For the past two days, my friend, Sarina, and a friend of hers have been staying over with me and Lenz. When I go to Marburg for my medical trips, I often stay at her place with her roommate and my friend, Carissa. So it's nice to host her for a change, since I go to Marburg every month.
After another long night of working last night (I'm working on a new article for Scholarship Junkies that could pretty much be an op-ed piece as well...it'll be featured on another site as well), I woke up today and worked more on my article along with other logistical work for my Fulbright project.
In the evening, Lenz and I joined Sarina and Veronica in Kreuzberg for dinner. Funny, the place we went to was basically around the corner from my old apartment. Now, it takes nearly an hour to get there from the current apartment. It was really nice to have Mexican food though.
After dinner, we decided to head out to a few bars, since when one is in Berlin, the night life is an experience worth checking out. As Lenz said, it was "my part of town" so I had to be the guide. Funny, the only American in the group, and I was in charge of where we headed.
Our first stop was a popular spot in Kreuzberg by Kottbusser Tor, which I had gone to in the fall with Ronny. I think they liked it too. From there, we headed to another place I had hit up with Ronny called the Trinkteufel (which is basically translated to "drink devil"). The inside was decorated with skeletons and stuff. Pretty neat.
We ended up playing three games of foosball: Lenz and I won the first game, Sarina and Veronica won the second, and finally Lenz and I finished it all off with a win in the third game. Pretty great. Each game was won on the final goal since we were all tied up at 5-5 before the final ball.
Right before we were about to head out, two Italian guys challenged us to a game, so Lenz and I played one more game. We ended up beating them by one goal as well. They were quite excited when I told them I had just come back from a week in Italy. Turns out they're from Bologna, but they were familiar with where I had gone in Rome. I have to say the experiences I had in Rome this past week and the Italians I've met in recent months have really changed my prior perceptions of Italy as a country.
Anyway, we decided to head home and continue our festivities in our living room, but the ride would end up being really long. Since I lived for five months pretty much right around that area, I knew all the public transportation options we would need. Just when we thought we were in the clear though, the subway conductor announced over the intercom that we had a detour just a few stops into our journey.
No matter. It turns out I knew the transportation options in that area as well since I had had to go there earlier in the fall. So we hopped on a tram and got ready to head home, needing at least two more transfers from tram to another tram to a bus. When we realized at our first transfer spot that we would have to wait at least 12 minutes in the freezing cold, we decided to head to the popular absinthe bar just across the street.
Now, when I first came to Berlin in 2007, absinthe was still illegal in the U.S. But it's since been allowed, so it doesn't have as much of a mythical status around as it used to, I suppose. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean I would drink much of it.
Veronica and Sarina had never tried it before, so it worked out for them to have their first absinthe on their first real trip to Berlin (Sarina had been here once before when she was rather young). It was pretty fun.
We ended up missing the next tram though, so we ended up taking the U-Bahn, then transferring to a tram, and finally onto a bus. By the time we got home, it was already 1:15 AM. Perfect time for Lenz and me to have a midnight snack. :) He had some leftover pasta, while I had a roll with salami and cheese. Then we finished it off with a banana each.
Overall, I felt very comfortable with my day for two reasons: one, I spoke exclusively in German with Sarina, Veronica, and Lenz (though they speak impeccable English anyway...and Lenz likes to practice his English with me, so I have to force myself to speak German with him more), and two, I realized I actually know quite a bit about Berlin now (even more than I used to!).
Anyway, tomorrow, the girls head back home, and I head to a school visit. I have more work to do on the article and also on a paper on my research in Greece. Then of course, I've got my Fulbright project. Lots of exciting things, but very time-consuming. Glad I'll be waking up early tomorrow.
Till next time,
Sam
P.S. I fly back to Seattle in exactly five months! Yikes!
After another long night of working last night (I'm working on a new article for Scholarship Junkies that could pretty much be an op-ed piece as well...it'll be featured on another site as well), I woke up today and worked more on my article along with other logistical work for my Fulbright project.
In the evening, Lenz and I joined Sarina and Veronica in Kreuzberg for dinner. Funny, the place we went to was basically around the corner from my old apartment. Now, it takes nearly an hour to get there from the current apartment. It was really nice to have Mexican food though.
After dinner, we decided to head out to a few bars, since when one is in Berlin, the night life is an experience worth checking out. As Lenz said, it was "my part of town" so I had to be the guide. Funny, the only American in the group, and I was in charge of where we headed.
Our first stop was a popular spot in Kreuzberg by Kottbusser Tor, which I had gone to in the fall with Ronny. I think they liked it too. From there, we headed to another place I had hit up with Ronny called the Trinkteufel (which is basically translated to "drink devil"). The inside was decorated with skeletons and stuff. Pretty neat.
We ended up playing three games of foosball: Lenz and I won the first game, Sarina and Veronica won the second, and finally Lenz and I finished it all off with a win in the third game. Pretty great. Each game was won on the final goal since we were all tied up at 5-5 before the final ball.
Right before we were about to head out, two Italian guys challenged us to a game, so Lenz and I played one more game. We ended up beating them by one goal as well. They were quite excited when I told them I had just come back from a week in Italy. Turns out they're from Bologna, but they were familiar with where I had gone in Rome. I have to say the experiences I had in Rome this past week and the Italians I've met in recent months have really changed my prior perceptions of Italy as a country.
Anyway, we decided to head home and continue our festivities in our living room, but the ride would end up being really long. Since I lived for five months pretty much right around that area, I knew all the public transportation options we would need. Just when we thought we were in the clear though, the subway conductor announced over the intercom that we had a detour just a few stops into our journey.
No matter. It turns out I knew the transportation options in that area as well since I had had to go there earlier in the fall. So we hopped on a tram and got ready to head home, needing at least two more transfers from tram to another tram to a bus. When we realized at our first transfer spot that we would have to wait at least 12 minutes in the freezing cold, we decided to head to the popular absinthe bar just across the street.
Now, when I first came to Berlin in 2007, absinthe was still illegal in the U.S. But it's since been allowed, so it doesn't have as much of a mythical status around as it used to, I suppose. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean I would drink much of it.
Veronica and Sarina had never tried it before, so it worked out for them to have their first absinthe on their first real trip to Berlin (Sarina had been here once before when she was rather young). It was pretty fun.
We ended up missing the next tram though, so we ended up taking the U-Bahn, then transferring to a tram, and finally onto a bus. By the time we got home, it was already 1:15 AM. Perfect time for Lenz and me to have a midnight snack. :) He had some leftover pasta, while I had a roll with salami and cheese. Then we finished it off with a banana each.
Overall, I felt very comfortable with my day for two reasons: one, I spoke exclusively in German with Sarina, Veronica, and Lenz (though they speak impeccable English anyway...and Lenz likes to practice his English with me, so I have to force myself to speak German with him more), and two, I realized I actually know quite a bit about Berlin now (even more than I used to!).
Anyway, tomorrow, the girls head back home, and I head to a school visit. I have more work to do on the article and also on a paper on my research in Greece. Then of course, I've got my Fulbright project. Lots of exciting things, but very time-consuming. Glad I'll be waking up early tomorrow.
Till next time,
Sam
P.S. I fly back to Seattle in exactly five months! Yikes!
1 comment:
Wow five months - that is crazy. It looks like you guys are having fun :) I'm glad everything worked out!!
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
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