To East Berlin We Go!

The first of the month, we finally escaped the clutches of the Belarus witches. Okay, that might have been a little overdramatic, but the hostel hostess was unnecessary hostile (hee hee) about me sitting on one of the beds while talking to Doug and Elise.

Before trekking to the other side of the city, we decide to (finally) stop and have a pastry and coffee at a little bakery. As I looked through the window at the flaky, golden-brown buttercroissants (or "butter croissants" for those who don't speak German), a drop of water hit my eyelid forcing me to look down. On the ground, were three "golden" bricks inlaid on the sidewalk.


Written on the bricks were names, dates, and Auschwitz.

While I sipped on my coffee, I thought about the bricks. There was a sadness there, certainly. The memorializing of a time in history when the city was full of turmoil and fear for many people. But at the same time I guess I saw hope. If a country that has gone through so much and made so many unwise decisions can eventually become this prosperous land of equality and freedom and safety, then there is hope for all people who live somewhere in fear. Some day, things can and (will?) be better.

We headed out across town to our fully furnished apartment just across the city. Near the Underground Station "Senefelderplatz" (Or Seinfeld Place as we sometimes call it) a three bedroom/one bathroom apartment called to us.

Upon exiting the station, I thought of Dupont Circle in DC.
Green and lush, historic, yet vibrant. There's a youthfulness in the air and its made its mark in the graffiti artfully displayed on the walls. Back home graffiti desecrates an area and detracts from the beauty of its surroundings, but in Berlin-much of the graffiti enhances what would otherwise be bland gray walls. (More on this to come) This is certainly the part of the town to be in!

The doors to the apartment building are brown and oversized. I walked up to them half expecting to see a munchin pop its head through it and ask my business in the Emerald City. The actually apartment is on the second floor, up some steep stairs up which Douglas graciously carried my bag.



I was pleased to discover that once inside, the apartment was as expansive as the oversized doors. This wasn't the closet I resided in during my time in DC!

So the apartment is lovely with its three bedrooms and sunny views overlooking the cobblestone street. The former tenant, a NY native, gave us great advice on bars, museums, grocery stores, you-name-it, he-knew-it. And then, he left. I looked out the window, eavesdropping in on conversations I couldn't understand, and realized that for all intents and purposes, I was officially an American living in Berlin.