Following the model of last year’s Notes from SF 2012:
On my first day in Berlin, I…
– caught the 3rd act of an episode of the Simpsons where they go to Japan, dubbed in German
– saw some old friends, and some bands I’d never heard of who were pretty all right
– got briefly confused by the ‘deposit system’ at the bar whereby you pay an extra euro for a token which you then return in exchange for your euro.
On the second day, I
– applied stupid amounts of sunscreen to my forehead throughout the course of the day
– ate a currywurst
– walked through Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and other famous ‘walking-through’ places
– discovered Sternburg Export (.80c/half-liter bottle)
– tried some extra-hot ‘red-top’ Sriracha hot sauce which I’d never seen before
– listened to two kids on the street throwing down on their respective melodicas
– sat in the grass and drank beer
On the third day, I
– hung out for a bit with Nefertiti and Sakhmet (the dog-headed Egyptian goddess of death and vengeance) et al at the Neues Museum
– also peered intently at a small chunk of rock which purportedly bore cuneiform inscriptions from the Epic of Gilgamesh
– immersed myself in the horror-kitsch ‘Ostalgie’ of the DDR Museum
– acquainted myself with such products as the candybars CORNY BIG and NUTS, the breakfast cereal ‘HONEY BALLS‘ as well as a line of potato chips sold under the name ‘Crusty Croc‘
– used a 33cl can of “Jack and coke” (25% Jack Daniels, 75% cola) to wash down a bratwurst bought from a street vendor
– got rained on
On the fourth day, I
– took the U-Bahnhof to Zoologischer Garten
– saw a fat little old weiner-dog jump in and fetch a stick that his fat little old owner had thrown into one of the ponds at Tier Garten
– ate some kimchi that was bangin’
– caught up with old friend (see ‘first day’ above) over beers at the Hotel Michelberger
– listened to some jazz dudes on the bridge
– dodged the fuzz on the U-6 and had to walk home
– got rained on.
On the fifth day I
– went to the airport
– sneezed at the security checkpoint and heard several real-life Germans actually say “Gesundheit”
– ate a calzone for breakfast
– flew home.