Potsdam

Potsdam is only half an hour or so away from Berlin (I took the S-Bahn, but it's quicker with DB) so it seemed an obvious place to visit. I'd made a list of things I definitely needed to see, but I had no idea just how much there was in and around the city! There are so many castles and palaces that I'll definitely have to come back.

St. Nikolai Church

I ended up wandering onto Platz der Einheit, where there was a memorial to the victims of fascism, then decided to take a tram to Glienicke Bridge, because it was hot and it looked quite a way on the map. (It wasn't)

Glienicker Brucke- 'The Bridge of Spies'

The border between East Germany and Western occupied Berlin ran through the bridge (as it connects Potsdam and the Berlin district of Wannsee) and between 1962 and 1986, the Allies and Soviets exchanged captured spies here. As an avid 'Spooks' fan, I was quite thrilled by this!

Gorgeous weather

the Dutch quarter

After wandering around the Dutch quarter, I stumbled across an art shop selling small pictures outside. I didn't notice that it said 'FROM 3 euros' because I am an idiot so after finding a set of pictures I liked and thinking, well 12 euros isn't THAT bad, the woman said 'You've seen the price, yes?', then told me it was 32 euros. By that point, I couldn't (read, was too intimidated to) back out so with my stupidness I bought them, pretending I was some massive art lover. I should have asked who the artist was as I can't make out the name...Oh dear. I do like them though (even if they are some strange fakes) and they make a nice souvenir!

God knows

I also stumbled upon this incredible shop where I was tempted to buy everything, but my purse was now a bit empty. I managed to find 2 euros for a little whale made out some sort of stone. From the age of, well, very young, I was convinced I was going to be a Geologist and I still have an enormous collection of rocks and gems, but I don't think the whale is really a valid addition...cute though.

Then I walked up to the Russian Colony, Alexandrowka, which is a UNESCO site. Friedrich Wilhem III had it built in 1826, in memory of Tzar Alezander I of Russia, and the first people to live here used to be members of a Russian soldier's choir. It wasn't what I was expecting at all but it was lovely in the sun! People still live in these houses too, which is just mad!

The restaurant at Alexandrowka

Ukrainian Borscht

Chicken in nut sauce (hazelnut, walnuts, almonds and peanuts)

Honey cake, divine doesn't even cover it

 Since I'd emptied my pockets on some questionable art, I had to pay by card but to do that I needed to spend 25 euros. I didn't think that would be a problem, but bloody hell. The food was amazing and I'm surprised they didn't have to roll me out of the restaurant. I also didn't realise until I was tucking into my Borscht, that I was eating a Ukrainian dish in a Russian restaurant....topical.

I got a horrendous stitch climbing the hill to see this church after all that food, but it was worth it. Then I walked for about 20 minutes to Park Sanssouci which is basically just a huge UNESCO park filled with castles, palaces and other lovely buildings. It was a gorgeous place and I would love to spend more time there. By that, I mean, I'd like to sunbathe there all day.

Sanssouci Palace

In summer, the terraces leading up to the palace are covered in vines and plants- according to the tourist info, and every other picture of this palace ever taken.

'The Chinese House' looking a bit magical

Looking like Meep and not knowing where I was going

the Roman Baths

After wandering around the park, I decided to make my way back to the station as I was knackered, still poorly from this week and just so warm and desperate for a drink. I ended up walking through a very swanky residential area, seething with jealousy.

I made it back to the station and the train was sitting there, 1 minute before it left. Some complete NITWIT was in front of me at the ticket machine, dithering around and then standing there counting out her bloody change. I said, as pointedly as I could manage in German, that I would like to get on this train, and she moved but it was too late! I had just validated my ticket when the doors closed. On the S-Bahn, that is final. I could see the stupid woman through the window and I had to wait for another 15 minutes. She's on my list.

Anyway, I can't say enough how lovely Potsdam was. But I've noticed, that despite my ridiculous purchases of 3 course meals and art, I didn't buy a postcard...or a fridge magnet. Please do not tell my mother this. I'll have to go back now...

xx

Project managing and gravehunting

The last couple of weeks have gone so fast - how is it practically April already? Spring is definitely setting in here as the sun has been shining, the trees in the courtyard are flowering and bees have started to buzz around my head. The shops are filled with Easter related goodies and I have to say, they really go all out here. It's definitely not just about the chocolate eggs with the collectible mug.

