| Random things in Berlin |
[Jan. 4th, 2007|02:30 pm] |
Today I went into a "Hip Hop" store, because I thought they might have this Turkish hip hop CD I have been looking for, but all they really had was spray paint. So that is what hip hop is all about!
Then I saw a guy with like 6 dogs tied to wagon he was riding around town in :P He went by too quickly for me to get my cam out :/ |
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Tag mit ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) derralf (hey... your username makes this grammatically incorrect! ;) |
[Jan. 3rd, 2006|11:43 am] |
On the 3rd, my last day in Berlin, I hung out with derralf. I wanted to check out Zionskirche, but they were closed. How can a church be closed? Grrr. Then we headed over to Palast der Republik to say goodbye. I was a bit disappointed that no one had hung up papers on the fence protesting its destruction, but there was some graffiti on nearby information about the rebuilding of the Berliner Schloss. So that cheered me up a bit. derralf said it didn't really matter, because they are going to tear it down anyway... but I tend to disagree. I think it is a sad time, when no one stands up for what they believe in, even if they think they have no chance of reversing (in this case) the destruction, there is more at stake. Anyway, I am sad that they are destroying the Palast and building the Schloss, which Berlin really doesn't need. After that we went to the Neue Wache and then to Humboldt to pee ;P Then to Potsdamer Platz. I wanted to get some Ampelmännchen stuff and other gifts at Arkaden. Part of the Christmas market was still up there. They had also built a snow hill for sledding down, but unfortunately it was not free. Checked out Sony Center to see if they had any interesting lights. I do like that area, even if it is so... commercial. At least it is commercial and pretty? ;P A little bit later we met up with Alex and went to the movies in one of the most interesting movie theaters I have ever been in, Lichtblick-Kino. It was tiny, with 4 seats across and I am not sure how many rows, but not many. There was an old piano up front against the wall and the screen was about as big as one of those big flat TV's. In fact, I bet it was about the same size as the TV Devon's father has. Due to drinking beer, I had to use the bathroom at one point and the guy told me I had to go outside into the courtyard. It was... an experience ;P The movie we saw was a Swiss movie called Lücke im System. I would definitely see a movie there again. There was this neat alley nearby that I just had to go down with cool lighting and "art" on the walls.
I am cheating and putting the last thing first ;P Wish I had a better camera with me... but these are more for the memories anyway...
( Read more... ) |
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| What about breakfast at Ralf's... |
[Jan. 2nd, 2006|11:30 am] |
So, on the 2nd I think, Alex, Michi, and I went to Ralf's place for Breakfast. And Ralf made me Dragon Ice Cream! Yay ;D
Alex, Me, Michi, and Ralf
( Read more... )
Another related note, I have now been to the Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg multiple times over the last several years. For movies, grocery shopping, crêpes, and salsa dancing. And now I will remember what it is called ;P |
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| A wish you all a good slide into the New Year *G* |
[Jan. 1st, 2006|02:31 pm] |
So New Year's... we hung out with a few friends at Alex's before going to watch the fireworks on derralf's roof. It was a lot of fun. The fireworks surrounded us and went on for hours. There isn't much I can really say to describe what it was like and I could not capture the evening in pictures, sorry ;P I was pleased with the way things turned out and it was great to be with people I really care about. I do have a couple pictures...
derralf and Thilo making funny faces at me. Thilo happens to be looking through a Slinky.
( Read more... ) |
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| Fragments |
[Dec. 29th, 2005|02:29 pm] |
So... sometime in between 22C3 and New Year's, I apparently had ice cream at least twice, judging by my pictures. I am pretty sure we hung out with derralf and maybe watched a movie or two. I probably was trying to locate a go-board with Ralf and Alex at this time as well. Florian was sick when I visited him and I caught what he had and managed to give it to Alex as well (I am so generous). I am still sick actually. This is a really nasty cold. So...
Yum! I got to pick out the flavours too!
