Tag: travel (page 4 of 4)

Whirlwind of a Monday! We met the HR crew of SoundCloud and a new couple from Philadelphia, Brendan and Julie. Brendan was hired at SC at the same time as Benjamin. He is a guitarist, and Julia is a ceramic artist. They both went to art school in Chicago! Small, small world. Together with 2 of the HR crew, Theresa and Francis, (from Bavaria and New Zealand respectively) we jostled around the city and got paper work stuff done.

We can now officially work in Germany, and we are fully insured. While acupuncture is not covered (damn!), physical therapy, dermatology, and all the other doc stuff is. I’m not sure if there will be long waits, as in some other countries with socialized medicine, but I am confident that we can get recommendations from friends and B’s coworkers, and it will be fine.

After the morning running around, we were treated to lunch at an Asian tapas restaurant. I know I am talking about food a lot, but everything is so good here. The German government has strict rules about food, so freshness/organic or ‘bio’ is a source of national pride. We had chicken satay, a coconut curry dish with veggies and chicken, crispy rolls, and spring veggie rolls. Very fresh! After lunch, Julie helped me navigate the tram map to go home. For this I was so grateful as my hip was feeling tired, and I had a bit of brain drain from all the running around and meeting new people. She and I found the M12 and got on. I paid too much for the ticket (borrowed a euro from Julie too), but we made it home. Julie got off at my stop, and then she and I went out for coffees. I owe her for this too. She is great, and it was really nice to talk to someone about how this process was a feat indeed. We could laugh and relate to one another. Oh, and they have a kitty! They have a silver tabby tom cat named Neko. I want to officially be the cat auntie/kitty sitter for them.

A note about Francis and Theresa. We could listen to Francis talk all day! He has a deep voice with a soothing tone and a beautiful accent. He’s also like 7 feet tall and funny as hell. B and I were both charmed. Theresa is an absolute sweetheart, and we are now convinced, after meeting her, Gary, and the Bavarian pub owner from the Two Swans pub in Amsterdam, that everyone from Bavaria is nice. This region will definitely be one of our weekend trips. Also, in the office, I briefly met Jess, from Ireland. These lovely accents are going to make me daydream all day long!

Some local politicos that I learned…Apparently, just like in the U.S., with its “Yankee Go Home” and the North with its ” All Southerners are lazy” mentality, people from North Germany (Berliners) feel somewhat negatively toward people from South Germany (Bavaria). There is a mind-set here that folks from the South have money and are buying up all the good housing in the North.

So here’s my language dilemma. According to Christoph, B’s musician friend who cooked us dinner on Sunday, I sound like a Bavarian when I try to speak German. B sounds like a Berliner with his pronunciation. Surprise surprise, that as a ‘half Floridian,’ I would sound Southern. I sound this way because I roll my R’s. Again, surprise, surprise due to Spanish being familiar for me. B can do the back of the throat/ hacking sound, and I can’t. Christoph advised me to stick to English (hell no), and Theresa said to flaunt the rolling of the R’s and sound Bavarian. To this I say, hell yes!

Anyway, after coffee I went home to meet my landlord’s father and learn how to use the washing machine. This was an awesome experience as well. Just like Irina’s mom, her father hugged me. It was so sweet. I learned the step-by- step of the machine, and then I asked about the lock. Irina’s papa showed me the trick to the lock, and I think I have it. I have always been key-challenged, particularly for old buildings, so I need to be patient.

And I’ll end here…as patience is a good thing to remember.