Anyway...work has been good, albeit a bit stressful as Marit was ill for a couple of days last week which meant I then had to do quotes for clients and start actually project managing. Obviously great for experience, but my boss left the office for half an hour and so many emails came in that I just wanted to scream. No disasters though and I can safely say that I take back all my vehement 'when the hell am I ever gonna need this' arguments with Maths teachers. My language is also definitely improving. I know this because a) I understand Marit 75% of the time and b) strangers understand me more. Yay! On the translation front, I'm pleased with myself too. I did a translation on Thursday for a client because it wasn't very long, I've proofread a lot of their stuff before and it needed to be done for that evening. I was pooping myself at first, but I was so proud when Marit read it over and said it was good!

Steinmetzstr.- where I work, and it's a pretty sign

I also did a translation for Jean, from English into German...I really really did not want to, but she desperately needed a CV translated over the weekend and because I'm an awesome friend I did it for her, apologising profusely for how hideous it was but she said I'd done a 'decent job'. I'll take that.

On the subject of tandem partners it's been great fun. Last Wednesday Jean and I went to a bar in Friedrichshain called Astro. It was small and smoky but the music was good and we had no idea we'd been there for four hours. Work was a bit difficult the following morning as I had drunk a few too many 'Moscow Mules'. The following evening, Lionel continued my tour of Kreuzberg, which involved walking through a squat. I was a bit dubious, like, why would you do that, but the view from the riverbank of said squat was beautiful. The Oberbaumbrücke is probably one of the nicest bridges ever, but no, I don't have a picture.

Last Saturday, I took myself on a little sightseeing tour, starting with the flea market at John F Kennedy Platz, where he famously said 'Ich bin ein Berliner.'

No idea what this is, but it's not a graveyard

It was rainy and miserable but that didn't stop me sifting through mounds of clothes and junk. It wasn't quite the same without Niamh, my partner in crime, so I took myself off to what I thought was the graveyard where the Brothers Grimm are buried. It turned out not to be, after I asked about 3 people and they confirmed that this church did not have a graveyard...nevertheless, there was a market there where I had some potato pancakes for lunch.

Tasty, but far too much Apfelmuss....

Then I found possibly one of the best bookshops I have ever seen, complete with ceiling-high bookshelves and stepladders. It was so quiet and the woman at the till was just sitting there drinking tea. She is living my retirement dream!

I actually managed to climb this several times with no incidents. Incredible.

I finished up in this huge secondhand and vintage shop near Nollendorfplatz, called Garage, before I went home to eat and get ready to meet Jean and her boyfriend, Marcel. The plan was to meet at Saphir Bar in Prenzlauer Berg but I got totally lost and ended up being an hour late...why am I so incapable? The cocktails in this bar were expensive (but they paid for mine as a thanks for the translation, how sweet!) but insanely tasty. One of them was called 'Dance of the Galactic Aliens' (or something). It was very spicy and tasty until I threw half of it all over my trousers, thus learning the verb 'kleckern'. I don't remember much about the rest of the night, save from the fact that me and Jean (Marcel went home at some point?) ended up in Tresor, a huge abandoned warehouse or something with most of the club underground in basements, in Mitte. Jean used to work there so everything was free, which was great until I consumed a stupid amount of Jägermeister which ended in me throwing up against a lamp-post outside her flat. Good one.

I was quite excited the next morning though when Marcel announced he was making eggs for breakfast, as I felt like a gorilla's armpit. I was sorely disappointed when it turned out to be scrambled eggs/omelette with figs, raisins, pine nuts and other things. Like, it was delicious. But, where is the grease to soak up the evening's sins?

We didn't meet up this week, but I did see Lionel on Thursday and saw the Socialist frieze and the memorial to the East Germany 1953 Uprising at the Federal Ministry of Finance. We also saw the facade of Anhalter Bahnhof, which in it's heyday was known as the 'Gateway to the South', with trains going to Italy and Greece! According to Wikipedia, it was also used to deport 'about a third of the city's Jewish population', which is just harrowing.

We went for dinner somewhere or other and I ordered a Flammekuechen and was very excited, remembering how much I liked the one I had in Strasbourg but this one was more like a pizza and there wasn't enough sour cream.

I was also gutted beyond belief last Monday when I realised I had missed the St.Patricks Day parade. I thought I would just pop along after work, but it was on Sunday! I consoled myself with watching Lord of the Dance, obviously.