( Read more... ) |
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| On the third day of Christmas... |
[Dec. 26th, 2005|07:33 pm] |
The third day of Christmas I spent with derralf. I brought him his presents and a baby snowman I built outside his place. We played guitar a bit and went for a walk to Mauerpark, where both children and punks with dogs were sledding. I like watching people at Mauerpark. I think I would hang out there a bit and do so if I lived in Berlin. Afterward, we went to where derralf works in Potsdam and to Schloss Sanssouci. Good times ;D
When we came back from our walk, the man was clearing his windshield. A shame, but I guess he couldn't drive with the snow on it ;P
( Read more... )
EDIT: I believe I lost a day now that I look at things again. I am so bad with time. I think the first day Ralf and I went for the walk to Mauerpark, then we baked cookies and hung out... and where it says "Afterward, we went to where ..." I really meant to say... the next day! ;P
And then we met up with Alex for dinner at an Indian place near derralf and Ralf left early to go to a party. But ummm... I know we all watched 2 movies bei Ralf at some point... I just cannot figure out when. Hmmm... |
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| Christmas! |
[Dec. 23rd, 2005|06:13 pm] |
On the 23rd, I took a train from Koblenz to Köln... well, at least I was supposed to. Alex and I were supposed to meet up on the train, which was eventually headed for Berlin. But my bad luck kicked in again and my train was 15 minutes late, thus, I missed my connecting train. One of the guys working on the Train was nice though and let me use the train cell phone to call Alex ;P A woman I sat next to also wanted to buy me coffee. Anyway, Alex and I managed to meet up in Hamm, but we lost our reservations and had to sit on the ground the rest of the way to Berlin. It wasn't that bad, but I think it is a bunch of BS that they don't even give the money back for the reservations. Anyway, we arrived in Berlin alright and I met Alex's Mother and her cats ;D And I like all of them ;P Again, details already fuzzy. My memory is terrible. I remember that Alex's mother had prepared something to eat and I think we went out afterward to play billiards with derralf, if I don't have the dates confused. Was wonderful to see him again ;D
The next day was the first day of Christmas... Germans celebrate 3 days ;P Also, traditionally the Christ Child is supposed to come through the window on the evening of the 24th and leave the presents. When I told Anthony this, he asked if you could go to the mall and sit on the Christ Child's lap *G* Anyway, Alex and I decorated the Christmas tree. Later, Alex, his mother, and I had dinner together and exchanged gifts. Afterward some friends of his family came over and to my surprise, they also had a gift for me. We played Hexentanz and I was winning, but Alex and I had to leave to go meet some friends at the bar. Other than derralf, Alex, and Michi, I didn't really know anyone. I kind of knew Christian, because we hung out with him in Köln. Alex got wasted, I had a few, and the bill was way too high. This is why I drink Beer and not mixed Drinks ;P derralf also brought me presents ;P But he left earlier :/ I thought it was kinda weird to go to a bar on Christmas, but I guess it is tradition for Alex and his friends.
The second day of Christmas we went to eat with his Grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I decided to have ice cream for my meal ;P Afterward we went to his Aunt and Uncle's for Coffee and to exchange gifts. Again, I was given presents to my surprise. At one point Alex and Stefan, his cousin, were talking loudly in my ears and his Aunt asked something I couldn't really hear. When I indicated I hadn't understood, she went to look for a dictionary ... O,o Was kinda weird. I do tend to be pretty quiet around new people, but I didn't think I was that quiet. Alex's mother mentioned that I spoke German fluently and one of the cousins said something like "probably better than we do". It was kinda funny. It was also fun to listen to the sometimes thick Berliner dialect ;P
Alex and I very messily shared this Überraschungseier Ice Cream after arriving at the train station in Berlin.
( Read more... ) |
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| Much driving and Fussball |
[Dec. 20th, 2005|05:32 pm] |
On the 20th, I took a train from Bochum to Koblenz and met up with Florian there. After much difficulty figuring out how to get downtown and park, with an Autobahn sign before us bearing the name of small town called "Mayen", I decided, much to Florian's dismay, that it was destiny and that we had to go. Some of you may know that I participated in a short summer study abroad program there in 2001. We checked out the tiny Christmas market there and then wandered around the town. Many memories. And now this picture has to come... I think someone else here might appreciate it ;P
After that, we went to another little town, which I currently do not know the name of, but have written down somewhere, and had some good beer and conversation. Then we drove back to Florian's place in Trier.
