Anyway, I already spent Sunday night couch surfing (well floor surfing really) so I wouldn't have to get up insanely early to be out before the builders arrived (plus the hot water had been turned off). I ended up Couch Surfing until Tuesday evening when I was able to get a small room in a five person flatshare in Friedrichshain. I heard about it from Michael's friend Sven as it's in the same building as him. Incidentally Michael has had to stay with Sven since Monday because of the building work.
Today I went to meet Dominike to look at a four room apartment in Kreuzberg. I had also told a 'Yorkshire lass' called Naomi about it also and had arranged to meet her there. When I arrived Domike was there waiting along with a friend, I don't quite remember her name so I'll go with Andrea and her boyfriend.
Anyway, the apartment was really nice, and huge but it was on the ground floor which generally means lots of break-ins. While I do have laptop insurance for my Macbook, I'm certain that my insurers would get pretty annoyed having me claim on it every couple of months.
In the end I doubt I'll end up living with Naomi as she may be going back to England for the winter. I also didn't really get along with Dominike's friend Andrea as she seemed a bit prissy and proper which as a result means it's unlikely I'll end up living with Dominike (as she wants to live with her friend) which is a shame as we get on so well.
Anyway, I like the room I have at the moment and I can stay here a fair few months so there isn't a big pressure to find somewhere any more. This will allow me to find somewhere I really want to stay for the two years I'm here.
Anyway, I already spent Sunday night couch surfing (well floor surfing really) so I wouldn't have to get up insanely early to be out before the builders arrived (plus the hot water had been turned off). I ended up Couch Surfing until Tuesday evening when I was able to get a small room in a five person flatshare in Friedrichshain. I heard about it from Michael's friend Sven as it's in the same building as him. Incidentally Michael has had to stay with Sven since Monday because of the building work.
Today I went to meet Dominike to look at a four room apartment in Kreuzberg. I had also told a 'Yorkshire lass' called Naomi about it also and had arranged to meet her there. When I arrived Domike was there waiting along with a friend, I don't quite remember her name so I'll go with Andrea and her boyfriend.
Anyway, the apartment was really nice, and huge but it was on the ground floor which generally means lots of break-ins. While I do have laptop insurance for my Macbook, I'm certain that my insurers would get pretty annoyed having me claim on it every couple of months.
In the end I doubt I'll end up living with Naomi as she may be going back to England for the winter. I also didn't really get along with Dominike's friend Andrea as she seemed a bit prissy and proper which as a result means it's unlikely I'll end up living with Dominike (as she wants to live with her friend) which is a shame as we get on so well.
Anyway, I like the room I have at the moment and I can stay here a fair few months so there isn't a big pressure to find somewhere any more. This will allow me to find somewhere I really want to stay for the two years I'm here.
Party on the U8
I was heading home earlier after a rather eventful night's drinking (but that's another story) and as I got onto the train there was a fairly large group of people singing and dancing with a Spanish guy in the middle of it all with a guitar playing and singing in Spanish and English.
Because of works on the line we had to switch trains a few times and each time more people started to gravitate towards the music and joined in with the singing. Admittedly I was rather English in my restraint, standing as I was so close to it all. Still, it was just another random event in Berlin which everyone just seemed to be going along with.
Roll on another day in this mad, mad city.
Because of works on the line we had to switch trains a few times and each time more people started to gravitate towards the music and joined in with the singing. Admittedly I was rather English in my restraint, standing as I was so close to it all. Still, it was just another random event in Berlin which everyone just seemed to be going along with.
Roll on another day in this mad, mad city.
Wednesday 8 October 2008
Gaming detox
As some of you will know, my addiction to gaming rather took over my life this last year or so and getting away from that was one of the big motivations for coming to Berlin.
I was expecting some form of withdrawal from it all as by the end of my holiday in Italy I just wanted to get home to the internet and Team Fortess 2. I partly attribute that to the fact that the places we were staying was pretty archaic when it came to technology.
Since coming to Berlin I've had pretty much no desire to play anything, and I doubt I'll keep to my original plan of returning to the UK for a week just to play Left4Dead when it's released. I don't like the person gaming turns me (and others) into. Life is just too short to spend it all arguing about 'balance' and wasting energy on childish grudges.
