Holly Jolly

A few days before Christmas my wondeful flatmate Astrid was kind enough to bring me to her family's hometown of Marienberg near the Czech border. While there we were treated to lovely eats at her brother-in-law's ice cream shop, fed delicious meals by her parents, and given the opportunity to explore a former silver mine. Marienberg was buried under tremendous amounts of snow, which only added to it's charm.

Marienberg town center.

In the mines.

Outside of the mine.

 Astrid's dad took us on a sightseeing tour of the little villages in the area, including Annaberg and Wolkerstein. I got to hang around with some really nice little rugrats (Astrid's nephews,) and the peace & quiet, and lack of internet connection, allowed me to write the English lesson plan for the 5th graders that I had to teach today.

Annaberg Weihnactsmarkt. Nussknacker.

Waffle mit sahne. (Creme.)

From the car window...

Stockpile.

Zwillinge.

Over the course of the trip I was introduced to Astrid's mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law and 3 adorable nephews. We had a yummy breakfast together on Christmas Eve Eve. The whole family were totally welcoming and sweet to me. The previous night Astrid, her sister and I worked together to make a traditional German Christmas star out of paper, and they gave it to me!

The whole trip was great and reminded me again (as if I needed reminding) how fantastic German people are. They are so kind, generous, caring and genuine. It's going to be heartbreaking to have to leave.

Turkey times two...

Lucky me, I'm not even in the United States and I got to celebrate two Thanksgiving Days!

Erin's spread...

Thanksgiving round one was held at Erin's apartment. She really went all out, kudos to her! I believe her quote when I remarked on how it would be a very traditional Thanksgiving was "Go big or go home!" I love that girl.

There must have been about 15 of us crammed into her hallway, and there was delicious food and lots (and lots, and lots) of wine to share. We even streamed the Macy's parade, which, because of the time difference, was on while we prepared dinner.

OH YEAAAAAAH

The food was amazing; Jose lovingly prepared the turkey, Kyle made delicious stuffing, Tracy supplied the pumpkin pie... it really was as if we weren't 5,000 miles from home. I think all of us Americans felt really comforted by acting out the tradition, and the Germans and Brits who attended got to experience a real American Thanksgiving; alcohol-fueled disfunction included.

Later that night Elli and I went to Ilses Erika, an indie dance club in Connewitz, and spent half the time outside playing in the freshly falling snow. It reminded me a lot of a night I spent in Toronto many moons ago with my friend Gretchen.

I hosted Thanksgiving round two for my German "sister" Annika on Saturday, and invited some friends from school as well. I spent all day cooking and listening to Christmas music. I was in my element, and it felt absolutely divine. I made everything from scratch, even the pie dough and the vegetable stock for the turkey. It was a well-recieved effort, too.

festive, right?

yum.

your humble narrator, and a crispy brown bird.

I think the girls all really enjoyed the food, and the Americans among us had a good time stumbling over our German. We even played a drinking game, "Never have I ever..." auf Deutsch. 


After the guests left, Annika and I watched Friendship as we cleared up the kitchen. It was such an adorable movie, a new favorite of mine, auf jeden Fall. In it, two young guys from East Germany travel to the US immediately after the fall of the Berlin wall, and heartwarming high jinx ensue. Annika also showed me another really cool movie this weekend called Berlin Calling. That one was about an electronic artist struggling with drug addiction, which sounds really heavy but there were some pretty funny moments as well.


I spent most of today tidying up around the flat after sending Annika off to Madgeburg on the train. I'm almost completely caught up on Mad Men, which feels like an accomplishment. I should really be doing homework though. Time to say Auf Wiedersehen! for now.

1,000 plus!

First off, I have to say I am well pleased... the blog has reached 1,000+ hits! Thanks for looking! Please don't be shy... leave me a comment, let me know who you are and/or what you think. I truly do appreciate you taking time to stop by here.

The past few days have been really super-spectacular. I think I'll start with today and work backwards.

