Goodbye, Expat Life; Hello, Repat Life?

As I type, I am sitting in Geoff's hometown in NJ. We're en route from Berlin to Seattle, stopping over just long enough on the East Coast to attend a wedding. It has been my first real break since January. The first time that I have had real time off, not thinking about wedding or work or looking for work or moving logistics. And the sun is beaming beautifully outside; even the sweltering tri-state humidity cannot begin to bother me when I am sleeping 12 hours a day. I am spending most of my time just hanging out with the in-laws in Jersey, but am also idly looking up friends in NYC during the week. During the coming weekend, Geoff and I will be visiting the Museum of Math, as well as catching the "new" musical Once. Although I love New York, I cannot help but feel relieved that we don't live there anymore. The city is a total wallet-zapper!

On a more personal note, things have been pretty rough at home, since my mom has been in the hospital for a couple of weeks now, and Geoff's parents have had health scares of their own recently. I think this is the start of an era -- the years when we feel lucky whenever our parents get over a scary episode of something without it becoming life-threatening; it's no longer the norm that our parents get sick and they would get better. It's scary, and we're still waiting for biopsy results to see whether my mom will get lucky this time. I really hope so, but as my mom has already said, if it's not this and not this time (that becomes life-threatening), then it will be something else at another time. That realization has hit me very hard lately, and I don't know how to navigate through my web of feelings about it. I think grief is a very selfish thing, because as soon as you start to dwell on your own grief, you're already prioritizing your own fears and needs over the tremendous needs of the person who is actually ill. So I have tried to keep everything latent, because I don't know when my mom will need that extra boost of positivity from me. The wait for diagnosis has been agonizing, but I keep reminding myself that it is 10 times more difficult for my mom than it is for the rest of us. It helps to keep other things in perspective.

So, it was with a heavy heart that I had said goodbye to Berlin. Amidst all the furniture-selling, packing, cleaning, painting, paperwork logistics, and long-distance phone calls to Shanghai, the time simply flew. There are many things that I could say about Berlin, but most of all, I will remember the wonderful friends that we've made there. Although it was quite random that Geoff and I ended up there, we were fortunate to experience the city on its way to becoming -- truly -- one of the greatest cities in the world. When I think back about my two years there, I will always remember how charming the neighborhoods were, with their parks, biergartens, craft and flea markets, and slowly savored Sunday brunches. The city can throw a helluva open-air party, or two or three. And I've never been in any other city where the train is habitually still packed to standing-room at 5am, with a diversity of languages to rival that of NYC.

So long, Berlin! Thanks for all the wonderful memories. I wish that there was more time, and that the goodbye wasn't quite so hasty and so distracted, but I am sure that we will visit again soon.

PS. Next year, I will be teaching Algebra 2, Precalculus, and Calculus. To keep myself from being overly lazy all summer, I plan to do some Calculus planning starting in late July or early August. Any resources that you can point me at would be awesome!

PPS. On a different note, if you visit Germany at any point as a tourist, I highly recommend talking to the locals and going to a traditional German sauna to try their Aufguss experience. It's not to be missed! The experience is so exclusively German that you can hardly find any English info about it on the web, and the descriptions that you do find do not adequately describe it...

Berlin Hipster for a Day

I decided last night at around 10pm that I would try to get in to Berghain today. Berghain is the most famous techno club in Berlin -- and arguably the best club in the world -- and its fame is almost mythical. They are also one of the biggest gay-friendly clubs in Berlin. Their parties start on Friday nights and run all the way until Sunday evening, with no break in between. You can show up even at 9am on a Sunday morning to try to get in. The reputation of this party, which takes place in a run-down building in the middle of an abandoned lot, is that "they party like it's still the decadent 90s in New York City." If you are serious about entering, then you had better be dressed like a Berlin hipster, because the bouncers are very discerning. And, you could forget planning for a big group to all get in, because ironically you have to seem a bit "too cool to care" in order to get past the bouncers, and groups bigger than 2 or 3 almost never get in. For this reason, many Germans or people who have lived in Berlin for several years have not been to this world-famous club. (Some of my friends refuse to go, because they think it's ridiculous that you have to wait in line and then be arbitrarily rejected.)

