(no subject)
Mmm, pindakaas--so creamy, so tasty, so, peanuty.
I'm back from my 10 day adventure in London and Berlin! London was fabulous as always, and Berlin was unbelievably amazing. If you haven't thought about it yet or have any hesitancy, stop what you're doing, go on the internet, and book yourself a ticket to Berlin NOW. It'll blow your mind.
London
The trip to the airport was yet another reminder that I'm participating in an experiential program; Europe was not designed for wheely suitcases, especially judging by my experience of lugging my suitcase up and down too many stairs. (Backpacks are wonderful, wonderful things!) Evil stairs aside (and easyJet luggage Nazis--stupid carry on limits), our journey to London was fairly uneventful. About an hour after checking into our hotel (across from the Waterstone's near RADA and UCL, near Goodge St.) and scarffing down food (bless you, Pret--who, ironically, now sells "toffee wafels" which are just stroopwafels in disguise!), we got to have an interesting lecture about interracial relationships in England. However, the entire group was fighting to stay awake. Eventually the lecture ended, nap time, then our first Indian meal of the trip. Came back to the hotel, partied with the group and Tap Lights, then slept.
Saturday started out with a guided tour of the Tate Modern, then I somehow managed to lead a tour of the Southbank area (20 years of travel to London apparently has left some sort of mark on me!) Had fun swimming upstream at Camden Market, lunch at the Locks (North African food rocks!), and concluded with a lovely rainstorm and jaunt around Covent Garden looking for decent shows with available seats for Monday night. Settled on an Asian Twelfth Night, then ran back to hotel to dry off. Enjoyed dinner at Wagamama and helped Italian tourists navigate the menu.
Sunday included a visit to the Garden Museum (cute, but not much fun if you don't like antique rakes and spades,) more walking, Kensington Gardens and the surrounding area, and a Square Pie (so starchy, so good!)
Monday I attempted to do my mini ISP research, but got lazy and decided to do fun things instead. Went to Dress Circle and other Covent Garden stores, bought vintage clothes (yay puffy vests!), replaced the Pollock's toy theaters that mom threw away, saw Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (highly recommend this film,) ate yummy organic food, then saw Twelfth Night. They stayed true to the text, and it was great seeing an entirely Asian cast. The acting was decent, but nothing life-altering. The staging was interesting, but again, nothing super spectacular. All in all, it was an okay show. (Most of the people seeing theater went to Jerry Springer, but since I saw it earlier this year, I opted for variety.)
Berlin
After barely making our flight, we arrived in Berlin and had fun waiting in a random S-/U-Bahn tunnel while Kevin (our "fearless leader") tried to figure out how to work the ticket machine for 30 minutes. Finally made it to our pension, threw our stuff in our rooms, shoved food into our mouths, then went on a three hour tour ("...a three hour tour...!") around Berlin at night. We saw the big sights (Brandenberg Gate, Reichstag, lots of sections of hte Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Russian Embassy, Museuminsel, and other famous stuff), then sleep.
Wednesday I went with Cassie to the Jewish Museum, which was big but fantastic. That evening our SIT program had dinner with the Berlin-based SIT folk at a volunteer cafe. There were some good kids in the bunch, but nothing exciting. Escorted a very sick Emily back to the pension and called it an early night.
Thursday started out with a trip to the Museum für Fotografie to visit the Taschen bookstore on the ground floor. Saw lots of Taschen books, then looked at my empty wallet. Also saw lots of Helmut Newton stuff, which wasn't too surprising. Bought a book about jump photography because it made me really happy looking at the photos. Walked around Charlottenburg, went to KaDeWe (like Harrods, but German,) bought German children's books, tote bags, and a disappointing piece of Apfelkuchen. Journeyed over to the very tacky Sony Center to go see one of the shorts programs at the Lesbian Film Fest (we were required to see at least two.) They were all in German, which made my brain hurt, and got a little nap time in during one of hte more boring films. Got bread and cheese and pear juice, then had a picnic in the park with lots of people from the group. Attempted to meet Adam at hte Pergamon Museum, but the King of Jordan's visit blocked off the entire Museumsinsel. Headed back to Sony Center to see another LesFilmFest program, which turned out to be "Erotic Adventures." First film was good, second was just funny bad. Checked e-mail to the smell of Dunkin' Donuts, then eventually found my way home.
Friday involved even more walking, but this time around Hackesches Hof, which was pretty cool. Had an amazing "Sesambagel mit Philly Spread und Lochs", walked to the Bauhaus Archiv, realized that I don't like Bauhaus, then stumbled back to the Pension. Napped, then went to the Hackesches Hof Theater for a mime performance, bought Ampelmann stuff, then returned to the theater for a klezmer concert. Later I learned that a bunch of films that people had seen at hte LesFilmFest involved bubble tea, so now the group is eager to go to the only pearl tea place in Amsterdam to look for lesbians and have pearl tea. (These are the same people who thought I was crazy for liking pearl tea, mind you. Then again, they thought that the tea was only so colorful because it was an affirmation of the characters' sexuality. Yes...)