I had my first exam this afternoon... Grammar. Ugggh. I think it went pretty well, though, on the whole. After class I walked over to the train station (inside of which is a massive shopping center) and picked up a bottle of almond syrup and a milk frother, in order to be able to make myself London Fogs a la my lovely friend Jim's favorite Starbucks bevvie. Once home and with said beverage created (unfortunately there's a lot of room for improvement in my technique,) I settled down into a Gmail phone chat with my mom and type up this here blog. An excellent way to spend a chilly evening.

Yesterday I just hung about the apartment, doing not-much-of-anything all day until my GDR photography class. After that was over Tracy and I decided to try this place near the Universität called Maza Pita for dinner- excellent find on her part, it was DEEEELISH. I got a maza plate with baba ganoush, hummus, and lebneh. Yum.  I luuuuurve Mediterranean food.

After dinner Tracy, Melinda and I walked over to Petersbogen to see HARRY POTTER und der Heilige der Todes (or whatever the heck it's called in German.) and it was maaaagnificent.

HP7

I was so, so impressed with the film. It was definitely too scary for kids (I was thinking of the Reading clan the whole time,) and there were some pretty randy moments too, but on the whole it was incredible. Thankfully we waited to watch it in English, because it would have lost so much without the original voices of the actors. I'm really not much for over-dubbed films.

Which, since we're moving backwards, brings us to the weekend, happily spent split between my two Berlinerin friends Peggy and Kristy. I had a blast, as I always do in Berlin with such wonderful friends and exciting surroundings. Friday I walked around the city by myself for hours, snapping a million photos and generally being a tourist.

Siegessäule

Brandenburger Tor

 I picked up a Christmas gift for my baby bro and took in the Color Fields exhibit at Deutsche Guggenheim.

Stella @ Berlin Guggenheim

After a thoroughly satisfying Stadtrundfährt (city tour) I met Kristy around 23.00 at Warschauerstraße and we began our adventures in Kreuzberg, starting off after Berliner (donuts) at our favorite watering hole, Fuchsbau. However, it ended up being much too crowded and not as appealing a scene as our last visit there, so we ventured across the street where we encountered a fantastic DJ spinning some incredible 90's R&B and HipHop and loads of people dancing. It was the perfect spot to start off our night.

The DJ in this bar was so spot on.

Kristy as Jumpin' Jack Flash...

Friday night lasted well into Saturday morning with Kristy and her friends, "the Danish boys," as she refers to them, and a couple of their breathtaking girlfriends at a pub called "ä" in Neukölln.

Danish specimen.

I finally flopped into bed around 7am at Peggy's. I am so lucky to have the amazing friends that I do! There aren't many people as hospitable as the divine Ms. Peg.

Kaffee und Blümen

When I finally woke up in the afternoon, Peggy made some coffee and we sat and had a really nice chat. She's such a sweet and remarkably intelligent person. I'm so grateful to have been introduced to her (thanks Abby!)

Later on Saturday I met up with Elli (a Leipzig friend) and her buddy Jonas at the Warschauerstraße Ubahn station. We had a heiße Schokolade together inside a cafe as an anti-fascist/anit-Nazi demonstration marched by.

Heiße Schokolade mit Sahne

 I ran outside with my camera and made myself a right fool in the name of journalism, jumping up on a chair and taking photos as the crowd marched by chanting and blaring a White Stripes song (maybe it was Icky Thump? I don't remember...) from a huge set of speakers on a truck.

Anti-Fascism march through Friedrichshain

The three of us parted ways soon after finishing our hot chocolates, as Elli was off to see Interpol after having interviewed the band for motor.de earlier in the day.

Alone again, I headed further into Friedrichshain down Simon-Dach Straße and was greeted by Kristy in front of her local cafe, DachKammer. It was one of those lovely, warm, homey sort of places, and we snuggled down for a chat in an antique couch.

DK, Kristy's local coffee shop

After Kristy finished her cappucino we headed to her apartment and acted like complete and utter girls, quatschen (chatting), cooking, listening to music and dying Kristy's hair an intense shade of copper, which I was thrilled to do for her. She was so happy with the results!

We took it easy Saturday night, sticking mostly to Kristy's Friedrichshain nabe and some nearby spots in Kreuzberg, getting home around 3am desperate for pommes mit majo (french fries with mayonnaise,) as the nearby döner place was fresh out. Ever resourceful, Kristy sliced up some potatoes and popped them in the oven, and I whipped up some homemade mayo.