Now, I am a math teacher, pretty much the opposite of a hipster. I can count on one hand the pieces of black clothing that I own, which are not brand-name skirts or dresses. Despite this, I wanted to at least attempt to see what Berghain is about before leaving Berlin. It's Pride Parade weekend, so I knew that getting in to Berghain would be tougher than ever, as it is one of the main after-party clubs. So, I got a full night's sleep and got up at 9am today (Sunday) to research what to wear in order to resemble a hipster. The websites are funny. They said that if you want to get in to Berghain, then you should make sure you "wear black and be skinny." And, "don't talk while waiting in line."

I threw together a pretty good hipster outfit, I think: Black long-sleeved t-shirt; a black-and-white textured skirt that I rolled up to make it shorter; a pair of ripped black tights (I had to take a pair of regular black tights and rip them by hand with scissors, since I don't keep tights once they get runs in them); a painted black leather bracelet; a dark fringe-looking necklace; and a deep red lipstick. I must have done an OK job with my hipster costume, because when I rolled on up to the door of the club, the bouncers automatically assumed that I had already entered previously and were asking to see my stamp for re-entry. When I said that I didn't have a stamp, they hesitated, looking into the club, and then said to me apologetically, "I'm sorry, lady... but not today."

--BUMMER!!!! I guess it must have still been very crowded inside, even though it was already 11am on a Sunday. (The parade was yesterday, and people flew in from all over Europe to party in Berlin. So, it's hardly a surprise that they were still partying a mere 24 hours later.) Well, since it's my last weekend in Berlin, I'll have to come back to Berlin and try to party at Berghain some other time! Now I have a whole rest of Sunday to hang out in my hipster costume. I think I'll go ahead and enjoy this -- being a hipster for a day. What do Berlin hipsters do on a Sunday? Do they go to brunch dressed in black and order eggs and cappuccinos, like everyone else??

PS. Maybe vegan brunch, over a box of cigarettes? (I don't smoke, unfortunately. But, if I did, I might be a more convincing hipster.....)

PPS. I found a Guide to Being a Hipster, thanks to Google. I will need to find ways to sneak into the conversation that the band has sold out, apparently.

Sachen zu Tun im Berlin

If I had to make a list of top things that Berliners I know enjoy and recommend about the city, I'd say these are the top choices.

15. Go clothes-shopping in almost any Kiez, or neighborhood
14. Freiluftkino, or open-air cinema
13. Museums (Technical Museum, Berlin Historical Museum, DDR museum, bunker tours)
12. Go up the Reichstag to view the city and appreciate the glass dome architecture -- during the day or even at night (you can reserve times until about 11pm, I think)
11. East-side Gallery
10. Eat a Mustafa's doener kebab (totally worth the 1+ hour wait)
9. Biergartens in the park (Cafe Am Neuensee is my favorite! It's in Tiergarten.)
8. Ride your bike along the canal or from park to park
7. Party randomly until 7am (including going to a squatters flat, for a squatters' party)
6. Flea markets!
5. Kegel-bowling (traditional German bowling)
4. Go to a traditional German sauna (eg. Stadtbad Neukoelln)
3. Bierbike 
2. Street festivals and open-air parties (such as Karnival der Kulturen or Mai Fest in the spring/summer time, and Christmas markets/Brandenburg Gate NYE party in the winter time)
1. (Sing at) Mauerpark's Bearpit Karaoke, in front of -- oh -- 3000 or so people at any given time!

Most of these I've done during my time in Berlin, but Geoff and I are running out of time to do the rest!! I have not had a chance to see an open-air movie here, and we've never been to a German sauna. We also haven't been to some of the recommended museums on the list. In the next week or two, this is my goal!! Chipping away at the bucket list like the best of them. Watch out!!!

Final Months in Berlin

Amazingly, time is flying by and we find ourselves sprinting towards the last months -- ready or not -- before another big life change.