The next day we drove to München. It was a lonnnnnnnnnng drive with a lot of traffic jams, but eventually we got there and saw Bayern München play against Hamburg SV in the new stadium. Bayern München finally shot a goal during overtime. It was an interesting experience. Afterward they gave us gingerbread hearts with the Bayern München logo on them, which I thought was pretty cool.
The next day we wandered around München. Again, checked out the Christmas Market, had Glühwein, and watched some people. It was too cold to stay very long though and so we spent many hours in a car again. Lots of conversations...
The new stadium in München (Munich)
( Read more... )
I also have two little video clips. One of Bayern München's goal and one of a strange, self-cleaning pay-toliet at a rest area. For 50 cents (Euro), you could use the toliet and it gave you a coupon for the same amount in case you wanted to buy something from the store. There was also this new age voice that talked to you the whole time about how it hoped that you enjoyed the experience ... |
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| Arrival in Germany |
[Dec. 17th, 2005|04:55 pm] |
After spending 6 extra hours in a rather disgusting airport in Paris, due to the incompetence of Air France, who by the way believes shrimp to be vegetarian and has no qualms about yelling at their customers in French that they can eat around it, I arrived in Frankfurt. Of course, I had missed my train to Bochum by several hours, but I took the next available one and everything worked out. Luckily I had ended up chatting with a nice German guy in Paris, who was also stranded a few hours, and he let me call up Alex to let him know I had missed my flight. After a wonderful greeting from Alex, we took a Taxi back to his place where others were waiting... and we played DSA (Das Schwarze Auge - Paper & Pen RPG). I had already been traveling 24 hours and hadn't slept for even longer, but somehow I wasn't that tired. Another girl there played my Woodelf. She didn't seem to be capable of getting into the RPG and she seemed to have a death-wish as well. It was... somewhat amusing.
The details of the days that followed are already somewhat fuzzy, but I spent a few days in Bochum with Alex. We wandered around Bochum a bit, checked out the Christmas market there briefly, went to the Bergbau-Museum, and checked out the Uni. On the 19th, we went to the Christmas market in Köln, wandered around, and drank Glühwein ;P
I also went to an Internet café and found out that my roommate decided to move out while I was gone (well, actually I found out a couple days later, but I don't want to go into details). Truth be told, I am happy he did, even if I cannot really afford the rent on my own. I am not sure I want another roommate either. I don't really need stress while I am working on my Master's thesis. Although my first experience with roommates was alright, they were neat and polite, my last experience wasn't the best. And I don't really want that again or worse. Anyway, that kinda messed up my vacation a little bit, but I felt better after some nice German beer ;P
And now for a couple pics...
Bergbau-Museum
( +3 )
Oh yeah, also found out that I got all 4.0s ;P Hopefully I will complete my Master's with a nearly perfect GPA ;D |
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| Birthday Party |
[Sep. 2nd, 2004|07:11 am] |
Yes, I am very very bad. I know. But I am also very very busy ;P And I have a few pictures. These will be coming in a slightly messed up order, starting with pictures from my Birthday party.
My B-day was a few days ago and I had a party on the 28th. Alex came from Bochum and derralf came from Berlin ;D Was great to see them both and play guitar with Ralf again ;D I made massive amounts of food for the party, Käsespätzle, Manicotti, Salads, Brownies... ;P Only downside to my B-day was that my mom forgot to call, email, or send a card again *sigh* Oh well. Still had a nice B-day ;D
EDIT: wanted to add... derralf is way stronger than he looks. He actually managed to lift me on his shoulders and carry me up a pretty steep hill. Must have been some physics trick, because I am not exactly light (a lot heavier than I look;).