Today we walked again to Mauerpark to witness the phenomena of the flea market and karaoke…wow! It was so packed! The first thing we saw was a quartet (clarinet, drums, stand-up bass, and singer) performing klezmer/ gypsy /swing music. So good! We recorded them and will try to post it on the Google hang out. Then, we muscled our way into the area where all the vendors were, and it was body to body. Not our thing, so next time we will get there earlier, because there is so much good stuff to see. Clothes, jewelry, modern furniture, boots, tools, etc. I thought of my family here. I thought of my Dad because he loves flea markets, Mom because there was so much good stuff for thrift store prices (from what I could tell), Matthew as there were so many buskers and folks hanging out with their dogs, and Michael because there were food vendors everywhere. He would make a killing at this thing, and in Berlin in general. I am indeed challenged to find good fish in this town. But with all these “firsts”, I will. The karaoke hadn’t started yet, but we needed to get home and get ready to meet with our friend, Christoph.

Christoph lives only 4 blocks from us. Very cool! His apartment is decorated beautifully–minimalist with of course an emphasis on music and books. He treated us first to coffee and tea, and we chatted and got to know each other better. Then the meal began. Wow! First there was an Austrian soup. Yum! It had a barley base, white wine, rosemary, and not chicken stock, but goose stock. Delicious with red wine and fresh, warm bread! Then, the main course was a Bavarian pretzel. This was not like any pretzel I have ever tasted. It looked like Italian polenta with the same consistency. He bought the dough at a bakery then added bacon and chives. The man can cook! This he served with steamed asparagus and sautéed mushrooms. Oh, and it wasn’t over. For dessert, he made homemade crepes with strawberries. Good thing we are walking a ton.

Christoph is a gentleman. Mild mannered, a bit serious, but also witty. I think he thought well of us, or at least I hope so. We are invited to a party at his place this coming Saturday, so we must have done something right.

We walked home in the rain, and this ended a very nice first weekend.

Second morning in Berlin…woke up, had our coffees, wrote a bit, and headed out again.

This time we began in the park next to our building. Turns out it is a park AND a cemetery–bonus! We snapped some photos of lilacs and statues next to the graves, and we took a field recording of some birdsong. There was a duo of birds that was building a nest above us at one point, and I need to identify this species. They were so pretty with tips of bright blue on their wings.

Next, we bought two cappuccinos at Butter. The waitress recognized us and smiled at my mistake as I requested not ‘zwei’ but ‘weiss’ cappuccinos. Instead of asking for ‘2’, I asked for ‘white’ cappuccinos. It was funny. The waitress wanted to practice her English, (she actually said, “I love English”) so I think Butter will be a nice place for me to sip and write and maybe make some language exchanges.

I then went into the Catholic church, St. Joseph’s, to get some information for my Dad. I’m not sure where the actual church or chapel is because when I went inside it looked like an assistance home. I recognized the word “caritas,” and I took what I thought was a church bulletin. When I opened it, it looked mostly like a chart of how to donate to the church. The entrance was peaceful. Lots of little sitting spots and even an aquarium. The aquarium reminded me of my third grade teacher, Mrs. Anglim. I loved how she had a prayer corner for us with a rocker, a rosary, and an aquarium. Funny, just as I was thinking of her, a nun, in full white habit walked by. Only my Mom would understand that this scared me just a little. If you’re raised Catholic, and you were a bit of a hell raiser in school like I was, (and my Mom was) when you see a nun, you can’t help but feel like you did something wrong and you’re about to get caught. I also saw a man about my Dad’s age looking like he was taking care of a few things. It was sweet. I didn’t find his rosary in German yet, but I can go back as this church is very easy to go into.

Meandering further, we passed some bike shops, shoe stores, and clothing boutiques. Oh my god, I need a job because the urge to shop is strong–can’t help it–everything looks new, cute, inviting! Thank goodness on Monday I go with B to begin the process of getting our work permits. I know my first task is going to be finding a place for us and being “Becky Home Ec-y,” but as soon as we settle into a routine, I am freaking shopping!