On Friday after work, I rushed off to find the actual graveyard of the Brothers Grimm. I'm obsessed, I know. I found it this time and said my thanks for all the fairy tales.

Thank you for Sleepy

Today, I went to Potsdam, but I'll write about that in a separate post.

So yes, it's been a good couple of weeks here in Berlino, and my flatmates are back the week after next. That'll be strange, as they've been gone a month and I've thoroughly enjoyed pretending this flat is mine!

Tschuessi!
xx

CVs or why does Comic Sans even exist?

This might not be incredibly relevant to my blog, but I guess it could come under 'what my YA internship taught me'.

I just want to say that it is not until you are on the receiving end of CVs that you realise just how important everything you ever learnt about work experience is.

I've received so many applications, and sent emails to, people who sound excellent. I excitedly open the attachments to find that they have written in Comic Sans, in red font, used a coloured background, made numerous spelling mistakes, have used a template from the Stone Ages or haven't used a template at all and have just written in paragraphs and have used a picture of themselves holding their cat/guinea pig/dressed as a clown.

Where is the professionalism?

You could have excellent qualifications but if your CV isn't excellent too, you're going to have a bad time. Obviously, right?

I don't want to be preachy and patronising and all like, I work behind a desk so I'm well important, I just thought this was a valid point and something I will definitely be bearing in my mind when I update my CV again.

I'm aware that most people I know would not even dream of doing these things, and I'm fairly sure most people would rather go on a date with Hannibal Lecter than use Word Art on their CV.

Ok, see ya x

Berlining (verb)- a type of chilling specific to Berlin

I feel like it's coming together here. Even Lewis said I looked happy and settled, and I reckon that is pretty true. Work has been going well- a copyediting job I worked on was approved by a new client, I've learnt about SEO marketing (I know, what the hell) and I'm writing emails that make sense. As for a social life, Jean and I went to a bar called Das Gift (The Poison) down the road from me for a few drinks last week, which was fun. Jean and I have decided that we will go to a different bar every wednesday night, which will be so good- not just for language, but for my knowledge of Berlin. I also discovered they do a beef and ale pie- it's owned by Scottish people- which nearly brought tears to my eyes. Sadly, I'd already had my tea, but I believe I will be stuffing my face there this Sunday.


On the subject of food, I also found a ridiculously good falafel place near where I work. The peppermint tea was also insanely tasty.

It's been going well with Lionel as well- Thursday evening, he took me on a night tour of Kreuzberg. We trekked to the peak of Viktoriapark and had a gorgeous starry view of the city, before going for a coffee.

boulder painted like an eyeball?

Lewis arrived Friday night and it was a very cute reunion, where we actually ran towards each other. Soppy bastards. Saturday, we headed to Charlottenburg, where I hadn't been yet, and had a butchers at the palace there. It was a gorgeous day and so sunny and warm so we walked through the Tiergarten onto Unter den Linden. We turned off down one of the side streets and had a wander around Mitte, before taking a seat in a deckchair on a lawn facing the Berliner Dom. There we listened to some buskers, drinking Berliner Pilsner (which Lewis has decided he adores), soaking up the afternoon sunshine and honestly just loving our lives.

Street market currywurst with onions and so much mayo. Lecker!

Charlottenburg Palace- look how blue the sky is!

a fascinating concept

I love this

 We stumbled into a bar near Görly with pink furry walls but it was so small and crowded so we decided to move on. We found a place called the Havana Bar, which was quite quiet but cheap, you could smoke there and like, most places, gave you prezel sticks with every drink.  It was no really crazy place but it was perfect for me and Lewis to natter like old biddies, and we've decided it's our Berlin eqivalent to a bar we've frequented for a few years in Covent Garden. We stayed until 2am, U-Bahned it home where we continued to drink, watching King Kong and eating half raw pizza. Needless to say, Sunday started off slowly but we fully exhausted the coffee machine before heading out to Potsdamer Platz. I took Lewis to the Holocaust Memorial and the Gay Memorial, before we sought out a MacDonalds and headed to Ostkreuz for no apparent reason. We had a coffee in a little cafe before going to Warschauer Strasse and the East Side Gallery, and sat outside an off-license where the tables were graffitied and the ashtrays were sweetcorn tins. Oh Berlin. 

View from Ostkreuz Station...

Today was just a walk into Kreuzberg, just off Admiralsbrücke, where we sat outside a cafe and chilled in the sun. It was an enjoyable walk and if this weather keeps up, I won't be taking the U-Bahn very often, as it was only a 25 minute walk.