( way too many pics ;P ) |
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| TROGDOR!! |
[Jun. 6th, 2004|09:12 am] |
Time to go burninate a few more peasants;P
Also made an icon out of it and just for justahangwire it has a 2 pixel black border ;P |
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| Rheinfall ;D |
[May. 28th, 2004|05:24 am] |
So, since I was wrong about when Devon arrives, Alex and I decided to go to Rheinfall yesterday. It is just over the border in Switzerland and is supposed to be the biggest waterfall in Europe. We brought a couple beers with us and had a little fun taking pics ;P Enjoy! ;D
( Rheinfall! ) |
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| Pics post ;P |
[May. 11th, 2004|08:09 pm] |
Just some random pics I have yet to share.
Taken from the roof of the building I live in.
( +14 ) |
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| Sooooo... |
[May. 11th, 2004|07:28 pm] |
It seems I drank all the Maibockbier and there wasn't any left for poor theswede. But we were able to find a few other beers to drink Friday and Saturday *G* Unfortunately, the weather was terrible again as it always seems to be when someone comes to visit me. That really needs to change!
Not much else new to tell. Watched 13th Floor and The Breakfast Club dubbed in German with Alex this weekend. Also tried Elephant Bier, which has 7.5% alcohol I believe, but it unfortunately tastes like ass. I need to find more Maibock *sniffle*
I am also seriously considering applying for an internship with DaimlerChrysler in Berlin. There are a lot of pros and cons. I do have some pretty kickass friends in Berlin. And derralf lives there too *tease*. But I like it here in Konstanz, on the Bodensee and Rhein. And I have made a couple friends here as well. Berlin isn't exactly close either. I could also stay here and do another internship where I currently work (in the International Office at the Fachhochschule). It wouldn't look as good on my résumé, but the atmosphere is really laid-back. Ahhhh decisions.
( Ok, time for a couple pics from the weekend ) |
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| Berlin - Ads / Displays / Fashion / Graffiti |
[May. 6th, 2004|03:02 pm] |
Finally getting around to posting the rest of the Berlin pictures ;P This series involves advertisements, displays, fashion, and graffiti seen around Berlin. If you come to Germany, you will notice they like to use English in advertisements as it is "trendy", but it doesn't always make a lot of sense ;P I have made it my goal to start collecting weird advertisements with English and also pictures of weird displays and fashion.
Now tell me, what does "Cotton-Crash" say to you? ;P
( +11 ) |
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| Alps ;D |
[Apr. 17th, 2004|04:33 am] |
I took these pictures last night from the top of the building I live in:
Lovely, no? Can you see why I like it here? ;D
( +1 ) |
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| Berlin - 9 April 2004 |
[Apr. 16th, 2004|11:11 am] |
Busy day!
Today I met Michi at Alexanderplatz at the Weltzeituhr, which happened to be off by one hour pfft. Met an interesting guy from Wales in a Café before that. He was at some conference that had to do with foreign relations and the United Nations. Sounded interesting. Students get together and come up with ideas and solutions for different countries, which are then presented to the United Nations. He was representing Cuba and their topic was women issues. Anyway... got together with Michi. And then Ralf called me and we went over to his place. Again the details are fuzzy. At some point we went to the Mauerpark, to a café, and to the movies. We saw Big Fish. I liked it ;P Mauerpark was the highlight of the day though. And another highlight of my trip. What can I say... I am a people watcher ;P Again notes from my little blue notebook:
Michi, Ralf & I go to Mauerpark. There are many punks, parents and children, younger and older people - a very mixed group. Many are drinking beer. One of two young men decides to throw his empty beer bottle on the ground. The punks become very angry about this and demand that he pick it up, because there are many dogs in the park and it could hurt them (punks in Berlin / Germany are a little bit different than in the US, maybe I will discuss it sometime, but it seems they always have dogs.) We think "jetzt geht's los", but the young man picks up the pieces of his bottle. Later he throws another bottle and the argument begins again. One punk throws a piece of the bottle back at the young men. Luckily no one was hurt. Ralf plays guitar a little while, and then we go to the movies.
