Berlin

miércoles el 8 de febrero

            After dinner today I had a yummy dessert called cuajadas. It tastes somewhere between yogurt and cream, and has a more firm, almost jello-like consistency. I ate it with honey and it was delicious.  We also had a Women in Art midterm today, which I figured I’d let you know about in case you forgot that I’m taking classes here, too J

jueves el 9 de febrero

            Tomorrow I’m going to Berlin! It’s going to be really cold there, so today I took advantage of the sales and my fantastic location in the middle of excellent shopping to find a warm, puffy jacket to wear beneath my bigger pea coat. I tracked one down that I love, and it will be perfect to wear by itself here in Madrid and on cold days (haha) back at Stanford.

viernes el 10 de febrero

            Berlin weekend! I began my day with yet another adventure in Madrid public transportation. At 4:10am I woke up, threw on my clothes and began walking down Gran Vía to Plaza de Cibeles, a major center of transportation in Madrid, and home to the city hall which is beautiful all lit up at night. A shuttle to the airport operates from here twenty-four hours a day, which was great because the metro (the other public transportation way to get to the airport) is closed 2am-6am. I arrived to the bus stop a few minutes late and missed my bus (c’mon Spanish culture of lateness…why are you failing me now? Side note: in my experience public transportation in Spain is quite timely…although buses going farther like the one to Salamanca leave ten minutes or so later than the listed departure time). So, I took a taxi instead.

I arrived at Madrid Barajas with time to spare, which was good because I went to the wrong terminal and had to take a bus to the correct one, but not good because my flight to Brussels was delayed. So delayed that I would miss my scheduled flight to Berlin. But, the attendant was very nice and helpful and put me on a flight from Brussels to Berlin a few hours later and upgraded me, so I got a free lunch on the flight (and they said it couldn’t be done). For some reason, but of these flights were only half-full, so on both flights I had my own row…which has not happened in a long time. I slept the whole two and a half hours from Madrid to Brussels!  

The Brussels airport was very cool and modern with lots of shopping and some restaurants/cafes in my terminal. Not surprisingly, there were also a bunch of chocolate shops full of Belgian chocolate. Also, Starbucks was crazy expensive there…5 euro for a small chai latte! Luckily Mercedes had packed me a bocadillo (they say bocadillo, but really it’s two bocadillos, a few pieces of fruit, a yogurt and a juice box). People in the airport were jealous.

             I arrived at Berlin Tegel at 1:30pm, a few hours later than I had planned, but rested and well-fed. Catching bus into the city was easy, although buying my bus ticket on the machine with my hands quickly freezing (touch screen so I couldn’t wear my gloves) added an extra challenge. I rode for about fifteen minutes to Stuttgarter Platz, where Hostel Berolina Charlottenburg aka Berolina Backpacker was conveniently located right next to Jasmine’s host family’s house. I had two roomies, one German woman who was pretty much living in the hostel while looking for work in Berlin and one Serbian who I did not see the entire time I was there because I think we had opposite schedules. It was quite bare but clean and heated, and after some fighting with the shower I eventually figured out how to have constant, hot water, which was clutch.

I met up with Jasmine after settling in, and we took the S-Bahn (the above ground metro, as opposed to the U-Bahn, the underground metro) to the modern center of Berlin: Potsdamer Platz. Before 1990, the wall ran right through the middle of the plaza, so they have several pieces of the wall left in commemoration, and a line in stone going through the plaza where the wall used to be (now I’m in the East…now I’m in the West!). This also meant that most of the construction in the plaza is very recent, and it is awesome and modern looking. Even the construction sites (bright pink tubes instead of unadorned scaffolding) looks like modern art. Jasmine is taking the film class in the Stanford in Berlin program, and this weekend was Berlinale (a huge film festival in Berlin somewhat like the Sundance Film Festival in the US), so she had several films to go see this weekend. The one this evening was fairly short, so she dropped me off at Balzac (tehe) Coffee right in Potsdamer Platz and near to her theater. I had a masala chai and schnecken (German cinnamon roll) and both were delicious. The coffee shop was a super interesting place to be, especially in the middle of Berlinale since the festival takes place in theaters throughout the city, but several of them are very close. I was eavesdropping on the people next to me, who were in the TV series production business in Sweden and Denmark and were discussing story ideas for a new show. The shop itself was like Starbucks (they had tall, grande and venti as sizes; which by the way is really confusing in Spain: do you mean grande or grande?) but infinitely more hipster. Berlin in general is pretty hipster—lots of cool underground places and the style was described as “hobo chic,” which was a bit of a shock for me coming from Madrid, where people give you dirty looks for wearing athletic clothes on the street. Berlin is also the most liberal city in Germany, and I definitely noted the energy and culture there that this would suggest. Most people in the shop were speaking in German or English (basically everyone in German speaks very good English), and people (this happened throughout the weekend) kept trying to talk to me in German, so I guess I was blending in! Now I just need to learn German and go back.

