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