Berlin

So I'm in Berlin for a couple days, leaving tomorrow morning. I got in yesterday afternoon and checked into my hostel which is tiny and beautiful and located over a bike shop. The lady who runs it is a british transexual. Perfect. Exactly the kind of place for me. Berlin is the kind of city where you get lost and don't want to be found.

In the morning I went to the Berlinische Gallerie which is a gallery devoted to contemporary German artists. They had a beautiful exibition on artists dealing with time, and also a cool retrospective of this german political artists. Once I get back to Ingolstadt I'll upload the few pictures I took before the security politely told me I had to pay for a photography pass.

After the BG I rode the U-Bahn up to Orangienburger Tor and checked out the largest, oldest artist squat/commune in Berlin called Tacheles. Its located in this old department store building and has been there since the 70's. The graffiti on the stairs going up was AMAZING as were the artists and their studios...I wish I'd had a day or a year to spend inside, instead of an hour. When I was done wandering around inside I went across the street to a place called Dada Falafel and had some of the best and cheapest falafel...well, ever. 

After lunch I hoped on the bahn again and went to the Neue StadtGallerie which currently has an exibit of surrealists and abstract impressionism from a very comprehensive private collection. They had everyone...Ernst, Magritte, Pollock, Dali, Frida, Diego Rivera....basically everyone and anyone that mattered to the movements. Really, really well done. 

After arting myself completely out, I wandered around a huge flea marked selling persian rugs, fur coats, leiderhosen, old books, nintendo games, antique furniture, balalaikas, wigs and silver spoons, to name a fraction of the selection! I bought a really cute tan felt hat that I think is called a cloche but then again I'm terrible with names. Unfortunately because it was already late in the afternoon, a lot of the booths were starting to close up, but it was nice to rifle through stacks of old postcards and photos and check out all the old VHS tapes of american movies dubbed into German. 

Anyways, I grabbed a cup of coffee at a little cafe and then headed back to the hostel for a shower. Tonight I'm going out for curry and a pina colada with the Paula(the owner) and some of the other guests here. I really wish I didn't have to leave tomorrow morning, and am seriously considering coming back to Berlin in august and staying here again. 

The more I experience in Berlin the more I love it. It seems as if around every corner is a cool market or cafe or art gallery or vintage store if you're willing to be a little adventurous. I like how easy it is to meet people, how many different sorts of people there are here, how easy it is to find a place that feels like home, or what you would want home to be. If I ever end up living in Germany more permanently, it will be in Berlin, especially since the rent here is the basically the cheapest of any European metropolis. 

Anyways, I take the train tomorrow morning to Bamberg to meet the Scherbaums, my aupair family in the fall. They are picking me up at the train station and then we'll spend the afternoon together before I go back to Ingolstadt.  I can't believe I have such little time left here! Tuesday night I'm going to see a punk show at a club in Ingolstadt(so excited!) and then Thursday morning my hostfather is driving me to the airport in Munich. Where have the past five weeks gone?