yin and yang

Day and night, sunshine and rain, yin and yang...whatever you want to choose... The idea is that we've had a really nice day (two, actually) and a really shitty day this week. On Sunday we took up my mom's offer to go to the city with us, just to stroll around and enjoy the beautiful weather with a walk, some beer and/ or some ice cream in a cafe somewhere along the way. We walked along what always has been and still is one of my favorites in Berlin: Unter den Linden (the long boulevard with old museums, churches, bridges, libraries, a university, etc. leading up to the Brandenburg Gate, coming form the East). Really nice, indeed.

#1: with my parents

#2: the famous Berlin TV tower

#3: P enjoying his beer

#4: ...my mom and I enjoying sweets

#5: one of many cathedrals (the Berlin cathedral in this case) and the Neptun fountain

#6: in front of my alma mater

#7: take a guess...



Yesterday went on our daytrip to the Baltic Sea - to the island of Usedom, from where you can practically spit to Poland (not literally, of course). The three towns by the sea (Ahlbeck, Heringsdorf and Bansin) are arguably some of the most beautiful spots in all of (East) Germany. we left early in the morning with my mom's little Smart car (TINY! I have to take a picture) and returned at night. We strolled along the beach boulevards, hung out at the beach for a few hours, dove into the icy cold water, ate lots and lots of fresh fish and soked up the sun. Later in the day we went to the city of Greifswald, an old university town. My friend Sabrina is just finishing her studies and getting ready to go to Cape Town for half a year, so we thought we'd stop by to see her for dinner. When we returned around midnight, we were exhausted, but happy about a beautiful day, in every sense.






Today then we got ready to explore the former West Berlin and right off the bat Berlin had to remind me of its less attractive sides: Only two stops from where we got on the train, the subway broke down and everybody had to get off to wait for a bus. That bus never came (at least not in the 35 minutes that we waited in the scorching heat with dozens of others) and we embarked on an hour long journey through one of the more ghetto-like parts of Berlin before we got to the train that took us downtown. Next to being upset about just being kicked off the train and left in the heat forever without any further notice, a tour in a bus full of loud kids and teenagers (who got out of school early due to the heat) without airconditioning was less than pleasant. We finally got to Berlin Zoologischer Garten (the center of West Berlin, many would say) to do some shopping. None of that proved successful either, but we witnessed the typical Berlin rudeness, just to complete the already not-so-great day. These are the moments when I am reminded of why I have such a love-hate relationship with this city and why I still do not feel homesick, much less hungry to return one day. Don't get me wrong: It has its many, many good sides and it can be a fantastic, fun city to be in. But when it's crappy, it's crappy and it can rain on one's parade thoroughly.
Tonight we are meeting another good friend of ours and after that we have decided to go to a late show in one of our favorite movie theaters. We have to return downtown, but this time of year it is beautiful to be out at night. It is light until 10.30 pm or later and people are only out to have a drink or an ice-cream or to go for a walk... all in good spirits without any stress or bad attitudes. Let's hope it'll be the nice night out that we're looking for. The movie ("Two days in Paris"), at least sounds good and has gotten good reviews. So then...

Home, sweet home

After an exciting 1.5 weeks out and about in Europe, we made it to Berlin, our final destination for the next few weeks (apart from a few trips here and there). We took the train from Erfurt on Thursday and met my parents in Berlin at the station right thereafter. We got into Berlin's new, ultramodern and huge station that was just opened a few months ago (we hadn't seen it yet). In that respect, much has changed here... Berlin is an eternal construction site and evidence is visible everywhere. Much of the city is being built anew and much is being redone still, almost 18 years after the fall of the wall. Lots of construction is being done in the area around the former "nomansland" (between East and West) and especially where the government resides. We have only driven through downtown Berlin so far, but on Monday or Tuesday we will dive right into the main drags of the city, revisiting where we lived and studied and hung out. Lots of pictures will follow then.

In the meantime, we've spent our time eating and talking and sleeping and reading, enjoying the familiarity, comfort and warmth of my parents' house. It's great to be pampered, and to feel the spirit of unconditional love and care that makes home home. Being back feels like a good mix of change and stability, in us, in my family and the environment.

Other than that the G8 summit has dominated the news since we 've been in Germany. Every night we heard and saw more about massive anti-globalization demonstrations, anti-Bush demonstrations and demonstrations for a more just distribution of goods in the worlds, especially Africa. Bob Geldorf, Bono and German singer/ songwriter Herbert Grönemeyer were present to give concerts and to help all those who went out into the streets and who camped outside the premises for days to draw attention to the all too urgent environmental issues and the vast discrepency of ressources in the world.

While I wish we could have been there for some of the action and protests during the G8 summit, we might take the opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous warm weather at the Baltic Sea (another one of my childhood favorites, as it was the one and only sea most East Germans could easily and regularly reach during their summers) for a day or two. It all depends what we feel like. That's what's beautiful about vacation...there is no pressure to do something or to get somewhere on time... Time doesn't really matter.

road trip

It's been a while since I've last had the chance to report... we've been on the road since early Sunday morning and finding enough time and an internet opportunity at the same time never happened until now. Below the last days in more detail:

Sunday, June 3rd

We got up early to get to the airport on time to fly out to London. It seemed that half of Iceland was at the airport at that early hour. We got to London Heathrow more or less on time, where my brother came to meet us. It was really good to see him again after 1.5 years and soooo helpful to have two extra hands to help us carry our luggage through the London underground. We then travelled to my friend Zara's apartment...right in the heart of the city, it was a fantastic starting point for a great walk to Buckingham Palace, through the park, to Downing Street, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, across the bridge to Southbank and back to Covent Garden and into Soho later that night. It was honestly one of the best days we've ever had in London - the most amazing weather, great company, a nice dinner right by the Tower Bridge and just the invigorating hustle and bustle of London that somehow seems so different from most other downtowns. New for both of us was a ride in a real black London cab - quite an experience and compared to current public transportation prices not all that expensive, really. Martin left us half way through our walk to meet the friend he was staying with for a beer. Patrick and I ended the day with some wine and baclava back in Zara and Scott's apartment, happy about and grateful for safe travels, reunions and friendships.


