An American in Berlin

So...it's about time I posted something right? I thought I'd post something on my one-week anniversary of my time here in berlin. but before I do that, let me rewind a bit...

WHAT?!? YOU'RE IN BERLIN? WHY?
Ok, if you don't know, or haven't figured it out yet...I'm in Berlin...for awhile. Hmmm...maybe 2 months? I'm hoping to live in Barcelona for a month, too, if I can figure it all out (but that'll be a later post). I'm in Berlin for particularly no reason except that I've always wanted to live in Europe. I thought this would be a good time to do it since I decided to move out of NYC (*sniff sniff*) to move back to the W. Coast (SF specifically) to be closer to my family. And although NYC will always have my heart, my family captures more of it. So these next few months while I'm in transition I decided to do something I've always wanted to do. Why not?

WHY BERLIN?
It reminds me of NYC. People speak English. Germans are nice. Eastern Europe is cheaper than Western Europe. It's a really creative city with tons of galleries, museums, great design and a rich history. And...I get to ride a bike. :)

Ok, now on to the posts...

Day 1 - Thu 09.04
I made a friend on the plane. A german american kid who's studying naval ship design and engineering in Long Island, NY. His name was Tophi (pronounced toffee) and he's probably traveled way more than I have in my life, even though he's like 10 yrs younger than me. He's studying in Southampton, England for a few months. When he told me this, I responded, "Oh, is that far from your school (thinking it was in the Hamptons, which is in Long Island)." To which he replied, "No, Southampton in England." Oh. Nevermind.

I get into Tegel airport in Berlin, figure out how to take the bus to the U-bahn (the underground subway) and meet 2 Americans on the bus. Both are from SF, ironically. One is a guy who decides one day that he wants to live in Berlin. That's it, and he does it. No job or anything. It's his first day in Berlin (like me) and he looks like a creative type (like me), but he's way more cool. Unfortunately, in his mad rush to get off the bus, he forgot his bag. Oh man, what a horrible way to start off...

After lugging about 80lbs of luggage (I'm not even exaggerating!) through buses, subways and stairwells, I got to my new flat in Neukölln. My sublet is a German girl named Kerstin who I met through a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend. I'm taking over her room for the month of Sept. It's nice and cozy...10 sq. meters...made me feel like I was in Manhattan. :) Rent in Berlin is cheap compared to NYC. 150euros (about $225) for one month and it includes internet, washer, utilties and phone!

Pros of new flat: cheap. Kerstin is nice, very helpful and speaks English really well.
Cons of new flat: all my flatmates smoke indoors...IN THE KITCHEN!!! I've officially lost my appetite. And for those who know my love of food, that's like Hell freezing over. Btw, the ever growing pile of dirty dishes, the flies and the full ashtray on the kitchen table don't help either.









Day 2 - Fri 09.05
Pretty uneventful day...just settling in and figuring out everyday things like exchanging money, shopping, etc.

Met my friend, Jouel, and his friends Eron and Jochen for drinks at night. Jouel is a friend who is from Vancouver but now lives in the Netherlands. He was visiting his friend Eron in Berlin, so it was nice to have a friend to hang out with my first weekend here.


Day 3 - Sat 09.06
Finally caved and got a cell phone. I wasn't going to get one, but then it was such a hassle trying to meet up with Jouel without a phone. I realized it would be impossible to meet up with anyone else in the future too.

Met up with Jouel and Eron later in the afternoon at Alexanderplatz, one of the main squares in the city's center neighborhood, Mitte. Eron showed us around SoTo (shopping area like SoHo, but it stands for South of Torstrasse) and walked around the hipster neighborhood Prenzlauerberg (nicknamed Pberg...I know, just like NY, right?!?). We stopped off for drinks at White Trash Fast Food...great name, right? :) And then Jochen joined us later on for dinner at Sian, a trendy Vietnamese restaurant. After dinner we each had 3 scoops of ice cream *YUM* and then checked out a few trendy bars and called it a night.