I also should mention that at some point an "Anti Konflikt Team" arrived. Interesting idea.
( The Pictures ;D ) |
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| Berlin - 8 April 2004 |
[Apr. 16th, 2004|10:28 am] |
Today the group went to a memorial that had to do with German resistance during die Nazizeit. The memorial, Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand, is situated in a historical location where Stauffenberg, who tried to assassinate Hitler in 1944, was murdered. It features some of the more famous resistance groups such as Der Kreisauer Kreis and Die Weiße Rose as well as some less famous groups. There was an interesting little collection of forbidden artwork. They also had exhibits dedicated to resistance from workers and resistance due to religious beliefs. It was pretty interesting. Later that afternoon the group went to the exhibit Topographie des Terrors, which also had to due with the Nazi Period, Gestapo and the SS namely. I am not sure, but we might have also gone to the Plötzensee Memorial Center today, which is a memorial for the victims of Hitler’s dictatorship. They had quite a bit of information there.
Ralf and I hung out again that night. I can't remember what we did. Probably played guitar *G* Oh, and we had Thai food. Maybe we went to the Märkisches Museum? Anyway, at some point I took some notes in my little notepad as we were riding the U-bahn. Here are the notes:
On the way from Postdamerplatz to the Thai restaurant there was a strange man on the U-bahn who announced the train information (and a few seconds later the recording with the same message would play). He apparently does this everyday. Everyone was grinning and giggling. He also seemed to have a problem with people taking pictures or with cameras on the U-bahn. "Nicht die andere Fahrgäste fotografieren."
Maybe it is a bit weird, but this was one of the highlights of my trip *G* That and just watching the people on the U-bahn in general. Though after awhile you get tired of people trying to sell you the homeless people magazines. If I gave every begger in Berlin just one penny I would be broke in a couple days.
EDIT: Totally forgot to mention that Ralf accompanied me to Komische Oper this evening to see Falstaff, a Shakespeare comedy made into an Opera. Ralf wasn't really digging it and I wasn't that impressed either (the singing was only mediocre), so we left during the intermission and went back to his place to make our own music ;P
( Anyway... to the pictures ;D ) |
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| Berlin - 7 April 2004 |
[Apr. 16th, 2004|09:48 am] |
Today was all about former East and West Berlin. We visited some important locations dealing with the wall and The Berlin Wall Documentation Center. They had some really interesting audio stories of people that tried to escape from the West to the East. They also had a lot of interesting pictures, videos, and other information dealing with the Wall. I enjoyed listening to a DDR propaganda song. Nearby was some of the original wall, a Berlin Wall Memorial, and the Chapel of Reconciliation. Apparently this chapel was between the walls for several years and nobody was allowed to use it from either the East or the West. They eventually destroyed it and now there is a little Chapel there as a memorial.
That evening I went to the Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester, where I oddly enough saw the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Johann Sebastian Bach Brandenburgisches Konzert Nr. 3 G-Dur BWV 1048, Arnold Schönberg Klavierkonzert op. 42, and Peter Tschaikowsky Symphonie Nr. 5 e-Moll op. 64. Came all the way to Germany to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra ;P The Tschaikowsky piece was wonderful, great finale ;D
( And the pictures... ;D ) |
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| Berlin - 6 April 2004 |
[Apr. 15th, 2004|01:55 pm] |
The group did a bus tour on the 6th. It was a historical type tour that was supposed to deal with Berlin als herausragender Ort deutscher Geschichte - von der Frontstadt des Kalten Krieges zur Hauptstadt des vereinigten Deutschland. And that afternoon we also went to the Reichstagsgebäude, which is the location of Germany's governing body, the Bundestag. The glass dome gives the building solar power, it is also pretty interesting looking ;P
I spent a little time with Alex before he left for Bochum and then I met Ralf at the Reichtagsgebäude. And ummm... I can't remember what we did afterward. Maybe played guitar? ;D Help me out here derralf ;P
( The pictures ) |
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