#1: Over dinner, we were lucky enough to see the Tower Bridge lift its gates...something very, very rare as we were told...

#2: with my friend Zara in a small café

Monday, June 4th

After a good night's sleep, we got up early again to schlepp our luggage a few tube stations north, where we had a date to meet my brother. We made it, but riding the London tube with so much luggage during morning rush hour was everything but pleasant for everyone involved :( Regardless, we met Martin on time, packed all our stuff into the car that he had had in England for the past 8 months (he drove it to Birmigham in October to start his position as a student teacher) and started our journey home. We got to Dover on time for some fish and chips before taking the ferry across the Channel. Once in France, we headed to Belgium and only stopped briefly to look at beautiful Brügge. Really, a stunning little place well worth visiting! We had decided earlier to continue to Brussels and to spend the evening and the night there. Honestly, at first sight I was less than impressed with Brussels...it seemed to be a bad combination of the less attractive parts of Paris architecturally (and in terms of cleanliness and smell) and the horrible tourism industry that controls downtown Prague. The immediate center is beautiful, but I find it hard to enjoy the beauty of a place when you can hardly breathe or walk, there are so many tourists, souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. All that (and the fact that our hotel was right across from what seemed like a gigantic, nasty nuclear power plant) considerably changed my mood and it was only elevated by a late night drive through the more attractive suburbs of Brussels, on the way to the famous Atomium. We saw that just after the sun had set and it was just absolutely stunning in size and illuminating the nightsky like it did.


#3: Brügge

#4: Belgian waffles...yummy...

#5: Brussels' marketplace at sunset

Tuesday, June 5th

We got up early and pretty much drove all the way through to Erfurt, Germany, stopping only twice to eat a bite and use the bathroom. We got to my granny's place in Erfurt in the late afternoon right on time for some coffee and cake :) Martin dropped us of and moved on to Jena, a small town near Erfurt where he lives and studies. The rest of the night we took it easy, talked, watched TV and read. (I'm reading "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer at the moment...an immensely gripping book!)

#6: With my brother and my granny over coffee and cake

Wednesday, June 6th

Today we enjoyed a sunny day in the old town of Erfurt, where my granny and my mother both grew up. We walked through the old town and Patrick had his first Thuringia bratwurst in a long time and we ate potato dumplings with gravy for lunch - both German specialties and things we've long craved.

#7: Erfurt's famous Krämer bridge (the small old merchant's houses mark the edges of the bridge across the river)

#8: Patrick's first bratwurst again

How is it to be back home? In many ways it feels like I've never left, but I've had many moments along the way thinking it was good to be back in Europe. It's just home and no matter how familiar I feel with the Us by now, everything about Europe seems to speak to a deeply rooted part of me (not surprising, I assume, considering that I lived here for 25 years and have only been away for a total of 3 years). My memory of smells and sounds and places is amazingly accurate and the language problems I had anticipated and experienced when I returned from my year as a foreign exchange student never set in. I guess the German part of me is fully activated...

Tomorrow or on Friday we plan to continue home home to Berlin, with a stopover in the beautiful old city of Leipzig, where we are planning to meet another good friend of ours. We haven't made up our minds yet, but, as always, will keep you posted.

Langes Wochenende

Eine kurze zusammenfassende Nachricht auf Deutsch, da ich nun viel auf Englisch erzaehlt habe... Patrick hat seine Zwischenpruefungen hinter sich und ich habe morgen frei (Martin Luther King, Jr Tag...ein Feiertag) und daher haben wir es uns dieses Wochenende gut gehen lassen - wir waren essen, im Kino, und bei ungelogen 20 (!!!) Grad haben wir uns heute zu einem kleinen Ausflug zum angeblich hoechsten Wasserfall in Tennessee aufgemacht (siehe Fotos unten). Ist echt nett, ein Wochenende mit zwei ganzen freien Tagen zu haben, muss ich sagen. Normalerweise fange ich am Sonntag morgen schon wieder mit Vorbereitungen und Korrekturen an :(

Ansonsten noch fix fuer alle ganz offiziell die Nachricht, dass wir im Sommer tatsaechlich mal wieder fuer ein paar Wochen nach Berlin kommen. Wir fliegen am 30.05. von New York nach Reykjavik, bleiben dort ein paar Tage, fliegen dann nach London weiter, treffen meinen Bruder in Birmingham (er unterrichtet dort gerade fuer ein Jahr Deutsch), fahren von dort mit dem Auto nach Berlin und bleiben bis Anfang Juli. Kleine Ausfluege in den Sueden (z.B. zu Freunden und Familie nach Sachsen und Thueringen) sind geplant und irgendwo im Hinterkopf schwirrt noch Barcelona herum, aber wir werden sehen, ob dafuer Zeit bleibt. Denn ein bisschen wollen wir ja dann auch den Sommer in Berlin geniessen. Darauf freue ich mich mitterweile schon echt sehr...die langen Sommertage in der Stadt hab' ich doch vermisst.

Soviel fuer heute. Eine schoene Woche an Euch alle & auf bald...