Finally, to round out our morning, we made our way to Mauerpark…the place with part of the Wall that once divided East and West, and which is now a beautiful park, sports arena, artist tagging ground, and site of the famous Sunday flea market and crazy karaoke bear pit. It’s hard to imagine all that happened there. If you didn’t know the history, you’d think it was an expansive, lush, playful park. When we first entered from the north end, this was my first feeling. But then, as we got closer to the actual parts of the Wall, I felt something different. There is the Wall, yes, with tons of layers of graffiti, but the massive lights are imposing. They are most likely used for the sports events, but I couldn’t help feeling like something similar was used to catch people trying to cross. Our neighborhood is on the East side. Given all the “trendy,” bright stuff in this area, it is hard to imagine anything bleak or oppressive happening here, but horrible things did happen. I admire Berliners for honoring it, but also at the same time turning it into something more positive, useful, and creative.

I am a new comer, so I will learn more about this as I live here. For this morning, I will say that we were asked for directions twice to the sports arena. Both groups began with, “Entschuldigung,” and continued to speak. I was able to gently stop them and say in German, “Ich verstehe nicht. English?” To which there were smiles and attempts to speak English. “Sports arena?” they asked. This we could answer as we had just passed it. The other funny thing to mention is what was happening in the arena.Soccer? No. Competitive cheerleading! Buses and buses full of cheerleaders, and cheer Moms and Dads. My niece and sister-in-law would have gotten a kick out of this.

We came home to eat lunch, and on the way I spotted a thrift store! YAY! This made me miss my Mom, but I will take pictures. I will be going there very soon.

A perfect Saturday morning stroll on our second day…

Berlin, my new city, how impressive you are!

Where to begin…if first impressions mean anything, and if it’s true that there are the 4 H’s to relocation, (honeymoon, hostility, humor, home) then I am in love, and I don’t want this feeling to end for a long while.

Coming in by train was perfect. The countryside between Amsterdam and Berlin is beautiful. The Dutch landscape is flat lush, and verdant. People of all ages ride bikes through the woods and past the farms. Who are these brilliant, bike riding, truly more intelligent human beings? Ah, I love them for this!

The first part of the North German landscape was also flat with people biking. Then it did give way to some rolling hills and even a few small mountains. I saw pine trees, birch, poplars, and lilacs. There were fields of something yellow, not sure what was growing, maybe something like hops to make beer? I am ignorant though, and I don’t want to assume this, so I’ll look it up later. Whatever it was, it was pretty. I also didn’t know how to feel about the wind turbines. There were a lot of them. All I could think about was how they might affect bats and birds, but again, I need to do more research.

After 6 hours of these vistas, we started to get closer to the city, and finally to Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof train station. Wow! The architecture of this building is beautiful! It is on such a grand scale that it is breath taking, and given the amount of machine movement and people bustling through, it has to be. Huge, grand, impressive! Benjamin and I were both awestruck. It actually took a moment for us to get our bearings and find our way outside and to the Uber car.

As a side note, this is the only way to travel in bigger cities when you have luggage to carry. We used Uber from our apartment to the airport in DC, from Jordaan to Central Station in Amsterdam, and from Hauptbahnhof to our temporary place here in Berlin. Every driver was experienced, knowledgeable about his city, charming, and courteous. The added bonus is that you ride in style. We rode in a Lincoln,a BMW, and a VW. Totally decadent in some ways I suppose but worth it if you’re already anxious about getting your self and your stuff from here to there.

And when we arrived here in our temporary apartment, we had the most charming experience. The woman we are renting from speaks English, but her mother, who showed us the place, does not speak it quite so fluently. She gave us a tour completely in German, smiling and giggling and using body language the whole time as it was clear we didn’t fully understand. At the end she motioned that we should call her daughter with any questions, and then she said in perfect English, “Don’t worry. Prenzlauer Berg is very trendy.” I loved this! Then, when we reached for a handshake, she hugged us! So nice! To be welcomed into your new abode this way was a true gift.