1. Geoff's going back to Seattle after our pre- and post- wedding hanging out time in Berlin. This time, he's bringing with him most of our wall decorations that we wish to keep (paintings, cuckoo clock, vintage posters, marionette, and some other knick knacks from our travels). It's helping the reality of moving sink in...

2. I am in the process of actively looking for jobs in Seattle, with some positive/encouraging progress. In May, I hope to ask for a day off to spend a long weekend interviewing with schools in Seattle. (So far, one interview is for sure. Another one during the same weekend would be fabulous to have, if I can get the extra day off and rebook my flight into Seattle.) These are two really great schools and they both seem quite interested in continuing the conversation of hiring me, so I'm feeling overall pretty hopeful with the job-search prospects.

Coupled with this, I also need to look into the logistics of filming my class just for about 10 minutes. Two different Seattle schools have offered this to me as an alternative to teaching a demo lesson on site. If I can get this working, I could just send the link to other schools that request the same...

3. In other news, since I'm the department chair, I am simultaneously interviewing potential people to hire into my current department. There's something that feels pretty funny about interviewing other people and being interviewed all at the same time, especially when some of those people I'm interviewing are supposed to fill my spot. One person I've interviewed so far is a rock star, and I hope secretly that he'll take the offer so that I can leave my students in good hands.

4. Next week will be my final full week of instruction with my Grade 12s, and also the last week of instruction before the semesterly mock exams in Grade 11. I feel quite excited to see how they will do!!

5. In Grade 9, we're doing my favorite 3-D project again. The kids are making good progress so far -- they've already gotten their designs/dimensions checked off, and half of the groups also had their calculated volumes already checked off. Next week, we'll be working on the surface area calculations, drawing 2-D nets, and starting the construction during class. EXCITED!!!

6. The sun is rolling in, slowly but surely. It's my favorite time of the year in Berlin!!! In May, there will be the annual Karnival der Kulturen, and in June, we're going to try to work out one last trip -- to Kiev (where my friend has offered for us to stay at her condo) or Vienna or Bamberg (with their unique "smoked beer"/rauchbier local breweries) or kayaking through / camping by the beautiful lakes surrounding Berlin. Lots to choose from, but so little time left!! I'm sad just thinking about it.

Independent Theatre in Berlin

I recently went to a cool little theatre event at the English Theatre in Berlin. (This was only the second time that I have been there. The first time, one of our friends was in a play about the woman who had discovered the double helix structure, Rosalind Franklin.) They're having a festival of theatre in which everyday for two or so weeks, they put on a different set of shows. The festival ends this week, so I decided to organize a little group to go on Thursday night to check out a series of short plays.

The lineup had about 10 or so acts, and I had thought that we would arrive at 8pm and then sit through 10 very short plays. Not so! When you arrive, you get randomly assigned a colored ticket, whose itinerary has already been pre-determined for the most part. Because they have a variety of things going on and the theatre is small, they had to be creative about how they used the space, and plays were going on simultaneously in all parts of the facility.  Everyone started off watching a play in the main theatre space, about a woman who had gone crazy. And then after that they sent us off in all directions.

Actually, our friends group got further split up into two smaller groups (they numbered us off, 1, 2, 1, 2...), at which point my friend Elsa and I went together to see a modern version of Joan of Arc. The J of A play we saw was very interesting and it was a two-part play, each part occurring inside a small office space in the back of the theatre. When we sat with "Joan" in her office, we could only hear her side of the phone conversation, and then when we went to the other room afterwards to see the other half of the play, we got to see the other personalities (the two counselors who were putting Joan on trial), in their office. It was really interesting, and we really liked it.

Our other friends, however, weren't so lucky. They were sent off to see a play about child molestation. (Yikes.) So, we decided to leave at 10:30pm, when they said that Elsa and I needed now to switch with Max and Mateja's group.

But, anyhow, the format was really interesting and unique. I really liked it, and thought that was very Berlin!

