So I think it's time to briefly write about *real life* in Berlin for this post.
*yawn*
Boring, right? I'll try to make it interesting. ;)
Well, I've recently finished my 4th level German, yet I still feel like a 7 year old when speaking/listening to Deutsch. I have to skillz to survive, just not the conversational to chat with German friends in their language, as I would of course with friends in Vancouver. Makes me sad, but my Deutsch friends are wonderful and understanding. Sometimes they quiz me and I actually understand, and sometimes I've had enough gin/wine/beer to have the courage to actually attempt to use it. Ask me to write something? No problem!!! :D Unfortunately I have now run out of money to continue my education so that's it for this year. Hopefully upon my return to Berlin in July I can continue my studies.
Oh yes, I have booked my return flight home. I leave Berlin March 15th for Londontown to visit with my darling friend Jennifer, Jack & Lyle and also hopefully Larissa & William too! With a quick trip over to Dublin for St. Patty's Day and then I'm home on March 22nd. (more on this later)
I've also recently finished working on a short film titled "Aufzug" ("Elevator"). We shot it in 6 days with about 2 months of prep/post production. It's a wonderful 15 minute piece about people's emotions and coping mechanisms to deal with the apocalyptic, dystopian-esque state of the world as it crumbles around them... all of these stories are told in an elevator. The company was under a deadline for submission to the Berlin Film Fest... they made it. :)
In December I have a trip to Vienna planned with a few friends. Always wanted to go there and what better time than for all the Weihnachten Märkte!!!? (Christmas Markets) Plus I will get to visit with a DJ/Promoter friend Michael who puts on a great monthly Minimal Synth Wave event called Future Echo. I am also lucky enough to have been invited to DJ this time around so I've been busy the past few days re-organizing my music for the event.
I'm really looking forward to it!
I have also moved out of Neukölln and into Mitte with my friend Anne. It's really wonderful to be here. She's a good friend and I am lucky she's offered up not only her flat to share, but *given* me her bedroom for the next 5 months. It's great to be in the city center for the tail end of my year here. Different sights, new habits to form and further understanding of how the city is laid out and connected. I'm now very close to the Neue Synagoge, Museum Insel, Fernseheturm and my favorite falafel spot, Dada Falafel!!! Thanks Hilda and Mr. Sly for an awesome 7 months!!!
I'm going to stop here for today as I have to eat and get ready for a gig at the King Kong Klub featuring Xeno & Oaklander and Martial Canterel.
Schönen Abend!
Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Take it from the top please. Aaaaaaaaand... ACTION!!!
First of all... ALLES GUT ZUM GEBURTSTAG mein Vater!!!
So, where do I begin? I really need to update every week so as not to fall behind. I must consult my iCalendar for all the past activities I have partaken in. Good thing I'm so freakin' organized!!! LOL
Let's start with some photos from the airport. Thanks so much for seeing me off. Sorry about the hasty departure at the gate. I was about to lose it emotionally so I had to rip the bandaid off the wound fast so as not to start a chain reaction of tears:
My first week was spent organizing my new life in Berlin as well as taking in some sights around the city. The Nikolaikirche is the oldest sacred building of historic Berlin. Construction commenced in 1230 and continued through the 15th century. This Gothic church had it's two towers modified in 1877, as can be seen by the variation in brick. In 1945 it had been severely damaged by bombings and has undergone extensive renovations that still continue. I've visited the kirche 3 times since 2008 and it has always been covered in scaffolding. It was finally re-opened to the public in 2009. Now I can appreciate it in full.
These grave plaques are mounted all around the exterior of the kirche. Many of them display winged skulls.
The Fernsehturm TV tower, built 1969, is the tallest structure in Berlin at 365 m (1,197 ft).
Neptunbrunnen is a beautiful, Neo-Baroque fountain built in 1886. It was originally located at the Stadtschloss (Berlin Castle) and was moved in front of the Fernsehturm in 1969.
Michelle gave us a guided tour of Communist era architecture where we came across the Haus der Lehrers - House of Teachers. A landmark work of Socialist-realist architecture covered in mosaic work idealizing the hardworking citizens of the GDR. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a really good photo of the details of the mosaic.
The East Side Gallery is a one mile long section of the Berlin Wall. In 1990 it became a huge collection of graffiti and art by 118 different artists from 21 countries. These are few of my favorites:
This next set of photos are sites around our apartment. Boddinstraße is the U-Bahn station nearest to us, and Mainzerstraße is our street. The graffiti on the side of the building is common all over Berlin. I'm going to try to document it as much as I can.
These little gold bricks, called Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), are scattered throughout Berlin and most of Europe that was occupied by Germany. They are little memorial markers for those people who were taken to concentration camps. They are usually found in the ground outside of the apartments in which the people lived and where taken from. They list their name, birthplace and year, when they were deported and the camp where they died. Pretty emotionally heavy bricks for something that is only 3x3".
I was lucky enough to be a guest at Covenant's performance on April 24th, where I partied with them and some new friends backstage, as well as muscle my way upfront to snap some moderate photos on my iPhone. Their performance was flawless, as usual.
This is my new friend Anne from California, living in Berlin, and I.
And these fellas are Daniel (R) who plays keys and sings back-up for Covenant and his mate Peter (L) from Sweden. Really sweet guys.
This is the Türken Markt am Maybachufer. I've been there almost every Tuesday and Friday since my arrival in Berlin. You can find pretty much everything you need here including fresh veggies, fruit, spices, fish, bread, Turkish sweets, fabric, household items, clothing. There is also live music and great coffee and food stands to indulge in after browsing the fares of the market. The amount of people that come here is insane. You have to really pay attention to where you are going as well as watch out for the women pushing baby strollers and pulling their shopping carts - they are ruthless!!!
