dresden

neustadt; hi white russians.
kulturhof; neustadt

altstadt schloss; the loveliest sunniest day in germany so far.
dresden's altstadt was bombed flat by the allies on valentines day of 1945. the picture you see above these words is one of an old baroque city, but actually, these buildings were erected within the last 60 years. the altstadt (old city) is still under construction even to this day, since the ddr didn't really have enough money to rebuild the whole altstadt; in fact, most of the neustadt (new city) is physically older than the alstadt. in dresden, i stayed in a hostel by myself and actually really enjoyed the space to just wander around and think. i didn't know anyone in the city and for those two days, that suited me just fine. i read two books (including mario puzo's the godfather-- which was royally entertaining though of no real intrinsic value past simple enjoyment. i need to see the movies now); i found a tiny little tea place on thursday night and read about 200 pages of the godfather while drinking the most delicious tea of my life. i wandered the altstadt and thought a lot about whether i liked that it had been rebuilt. berlin, for example, is kind of a blunt city architecturally--i mean, it doesn't really strive to recapture the look or feel of prewar times. as a bit of a history fiend, i completely understand the motivation to preserve old structures that mean something as a physical document, but on the other hand, it felt sort of wrong to see buildings trying to look so old. like a facade or weak kind of replica. when i really think about it, i realize that i live in a place--the former east--where boundaries are new, fresh, and seemingly still in the process of being drawn. it's hard to know whether it's right to try to fix something that's gone, or just embrace an unknown (but hopefully brighter) future. does not rebuilding something mean you've forgotten it? i guess i'm not sure yet. what do you think?

leipzig

if you want a crash course in the history of the ddr (gdr to you american readers), leipzig is really the place to go. the runde ecke, a simple exhibit in the former stasi headquarters in leipzig, gives thorough descriptions of east german life in the ddr. leipzig is the place where a lot of the demonstrations that culminated in the fall of the wall in 1989 began (though, friedrich informed me, professor connolly of our history department at berkeley would disagree about the location of the first protests).

the völkerschlacht denkmal (battle of nations monument) is another example of strange historical leftovers. finished in 1913 by the last german emperor, the memorial celebrates the defeat of napoleon some 100 years before. it's a massive building--much taller than the eiffel tower, for example. it was used by hitler, by stalin, by the ddr to proclaim the primacy of the german nation (whichever form it happened to take at the time). nationalism reformed, reworded. tough stuff.

on a lighter note: i had a great time hanging out with friedrich in the old city of leipzig--home of bach and wagner, and the place where goethe was apparently inspired to write faust (i touched faust's toe which will hopefully give me luck or something nice like that).

Happy Birthday Daddy

Hope your 60th year is a great one!

Love you.

Sehnsucht

oh man, berlin.

let's talk about Sehnsucht, which is my favorite German word. it is also untranslatable. if you're in the mood to be really bored by my boringness, ask me someday about german vocabulary and how i really believe certain words just do not have english equivalents. for example: Sehnsucht. just go read the wikipedia article, it explains better than i do.

i have been having sehnsucht feelings for a bit now, but they are feelings of missing people that are comfortable because they are natural to have. while i was on my mini break to leipzig and dresden, i also experienced sehnsucht but not just for those certain people: for berlin as a city. i loved spending time in leipzig and dresden (more to come eventually, maybe, if i have time) but the trip made me realize something i didn't know before: i love berlin. i could live here forever.

i never used to think i was the kind of person who needed to live in a specific place, that i would follow the people or the person who means more to me than the place. that is still true to some extent, but let's just say that i hope that i will be doing the leading someday; and i hope the destination will be berlin.

i'll label this post extreme kitsch schmalz, and we'll call it even.

miss you guys; just come see me, ok? i guarantee you'll love it here.

kunsthaus tacheles

a few days ago, i popped into kunsthaus tacheles, which is this old building in mitte that has a fascinating history; in 1990 a group of artists from all over the world took it over and today it remains an open space for artists to create and sell their work. read more here. it reminded me of cz times about a thousand; dark, graffitied, incredibly creative and strange.

this weekend. a glimpse:

• at our place, mini premiere of a short film in honor of the berlinale.
• running 1.5 miles whilst carrying a bottle of prosecco so i could catch the ubahn at 1 am saturday morning.
• up til 7 am to watch the berlin sunrise; pshh, as if: more like slow changing dark to blue.
• croissant brunch with mar on kolwitzplatz
• mauerpark flohmarkt (flea market); a sunday tradition here.
• rissani (hummusfalafelfriedcheeseamazingness, no pictures sorry) dinner with susi and björn; afterwards, discovery of a new favorite coffee shop.