Cuties

It was so good to have Lewis here and I miss him already, but hopefully he'll be back, and if not, I'll go and harass him in London in August. 

Now, soup, tv and an early night.

Tschau! xx

p.s Lewis coined the term 'Berlining', credit where credit is due

Berlin: 10 Little Things

I've been here just over a month, so what I have noticed about Berlin so far?

1) Sparkling water

When I first arrived, I was horrified by it's popularity, and accidentally bought it more than once. On my first day of work, my boss brought me a glass and I kinda just had to suck it up. Since then it's not too bad, I still prefer still water, but my face doesn't contort as much. 

2) U-Bahn 

The U-Bahn is so much cleaner and friendlier than the Paris metro, and I haven't smelt human waste yet. Touch wood. There are beggars and buskers, yes, but not hundreds, and most of the ones I've seen have been quite delightful (the buskers, that is). If Paris was about looking out of the metro at the Eiffel Tower while a bloke played the accordion, then Berlin is about looking at graffiti while a man plays a guitar. The Berliners also seem to understand train etiquette- they always stand aside to let people off the train before piling on. It's a miracle! Saying that, they seem to have no concept of standing on the right hand side on escalators. I still do though, and hope to God I don't pick up the habit of not, otherwise I might just be lynched in England.

No Navigo-style pass here, just a paper ticket!

3) Jaywalking

You're really not supposed to cross on a red man, but I forgot this a few times at the beginning. It's a bit painful sometimes, but if you leg it, you're more than likely going to get very disapproving looks and mutters. Cars will show no mercy. I feel I am obliged to mention the Ampelmann here, as he is very famous and even has his own shop on Unter den Linden (you can even buy Ampelman soaps...)

4) Bikes

GET A BELL. The amount of times I have nearly been knocked over by a cyclist, who then swears at me. Oh, well, I do apologise for not having eyes in the back of my head.

5) Bakeries

The bakeries are out of this world. I recently discovered the Nougat Croissant which was gorgeous. Cherry filled Pfannkuchen, Rosinenschnecke, Brezel, a ridiculous array of doughnuts, and Quark filled pastries...whatever that is. I have cheese and bell pepper bread sometimes for lunch and most mornings I find myself in the bakery for a coffee and something tasty. This is a habit I should probably kick.

Also, in Berlin Pfannkuchen means doughnut (the filled ones, ring ones are just Donuts). Everywhere else it means pancake. I know right.

6) Berlinerisch

Before I got here, I looked up the Berlin dialect and panicked a bit, as it looked utterly incomprehensible. It turns out that I probably don't hang around with proper Berliners, as I haven't heard that much of it and the accent is usually clear, if a little harsh sometimes. People say 'icK' more than 'iCH' which upsets me a bit. I have noticed though, that Tschüssi is very common as a goodbye and I've also heard 'was' pronounced as 'wat'. 'Kiez' means like, district or borough e.g. Kreuzberg is a Kiez. Then there's the nicknames- Kottbusser Tor is known as Kotti, Görlitzer Bahnhof as Görly, Ku'damm is Kurfurstendamm and Alexanderplatz is just Alex. I hope Jean teaches me more!

Edit: I've since learnt that 'Kiez' is a lot smaller than a neighbourhood. People use it to describe the streets where they live, do their food shopping, drink etc. In that sense, it's more of a community thing.

7) The Cinema

I've been to the cinema twice now and I love it, mainly because they do sell salty popcorn, you can drink a beer during the film and the particular cinema I like doesn't show dubbed films, rather the originals with subtitles. I find dubbing really hard to get on with- most of the time, the speech is too fast, monotonous and I find myself watching the actor's mouths trying to work out what they are actually saying or is that just me? It's 9 euros even with a student discount, which is cheaper than Paris, but I really miss The Savoy in Nottingham! 

8) Recycling
They LOVE it. They really do. You think it's stressful having a green box and a black bin? Pah. It was one of the first things my flatmate explained to me, and when I accidentally forgot and put a milk carton in the bin, she literally got it right out again and put it in the correct bag. Now I know.