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Recently I went to another theatre event with these guys. It was also on a Thursday night, I think, and it was called Haus Theatre. As the name suggests, we showed up and it was someone's house! The play took place in a living room, and that (regular-sized) living room had a natural sort of stage layout. All 30 or so audience members sat in rows on one side of the living room, and the actors were on the other side, using an archway connecting to the adjacent room as a way to enter and leave the stage. That play was about friendships, and it was pretty good -- intense but still quite funny at the same time, with a lot of comic relief. The three actors each had a big role, and although they were non-native English speakers (I think they were Spanish, German, and Italian), they were able to interpret those roles brilliantly! The story was about what happens when you feel that your friend has made a mistake (by spending 50,000 Euros to buy a painting that looks just... like a white canvas). Super interesting as the story unfolded and you saw all these opinions they had always had about one another. Afterwards, you could just hang out and mingle with the actors, which was the whole idea. They said that this was the first in a series they planned to do, but they would always look at the space first and then choose a play that fits that space.

Berlin is great!! I love this independent art scene. I'll definitely miss this city.

Berlin Dining Scene

Geoff and I love food. Geoff loves experimenting with new restaurants, and I always have my favorites no matter where we live, that I frequent on a regular basis. Between the two of us, we have tried a good amount of places here.

In Berlin, my favorite/highly recommended restaurants are:

• Goodtime, which is a fairly expensive Thai restaurant with great food and great ambiance. My favorite location is the one in Zehlendorf. But, it runs quite pricey there. For an entree with a pot of tea, that can cost you over 20 Euros per person. I've also been to the Goodtime located in Mitte, and that was nice as well.
• Since Goodtime is quite expensive, I have found a cheaper option that is equally tasty and located right in my neighborhood. Papaya is also a mini-chain, but the location on Kleistpark is by far my favorite of the two locations I've been to. The food there is so flavorful, exquisite, and spicy that, this summer when I was traveling in actual Thailand, I was craving the Thai food from Papaya. Papaya is not cheap compared to a lot of Berlin places, but definitely a cheaper option than Goodtime. An entree with tea will run you around 15 Euros. My favorite dishes from here are Ped Pad Ki Mau (fried duck with Ki Mau soy sauce, basil, chili, fresh peppers, etc) and Penang curry.
• Addendum April 21, 2013: There is another nice Thai restaurant called Sida that is great for a group (if you make reservation early) and has good food across the menu. Their foods are flavorful and very affordable!
• Yogi Haus is by far the best Indian restaurant in Berlin. We've been to several others, including some famous ones from Tripadvisor. Yogi Haus is huge, but it gets very crowded on Friday and Saturday nights, completely packed sometimes including all indoor and outdoor sitting areas. The mango curry there is to die for, and the price is great at this place.
• Addendum May 26, 2013: There is an okra + lamb curry dish at Yogi Haus that is even better than their mango curry. This particular curry is a bit sour and super flavorful, reminding me of vindaloos from other parts of India. Try it!!!
• There is an Ethiopian restaurant that is located half a block away from my house. It's called Abyssinia, and it's right around where this restaurant used to be.They have excellent service, and their food is delicious. I regularly order their Doro Wot, which is a type of red curry with chicken and a hard-boiled egg. If you're a fan of Ethiopian food, I highly recommend this place. They're so relaxed and so great about letting you hang out there, too.
• Addendum April 21, 2013: There is another famous Ethiopian restaurant in our neighborhood called Bejte Ethiopia that has great reviews, but honestly it's not nearly as good as Abyssiniea. 
• Besides that, a couple of blocks away from me has the most delicious Chinese restaurant I've yet been able to find in Berlin: Chi Chi Kan. They have some dimsum type of things, but those are just OK. The best things that they have, in my opinion, are their lamb chops with bok choi, and also their Exotic Chicken appetizer. It's a bit on the pricey side; if I order a starter, a pot of tea, and a main course, it's a lot of food but it can run close to 20 Euros.
  