My life in Berlin is so much more exhilarating and fulfilling that any of the experiences I ever got from gaming. Plus I'm sure I can find something to get the adrenaline pumping in the same way a good round of TF2 with the LdD or the EBC guys did.
So this is Will Bann aka 'GinSoakedBoy' logging off.
I was expecting some form of withdrawal from it all as by the end of my holiday in Italy I just wanted to get home to the internet and Team Fortess 2. I partly attribute that to the fact that the places we were staying was pretty archaic when it came to technology.
Since coming to Berlin I've had pretty much no desire to play anything, and I doubt I'll keep to my original plan of returning to the UK for a week just to play Left4Dead when it's released. I don't like the person gaming turns me (and others) into. Life is just too short to spend it all arguing about 'balance' and wasting energy on childish grudges.
My life in Berlin is so much more exhilarating and fulfilling that any of the experiences I ever got from gaming. Plus I'm sure I can find something to get the adrenaline pumping in the same way a good round of TF2 with the LdD or the EBC guys did.
So this is Will Bann aka 'GinSoakedBoy' logging off.
train to nowhere
I was on the train last night and I ended up in the strangest situation I've been in so far in Berlin.
The Berlin S-Bahn (light railway) 'Ring' line runs in a circle around the centre of Berlin and the trains go round it one way or the other, pretty simple really. So there I was, casually sitting listening to 'The Long Blondes' on my iPod when the train suddenly pulls into a station not on the ring line. This probably should have prompted me to ask someone what was going on if not get off especially as everyone else got off. But I somehow didn't notice this.
Five minutes later the train stops in the middle of nowhere and the engine turns off. Finally dawning on me what was going on and stood up rather quickly in a 'what the fuck?' realisation. Seeing two people at the other end of the carriage I sat back down feeling rather silly about the outburst, thinking everyone must be fine. I then clocked that one of the two people had a suitcase and both of them were looking as confused as I was.
I decided to ask them if they knew what was going on. Though both German they spoke English and explained that one of them (Christoph) was an intern at Coca-Cola and had only been in Berlin for a week and his girlfriend was visiting him from Stuttgart. As we were stood there casually chatting as if nothing was wrong, the driver came out and said that we'd be heading back in the other direction in a couple of minutes.
After getting off the train at the second stop (the doors mysteriously didn't open at the first) I pointed the two of them to the line they needed to go on and found the one I needed. I gave Christoph my number and he said he'd call me on Friday about a party.
The whole situation was so surreal yet I still ended up meeting new people. I hope I find myself in other equally mad events in the next two years.
Ich liebe Berlin.
The Berlin S-Bahn (light railway) 'Ring' line runs in a circle around the centre of Berlin and the trains go round it one way or the other, pretty simple really. So there I was, casually sitting listening to 'The Long Blondes' on my iPod when the train suddenly pulls into a station not on the ring line. This probably should have prompted me to ask someone what was going on if not get off especially as everyone else got off. But I somehow didn't notice this.
Five minutes later the train stops in the middle of nowhere and the engine turns off. Finally dawning on me what was going on and stood up rather quickly in a 'what the fuck?' realisation. Seeing two people at the other end of the carriage I sat back down feeling rather silly about the outburst, thinking everyone must be fine. I then clocked that one of the two people had a suitcase and both of them were looking as confused as I was.
I decided to ask them if they knew what was going on. Though both German they spoke English and explained that one of them (Christoph) was an intern at Coca-Cola and had only been in Berlin for a week and his girlfriend was visiting him from Stuttgart. As we were stood there casually chatting as if nothing was wrong, the driver came out and said that we'd be heading back in the other direction in a couple of minutes.
After getting off the train at the second stop (the doors mysteriously didn't open at the first) I pointed the two of them to the line they needed to go on and found the one I needed. I gave Christoph my number and he said he'd call me on Friday about a party.
The whole situation was so surreal yet I still ended up meeting new people. I hope I find myself in other equally mad events in the next two years.
Ich liebe Berlin.
Tuesday 7 October 2008
Tickets please
The Berlin public transport system has a rather odd and overly trusting ticketing system. There are no conductors to buy tickets from as you get on a train, bus, tram or whatever so you buy tickets from the machines at each station, you then need to stamp it to validate it.
