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Berlin
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Up early and Tina drops me off at the train station on her way to work. The ride is long but relatively painless and I get into Berlin by mid-afternoon. One interesting thing along the way is that the train actually pulled onto a ferry to hitch a ride across a section of the Baltic! The train literally took a boat for 45 minutes.
The central train station in Berlin is monumental but I have no problem finding Jess Lawson (friend from Emory) at our arranged meeting point. Jess is all smiles as usual and we realize quickly that this is the first time since college that we have crossed paths.
After dropping my bags off at her nice apartment we hit up a bar/restaurant along a river nearby. The beers and weiner schnitzel are a great introduction to Berlin and we catch up on old times.
Jess had been living in LA for the past 3 years, working for a talent agency, and then decided to up and move to Berlin to practice her German and life behind a desk... familiar scenario! She seems to be loving her new life and just got finished with a 3 week trip through England, Scotland and Wales with her boyfriend who is still living in LA. The sun makes it easy to enjoy the afternoon outdoors and we walk through a Turkish market to pick up some fresh veggies. I am absolutely shocked at how much of a Turkish influence her section of Berlin has as there are Kebab places on every street and Turkish flags are just as prevalent as the German flags readying for the Euro 2008 competition.
We meet up with some of her friends at an outdoor café/restaurant and enjoy drinks, conversation, a local clown/funny man, and a few small plates before grabbing some ice cream. We walk through a park and wind up sitting down at yet another outdoor bar where the entertainment finds us. A belly dancer and a stag party with the best costumes ever show up as we enjoy a hookah in the festive park!
The stag party is dressed as the music video from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" as the bachelor is MJ and the rest are zombies, and they went all out. Some of the goblins stop and talk with Jess and I for a while and wind up losing their party as they, along with us, lost track of time. It was a relaxed, yet entertaining introduction to Berlin. I can tell that a majority of the time will be spent outdoors while I'm in Europe and I like it!
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