9) Smoking
I nearly fell over when I first bought 38g of Pall Mall. It cost 5 euros! Insane. You can also buy cigarettes from little machines in the supermarket by the conveyor belts, I'm yet to try. There are quite a lot of bars where smoking is allowed inside, which I find a little gross, and by the time you get outside you've forgotten what oxygen feels like. Though, when they are separate smoking lounges in a bar it reminds me of like, 1995 and pub lunches with the fam. A lot of people smoke in the U-Bahn stations as well and flick the butts onto the tracks, which sets my nerves off!

10) Gesundheit
Okay, so I have sneezed about 1000 times in the office and neither my boss or Marit have EVER said Gesundheit to me. I was bristling at this rudeness, until I asked the other day about it and they said that Germans don't really say it....really? OK. I don't say it to them now either. Small talk doesn't really work here either- I said to my boss 'Oh it's a really nice day isn't it!' and he just looked at me a bit quizzically before saying 'Ja...stimmt'.

I'll leave it here, with this advert which is a real Ohrwurm (song that gets stuck in your head)

tschüssi!
xx

Poland, because I can

After a successful meeting with Jean, my German tandem partner, in an Irish pub it was a little bit difficult getting up on Friday morning but I managed it because that day, I was heading to Stettin (Szezecin) in Poland for the day.

The journey went without a hiccup (incredible). I dozed off for a few minutes and when I woke, freaked out because I couldn't figure out why I couldn't understand any signs out of the window, before realising that the signs were in Polish....

I helped myself to a map from the tourist info (later realising I had the Polish version) and picked up the tourist trail outside the station. I gotta give it to the place, they'd painted a  red lined track through the city for tourists to follow, and at every attraction, there was a number on the floor (corresponding to the map) and an information board in Polish, German and English.

one of the stained-glass windows in one of the like, 8 churches

I was walking for at least an hour before I realised I was starving, so chose a restaurant advertising 'polskie smaki', and ordered spinach pancakes and a homemade apple pie, that had apparently been freshly baked in some woman's house. The apple pie was curious, as it was cold, and with the first spoonful I was sure that a crime against my British palette had been committed until I ate some more and decided it was bloody delicious. The restaurant was great, and the handsome (yes, handsome) waiter spoke excellent English. It was strange being in a place and not knowing the language, and I felt bad at first before sternly reminding myself that I could not learn every language on earth and that it was quite fun to feel like a real tourist. The only downside to this restaurant was their insistence on a George Michael playlist. All the usual, including some dodgy techno remix of Last Christmas.

My whole meal (meal, drink, dessert) came to 35 zloty= £6.93!!

Catherine the Great was born here!!

The trams were just adorable

I walked for another hour or so, before I decided I wanted a coffee so I left the tourist trail and headed roughly back to the centre. I found a huge shopping centre and got a coffee at a kiosk. All was well until I greedily decided I wanted chocolate sprinkles. The lid fell off and chocolate went EVERYWHERE. I cleaned up as best I could, apologising profusely, laughing nervously and, with half the container of chocolate in my coffee, got the hell outta there.

It was then I remembered that I'd missed the Pioneer Cinema, the oldest working cinema in the world, so with the help of the map and my nose, I walked back and found it. Though I did ask a woman if I was definitely going the right way, to which she looked at my map, looked at me for what felt like a whole minute before giving a very firm nod. Okay then.

I'd only seen one tourist shop and that was by the train station, so I headed back there for the sake of my mother's magnet collection and took the other fork of the tourist trail. This trail led me to the town hall, the river, the Pomeranian Dukes' castle and some excellent graffiti.

I'm still laughing at this

It was getting dark so I walked back to where I'd spied some nice looking restaurants. I was quite happy with my choice, deciding on Ghoulasch soup with 'wild sausage' and definitely avoiding the soup with 'two species of fish'. It was, however, a little unnerving when the waiter looked me in the eyes and said 'You need to undress' and holding out his hands. Of course, he just wanted to take my coat etc but still.

Candlelit supper (soup, beer and dessert) for £6.54

There were two English blokes on the table opposite me, who smirked when I tried to order a dessert and the waiter went off to the kitchen looking very confused. They said' Good luck' to me and although it was light-hearted, it did annoy me slightly. The usual attitude you know? They didn't speak a word of Polish but it's okay to mock the Polish waiter with a limited but good knowledge of English? Anyway.

It was pretty much hometime by then, so I headed back to the station, had a coffee and hopped back on the train to Berlin. 

Chenquieh, Poland, for a nice day. With the amount of zlotys I have left, I'm sure I'll be back!

Only photo I took of myself, are you surprised?