Every now and again, conductors dressed in plain clothes will appear on the trains and inspect everyone's ticket. They're a lot like the CIA really, they could be anywhere but you never really know. I've been in Berlin now a little over a week and today was the first day I've seen these people, and they didn't actually check my ticket (German efficiency).
Not having a valid ticket results in a €40 fine. If you look at the numbers you see that not paying ever would save you money provided you got caught less than roughly once every fortnight, provided the punishments didn't get worse. I've heard of people who do this and get away with it. However I'd reason that the system in Berlin is still probably cheaper than paying a large workforce of conductors resulting in less people skipping the system.
Anyway, as fas as I'm concerned, the transport system here is so cheap and reliable that it would be rude not to pay.
Every now and again, conductors dressed in plain clothes will appear on the trains and inspect everyone's ticket. They're a lot like the CIA really, they could be anywhere but you never really know. I've been in Berlin now a little over a week and today was the first day I've seen these people, and they didn't actually check my ticket (German efficiency).
Not having a valid ticket results in a €40 fine. If you look at the numbers you see that not paying ever would save you money provided you got caught less than roughly once every fortnight, provided the punishments didn't get worse. I've heard of people who do this and get away with it. However I'd reason that the system in Berlin is still probably cheaper than paying a large workforce of conductors resulting in less people skipping the system.
Anyway, as fas as I'm concerned, the transport system here is so cheap and reliable that it would be rude not to pay.
...and finally tonight
I had my first German language lesson today at the Hartnackshule. The people in the class were from a huge variety of countries but they all seemed to speak pretty good English (always a laugh) which meant that when the teacher broke from speaking in German (the lessons are all in German even in the beginner class) she spoke English.
This led to a fair amount of guesswork with some of the instructions, but I guess this is part of the class. Even if you didn’t understand the written instructions word for word you knew what to do.
So I now have a lesson every weekday from 12:30 until 3:30 for the next six months.
This led to a fair amount of guesswork with some of the instructions, but I guess this is part of the class. Even if you didn’t understand the written instructions word for word you knew what to do.
So I now have a lesson every weekday from 12:30 until 3:30 for the next six months.
Heavy Metal in Bagdad
Sunday night I went along with two others to the Babylon cinema to see the documentary ‘Heavy Metal in Bagdad’.
In the late summer of 2006, in the middle of the insurgency, filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi traveled to Baghdad to meet and interview the only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda. "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is the story of the band and its members, young Iraqis whose lives have been distorted and displaced by years of continual warfare in their homeland. The filmmakers have collected glimpses into the struggles of Acrassicauda as they try to stay together and stay alive. Their struggle is the untold story of the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of young Iraqis.If you haven’t seen it, I’d highly recommend it even if you don't like heavy metal music (I don't).
Weekend in Berlin
On Friday Berlin was also celebrating the reunification of Berlin with even more and bigger parties. The one I attended was near the Reichstag. A German TV channel was filming the concert, which had such famous acts as ‘Ich und Ich’ and ‘Scooter’. That’s right, the one and only Scooter. He came on stage, talked a load of gibberish in English, and did two ‘songs’ (I use that word loosely) neither of which were the two anyone outside of Germany will have heard, in which he tended to just repeat the words ‘hardcore’ and ‘techno’. The event itself was good, there were stands selling German food and alcohol. This included the traditional German ‘Gluvine’ a spicy, heated red wine that was actually quite nice. As well as a couple of varieties of sausage (wurst) I ate a cheese pretzel, which as you can see I thoroughly enjoyed:
On Saturday night there was a big Couch Surfing (I’ll assume that people have Googled this and know what it is form now on) meetup. I arrived early to go with a few people to eat at a local vegetarian restaurant. All I’ll say is that it was so good, I’m not actually sure if I was eating an actual meat burger or a veggie burger, so thumbs up from me.
The meetup itself was held in a bar in Freidrichshain called Die Tagung which was way too small for the 100+ people that turned up (apparently there are 10,000 couch surfers in Berlin). I got talking to a lot of people, one of which was from a town just South of SHEFFIELD. We had a long conversation, Yorkshire accents and all, it was ‘reyt good’. At one point the other guy turned to a German girl next to us and said ‘Do you understand anything we are saying?’ she simply shook her head.