in other news, i am officially an inhabitant of this flat because my name is now on the door. also, i am peacing for the next four days; first, to visit friedrich in leipizig, and then to stay in a hostel by myself in dresden for two days. my train leaves at 9:17 tomorrow and i already know getting up is going to kill me.

also, i will try to be better about posting things regularly.

bis bald!

the milk tastes different here

in other news: except for monday, i've been out and about in one form or another every night this week. i feel extremely busy all the time and the reality is that i'm probably the least "busy" of anyone in my apartment. i can't even imagine what it will be like when school starts. i guess sleep will be low on my list of priorities? oh dear...

kiez

kiez means "hood."

yesterday, i walked a lot; for two and a half hours i explored my new kiez. the best thing about not having school is that my days are unfettered by responsibility and so if i want to walk miles and miles, there is nothing to stop me. except, maybe the cold: my toes were a tiny bit frozen yesterday. unavoidable in this kind of cold is the hue that skin left uncovered takes on. super cute, let me tell you. i look like a little mountain child all the time with flaming red cheeks.

during my stroll, i walked past the jewish graveyard which is only seven blocks from my apartment; eintritt "entrance" is free and so i decided to go in. the grave stones which i could read (aka the ones that weren't in hebrew) were from around the mid-19th century, and the inside exhibit explains that many stones in the graveyard were found throughout the city of berlin and brought to the graveyard, because they had been re-appropriated over the years to be used as building material. so strange. the graveyard itself was eerily beautiful: many stones were covered with ivy and the snow made it look entirely ancient. i've been to the jewish graveyard in prague, but this one was different as there seemed to be more space for each individual grave. i think i'll go back when the snow melts to walk through it again.

there was a great quote on the wall in the small exhibit accompanying the graveyard which i will attempt to (clumsily) translate:

• if you want to understand the character of a land, a people, a city, you must visit its graveyards. the way that people celebrate the lives of the dead, the traditions surrounding death, reflect the wish that future generations will continue to go back and honor the pasts of those now gone.

-Georg Jacob Wolf (1928)

i also spent a great amount of time on my walk around the really famous part of pberg, eberswalderstrasse. i peeked into the most wonderful vintage store ever in the world, but everything was vastly overpriced. in my depression over my inability to afford used clothing (ugh, irony), i wallowed in the berlin specialty of currywurst. the first time i tried currywurst (when i was in berlin as an 18 year old), i did not like it. but i think that was because i bought it at a crappy imbiss. so this time i went to a famous currywurst place in pberg and UM, DELICIOUS. i felt like i was going to die afterwards, though, because i usually don't eat french fries so there was a mini food coma post-currywurst. anyways, this is a shout out to any future visitors: on top of dönner, we will also be eating currywurst. after all, it will only cost you a cool 1,5 Euro.

last night, i went with a german friend of mine to this amazing indoor pool thing called the "velodrom," and swam major laps. it was fun, but my arms hurt a lot now. i must go back soon since it is right in my kiez, a 10 minute public transit ride away. afterwards, i "cooked" us salad and my favorite--eggplant pizza. we hung out with two of my roommates and several of their friends. a comfortably busy day.

bis bald, meine lieben

PS. IT IS SUNNY HERE. whichever one of you sent me my california sun, i love you and want to marry you. seriously, i am so happy. chüssi

immanuelkirch (immanuel church), the place where graffiti meets religion. very much like the city of Berlin itself.



beautifully restored buildings in pberg

the place where i now sleep

moving day

saturday was moving day; though i was very sad to leave susi and bjorn, i also have been missing life that does not involve a suitcase. including texas and my first two weeks here, i've been living out of a suitcase for three weeks! it gets old, believe me.

basically, saturday was lazy and nice. moving stuff is boring etc, but i absolutely LOVE my "wg" (wohngemeinschaft, which means shared living). i currently live with a german guy, a spanish guy and a belgian girl who's here for 1.5 months til Mathilde returns from her trip back france. they're all great people and very relaxed.

on friday night, tay and i explored my new neighborhood prenzlauerberg. it's more gentrified than kreuzberg but i actually love it (i am very bourgeois, after all. i guess it's in my blood). it's full of little intimate bars and cafes and i think i will be siting in them often. later on, jose invited a bunch of his friends over and we all proceeded to eat delicious pasta and drink lots of cheap wine and beer, of course (it is germany, after all). it's interesting being one of the only americans among the people studying in berlin (though i had taylor to keep my nationality company this time). there are always lots of questions about berkeley and what it's like there now.

sunday morning, after having slept maybe five hours, tay and i headed over to a theatre in mitte for two film screenings that are part of the berlinale, or 60th annual berlin film festival. attendees at the festival include leo dicap. and the pitt/jolie gang. not that i thought we'd see them, or anything. ahem.

