Back from Berlin

Berlin was truly fantastic and I enjoyed myself immensely. Weirdly
enough, it’s the first place I’ve ever gone where I felt like I
completely belonged which doesn’t make much sense since I don’t speak
more then 3 or 4 words of German. I never before thought I’d be willing
to live anywhere where I had to learn German but I would definitely do
it if I could live in Berlin! I spent my time mainly wandering the
streets of Prenzlaurberg, drinking coffee in little cafes and browsing
through secondhand stores full of East German kitsch, judging from
which, it would appear that the entirety of the former East Germany was
constructed of orange plastic.

I also went to flea markets, a former East German secret political
prison, a cupcake shop, a Mexican restaurant, a middle eastern
restaurant and as many little crafty shops as I could find. I ate no
sausages however.

One of my favorite experiences was eating in a little restaurant
where you decide at the end how much you think you should pay for your
meal and just pop it in a jar. Apparently these sorts of restaurants
are quite common in Berlin. The premise seems great but when I saw the
waitress (a six foot tall drag queen with an afro) chase two different
couples down the street to tell them that they hadn’t contributed
"enough," I realized that human nature is human nature and that if
restaurants like this could work without the drag queens chasing you
down the street, then perhaps communism wouldn’t have failed.

Now I’m back in Lausanne and nothing much is new except for Nico who
says and does things that both amuse and amaze on a daily basis.  This
morning he drew a scribbled scrawl of a picture and announced that it
was "a fishy going to see the doctor." Just a few minutes ago he was
singing a song but then stopped and told me that he "couldn’t hug the
music." I agreed with him that this wasn’t possible and then he told me
that the reason he couldn’t hug it was because it was "in his mouth." I
love two year olds!

Some of my best finds in Berlin

-Frau Tulpe- a great little shop chock full of cute fabrics and sewing supplies. Lots of Japanese fabrics too I noticed!

-At Zionskirchstrasse 36, you can find "The Cupcake Bakery." As
something as a cupcake expert, I can definitely recommend the ones they
have here although th decor might be a bit too over the top cutesy and
kitsch for my taste. Imagine what the poor people’s houses in Sofia
Coppola’s Marie Antoinette might have looked like and that’ll give you
a pretty good idea of what I mean.

-Practically next door to the Cupcake Bakery is one of the little
wine bar/restaurants where you pay what you wish- I can’t remember the
name but make sure you leave enough or you WILL be chased!

-At 63, Zionkirchstrasse, there’s a great little children’s cafe and
used clothing shop (kid’s clothes that is) called Onkel Albert. There’s
a sandbox for kids to play in while you have a coffee, toys, etc.

-Froschhimmel sells cute handmade bags and accessories

-A little shop at 4, Gaudystrasse that sells these awesome bags by Stulle. My favorites are the kid’s messenger bags!  They ship internationally!

Obsessively Reading:
-A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
-12 Years by Joel Agee
-Stasiland by Anna Funder
-On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks

Obsessively Listening:
-Mercedes Sosa
-Britta Persson

Obsessively Eating:
-Lindt white chocolate bars with almonds