Once Jasmine came out of the film, we toured Potsdamer Platz a little more, taking pictures with the pieces of the wall and checking out the huge fancy stoplight commemorating the first stoplight in Europe (which was neither huge nor fancy) at that spot. I also saw the first example for a common theme in Berlin: the comination of new and old in architecture. There was an old Prussian palace on the border of the plaza, and they built a glass building around it, so now it looks almost like a Baroque house in a modern box with glass panels connected with stainless steel.

From Potsdamer Platz, we went to Brandenburger Tor, a former city gate in classical Greek style. It was beautiful all lit up at night! There is a famous statue on top that Napoleon had plans to steal and take back to France, but he didn’t manage it. It was surrounded by a big open plaza, which was quite nice, and I couldn’t help thinking how nice it would be in the summer when it wasn’t too cold to be outside for more than half an hour! There was snow on the ground the whole time we were there, and there was a low of 5°F and a high of 25°F. It snowed both nights I was there, not enough to be annoying, but definitely enough to make me very excited and make Berlin feel magical. The Holocaust Memorial is very close to the Tor, so we walked there. It is very simplistic and stark: large, rectangular grey concrete blocks of different heights are spaced in an even grid over 4.7 acres. They vary in height, but from the outside the lowest looks about ankle height and the tallest about mid-thigh. But once you enter and start walking through, the ground slopes down and up like hills, so at times the blocks tower feet above your head—all of the sudden you’re completely enveloped. It was impactful, and quite striking at night and dusted with snow.

For dinner, we met another friend from the Stanford in Berlin program at an Italian restaurant for dinner. Before I continue, I should share something very interesting and surprising (especially in comparison to Madrid) about Berlin. It is very difficult to find restaurants with traditional German food. Pastry stores and pretzels are easy to find, but when I told Jasmine I’d like to have traditional German food for one of the meals (since it was my first time visiting Germany) she had to ask several people and look online to find a spot. There were only about five, and when she asked her host mom for a recommendation, her host mom was very confused and said Berliners find it funny to eat traditional German food in Berlin. This is basically the opposite of Madrid, where every restaurant and café you pass has traditional Spanish food, and you need to put in an effort to find something else. That said, there are tons of immigrants in Berlin, especially from Turkey and Vietnam, but really from all over Europe and Asia. The Italian food was delicious (spices, yes!) and they had a Spanish wine on the menu, which made me 1-laugh and 2-feel very proud for recognizing it as a Spanish wine just from the name. Also we ate dinner around 8, which is the earliest I’ve had dinner in a month and a half.

After dinner, we went to Catherine’s place for some German beer (while traditional German food might be difficult to find in Berlin, German beer most definitely is not) and ice cream (of all foods). The Stanford in Berlin program is pretty different than the Stanford in Madrid program. In Madrid, the focus is the Spanish language (hence the Spanish-only pledge) and culture (hence living with a Spanish family, eating almost every meal with them and generally being integrated in your family’s life). In Berlin, there is no language requirement (I think about half of the people came with no German at all and are currently in an intensive German class) and the students live in home stays, but don’t eat with the family. Instead, they get a stipend from the program to buy food and cook on their own (they can use their family’s kitchen, and on the weekdays, the kitchen in their “institute”, which is a villa for just the Stanford program, is open for everyone in the program to use). One consequence of this set up was that the students in the Berlin program have bonded more than the Madrid program, but the home stays felt more like rooms rented in someone’s house than like you were actually living with the family.