anyways, we saw a romanian film which was good but a little slow for a 9:30 am screening. the second film we saw, though, was absolutely amazing. it was a documentary about german high school students who took part in a production of the drama/modern dance of pina bausch called kontakthof. kontakthof is an exploration of male/female relationship dynamics and leans heavily on intimate interactions between the dancers. it was fascinating to watch the high school students put into situations where they would hug or touch the faces of other kids of the opposite sex; a big theme of the film was breaking down the boundaries of fear of really being completely there with someone. because it was the premiere, all of the students and the director, etc were there at the theatre; it was so fun to listen to them laughing at themselves and each other during the screening.

post-movies tay and i went to dolores, this little faux-mexican food place in berlin. faux or not, it was sooo delicious. i mean, i went into major food coma. mmmm, i think i'll go back this week again hah. later on, we had a light but lovely dinner at a romantic little restaurant. it was definitely the best valentines ever; tay plus the snow that has been so beautiful this weekend.

i had better go outside and do some more neighborhood exploring.

send me some sun from california please.

ciao for now

room
from left: sascha, marine, jose, me
"classic beef burrito" NOM

valentines lasagna

snow day

it has been a crazy weekend; let's start at the beginning maybe?

tay arrived here on thursday night and we did little but eat oreos and cuddle. it was so nice to see her because she is amazing, and she also knows me really well. there's something about being abroad that is strangely lonely. on the one hand, i absolutely love meeting lots of new people and being able to experience a city without feeling tied down, etc. but on the other hand, it's also very hard to be away from people who you feel absolutely comfortable with. oof, sorry, a little off topic maybe. all i'm saying is, there are several people very far away from me right now who i wish were here.

on friday, taytay and i went to the east side gallery which stretches along part of where the wall used to be. it's basically an outdoor exhibit of artists from all over the world who are celebrating openness and the fall of the wall, etc. i hadn't been yet because i wanted to save it for tay's visit but i really loved it; i'm sure i'll be back again. we then trekked very far and took the ubahn to the holocaust memorial, which many of you probably recognize from photographs. it's a great exhibit. as you walk inside it slopes gently downward until the huge blocks of grey stone tower over you. some people experience the memorial as interactive (they climb on the blocks or run through it); others stand quietly and lean on the stones. it snowed all day on friday so this time the stone blocks were covered with about four inches of snow.

we also went into the underground exhibit that accompanies the memorial, which i have also done once before. it's not very big but it is incredibly sad; this time was especially hard for me. i highly recommend the exhibit and the memorial but i don't think i'll go into the underground part again, for a while at least.

friday also involved a lot of food; we started off with delicious croissant and pretzel+coffee and then, after the memorial, we headed over to the turkish market again so taylor could try the flaky spinach cheese thing. i cannot for the life of me remember the name of it, but it is seriously delicious. we also drank marzipan liqueur with susi and bjorn, shared a pizza and drank the most disgusting margaritas ever. but, of course, we were together and so it was magical.

addendum:

check out emily's post it project. contribute! (it's fun, i promise)

if you go, you can see what what i added for the day.

now, to bed!

good night moon

for the love of egypt

today was a cold, cold day. last night it snowed again! which makes things so beautiful and magical but also treacherous. in some ways, it is easier to walk on unpacked snow than on the horrendous ice here, but it can also be very dangerous when there is only a little snow because one then does not see the ice under the snow. so i fell. but it was alright: i'm resilient and well padded, and it left no scratches. so all is well.

sorry for the dangling wire. the snow on my coat and tights reveal the treachery of the sidewalks here. pshh, sidewalk: NOT EVEN. more like icewalk har har.

on to more important news: today, i visited the Neues Museum,--the New Museum--which can be found in berlin on museum insel(island). i actually really dig museum island. the architecture harkens back to an older era and while the rest of berlin is very modern and interesting looking sometimes i just want to see something a little older. anyways, the New Museum now houses the collection that was previously found in the Altes Museum (Old Museum...yes, very original), i.e. amazing egyptian and roman artifacts. german academia has a very strong egyptology tradition and the Neues Museum houses a very famous bust of Nefertiti, which the egyptian government really wants back. (there's a great article about egyptology in a recent New Yorker, if you care to peek in.) of course, the german government doesn't want to return the statue. when i was in the Nefertiti room, i eavesdropped on a tour guide who was talking about how important it is for germany to keep this statue, as it is a mark of pride. but on the other hand, there's an exhibit in the museum that centers on artifacts found by a german archeologist in the mid-19th century at what is believed to be the ancient city of Troy; the Red Army took a great deal of this collection back to the former Soviet Union as spoils of war in 1945. this apparently violates all kinds of international laws, blahblahblah, mentioned on at least 5 placards throughout the exhibit. of course, the fact that the germans have the Nefertiti statue on display doesn't violate the rights of the egyptian government. hmph. not that i'm complaining or anything, because i was very happy to see the bust. it was extremely beautiful, actually.