Our apartment is adorable! It is an altbau, not sure when it was built, but it has the nice alcove of windows and no lift to date it. The living room, kitchen, and bathroom are all painted white and red, while the bedroom is painted with blues and greens. Very nice color choices. The ceilings are high, the floors pine, and the view from the living room is a quaint little park. Lovely. Coffee and three kinds of coffee makers were left for us as well as everything we needed for cooking and cleaning. So thoughtful. We took quick showers and headed out for dinner. Wandering until a place felt right, we found a little Italian restaurant called Pizzeria Aviano (I think this was the name) only a few blocks away. We split a carafe of wine, a salad, and a large pizza, for 18 euros, and it was all delicious! We ambled home, slept well, and got up early to explore our new neighborhood further.

We began with a breakfast at a cafe called Butter. They had a buffet for 7 euros that was out of this world! Breads, cheeses, sliced meats, salmon, potato salad, waffles, pancakes, and a huge assortment of various sauces, puddings, and spreads. I tried everything! I ate my waffle with dabs of apple sauce, some tapioca, and something that tasted like vanilla pudding. But nothing was overly sweet like in the U.S. Everything was fresher, more flavorful. I tried a horseradish spread with my salmon. Oh my god was it good! We also splurged and had freshly squeezed orange juice. We were told that both fresh o.j. and peanut butter would be hard to find, but we found both on our first day.

After breakfast we went food shopping. We prefer to do this while full so that we don’t over buy. And we did pretty well. We started at a Kaiser, and we were able to find a few things there, but I was surprised that it was kind of pricey for a “regular” supermarket. Then, we went to two different, smaller, bio markets, Alnatura and BioFrische, and we found fresher, organic food that was actually cheaper. Very unlike the U.S. There were many unfamiliar things, as expected, but I liked the challenge. I need to remember to save the labels and begin writing bilingual grocery lists. It did feel good to make dinner at home and to eat lightly. We made a simple arugula salad with bread and cheese. We thought we had chosen dark chocolate for dessert, but it turned out to be white chocolate with coconut and mango. Not at all tragic for our first shopping mistake. ha ha Again, unlike common white chocolate in the U.S, it was not overly sweet, much more fruity.

On some girlie notes, I also had to buy skin and hair care products. Before we moved, I researched this, and I read several posts that German products were better. Completely true! We went into an apothecary, (you don’t see Walgreens type drug stores, only these) and I couldn’t believe all the natural products. The women wear what look like doctor coats and they know their products. And again, the healthy, normally expensive lines that I could buy in the U.S. were cheaper! I love this place!

AND the fashion here! In both Amsterdam and Berlin, so many people dress stylishly, creatively. My Mom, niece, and sister-in-law would flip to see this. And given that they may read this post, I must describe… It seems that the spring fashion here includes pencil mini skirts or cut off jean shorts worn with colorful tights. Of course, bright scarves are everywhere, and I did see the skinny jeans with Chuck Taylors look as well. But as my friend Irina once said about London, women in Europe, and I think the men and even the children too, seem to dress up more. This doesn’t feel “businessy” or stuffy like I saw in Chicago or D.C. It feels like NYC. I am a bit intimidated, but hopefully that will pass as soon as I frequent the thrift/vintage stores and flea markets. Clothing is significantly more expensive here, as I was told, but there are sales. And so the clothes hunting will begin. For this, I will miss my family, but I will not give up trying to convince them to visit.

Another thing that has made me a little homesick is watching people with their dogs. While I see some people using leashes with smaller dogs, many larger dogs are trained to run along side people as they bike or walk. Like the cyclists in Amsterdam, there is a rhythm to this that is pretty incredible to watch. I know my brother would be amazed. I haven’t seen any kitties yet, but I will find them. Amsterdam, as a fish town, of course had tons, but I am hoping that my new city is kitty friendly too.

My first impressions are positive. I know the second “H” of hostility will most likely hit me in the winter, but for now, I have spring, summer, and fall to enjoy. Ah,Berlin…

To finally arrive on this European continent…at 46…to have waited this long, too long… I am experiencing strange, abstract feelings of comfort and familiarity while knowing on a concrete level that this is a new and foreign place. There is discomfort to come, for certain, as this is life, but this feeling of floating, of surreality, of charm and dreams is welcome, welcome, welcome. Perhaps the self editor, the pragmatist, wants to gain a foothold in my writing, but for now, she gets kicked out of my brain.