• Mustafa's on Mehringdamm is definitely not overrated. There are kebap places everywhere in Berlin, but their unique combination of crispy toasted bread, juicy meat, stirfried vegetables and potatoes, spiced fresh "salad" (lettuce and tomatoes and onions and such toppings), and flavorful sauces makes this place a magical kebap place even though the lines are so, so, SO slow-moving. Even if there are only 15 people in line, expect to wait for about 40 minutes. But the food is so tasty that it's definitely worth the wait.
• Addendm May 26, 2013: Near Rathaus Steglitz, on Schlossstr across the street from the M48-Alexanderplatz bus stop, there is a little standalone kebap stand called Cebos. This came highly recommended from several colleagues, so I finally checked it out. It's great! Not as good as Mustafa's, but it's also without the ridiculous wait. If you eat spice, their spicy sauce is quite good -- not sweet like the normal kebap places, but actually with a serious kick. They also have similar ingredients to Mustafa's, with the extra potatoes and feta cheese... 
• The best German Sunday brunch places I have been to are Cafe Morgenland and Deponie Nummer 3. The former is always impossible to get a reservation, and the latter is always quite free to go at the last minute. 
• Addendum April 21, 2013: We have tried a few other great American-style brunch places. The California Breakfast Slam and its sister brunch place, the Chicago Breakfast Slam have absolutely banging! breakfast! The Mexican-styled breakfast with beans and eggs and tacos, guac, sour cream are to die for, and their French toasts are complex and mouth-watering as well.
• The best Berlin cappuccinos I have tried are from Double Eye on Akazienstrasse and Maxway Cafe near Winterfeldtplatz. The latter, unfortunately, is in the middle of training new baristas, so sometimes your coffee can be very disappointing. If you care more about the ambiance than the quality of the coffee, then Cafe Bilderbuch is your best bet. The back part of the cafe just feels amazing, like you are sitting in someone's livingroom.
• I am not a big fan of German cuisine, but Marjellchen is very delicious. They somehow turn the traditional German fare into juicy, flavorful affairs, and the atmosphere is very relaxed. Of course, you should anticipate to pay some extra money, because this is a restaurant that is popular on TripAdvisor. But, it is well worth a visit.
• It's funny to come to Berlin to eat burgers, but if you live here, The Bird is a staple. This place is crazy; you have to make reservations even on a Tuesday night at 10pm, if you want a seat!! Once I went with my friend at 10pm on a Tuesday night with no reservations, and we had to stand at the bar to wait until someone kindly gave us their seat. Not only do they use real steak as meat, but their fries are also intoxicatingly good. The burgers are huge, so go with an appetite! Maybe afterwards you can walk through Mauerpark (the Bird is next door to the park) to burn off some calories.
  
• My Japanese friend Mamiko recommended to me two Japanese restaurants, both of which I really like. Sasaya serves traditional Japanese food, and is quite expensive. The one time that I have been there, I ordered an eel rice, and it was the best eel rice I've ever had. Full stop. You need to reserve a spot though, like a week in advance, because the restaurant is quite small. Cocolo is a delicious ramen noodle bar, also small, near Hackeschermarkt. They have a small menu, but everything on their menu is mouth-wateringly good. In the winter time, expect to wait outside to be seated, because the restaurant really is that small and that popular. Next door to Cocolo is another hip sushi restaurant called Kuchi. Mamiko and I intend on checking it out tonight, so I'll keep you posted on our assessment.
• Addendum April 21, 2013: Mamiko and I actually didn't go to Kuchi, but went instead to a place called Hashi, which means chopsticks in Japanese. It's a Japanese snacks place -- and Mamiko absolutely loved it! She said the foods are super authentic and make her feel like she's back in Japan. 
• Of course, if you're already shopping on Ku'Damm anyway, the 6th floor of KaDeWe has lots of bustling gourmet food stalls. You should check this out, because it's a great touristy experience.
• Nocti Vagus is an eating-in-the-dark gourmet cabaret restaurant. When we went, we had a lovely time, and both the food and the service there were excellent. It was a set menu (you get to choose from vegetarian, meat, or "surprise menu") of about 50 Euros per person before drinks, so definitely prepare to spend a fair bit of money if you plan to go. There is always a performance during dinner, and for us that was a lovely little surprise to hear the musicians perform in the dark.
  
