Vacation from my vacation from my vacation...

Saying farewell to this amazing city and heading to Rome for a few days and then to the Italian country side with a short stop-off in Munich for a big Oktoberfest beer on the way back to home Berlin. See you in two weeks!

Beautiful

Fly away...

Starlings at Eastbourne Pier, 22nd October 2005. Lover's Spit - Broken Social Scene (Leslie Feist vocal), from 'Beehives' 2004 .

If I Wasn't Happy, This Would Do the Trick

Paul Simon always does...

I have been having some pretty intense nightmares lately. I think it is a result of the anxiety over returning to the States (thank God I still have a month and half till that dreaded day) coupled with the fact that I am reading a pretty gruesome book about Nazi Germany. But I had a really sweet revelation the other night after waking up in a cold sweat before I was to be attacked by a posse of infested rats.

You see, during the unhappy stages of my life, I would often dream of the scenarios I longed for - living in a beautiful place surrounded and inspired by people I love. Then I would wake and the reality of my actual life would set in and all I would want to do is go back to sleep. So the other night, despite my sweat soaked shirt and pumping chest, it was a great feeling to wake from that dream and be back in my life, happy with where I was and what I would face in the morning. It’s nice to realize your life is better than your dreams – it's a liberating feeling, almost like you are walking with diamonds on the soles of your shoes.

We Like to Double

Bars I Like, Berlin: Madame Claude

Why: Everything is upside down.
www.myspace.com/madame_claude

Thus I was Infamous...

For some reason this little sticker (I wish you could see it better) that I came across on one of my many trips to the bathroom made my Friday night - it was either that or racing Karsten through the bowl in Görlitzer park at 3 in the morning and completely crashing as he sped on ahead for the win. Fun times.

Bars I Like, Berlin: Konrad Tönz

Why: Good soul music, amazing 1960s decor, comfy couches and for some reason the beer on tap just tastes better there. I also love the crisp white shirt wearing, brown haired fabio-esque bartender and the dark-rimmed glasses sporting deejay who spins on actual vintage record players while he lets you sift through his amazing vinyl collection.
http://www.konradtoenzbar.de

Me and the Boys

Megan (Tall) Martin Takes on Berlin

Oh what a time...these pictures don't do it justice one bit.










I have decided I think she should move here and DJ.

My Daily O

The Jewish Musuem, Berlin

Song on Repeat: "The Dog Days are Over"

The song that I have been playing over and over again goes perfect with the pics I wanted to post of meine Deutschen hund freund (my German dog friend) Diva. She is a rottweiler doberman mix and Karsten is totally scared of her (even though you can't really tell in this pic). But she is actually a doll that would never hurt a thing, well unless you fuck with her of course. And the song is "The Dog Days are Over" by Florence + The Machine, and it's totally motivating me on one of the first dreary weather days I have had in Berlin. Maybe it's because Megan left this morning, more pics of her week here to come.

German Lessons

Bauhaus Exhibition - Lange Nacht Der Museen 2009

Mini Mes in the Wee Morning

Tall Megan is in town and despite having an amazing time sightseeing, museum hopping, swimming, dancing to techno, riding bikes, drinking beer, laying in the park and playing ping pong (the usual) the weekend passed us by without having one of those unexpectedly crazy nights where you end up places that you never planned with strange and entertaining people who you've never met. Michael pretty much has a night like that every night and I feel like my proper Berlin experience didn't really start until I had one, granted it was my third night. Anyway, we were okay with it as we are both getting older and don't find the need to rage until dawn like we used to. But at the same time, I think we both would have welcomed such a night and such a story for Megan to take back to NYC and were a bit dissapointed that it never came to fruition. So good thing we are in Berlin where just because it's Monday doesn't mean an adventure isn't waiting around the corner. It all started with a clumsy introduction, a long doubling bike ride, a very attractive and very young German, a Parisian, a Russian, a river, a dance floor, a pronunciation lesson and then ended on this very big bench at seven in the morning.