Because Amsterdam was Romantic and lovely! As our wise Dutch/Turkish cab driver, Tolog said, “Different people come to Amsterdam for different reasons. Some come for the coffee shops, some for Van Gogh or Anne Frank, and some for the tulips.” Maybe this is so. He should know, since he’s driven all kinds of people in and out of his city. I came originally because it was a direct flight before our move to Berlin, and I was indeed curious about all that he described.

But what has left an impression and what will draw me back is the charm of the Jordaan neighborhood. There were so many bicycles! On the street corners, (where there were no traffic lights, except for a few of the bigger intersections for the trams) you had to look carefully in every direction, because people flew on their bicycles! People talked (or texted) as they rode, people in suits looked like they were rushing to work, and mothers propped babies on the front bars of their bikes, (the children were protected by plastic shields)… And not a single helmet to be seen. Incredible! There was a flow to it though, and people were extremely adept at using their little bells and brakes. To see less cars and more bikes was refreshing.

The canals and the houseboats added to the charm. Benjamin and I had pints of dark beer and some ‘snacks’ prepared by a sweet woman who was the proprietor of a Bavarian pub called The Two Swans. Her place was situated across from the canal, between the Cheese Museum and the Tulip Museum. How could we not stop here? The food consisted of a small platter of fried cheese, curry samosas, and Dutch croquettes which tasted like they had some potatoes in them, but I’m not sure. Everything was delicious and perfect with the beer! So we sipped and watched people slowly come out of their houseboats. They emerged quietly, naturally, while at the same time, the tourist boats chugged by with people snapping pictures, laughing, and drinking. Quite the juxtaposition! Still, I can imagine that sleep could come easy if you were rocked by the water every night. And if you wanted to leave, you could, I suppose just head down the canal. I loved watching this and imagining either one of my brothers or my nephew seeing this lifestyle.

When it began to rain heavily, we headed inside The Two Swans. Again, we were delighted. It was dark and perfect. There were pictures on the wall of people singing along with an accordionist and dancing polka out into the street. One picture looked like it dated back to the 1940s or 1950s. Another was a collage of all the singers who had performed there. Their heads were cut out into a circle around the title of the pub. Really fun images! From what I could read in another photo, the building was constructed in the 1790s. Lovely find indeed.

We did go to the outside of Anne Frank’s House, but I couldn’t go inside. There was a long line, and we didn’t have time, which was honestly part of it, but I also felt like I wasn’t ready. Not on my first day in Europe. I didn’t want to depart from my dreamy jet lag feeling, and I knew being inside a place where a young girl wrote in her diary, while she hid from evil would jolt me. We will return to Amsterdam, and I will go, when I feel stronger. I need to do this for myself and for my niece.

We didn’t make it to the Van Gogh or the tulip fields, but we vowed to return to these as well. Again, with only one day, we opted for wandering the neighborhood streets instead of trying to hit the tourist sites.

On a few of the streets in Jordaan, we did see coffee shops. They were lit by fluorescent signs, which of course appealed to the font/text geeks in us, and they were so…normal. They were like any other bar or cafe. Honestly, we would have walked right past them if it weren’t for the signage and the wafting scent. Probably in another district we would have seen more people in them, but overall these were not crowded. In the U.S., we seem to demonize so much. Prohibition haunts our past. We have banned our books. Some religions have feared, and still forbid, dancing and card playing. Maybe because I am the great grand daughter of a whisky-running, “witchcraft”- practicing family, I just don’t have it in me to judge these things.  Anyway, this is as far as I go with this philosophy. The coffee shops were a normal part of a culture different from mine.

And Amsterdam is beautiful and unique. I can’t wait to return!