Tonight, we went to a bar called Madame Claude. It was nicknamed “Upside down Bar” because there was s fully furnished living room attached to the ceiling. Also, behind the bar was an “upside-down” 50s looking kitchen, complete with upside down TV playing black and white TV shows. Berlin is full of quirky, underground places like this, and I think bars there are more spread out than in Madrid, so finding each one is like a quest instead of a stroll (although the cold definitely took away most of the romanticism of said quests). Also, to go out in Berlin (at least in the winter), you don’t dress up. I realized how much I dress up in Madrid compared to California, and Berlin is a step in the other direction. Sweaters, jeans, boots, and no makeup are all acceptable at bars and even clubs. There is still definitely style, it’s just very different than Madrid. In fact, the most Berlin-y and exclusive clubs definitely won’t let you in if you’re dressed like you would dress to go out in Madrid.

sábado el 11 de febrero

            For lunch we had a Berlin classic: currywurst. This is literally a cut up hot dog with topped with warm ketchup mixed with curry and a side of fries. It sounds crazy, I know. After my first bite, it honestly tasted exactly like what it is, but much better than you would expect. Again, if you’re in Berlin, eat it! We went to Curry 36, one of the most famous places to eat currywurst in Berlin. It is a street food (there is a huge street food culture in Berlin, which is great because there is almost no street food in Madrid except for people cooking chestnuts and grilling corn on grills on the sidewalk, but I’ve never seen people eating these while on the street, and people look at you funny even if you’re carrying around a to-go coffee cup), so we ordered at a window, got our food right away and ate standing at high tables under little heaters on the sidewalk. Much to my surprise, Berlin is one of the most affordable cities to live in, and food in Berlin was way cheaper than it is in Madrid—and not just because there aren’t street food places in Madrid, the restaurants were generally less expensive as well.

            Today Jasmine and I experienced a glimpse into heaven at the Ritter Sport chocolate store. You can make your own chocolate bar here, by choosing from dark or milk and then picking three ingredients from huge list of add-ins. I made a dark chocolate, chili, rice puff and hazlenut bar…and it was amazing. If you ever go to Berlin and you like chocolate (or have a soul…) this store is a must! Also, I have to give them kudos for a brilliant piece of marketing. You make the chocolate bar and then wait thirty minutes for the chocolate to harden. What do you do with the extra thirty minutes? Shop in the store, of course! There was also café and a cute little exhibit on the making of chocolate and basic Ritter history upstairs.

            After recovering from a slight chocolate coma in the warmth of the Ritter Sport store, we braved the cold (although it was clear any sunny, which was nice but deceptive because it was still very cold) to check out the East Side Gallery. A 1.3km-long section of the wall near the center of Berlin (and along the river) is covered in over 100 paintings by artists from all over the world. It is officially a memorial to freedom, and all the paintings have interesting political charge that extends beyond Cold War Berlin. We walked the whole thing, took lots of pictures and enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. However, by the end out feet were passing from stinging with cold at each step to becoming completely numb. So, we booked it (maybe not the reality considering our pediatric agility at the time, but in my head that’s how it went down) to the nearest café. Now, this is not Madrid so there are not cafes on every street corner, and this section of the wall is in a more industrial area of Berlin, so the first café we saw happened to be McCafe in the giant U/S-Bahn station. There is a McCafe right across the street from my house in Madrid, but I’ve never been there because it’s the center of Madrid and there are better places to go. So, this was my first experience in a McCafe and I have to say, I was impressed. Now, my expectations weren’t very high and the mere fact that they had great heating may have won half the battle. In fact, we had to hold hands for balance going up the stairs because our feet were so cold we couldn’t feel them. But I had a chai latte (which are difficult to find in Madrid except for at Starbucks, so its good to know another place that has them) and Jasmine had hot chocolate, and they were both really good.

            Having given up on the prospect of finding a traditional (or even nontraditional) German restaurant, I decided to go with Jasmine to a Vietnamese restaurant and had pho. I’m used to eating pho in 60-75F, and in the cold in Berlin it was so satisfying.