Don't have any mayonnaise? Whip up some homemade at 3:30 AM! 

Sated, we went to sleep with intentions of rising early for the Mauerpark Flöhmarkt (flea market,) and early we did rise, to a bright, crisp sunny Berlin Mittag (Yes. Waking up at noon is early.) We got ourselves pretty and headed out to do some filming for her upcoming documentary, and captured a few shots she'd been wanting to film. After the "work" was done, we took the Straßenbahn to Mauerpark, hoping for the famous Mauerpark Karaoke.

The crowd mourns the lack of Karaoke... or maybe that was just me.

Unfortunately it wasn't going on, probably due to the onset of winter, so instead we frittered away what short amount of daylight there was in a cozy log cabin in the middle of Mauerpark.

Log cabin in Mauerpark.

Glühwein-vision

Kristy, her friend Marie and Marie's Spanish friend and I spent the whole evening drinking Glühwein, which is warm mulled wine. It's called "glow wine" I suppose because of the lovely glowing feeling it gives! Half of mine and Kristy's time was spent making eyes across the table at a group of gorgeous German boys, of which there is no shortage in Berlin.

I was trying to move backwards through this post but I did the weekend in chronological order, so it's with hearty apologies that I skip back to Thursday.

I met my friend Elli in Connewitzer Kreuz here in Leipzig and we headed off to Conne Island where the British band Blood Red Shoes were playing. The plan was, Elli would interview the band and I would be her photographer. I was/am so grateful for that experience! It was so much fun. I hadn't heard of the band before Elli invited me to the show, and I'm happy to report that they were just as great as Elli said they'd be. We met Laura, the guitarist/singer, before the show and Elli conducted an interview with her. I sat at the table adjacent them and snapped a few shots but mostly just felt sort of awkward and intrusive, and tried to be very quiet and not interrupt. I got to take a few shots of Laura and her bandmate Steve.

Steve and Laura

The band is comprised of just the two of them, they both sing and Steve plays drums, though during the encore of the show they did switch off and showcase how multi-talented they both are! During the show I was granted access to the photo pit, but being an ABSOLUTE amateur, I didn't realize photographers could only be in the pit for the first three songs of the set, and so I missed my chance. I still did get some first class shots from my spot in the crowd, using motor.de's Nikon D60. You can read (if you can read German) Elli's interview with Laura of Blood Red Shoes here. I'm really hoping to be able to collaborate more with Elli as her photographer- it was an absolute blast!

Straight rocking.

Laura shreds.

After the show we hung out with Steve, whose exuberant energy and open, positive attitude was remarkable to watch. The night ended, as ever, with POMMES MIT MAJO! Oh, and lots more wine back at Elli's house.

As for the upcoming week, tomorrow Tracy and I plan on taking in Menomena at Skala here in Leipzig. I'll happily report on the show if we end up going. Of course, Thursday is Thanksgiving so the Americans here are of course going to put out all the stops for a delicious meal and share with our British and German buddies. I can't wait for the parade!

Well, that's all for now. Thanks again for reading. I can't believe it, more than 1,000 hits! Yay! V. cool. Hope you keep coming back.

The Big B.

The Big B. Berlin. If I wasn't in love with it already, the past weekend really cemented my feelings for this city. I'm officially in love. And I think it probably has as much to do with the three amazingly lovely women that I spent time with there as it does the city itself.

Tracy and I used a website called mitfahrgelegenheit.de to find a ride to Berlin on Friday evening. We lucked out and found a ride for €9 with a really cool chick. I've heard Mitfahr can be a crapshoot, but so far in my experience (used it once last summer) it's pretty great; far cheaper and faster than trains.

Arriving in Berlin at around 9pm, we immediately set out to find the Wombar and my two friends Brian (a bartender there) and Kristy, whom I had previously met in London. We jumped on the U-Bahn and headed in to Mitte,  easily found Wombar, snagged a couple of biers and had a chat with Brian on his smoke-break. Minutes later we saw Kristy at a table with some student friends of hers, and a joyful reunion between the two of us ensued; our chance encounter in a London pub has led to a completely solid friendship the likes of which I couldn't be happier about.