Saturday was our trip to Sachsenhausen. It was intense, but I'm glad that I went to the memorial. After a very quiet train ride back, more group napping, then dinner with "grandma" (Ginni, our Berlin chaperone.) I got a recommendation for a restaurant from another student; of course, it happens to be unofficial "dykes and Thai" night, which amused most of the people in our group. Yummy red curry was had, as well as lots of mango goodness. (The Germans like to give mango schnapps after everything--yay awesome customs!) Went back to the Pension, had lots of good laughs, then cheap but substantial drinks and dessert at the Indian place down the street with peeps. Poured into bed around midnight and had an amazing night's sleep.
Woke up early Sunday, had warm kaiser rolls at breakfast, then an amazing walk around our section of Kreuzberg. I wish I had taken the walk earlier in the week because there is so much to see and do in the area. (I'm hoping to go back to Berlin in the spring, fingers crossed...) Found out that Ginni put our tickets in her girlfriend's bag (which was in Amsterdam cause she went back early,) then learned that our check-out time was an hour earlier than what we were told. Ran to the train station, learned that we were able to get new tickets, then had a fun time learning that there were no unreserved seats on the train. About an hour into our 6 hour trip, I finally found a seat. Unfortunately it was in the smoking car. I found a happy place, stared out hte window, and zoned out for the rest of hte trip.
Got into Amsterdam, hopped the tram, then immediately showered and washed all my smokey-smelling clothes. Talked with the 'rents for a long time, ate yogurt, then passed out.
I'm sure that I left stuff out. If you want to know more, e-mail me.
Hm, I should have been writing my paper all day, but it feels good just to do nothing and not have to be on my feet for 6-8 hours. Did manage to finish unpacking and semi-organize room, run necessary errands, and have yummy Albert Heijn juice and pindakaas. Also finally got fleece slippers cause it's really cold and I don't like dirty feet. But by far the highlight of my day has been devouring an entire bag of Haribo cola bottles. Mmm, Haribo... (I bought two bags of Gummibären, one regular and one Kosher, as well as reciting "Tear Me Down" at the Berlin Wall, so you can't say that I'm a bad HedHead!)
(The next day...)
I wrote my paper in two hours! Go me! This is really awesome because I just learned how incredibly complicated the Czech visa process is and I wanted to cry all night because it was just too stressful. Now I'm enjoying free wireless in the library, realizing how much I miss everyone reading this, and, in a subtle way, wishing that I could be in New York in the spring.
I'm back from my 10 day adventure in London and Berlin! London was fabulous as always, and Berlin was unbelievably amazing. If you haven't thought about it yet or have any hesitancy, stop what you're doing, go on the internet, and book yourself a ticket to Berlin NOW. It'll blow your mind.
London
The trip to the airport was yet another reminder that I'm participating in an experiential program; Europe was not designed for wheely suitcases, especially judging by my experience of lugging my suitcase up and down too many stairs. (Backpacks are wonderful, wonderful things!) Evil stairs aside (and easyJet luggage Nazis--stupid carry on limits), our journey to London was fairly uneventful. About an hour after checking into our hotel (across from the Waterstone's near RADA and UCL, near Goodge St.) and scarffing down food (bless you, Pret--who, ironically, now sells "toffee wafels" which are just stroopwafels in disguise!), we got to have an interesting lecture about interracial relationships in England. However, the entire group was fighting to stay awake. Eventually the lecture ended, nap time, then our first Indian meal of the trip. Came back to the hotel, partied with the group and Tap Lights, then slept.
Saturday started out with a guided tour of the Tate Modern, then I somehow managed to lead a tour of the Southbank area (20 years of travel to London apparently has left some sort of mark on me!) Had fun swimming upstream at Camden Market, lunch at the Locks (North African food rocks!), and concluded with a lovely rainstorm and jaunt around Covent Garden looking for decent shows with available seats for Monday night. Settled on an Asian Twelfth Night, then ran back to hotel to dry off. Enjoyed dinner at Wagamama and helped Italian tourists navigate the menu.
Sunday included a visit to the Garden Museum (cute, but not much fun if you don't like antique rakes and spades,) more walking, Kensington Gardens and the surrounding area, and a Square Pie (so starchy, so good!)
Monday I attempted to do my mini ISP research, but got lazy and decided to do fun things instead. Went to Dress Circle and other Covent Garden stores, bought vintage clothes (yay puffy vests!), replaced the Pollock's toy theaters that mom threw away, saw Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (highly recommend this film,) ate yummy organic food, then saw Twelfth Night. They stayed true to the text, and it was great seeing an entirely Asian cast. The acting was decent, but nothing life-altering. The staging was interesting, but again, nothing super spectacular. All in all, it was an okay show. (Most of the people seeing theater went to Jerry Springer, but since I saw it earlier this year, I opted for variety.)