            Jasmine had another movie to see, so I met up with Annie in her house for a little bit, and met her host Mom who spoke perfect English and a little bit of Spanish! We met up with some other people from the program and went out for a second dinner (I would say drinks and tapas…but it was really more a second dinner) at a Greek restaurant. The food was delicious, and someone in our group spoke Greek, so they brought us a few rounds of ouzo. There are no open container laws in Berlin, and the public transportation stations are really nice and full of little stores, cafes and bakeries where you can buy drinks and snacks and then eat/drink in the U- or S- Bahn on your way to your destination. Berlin nightlife is more spread out than in Madrid, so getting places involves more time in transit...might as well make it worth while! We went to a soul club...yes, soul music in Berlin. It was an absolute blast and infinitely entertaining to see German people dancing to soul music in a club complete with disco ball and reruns of Soul Train projected on the entire front wall by the stage (which we dominated, of course).

            Also, Jasmine joined us after having seen her film, which happened to be In the Land of Blood and Honey, Angelina Jolie’s new documentary about the Bosnian War in the 1990s. It was a world premiere and there was a discussion with the director (yes, Angelina Jolie) after in the auditorium. She took a bunch of pictures of both her and Brad Pitt…and she is just as pretty in the pictures from a regular camera as in magazines.

domingo el 12 de febrero

            Today we ate Dönner for lunch, which is a kind of Turkish burrito and another one of the most popular street foods in Berlin. We went to one of the most famous places (which happens to be right next to Curry 36) and it was so delicious. It was the best I’d ever had…including the many I ate in Istanbul (although definitely not docking Istanbul…I probably just didn’t find the best place there).

We checked out Alexander Platz, which was the old center of East Belrin. It’s obviously not as modern or as busy as Potsdamer Platz, but there is a giant TV tower in the middle. It was a symbol of the Soviet Union’s power to be seen by the West, and Jasmine can see it from her window, and she lives on the way west of the city. It’s incredible to imagine that only twelve years ago looking out from her window and seeing the tower would have been a very different experience.

Next, we went to Museum Island! It actually is an island: the Spree river wraps around it and you cross a cute bridge to get there. There are five internationally significant museums all grouped conveniently together on the island: The Altes, the Neues, Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode Museum and the Pergamon. We didn’t have time to do them all since my flight left at six, so we decided to go to the Pergamon Museum. It is an archaeological museum built in 1930, and is one of the few archaeological museums to do complete reconstructions of buildings with the artifacts they have. It was smallish, but that made it great for the time we had. We saw the classical Greek section, most notably the reconstruction of the Pergamon Altar from which the museum takes its name, a great collection of ancient Middle Eastern (Mesopotamian) art and artifacts, and a beautiful collection of Islamic art with fantastic examples of Arabic calligraphy.

It should not come as a shock, given the contents of this blog so far, that on my way back to the airport, I stopped by for a German pretzel with baked cheese. Super yummy. Finally, traditional German food! Well, sort of. I guess it just means I have to come back to Germany again! I really enjoyed Berlin, and even though there were many times I thought how wonderful activity X would be in the spring when it was warmer, there really was something magical about seeing it all covered in snow and walking around at night with light snowflakes falling around us.

lunes el 13 de febrero

            I had a chocolate con churros snack today at Valor, the amazing chocolatería about a five minute walk from my house. During this walk, I discovered something very rewarding: I know my neighborhood pretty well! I was able to tell my friend where to go to get different things in the area (she lives in a different part of the city) and could navigate successfully around the whole neighborhood. I know this doesn’t sound like it should be a big deal…but if you know my sense of direction, you definitely know that this is a victory.

martes el 14 de febrero

            Happy Valentine’s Day! After class today I came back to my room to find a vase with a dozen giant beautiful roses sitting on my desk! Lucky Dustin speaks Spanish because he coordinated everything with my host family!

            Tonight I ate at La Mordida de Belén, one of the few Mexican restaurants in Madrid. I had scoped out their website and heard from someone from California that it was pretty authentic (not like most Mexican food here…which is not spicy at all and has a lot of jamón). It was in Chueca, which is my neighborhood and which is full of great restaurants, cafes, bars, and stores.