On Saturday night there was a big Couch Surfing (I’ll assume that people have Googled this and know what it is form now on) meetup. I arrived early to go with a few people to eat at a local vegetarian restaurant. All I’ll say is that it was so good, I’m not actually sure if I was eating an actual meat burger or a veggie burger, so thumbs up from me.
The meetup itself was held in a bar in Freidrichshain called Die Tagung which was way too small for the 100+ people that turned up (apparently there are 10,000 couch surfers in Berlin). I got talking to a lot of people, one of which was from a town just South of SHEFFIELD. We had a long conversation, Yorkshire accents and all, it was ‘reyt good’. At one point the other guy turned to a German girl next to us and said ‘Do you understand anything we are saying?’ she simply shook her head.
...and we're back
After a short and rather chaotic period I’m back and normal service shall be resumed. Expect a slew of posts this evening (well, morning now I guess), all of which will be up to their usual high standard.
Saturday 4 October 2008
Photos look better when Photoshopped
As I was getting ready to go out yesterday it transpired that I had an extra 20 minutes or so to play with, just enough time go to the small lake and take a photo or two.
A lot of photographers will say you can take great photographs without the need for Photoshop. Those people are have skill and good cameras, I have neither of those things. However, I'm very pleased with the results of my Photoshopping. Even a simple curves adjustment makes all the difference:
A lot of photographers will say you can take great photographs without the need for Photoshop. Those people are have skill and good cameras, I have neither of those things. However, I'm very pleased with the results of my Photoshopping. Even a simple curves adjustment makes all the difference:
I really liked the architecture on these buildings and the sun being so low brings out the details nicely.
I'm a sucker for good graffiti art and there is so much going on in this. Unfortunately I couldn't really get a better angle of this because of the tree being in the way. I walk past this a lot as it's right round the corner from where I'm staying.
This is the photograph I've been really wanting to take these last few days. I'm really happy with the composition of this, with the statue looking out across the lake. It is pretty heavily Photoshopped, I won't say how as knowing is always less fun.
This is the photograph I've been really wanting to take these last few days. I'm really happy with the composition of this, with the statue looking out across the lake. It is pretty heavily Photoshopped, I won't say how as knowing is always less fun.
Friday 3 October 2008
Potsdamerplatz
Today, the people of Berlin are celebrating the reunification of Germany back in 1989 so there are a lot of events going on today and tonight. I'll be meeting up with the guys from last night and heading to one of the many parties.
With a few hours to spare I decided to go to Potsdamerplatz. I've been there before last time I was in Berlin during Berlinale. Its mostly shops, cinemas (which there are several of dotted around) and theatres. There is also a Legoland Museum which were thinking of going to during Berlinale but thought the price was a bit much for the novelty of going in (both my sister and Michael worked for Lego for a few months).
I snapped a few tourist shots while I was there:
Most of the buildings in Potsdamerplatz are tall, spralling modern things with creative and just plain mad designs, which I love.
There was also some market/fair which from the signs I guessed was an East/West thing, but it just looked like an excuse to eat and drink (not that I'm complaining). One of the stands had a lifesize Lego model of a Bugatti T35:
The stall next to this was selling metal scale models of various Bugatti cars, including the Veyron. The model of the Veyron which was roughly 8 inches or so long, cost €250. Pure extortion.
I'll have to wrap this up as I need to be going out very soon, but rest assured Pete, I'll get that photo of the lake and it'll be well worth the wait.
With a few hours to spare I decided to go to Potsdamerplatz. I've been there before last time I was in Berlin during Berlinale. Its mostly shops, cinemas (which there are several of dotted around) and theatres. There is also a Legoland Museum which were thinking of going to during Berlinale but thought the price was a bit much for the novelty of going in (both my sister and Michael worked for Lego for a few months).
I snapped a few tourist shots while I was there:
Most of the buildings in Potsdamerplatz are tall, spralling modern things with creative and just plain mad designs, which I love.
There was also some market/fair which from the signs I guessed was an East/West thing, but it just looked like an excuse to eat and drink (not that I'm complaining). One of the stands had a lifesize Lego model of a Bugatti T35:
The stall next to this was selling metal scale models of various Bugatti cars, including the Veyron. The model of the Veyron which was roughly 8 inches or so long, cost €250. Pure extortion.