My final photo in this posting is of some socks my friend Dorit lent to me one evening while we were BBQing on her balcony. They are so cute and reminded me of home. Canadiana moose!!!
This post pretty much covers my month of April. The only thing I have failed to mention up to this point was my DJing debut at King Kong Klub. It was a minimal, coldwave nu-wave night put on by Jen Ellerson called Brave Exhibitions. I was really nervous to spin because I didn't feel prepared enough, but Jen was happy with my choices in music and the crowd was dancing and happy so I pulled it off alright. :D Hopefully I can do it again sometime. (No, I am not talking on my cell phone... I am listening to cue up my next track.) ;)
Love and misses!!!
Devi
So, where do I begin? I really need to update every week so as not to fall behind. I must consult my iCalendar for all the past activities I have partaken in. Good thing I'm so freakin' organized!!! LOL
Let's start with some photos from the airport. Thanks so much for seeing me off. Sorry about the hasty departure at the gate. I was about to lose it emotionally so I had to rip the bandaid off the wound fast so as not to start a chain reaction of tears:
My first week was spent organizing my new life in Berlin as well as taking in some sights around the city. The Nikolaikirche is the oldest sacred building of historic Berlin. Construction commenced in 1230 and continued through the 15th century. This Gothic church had it's two towers modified in 1877, as can be seen by the variation in brick. In 1945 it had been severely damaged by bombings and has undergone extensive renovations that still continue. I've visited the kirche 3 times since 2008 and it has always been covered in scaffolding. It was finally re-opened to the public in 2009. Now I can appreciate it in full.
These grave plaques are mounted all around the exterior of the kirche. Many of them display winged skulls.
The Fernsehturm TV tower, built 1969, is the tallest structure in Berlin at 365 m (1,197 ft).
Neptunbrunnen is a beautiful, Neo-Baroque fountain built in 1886. It was originally located at the Stadtschloss (Berlin Castle) and was moved in front of the Fernsehturm in 1969.
Michelle gave us a guided tour of Communist era architecture where we came across the Haus der Lehrers - House of Teachers. A landmark work of Socialist-realist architecture covered in mosaic work idealizing the hardworking citizens of the GDR. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a really good photo of the details of the mosaic.
The East Side Gallery is a one mile long section of the Berlin Wall. In 1990 it became a huge collection of graffiti and art by 118 different artists from 21 countries. These are few of my favorites:
This next set of photos are sites around our apartment. Boddinstraße is the U-Bahn station nearest to us, and Mainzerstraße is our street. The graffiti on the side of the building is common all over Berlin. I'm going to try to document it as much as I can.
These little gold bricks, called Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), are scattered throughout Berlin and most of Europe that was occupied by Germany. They are little memorial markers for those people who were taken to concentration camps. They are usually found in the ground outside of the apartments in which the people lived and where taken from. They list their name, birthplace and year, when they were deported and the camp where they died. Pretty emotionally heavy bricks for something that is only 3x3".
I was lucky enough to be a guest at Covenant's performance on April 24th, where I partied with them and some new friends backstage, as well as muscle my way upfront to snap some moderate photos on my iPhone. Their performance was flawless, as usual.
This is my new friend Anne from California, living in Berlin, and I.
And these fellas are Daniel (R) who plays keys and sings back-up for Covenant and his mate Peter (L) from Sweden. Really sweet guys.
This is the Türken Markt am Maybachufer. I've been there almost every Tuesday and Friday since my arrival in Berlin. You can find pretty much everything you need here including fresh veggies, fruit, spices, fish, bread, Turkish sweets, fabric, household items, clothing. There is also live music and great coffee and food stands to indulge in after browsing the fares of the market. The amount of people that come here is insane. You have to really pay attention to where you are going as well as watch out for the women pushing baby strollers and pulling their shopping carts - they are ruthless!!!
My final photo in this posting is of some socks my friend Dorit lent to me one evening while we were BBQing on her balcony. They are so cute and reminded me of home. Canadiana moose!!!
This post pretty much covers my month of April. The only thing I have failed to mention up to this point was my DJing debut at King Kong Klub. It was a minimal, coldwave nu-wave night put on by Jen Ellerson called Brave Exhibitions. I was really nervous to spin because I didn't feel prepared enough, but Jen was happy with my choices in music and the crowd was dancing and happy so I pulled it off alright. :D Hopefully I can do it again sometime. (No, I am not talking on my cell phone... I am listening to cue up my next track.) ;)
Love and misses!!!
Devi
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Ich heiße Devi... Ich komme aus Kanada... Ich wohne in Vancouver
I started my Deutsch lessons on Monday with great success and fun. Second class is this evening. I'm just about to finish my hausaufgabe (homework).
But more importantly...!!!
M&P went to view and apartment for us in Neukölln on Monday and they found out today that WE GOT IT!!! It's super cute and super CHEAP!!! We are looking at about $260 CND each, per month. That's about 1/3 what I pay for now in Vancouver.
April 5th couldn't come sooner!!!
Tschüs!
Devi
But more importantly...!!!
M&P went to view and apartment for us in Neukölln on Monday and they found out today that WE GOT IT!!! It's super cute and super CHEAP!!! We are looking at about $260 CND each, per month. That's about 1/3 what I pay for now in Vancouver.
April 5th couldn't come sooner!!!
Tschüs!
Devi
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