i find this kind of discussion so interesting, but hope i haven't bored you to death. alright alright, here are some pictures already.

akhenaten and nefertiti. actually, in german it's norfretete and echaneton (or something), which really confused me for a second. this isn't THE nefertiti bust of course; you're not allowed to take pictures in her special room. if you'd like to see a picture of the actual bust, check out the museum website here.

rennen, nicht laufen

points to any of you who know to which artist the title lyrics belong to.

in my first post post-arrival (hah), i exclaimed over the fact that people actually run here. this may not seem that surprising to you. after all, running is a lovely way to see a city and get some air, etc. but there are a few factors of berlin winter that would deter even the most avid jogger from making a go of it. for example, it is cold here. yesterday, it was -10 Celcius, which is no joke. this winter is, i read somewhere, the coldest winter berlin has had in 30 years (MY LUCK, OF COURSE), and the sidewalks are frozen solid. i mean, ALL THE TIME. it is a little like being a toddler taking one's first steps again. and, conversely, old people cannot walk here because they risk falling and breaking something. bjorn told me that this weekend, in only one hospital in berlin (there are a lot here, so this is significant), there were 150 people in for falling injuries because of the slippery sidewalks that mimic ice skating rinks (don't tell anyone, but i already biffed it royally once. would not like a repeat of that one, please).

that was a little tangential, but my point is that today i went on a run! a 45 minute run all over kreuzberg. well, ok, i did have to walk sometimes because it was either that or run on the road and get hit by a car, but i managed to make it without falling. i think i figured out that when running here, you just have to be extra light on your feet and not put too much feeling into a given forward step. that way, if your foot slips out from under you, you'll quickly recover your gait by lightly jumping forward again. niftily successful, if i do say so myself. of course, this isn't a metaphor for life: i'm just not that deep.

next time i go on a run, i'll take my camera with me! the spree (the river that runs through berlin) is eerily half-frozen right now. there are these giant ice moats (sp?) all over it that seem to be hanging precariously, about to break apart and float away.

til next time

yesterday, i experimented a bit: i decided to see if i could be mistaken for a german, rather than a clunky american. you see, i keep thinking that my gigantic coat somehow SCREAMS usa bumpkin (although this is horrendously paranoid of me because, as i said before, many people here do wear huge coats/boots and they can't ALL be americans... right?)

anyways, my experiment was successful! i actually wore nice shoes and a dress (with a jacket, albeit a thin one, on top of course) and three--THREE--people asked me for directions. well, ok, two of those three were in a couple, but it still counts.

• sidenote: there are a lot of couples here. i've had this theory forever that germans/europeans from colder regions are more monogamous than we americans seem to be. when it's this cold outside, it definitely makes sense to have someone to cuddle with.

you may be wondering: "why is jenny not in school? why does she has so much time to eat so much amazing food and wander this really cold city without a care in the world?"

i will tell you: i have a study-scholarship from the DAAD (the German Academic Exchange Program) that goes from february through the end of july. and the semester in here in berlin doesn't start until April 9th! i do start a language course on march 1st, which i'm actually quite excited for because that means i will meet lots of people. but for right now, i am entertaining myself by taking leisurely time learning this city--days of long walks and much exploring. tomorrow i may visit a museum. i think i'll go to paris the last week of february. as you can see, life is good.

food (part1)

the stories of food are my favorite ones. without further ado, here is a little culinary tour of the past week:

the first thing i bought myself in berlin: mohnapfelkuchen und latte machiatto.
the most delicious thing ever invented: the dönner kebab. you can get them on almost every street corner here. this one is from bistro baghdad, right off the schlesischestor Ubahnhof stop (U1 richtung Warschauerstr.). it has been rated as the top dönner stand in berlin for the last few years. i seriously (and embarrassingly) moaned out loud when i bit into it, and the nice turkish men who run the booth all winked at me. if any of you visit me, we are going here no questions asked.

deeply warming latte machiato (prenzlauerberg)

turkish market at kottbussertor, in kreuzberg

amelia and i indulged in the most delicious cheese+spinach wrap (fried to a crisp).

post-spinachcheesedelicious, we parked ourselves on a dilapidated bench next to the market and proceeded to eat our way through an unbelievably delicious melon. (the knife is mine; i know, it's a little intense--thanks dad--but proved itself very useful in this case).

my "new" "cellphone"

And...

a last word before I head out for the evening. This is my "new" "cellphone." It is not new and although it is technically a cellphone, it was made probably about five years ago. We all know this means it is basically defunct technology. BUT: it was free, I had to adventure into the realm of stores-that-cell-chargers-illegally(blackmarket,yo!, though not really), and it is also kind of charming.

I'm bouncing; see y'all on the flip side.