I'll have to wrap this up as I need to be going out very soon, but rest assured Pete, I'll get that photo of the lake and it'll be well worth the wait.
Fork in the road
Last night I was stood at the proverbial 'fork in the road'. In one direction a group of Couch Surfers (including the Russia girl I had met the previous night) and a club night that would go on until 5am. The other direction, a party under a tunnel with Dominike (the German girl I had met that day) her friends and another group of Couch Surfers I had yet to make definite arrangements where to meet.
I took two steps down the road towards 5am when I had a change of heart and took the other road, so to speak. I met up with Dominike and her friends Tim, a hilarious guy who knew only a little English but was quite happy to teach me some great German slang and his girlfriend Jana at Alexanderplatz.
After taking the U8 to Voltastrasse and getting some directions to the tunnel from a man on a bike we arrived to see a small crowd stood on one side of the tunnel. There was a DJ and a couple of stands serving drinks but not a whole lot was really happening. I was starting to think I'd chosen wrong.
An hour later, the beer was flowing, the crowd was dancing and the music was playing loudly. We'd managed to meet up with the Couch Surfers, some of which thought I was Scottish (bah) and everything was great. Then the cameras were brought out and embarrassing photos were taken. I think I'll try and hold on to some dignity by not posting them here, I'll just Facebook them.
As things started to wind down around 11:30 Guarani, one of the Couch Surfers told us about a 'secret party' that we could go to. Secret was definitely the right word. To get there, we had to walk up a street, across a small park, into an industrial looking area, around some fences and up to a large gate, which the muffled sound of music told us was the right place.
The entry price was literally a roll of the dice, so it could cost between 1 and 6 Euros. Most people rolled 1-3 (I rolled a 3) but inevitably one unlucky person rolled a 6 and had to pay the full amount.
The club itself was just a small room for the bar, and a small room with the DJ and a dancefloor. Surprisingly it wasn't shit, the music was excellent and everyone had a good boogie. Now, I would say something less daft than 'boogie' but I just can't stomach talking about dancing in a club in a serious way. It's just one of those things that never looks good and we all accept this truth apart from the odd few who put way to much effort into it and just end up coming off looking ridiculous.
Anyway, around blur am (I can't honestly say what time it was) we decided to run the gauntlet back to the nearest station. I insisted on taking a couple of photos of a bridge that ended up looking terrible. On the plus side, the bridge led us to a large station where I was able to get a direct train back to Moritzplatz. I also snapped a photo of Dominike, Jana and Tim. In Tim's defence he'd had at least twice as much to drink as I had so it's fair enough that he's looking a bit tiddly.
Somehow I woke up this morning and was able to get up to have breakfast with Michael, Sven and Janine in the flat downstairs at 10am, feeling no ill effects from last night.
I definitely went down the right road.
I took two steps down the road towards 5am when I had a change of heart and took the other road, so to speak. I met up with Dominike and her friends Tim, a hilarious guy who knew only a little English but was quite happy to teach me some great German slang and his girlfriend Jana at Alexanderplatz.
After taking the U8 to Voltastrasse and getting some directions to the tunnel from a man on a bike we arrived to see a small crowd stood on one side of the tunnel. There was a DJ and a couple of stands serving drinks but not a whole lot was really happening. I was starting to think I'd chosen wrong.
An hour later, the beer was flowing, the crowd was dancing and the music was playing loudly. We'd managed to meet up with the Couch Surfers, some of which thought I was Scottish (bah) and everything was great. Then the cameras were brought out and embarrassing photos were taken. I think I'll try and hold on to some dignity by not posting them here, I'll just Facebook them.
As things started to wind down around 11:30 Guarani, one of the Couch Surfers told us about a 'secret party' that we could go to. Secret was definitely the right word. To get there, we had to walk up a street, across a small park, into an industrial looking area, around some fences and up to a large gate, which the muffled sound of music told us was the right place.
The entry price was literally a roll of the dice, so it could cost between 1 and 6 Euros. Most people rolled 1-3 (I rolled a 3) but inevitably one unlucky person rolled a 6 and had to pay the full amount.