After finishing up our beers and promising Kristy we'd see her later and enjoying a surprise appearance from my friend Maria, (the afore-mentioned Brian's lovely girlfriend,) Tracy and I headed off to meet our hostess for the weekend, Peggy. Peggy is a friend of my good friend Abby in the States, and I've been looking forward to meeting her ever since Abby told me about her one night at Hardware over the summer. I was right to be so keen because Peggy is an incredible lady!  That night Peggy, a few of her friends, Tracy and I rolled out for the (guest list only!) "Kill All Hipsters" dance party at the Roter Salon back in Mitte. Kristy met us  there and the lot of us danced the night (and much of the morning) away on the DJ platform.

The view from the DJ platform at the Kill All Hipsters party.

The next day got off to an expectedly slow start after the previous night's shenanigans, but we managed to explore Kreuzberg a tiny bit and find an amazing hamburger place with a variety of vegetarian options called Ketchup & Majo (the German "j" sounds like an English "y"... the letter itself is pronounced "yot," so read "Majo" as "Mayo.") I had the halloumi "burger" and a side of potato wedges, which were perfectly seasoned and fried to a crispy golden brown. Yum.

After an evening nap back at Peggy's, Tracy and I were off to hit the town again with Kristy.

Road beers, foxes, swans, and a Molskine. 

Road-beers in hand, we three started off from the Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn stop and after 20 minute's walk and a brief encounter with urban swans and a fox, wound up at Fuchsbau.

Tracy and Kristy, being adorable.

Your humble narrator.

Translated, Fuchsbau is "The Fox Burrow," which was ironic as we'd just seen a real live urban version of the animal. Fuchsbau is a really cool bar in Kreuzberg that reminded me of Enid's in Brooklyn, only smaller. However, true to the name, the percentage of foxy dudes was, thankfully, just as high.

Foxy

Foxes and foxettes at Fuchsbau, Kreuzberg

The night progressed with the three of us wandering the streets of Kreuzberg in search of a Motown dance party, slurring already-poor German at one another and generally being ridiculous in the best possible way. We found the Motown party in full swing at about 4am. Germans seriously know how to party!

The crowd at the Motown party

However, we were all knackered and no longer much for dancing, so another beer later we slunk out of the massive club and began the U-Bahn/S-Bahn journey back to Peggy's, finally falling (ganz erschöpft!) into bed around 6 am.

The next day Tracy and I stirred considerably early and made our way back to Kreuzberg to meet Kristy for brunch in an amazing little diner called San Remo.

Time for vittles.

Our waitress was sort of hard to figure out; she seemed nice but also a bit exasperated by us, which was curious. I asked her where she was from, because she was obviously American, and when she said "Seattle" I said that was rad and that I have a friend who lives there- to which she said something snarky like "Oh, yeah, I probably know him, I know everyone in that city." and walked away.   

Mmmmmm...

I am not clear on why she felt the urge to be rude but she's lucky the eggs benedict with hollandaise was beyond amazing or I'd have been annoyed and not recommended the place to you.

View of a giant graffiti piece off of a bridge in Kreuzberg.

After stuffing ourselves, we reluctantly said our goodbyes to Kristy and headed to the Mauerpark Flohmarkt (flea market) where we unexpectedly ran into Peggy, her friend Andy and another friend of theirs. We walked together to the flohmarkt but parted ways when Tracy and I entered the market grounds.

Fuckin City.

Brille

A chestnut roasting vehicle (?!!?!??!)

Seasonal gemüse

Unlike the flea market here in Leipzig that I complained about, this one was on a whole other level. Some seriously amazing wares were being offered, but unfortunately our brunch had run so late we were pressed for time to make the train. However, I thoroughly intend to make another attempt at this incredible spot.

All in all, an fabulous trip that not only expanded my ever-growing love of Berlin but also put me in touch with some truly amazing people. Hanging out with three women with such creative and motivated personalities and positive attitudes was nothing short of inspiring. I can't wait until the next trip to Berlin!