• Of the high-end restaurants that we have tried here, Don Camillo is probably my favorite in terms of its combination of food and service. They don't have printed menus. Instead, they bring you the ingredients and just describe to you how it's going to be made. We sat out in the garden on an autumn evening, and it was very comfortable pace for a very expensive meal (a couple of hundred Euros per person). Definitely something for a very special occasion. Geoff also likes Remake, which is on Big Hamburger Street (Grosse Hamburgerstr), funnily enough. We went to Remake for celebrating our engagement, and there their specialty is in finding new twists in old ingredients. Semi-recently we also went to Tim Raue, where the food was great but the service was horrible. (The chef basically came out to shout at us for the waitress's mistake in ordering me food that I had already said in the beginning that I was allergic to.)

 I hope that if you visit Berlin sometime, you'll find this list to be helpful! :) Mmmm food...

Late Autumn in Berlin

Time for a bit of general Berlin updates! (Math teachers who are not interested in this: Sorry, go ahead and move along in your GReader.)

October and November have been fairly busy months for us! First, the Jersey boys came to visit during Oktoberfest. It was a very rowdy good time (we had rented a house in the heart of Munich), and Geoff got all kinds of nostalgic thinking about how this might be the last time -- minus our wedding -- that they could have crazy, random experiences like this, since all the boys are nearing that age when they are thinking about settling down for good...

By the way, I don't know if you have ever been to Oktoberfest, but there they build these huge tents (like the one you see below) for only the month of that festival. It's incredibly hard to get in on Fridays and Saturday nights to one of the big tents, so we had to bribe the bouncers. Once you get in, the tent gets more and more crowded and crazier and crazier as the day rolls on...

While the boys were still here in Germany, we rented a Bier Bike, which is a mobile bar that you can pedal around Berlin while singing out loud and waving at people. We blasted Queen's Bicycle Race several times during the course of two hours on the bike, and we kept going afterwards to a hipster restaurant called White Trash, followed by karaoke until about 3am. It's very Berlin to have a bunch of random experiences all in one day, because this city is just organic and crazy!

Soon after the boys left, I heard via the grapevine that the Berlin Light Show was about to come to an end, and that it was cool to see the light show from the top of the Berlin Reichstag (Congress Hall). I didn't even know that you could make an appointment to visit the Reichstag at night! We had only been there once during the day. So, on a Sunday night in late October, we walked around Berlin to enjoy the light festivities on the famous monuments, and then went up the Reichstag.

Halloween was a bit quiet this year. On the actual day of Halloween itself, we had German class, so I went to class as normal and only wore my cat ears to be festive. My non-American classmates thought it was funny that I would celebrate this type of holiday still in costume. On the way back, I was impressed to see a holiday graffiti at the subway station, since it was quite a production and you know graffiti artists are seriously prosecuted by the subway officials. Later during the weekend, we went to a party where Geoff dressed up as the recycling goddess (he made a hula hoop skirt out of toilet paper rolls that we had collected for over 6 months, and also he made a busty bikini top out of cut-out juice containers), and I was dressed as eine Katz im Sack zu verkaufen, which means I was a cat inside a trash bag, with a for-sale sign taped to the bag. In German, "buying a cat in a bag" means to purchase something (such as a used car or an old building) without having seen it, so you don't really know how it's going to behave afterwards. In other words, I was playing off a German pun, but Germans don't really get why Americans would dress up as non-scary things for Halloween, so it was a fairly obscure costume...

Then, there was the Sparkle Army party this year! The Sparkle Army is an annual party at our favorite karaoke place, where if you dress up in sparkles then you can get in for free. We have some friends who have been going every year for about 5 or 6 years (since the inception of this idea). The slogan of the party is, amazingly, "More is more!" They really want to spread the word of sparkle. Last year we went to the party, but we were pretty last-minute about the preparations. This year, since I had coincidentally run into the Sparkle Army girls while they were shopping for supplies a weekend in advance, I went ahead and made advance preparations. We ended up bringing 20 of our people to the party. It was a blast!!

