that could be a thesis: Berlin First Thoughts

I’ve wanted to start a blog for sometime now, but of course never have time or initiative. So this is intending to be more than just a travel blog, but we’ll see if it keeps up after I get back. Anyway, I’ve been in Berlin for three weeks already now. I’ve been anticipating coming here and learning German for a quite a while now – at least since I graduated from college four years ago (!). So it’s good to be here. It’s also good to be in a real place after spending 9 months in Irvine.

The only time I’ve been here was 9 or 10 years ago with Brett. I remember walking into random connecting courtyards throughout the city, and finding parties in odd semi-abandoned places in east Berlin. As I expected, Berlin has changed quite a bit from then and is more developed. For example I remember sitting in Hackescher Markt with Brett and Les and walking around in that area, and it certainly wasn’t the high fashion center that it is now. I live in Prenzlauer Berg, in the former east. To compare it to something more familiar, it has a very ‘park slope’ feel to it. As my roommate Henning, who moved here in 1993, explained: “at first everything was very cheap and there were a lot of open spaces. Then it seemed that every woman in Western Europe came here to have a baby.” There are babies everywhere, including at the sushi bars and beer gardens. I live above a second-hand, vintage children’s clothing store.

I don’t mind this at all; in fact I really like Prenzlauer Berg. Everyday I walk or bike down Kollwitz Str to go the Goethe Institut (GI), and the sight of cafes and parks and people is great. Helmholtz Platz too is surrounded by a number of cafes, bars, restaurants, many of which have great brunch specials.

Anyway, I am off to meet Chris, whom I met through the GI, his wife Danielle, and their two-year-old Bode for dinner and hanging out, but I will try to catch up on what I’ve been up to in posts over the weekend. This may include: classes, tourist stuff, art, Berlin myths, losing/finding my keys, and other thoughts.