The club itself was just a small room for the bar, and a small room with the DJ and a dancefloor. Surprisingly it wasn't shit, the music was excellent and everyone had a good boogie. Now, I would say something less daft than 'boogie' but I just can't stomach talking about dancing in a club in a serious way. It's just one of those things that never looks good and we all accept this truth apart from the odd few who put way to much effort into it and just end up coming off looking ridiculous.
Anyway, around blur am (I can't honestly say what time it was) we decided to run the gauntlet back to the nearest station. I insisted on taking a couple of photos of a bridge that ended up looking terrible. On the plus side, the bridge led us to a large station where I was able to get a direct train back to Moritzplatz. I also snapped a photo of Dominike, Jana and Tim. In Tim's defence he'd had at least twice as much to drink as I had so it's fair enough that he's looking a bit tiddly.
Somehow I woke up this morning and was able to get up to have breakfast with Michael, Sven and Janine in the flat downstairs at 10am, feeling no ill effects from last night.
I definitely went down the right road.
Thursday 2 October 2008
Learning the language, cheating the system
I've been only 4 days and I'm already cheating the German benefit system, quite an achievement I'd say.
I think I'd better explain. In Berlin students and people earning under €16,000 can apply for a 'WBS' form which allows them to live in the cheap apartments, which most landlords will ask for. With the help of a fellow Couch Surfer Dominike I was able to get one because I'm now a 'student' of Hartnackshule language school. This involved a small degree of lying which the woman dealing with us seemed more than happy to do on our behalf.
This is quite fortunate as Dominike found a film student who was looking to rent out the two rooms of her apartment who is asking for this form. She had already offered one of the rooms to Dominike who had said she'd think about it earlier in the week. I emailed this girl today saying that we'd both be interested in living there if the room is still free. So hopefully I may now have somewhere to live. If not, I received an email from someone else who I'd contacted yesterday (at least something good came from it).
I mentioned that I'd applied to a language school, which I managed to find after a large amount of walking in circles around the area around the tube station it was near to. Classes are every weekday between 12:30 and 3:30 (there was a 9am class, but there's no way I'm getting up that early). The term is 6 months but I've got a contract for 2 months so if I don't like it I can easily stop (I have some clever ideas from time to time).
Anyway, after going early the language school and hanging out with Dominike this afternoon I'm now pretty tired, and still a little hungover. But there are parties to go tonight so I need to decide which one to go to and then call some people.
I get the feeling I'll be having a lie in tomorrow.
I think I'd better explain. In Berlin students and people earning under €16,000 can apply for a 'WBS' form which allows them to live in the cheap apartments, which most landlords will ask for. With the help of a fellow Couch Surfer Dominike I was able to get one because I'm now a 'student' of Hartnackshule language school. This involved a small degree of lying which the woman dealing with us seemed more than happy to do on our behalf.
This is quite fortunate as Dominike found a film student who was looking to rent out the two rooms of her apartment who is asking for this form. She had already offered one of the rooms to Dominike who had said she'd think about it earlier in the week. I emailed this girl today saying that we'd both be interested in living there if the room is still free. So hopefully I may now have somewhere to live. If not, I received an email from someone else who I'd contacted yesterday (at least something good came from it).
I mentioned that I'd applied to a language school, which I managed to find after a large amount of walking in circles around the area around the tube station it was near to. Classes are every weekday between 12:30 and 3:30 (there was a 9am class, but there's no way I'm getting up that early). The term is 6 months but I've got a contract for 2 months so if I don't like it I can easily stop (I have some clever ideas from time to time).
Anyway, after going early the language school and hanging out with Dominike this afternoon I'm now pretty tired, and still a little hungover. But there are parties to go tonight so I need to decide which one to go to and then call some people.
I get the feeling I'll be having a lie in tomorrow.
Say 'Yes' More
Slightly worse for wear, my message for today is say 'Yes' more.
An odd message perhaps, so I'll explain. A few weeks ago my Mum gave me a book called 'Yes Man' by Danny Wallace (shown below).
I can't really do this book justice by describing it myself so I copied the synopsis from Amazon:
Anyway, yesterday I was going to be spending the evening alone as Michael was working until 10pm. Not liking that prospect I posted up on the Berlin Couch Surfer (if you don't know what Couch Surfing is, get out your cave and Google it) group asking if anyone was interested in going for a drink.