Berlin
After barely making our flight, we arrived in Berlin and had fun waiting in a random S-/U-Bahn tunnel while Kevin (our "fearless leader") tried to figure out how to work the ticket machine for 30 minutes. Finally made it to our pension, threw our stuff in our rooms, shoved food into our mouths, then went on a three hour tour ("...a three hour tour...!") around Berlin at night. We saw the big sights (Brandenberg Gate, Reichstag, lots of sections of hte Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Russian Embassy, Museuminsel, and other famous stuff), then sleep.
Wednesday I went with Cassie to the Jewish Museum, which was big but fantastic. That evening our SIT program had dinner with the Berlin-based SIT folk at a volunteer cafe. There were some good kids in the bunch, but nothing exciting. Escorted a very sick Emily back to the pension and called it an early night.
Thursday started out with a trip to the Museum für Fotografie to visit the Taschen bookstore on the ground floor. Saw lots of Taschen books, then looked at my empty wallet. Also saw lots of Helmut Newton stuff, which wasn't too surprising. Bought a book about jump photography because it made me really happy looking at the photos. Walked around Charlottenburg, went to KaDeWe (like Harrods, but German,) bought German children's books, tote bags, and a disappointing piece of Apfelkuchen. Journeyed over to the very tacky Sony Center to go see one of the shorts programs at the Lesbian Film Fest (we were required to see at least two.) They were all in German, which made my brain hurt, and got a little nap time in during one of hte more boring films. Got bread and cheese and pear juice, then had a picnic in the park with lots of people from the group. Attempted to meet Adam at hte Pergamon Museum, but the King of Jordan's visit blocked off the entire Museumsinsel. Headed back to Sony Center to see another LesFilmFest program, which turned out to be "Erotic Adventures." First film was good, second was just funny bad. Checked e-mail to the smell of Dunkin' Donuts, then eventually found my way home.
Friday involved even more walking, but this time around Hackesches Hof, which was pretty cool. Had an amazing "Sesambagel mit Philly Spread und Lochs", walked to the Bauhaus Archiv, realized that I don't like Bauhaus, then stumbled back to the Pension. Napped, then went to the Hackesches Hof Theater for a mime performance, bought Ampelmann stuff, then returned to the theater for a klezmer concert. Later I learned that a bunch of films that people had seen at hte LesFilmFest involved bubble tea, so now the group is eager to go to the only pearl tea place in Amsterdam to look for lesbians and have pearl tea. (These are the same people who thought I was crazy for liking pearl tea, mind you. Then again, they thought that the tea was only so colorful because it was an affirmation of the characters' sexuality. Yes...)
Saturday was our trip to Sachsenhausen. It was intense, but I'm glad that I went to the memorial. After a very quiet train ride back, more group napping, then dinner with "grandma" (Ginni, our Berlin chaperone.) I got a recommendation for a restaurant from another student; of course, it happens to be unofficial "dykes and Thai" night, which amused most of the people in our group. Yummy red curry was had, as well as lots of mango goodness. (The Germans like to give mango schnapps after everything--yay awesome customs!) Went back to the Pension, had lots of good laughs, then cheap but substantial drinks and dessert at the Indian place down the street with peeps. Poured into bed around midnight and had an amazing night's sleep.
Woke up early Sunday, had warm kaiser rolls at breakfast, then an amazing walk around our section of Kreuzberg. I wish I had taken the walk earlier in the week because there is so much to see and do in the area. (I'm hoping to go back to Berlin in the spring, fingers crossed...) Found out that Ginni put our tickets in her girlfriend's bag (which was in Amsterdam cause she went back early,) then learned that our check-out time was an hour earlier than what we were told. Ran to the train station, learned that we were able to get new tickets, then had a fun time learning that there were no unreserved seats on the train. About an hour into our 6 hour trip, I finally found a seat. Unfortunately it was in the smoking car. I found a happy place, stared out hte window, and zoned out for the rest of hte trip.
Got into Amsterdam, hopped the tram, then immediately showered and washed all my smokey-smelling clothes. Talked with the 'rents for a long time, ate yogurt, then passed out.
I'm sure that I left stuff out. If you want to know more, e-mail me.
Hm, I should have been writing my paper all day, but it feels good just to do nothing and not have to be on my feet for 6-8 hours. Did manage to finish unpacking and semi-organize room, run necessary errands, and have yummy Albert Heijn juice and pindakaas. Also finally got fleece slippers cause it's really cold and I don't like dirty feet. But by far the highlight of my day has been devouring an entire bag of Haribo cola bottles. Mmm, Haribo... (I bought two bags of Gummibären, one regular and one Kosher, as well as reciting "Tear Me Down" at the Berlin Wall, so you can't say that I'm a bad HedHead!)
(The next day...)
I wrote my paper in two hours! Go me! This is really awesome because I just learned how incredibly complicated the Czech visa process is and I wanted to cry all night because it was just too stressful. Now I'm enjoying free wireless in the library, realizing how much I miss everyone reading this, and, in a subtle way, wishing that I could be in New York in the spring.