To give you just a small taste of why this party is awesome, here was actually some random guy (not one of our friends) with an absolutely awesome outfit. He even had slippers with glitter bulbs glued on, and there were stuffed animals sewn onto his pink tutu. Faaaaan-freakin-tastic!

whew. That's all the fall updates for now. December will get its own story, when it's time... My friend comes to visit this Friday, to enjoy Christmas markets in Berlin with us. I have planned already a Christmas market crawl -- in Santa Claus outfits (a la Santa Convention style, like you can find in some major cities in the States). I can't wait! Our cheap Santa costumes will get delivered on Wednesday, and we bought the most hilarious-looking ones with a funny-looking shoulder cape... Let the Christmas season begin!

Road Trip with the Coxes

To blog a bit about our recent travels, the (future) in-laws have been visiting us for about two weeks. During this time, we took a 9-day road trip with them to Heidelberg and Prague, and along the way we had also stopped by the "Disney" castle, Neuschwanstein, and the city of Dresden. It was a lot of driving for Geoff over the course of 9 days, and a lot of wine and champagne and meaty German/Bavarian/Czech food consumption for all of us, but overall the trip was a really great opportunity for me to get to know the Coxes better, and definitely a rare and lovely/special occasion for Geoff and his parents to travel together in his adulthood!

Here are some pictures from Geoff's phone (therefore excuse the weird borders and stuff):

Among other things, we went to an aquarium in Berlin where you can ride an elevator up through a tube of cylindrical fish tank.When you are riding up through the fishtank, you can see through it to see the aquarium hotel that surrounds the fish tank. It's a tourist trap, but a rather nice one.

We also did boat tours in every city (Berlin, Heidelberg, and Prague). Ironically, the weather for our boat tour in Berlin was the best out of the three. Heidelberg was steamy hot and Prague was rainy on the days of our boat tours. Berlin, which is consistently rainy, was actually nice and breezy and dry during those first days of the Coxes' visit.

As one would expect, we imbibed plentifully. In Berlin, Geoff took his parents to the Hofbrauhaus, which is a chain brewery/restaurant that originated from Munich and that has huge beer halls and huge steins of beer, Oktoberfest style. His dad thought the traditional fried pork knuckle from there (Schweinehaxe) was fantastic.

Heidelberg is beautiful. Smaller than Berlin, but a college town and full of buzzing young people. There are charming houses and traditional red rooftops all over, and some random castles and fortified houses up in the hills. We were here for a few days, and it was pretty slow-paced and nice.

We took a drive down to Bavaria from Heidelberg, to visit the Schloss Neuschwanstein. This is the castle that all of the Disney castles are inspired by. The inside is only 1/3 finished because the king died halfway through its construction, but I think the parts that are done are very rustic and medieval-looking; it's worth a visit. My favorite part is a man-made cave next to the king's bedroom. Really random and eclectic interior design!

You cannot tell from this picture, but that day it was about 30 degrees Celsius. I had to strip down to my undershirt, basically, because it was so damned hot. The view from the Neuschwanstein Castle, however, was stunning. It made me really miss Utah from last summer, because there is simply no view like this in the flatlands of Berlin.

Next up, we went to Prague. In Prague, the local food was amazing -- something that I had not experienced previously when I went as a chaperone on a school trip. This time, we ate our hearts out and quite literally every restaurant was amazing. Here is me munching on a trdol, which is a hollow bread glazed with sugar. (They make it simply by slapping dough around a rotating rolling pin, and then sticking it over some coals; afterwards, they add sugar or glaze it.) The bread reminded me of the brioches from Berkeley's Cheeseboard that I had once loved so much.

 

And here is a photo of the roadside "Prague old ham" that is sold in the center of the town. We tried it; it was delicious and juicy, but (in my personal opinion) you should try the sausage from the same vendor. They have the best sausages I've ever had. In my life! The sausages are spicy and literally bursting with juice upon each bite.