A while later a Russian girl rang me and arranged to meet me at 7:30 at the tube station near where I'm staying. A few minutes later a Czech girl rang and arranged to meet us once we'd found a bar. After meeting up with the Russian girl, Diana (who had moved to Berlin the same day as me) we headed to a bar that I'd been to before called Luzia. We stayed and chatted for a while then moved on to a small creperie which not only had really nice crepes but had Belgian beer (a rarety as the Germans really don't like the fact that Belgian beer is better) but was also playing the soundtrack from Amelie. Very French.
Zuzana the Czech girl who has only been in Berlin since Monday then joined us and after another round we headed to Que Pasa (the staff didn't speak Spanish, big surprise) a cocktail bar and had a cocktail each. I had a Tequila Sunrise, perhaps not the best but I couldn't find anything straight that I liked the sound of. After sending Zuzana the wrong way home, ringing her and pointing her in the right direction, Diana and I went for one last drink at some bar I don't remember the name of.
As I walked back to the apartment I had two text messages in my inbox. One from a German girl who I'd spoken to before coming to Berlin about a flatshare, arranging to meet me today in Freidrichshein and another from a girl from Yorkshire asking about sharing an apartment (in response to my posts on Couch Surfing) I said I'd call her today.
So, an evening of sitting at home along turned into a sociable night out.
All from saying 'Yes' more.
An odd message perhaps, so I'll explain. A few weeks ago my Mum gave me a book called 'Yes Man' by Danny Wallace (shown below).
I can't really do this book justice by describing it myself so I copied the synopsis from Amazon:"I, Danny Wallace, being of sound mind and body, do hereby write this manifesto for my life. I swear I will be more open to opportunity. I swear I will live my life taking every available chance. I will say Yes to every favour, request, suggestion and invitation. I will swear to say yes where once i would say no.' Danny Wallace had been staying in. Far too much. Having been dumped by his girlfriend, he really wasn't doing the young, free and single thing very well. Instead, he was avoiding people. Texting them instead of calling them. Calling them instead of meeting them. That is until that one fateful date when a mystery man on a late-night bus told him to 'Say Yes more'. These three simple words changed Danny's life forever. "Yes Man" is the story of what happened when Danny decided to say yes to everything, in order to make his life more interesting. And boy, did it get more interesting. "Danny Wallace does things few other people would and writes about them in ways that few people could. He's as funny as Bill Bryson used to be." - Nicholas Barber, "Independent on Sunday".Suffice to say, this book was a real eye opener for me and I've been trying to be more open to things since, which meant a pretty decent last 2-3 weeks in Sheffield, which ended in a Vegan BBQ of all things.
Anyway, yesterday I was going to be spending the evening alone as Michael was working until 10pm. Not liking that prospect I posted up on the Berlin Couch Surfer (if you don't know what Couch Surfing is, get out your cave and Google it) group asking if anyone was interested in going for a drink.
A while later a Russian girl rang me and arranged to meet me at 7:30 at the tube station near where I'm staying. A few minutes later a Czech girl rang and arranged to meet us once we'd found a bar. After meeting up with the Russian girl, Diana (who had moved to Berlin the same day as me) we headed to a bar that I'd been to before called Luzia. We stayed and chatted for a while then moved on to a small creperie which not only had really nice crepes but had Belgian beer (a rarety as the Germans really don't like the fact that Belgian beer is better) but was also playing the soundtrack from Amelie. Very French.
Zuzana the Czech girl who has only been in Berlin since Monday then joined us and after another round we headed to Que Pasa (the staff didn't speak Spanish, big surprise) a cocktail bar and had a cocktail each. I had a Tequila Sunrise, perhaps not the best but I couldn't find anything straight that I liked the sound of. After sending Zuzana the wrong way home, ringing her and pointing her in the right direction, Diana and I went for one last drink at some bar I don't remember the name of.
As I walked back to the apartment I had two text messages in my inbox. One from a German girl who I'd spoken to before coming to Berlin about a flatshare, arranging to meet me today in Freidrichshein and another from a girl from Yorkshire asking about sharing an apartment (in response to my posts on Couch Surfing) I said I'd call her today.
So, an evening of sitting at home along turned into a sociable night out.
All from saying 'Yes' more.
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