Treptow Park

Met up with some new friends for Easter brunch brunch in the park on Monday. This rather stark example of Soviet architecture and sculpture was lurking amoungst the trees. Amazing place.

Very impressive low relief sculptures

Standing on a vanquished Swastika.

A bit further on was an abandoned East German fair ground. All fenced off but apparently there are tours...

Andy

Street art

This amazing work is on a hostel around the corner from where I was staying last week.Its on Taborstrasse in Keuzberg.

Andy

Kottbusser Damm digs in Kreuz'kolln

This is the view from my current digs on Kottbusser Damm, the border between Kreuzberg and Neukölln. Great area but the apartment is not what I had hoped for. Twice a week there's a Turkish market right in the centre of this photo:

Looking north towards the awesome Oranienstrasse area of Kreuzberg.

  A warm muggy night is perfect for generating a lightning storm.

Andy

New digs and a bit of theatre

A few days ago my CS host told me about a yearly event that happens in the local theatre's.  All the local productions perform a segment of their respective show and you can tour as many as you want in one night. It happens all over the city, costs 15euro  and that includes an unlimited metro pass for the night. And you can buy the complete ticket pass from a metro ticket machine, very convenient. I really wanted to see one that was described as an underwater opera: Purcell's Dido And Aeneas. It was performed in an art nouveau swimming pool called Stadtbad Neukölln. Amazing place but we didn't get in as it was packed when we arrived.
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/923,arts,underwater-opera

On the way to the theatre event.

So instead we went to a nearby theatre and saw a group of students who were performing various dances, ok. Then we went to see a Brazillian dance troupe. Very interesting but a bit too high brow for me, it finished well with a pyramid of performers, some of whom were in wheelchairs.

Today was a day to walk around the new neighbourhood after moving in to the temporary apartment. On the top floor of a great old building with a good view of the street. This is the building across from me.

A few steps out the door is Gorlitzer Park. Today was spent carrying my suitcase up 5 flights of stairs and then relaxing in the park surrounded by music, hibachi's and dogs chasing Frisbee's. Thankfully those didn't combine.... I got a little bit of a sunburn today, the forecast says 25 degree's on Saturday :)

I have a home!

  Its been a long few weeks. Endless reading, Google translating, replying and visiting WG's (local term for flat sharing). I signed up to the local website where people post their room vacancies and get them emailed to me seconds after posting. Then staying up till 2 am (or whenever the website shuts down for the night) replying to them and then marching off the next day to view... I applied to about 60 and visited 13, lucky 13 was the one. Most are mid 20's students so I don't have much chance of surviving the screening. Obviously, since you are joining a group of folks in one apartment you need to be interviewed and questioned by all. So an obviously older guy isn't going to get many votes when competing against most. Twice I lost out to some young french girl, needless to say the guy's in the apartment were voting with all their members....
  So I have a place starting May 1st! In the meantime I have two other flats lined up to take me through the next two weeks. One near Gorlitzer park (see below) and the other in Kreuzberg. I'll update later with the new place.
  -A word from the experienced, if you plan on moving here, expect much trouble finding a place to live (unless your bank account raises the eyebrow of the local landlord). I don't think Germany wants to encourage people to come here so they've setup this system... Before you can get a job (above table anyway) you must register with the local city hall in the section of the city where you have your apartment. So since there isn't just one city hall for Berlin, if you move you have to re-register with the local city hall in the new neighbourhood. Oh and you can't open a bank account without having a registered address. If you're German and you want to rent an apartment you'll need a healthy bank account statement or a letter from mummy and daddy saying that if you fail to pay the rent they'll guarantee you and pay. Or you'll need a letter from your employer stating that you are employed full time etc.... Suddenly WG's don't look so bad eh?
  Don't worry though, the fringe benefits are worth it. It's Tuesday night, I'm sitting in a local coffee shop/bar/live music venue with a .5 l dark beer in hand (2Euro's) and the Jazz ensemble is jamming in the back. And someone on one of those awesome European bikes with the big wooden bucket in front keeps riding by. He's got a massive sound system wedged in there blasting out club house beats. The club will wait till I recover from the last few weeks. I'm off to see who's in the jam ensemble....  

Prost :)
Andy