Geoff's mom had steak tartare at the same restaurant 3 days in a row, because it was that good. Also very notable is the Czech style of preparing garlic bread: they first fry buttered toast, and then they serve it with raw pieces of garlic, which you need to cut and rub onto the toast. It's sinful how garlicky and buttery the whole thing tastes!


Here is a picture we took in front of an apparently famous water wheel, as seen from the Charles Bridge. When we took this picture, we didn't know that this water wheel was the subject of many artists' paintings of Prague.

Another view of the gate next to the famous Charle's Bridge:

We also went to the Prague castle, obviously. Here's a view of the cathedral, from outside and inside. This cathedral is nice, but not quite as ornate on the inside as the St. James' Cathedral downtown.

One night, we decided on a whim to go catch a performance of parts of Don Giovanni at an old opera house in Prague. We decided to do this because it was the original theater where Mozart himself had directed the same opera, which he had written in Prague, for the people of Prague. The music and the singers' voices were absolutely enchanting, even though the lyrics were a mix of Italian and German and we couldn't follow the storyline. The theater was magnificent, and the experience of sitting in a box seat (Geoff's parents had decided to splurge a bit, so we went along with them to stay altogether) was also unique and very luxurious. (Of course, I did not bring appropriate attire on the trip for such luxurious occasion; you can't see it here, but I am wearing sneakers.)

On our last night in Prague, we had the most delicious meal on top of an old clock tower in a restaurant called Zvonice, because Geoff's parents wanted to relive their fabulous experience of dining there 7 years ago. (It's not the famous astronomical clock tower, but another one downtown somewhere.) It was expensive, but mostly because of the awesome wines we had. I think you could have a terrific meal in this cozy restaurant with breath-taking views, for about 30 to 35 Euros per person, which isn't too bad considering the phenomenal experience you would have. You could even see in the corner of the picture below of the large bell that still hangs behind Derek in the middle of the restaurant / tower. My lamb dish was every bit as good as it looks, and so were all the other dishes.

  

On our drive back from Prague, we stopped by Dresden for a bit. Not my favorite German city, unfortunately; I don't think it has that much character, to be honest. If you are familiar with the history of Dresden, basically 95% of the downtown area was destroyed in the air raids of WWII, so what's left now is mostly a reconstruction of what the old, beautiful Dresden had once looked like.  We walked through the old town, which still has remnants of the past glory. The food in Dresden was also mediocre -- typical German fare, and a pale comparison to the complex flavors offered by the cuisine in Prague, sadly.
 

But, all in all, it was a fantastic trip! Now that I have a flip-flop tan, I am truly in the summer mode. :)

Spring in Berlin

Yesterday was a very "Berlin" day! I think there is nowhere in the world I would rather be than in Berlin, right at this moment. The air is warm and the days are long. People pour onto the streets the way people in cold regions do, when the long winter is finally over. The city awakens in a soft blanket of green foliage, and because the buildings here are not so tall, there is sunshine everywhere. In Berlin, every restaurant has tables outside, and the streets are teeming with pedestrians until 10pm.

Geoff and I biked down to Mehringdamm and had dinner on the bustling Bergmannstrasse. When we were there, we saw a piano player on an old piano in the middle of the sidewalk. A glass of wine sat on top of his old wooden piano. A German toddler wearing plaids watched on, while her dad stood by holding a bike, enjoying the open-air music. We got ice cream before dinner, because it was that kind of temperature. Even though spring has just arrived, I am sure we are already on the cusp of summer.

After dinner, we rode up the street to meet some friends at a biergarten. It was utterly lovely, and the place was just filling up as we were leaving after 9pm. I had two full glasses of wine plus a bit more, which is a bit much for me on any day. I swayed on home happily on my bike and didn't realize we were so close to home until we turned onto our cobblestoned street.

I would write a poem to describe the loveliness of summer in Berlin, but I am not a poet. I would take a picture, except it would do the city no justice. I have always enjoyed the cities in which I live, but I love Berlin like I haven't loved a place in a long time.