End of Week Two

My language school

Having just finished my 2nd week of language courses and real work I have begun to settle in nicely.  My first week here was rather eventful with many friends from back home passing through Berlin and wishing to imbibe copious amounts of German Bier with me.  When it came to these forays into the city I was reluctant but willing as I needed to wake early every morning but wished to see those familiar faces.

New Favorite Bier! Dunkel Weißbier

I first met Pat and Kevin, two fraternity brothers, at their hostel on Oranienburger Straße.  I led them along the East Wall Gallery then into the neighborhood around Warschauer Straße.  We stumbled upon an interesting plaza nestled in the remains of a bombed out train depot.  tables and benches peered out from the shade of thin trees onto a rock-climbing club 'Der Kegel'.  Those lanky men that move like spiders up the old walls of the crumbling structure are able to look down upon Europe's largest indoor skateboard park and the weave of graffiti that coats its surface.  I would later take Hannah to this same spot, a new favorite of mine, as well as share a new favorite beer, Dunkel Weissbier (dark white beer).

Graffiti at the train depot

The next night I join the boys and two other fraternity brothers of mine (Chris and Jeff) in order to explore the streets around Hackeschermarkt.  Many beers and more footsteps bring us to a bar in front of Tacheles, an artist coop housed within a structure that seems ready to collapse upon the taxis below.  I had anticipated a rough morning going into this night, but I did not anticipate arriving home just in time to prepare breakfast and coffee for the family at 6 am....I had fallen asleep on the train home and was awoken by a passenger at the line's end-station.  The only sleep I gained that night was about an hour and a half upon the train...splendid.

Future Climber watching man tackle der Kegel

Later that same week I was met by Grace and Jordan with whom I walked around Kreuzburg with beer in hand marveling at the beautiful Altbau (old building) buildings and sharing individual experiences from our times abroad.  Nothing spectacular was accomplished this night, other than some intense foosball matches,  yet I still managed to miss the last U-bahn train and get lost in the network of bus routes.  After several hours of stumbling on and off buses, I was dropped in front of a bus that read destination 'Zehlendorf'.  Thats my bus.  As if some higher power had lost interest in watching me ride aimlessly around the city and threw me a gimme.

At the end of the week I picked up Hannah from Schönefeld Airport in Susan (my Kia).  The weather was gorgeous and sunlight melted upon the green trees and open fields along the winding country road to the airport making for an enjoyable ride.  Few words are exchanged by Hannah and I whenever we meet after long stretches of time, the human urge to overpower silence with verbose hollow conversation gives way to the opportunity for a more subtle and intimate communication.

Hannah enjoying Raddler (beer and lemonade) @ der Kegel

Once home I gave Hannah the house tour and introduced her to the family in person after multiple cameos on skype conversations.  I later tricked her into eating a risotto with Pfefferling mushrooms (she hates, no, LOATHES mushrooms).  She enjoyed it. After dinner we went into the city to meet Jordan and Grace.  After a long night of wandering between failed objectives we parted ways and wished the girls safe travels as they were to leave early in the morning for Ireland.  

Tango on the Spree

The next day Hannah and I went into the city for a long day of sightseeing and meandering.  The day was long and hot and after much hysterical laughing brought on by exhaustion Hannah and I rested upon a grass hill along the Spree river.  This spot was situated in the shadow of the Boden Museum and overlooking an outdoor dance floor where couples slowing twirled with the yawning of lazy Tango music.  Onlookers sat adjacent and enjoyed bier, wine, and fresh pizza from a nearby Italian pizza oven.  Here also stood a small wooden theater from which howls of the actors and laughter of the audience spilled over into the Spree.

We are....well we're special....

As Hannah and I enjoyed the sunset in the span of pedestrian bridge she admitted that Berlin had captured her affection as it had mine, not through the grandiose monuments of cities like Paris or Rome, but through the sublime energy that emanates from unpolished and humble streets that make the largest city in Germany seem the easiest to settle into.  

Sloth overcame Hannah and myself the rest of the weekend as I my body pleaded for respite after firing on all cylinders that week.  My first week of actual work was filled with equal amount of fun, I promised Anja and Christian that if I were to play hard I would work hard.  Christian laughed and shared a similar German version of the phrase.  Looks like I will be working quite hard this coming year....