Post contributed by Jessica who coincidentally spent elf days in Berlin:
Today I went on a run. I shouldn’t call it a run, because as I’ve learned from “running” with Nina, my idea of a run is more like a jog-walk, a jalk if you will. Today I went on a jog-walk and twenty minutes into this jog-walk I took in my surroundings and realized that I was in the middle of the next Grimm Brother’s tale, and was surrounded by a vacant carnival.
Apparently these odd spectacles happen often in Berlin. A few days’ prior Nina and I had come across a medieval jousting group that was fighting with foam flails and pole arms. I was surprised, not because they were fencing in the middle of an abandon airport turned public park, but because they didn’t have a ballista. Obviously the runway of the airport would be a perfect opportunity for this, although that being said, there were too many people skateboard windsurfing that foam cannonballs being catapulted might have been too much, even for the magic group. Later I told Nina about the carnival and she asked if I had found the peacocks in the park. I hadn’t, but I guess this gives me motivation for my next jalk.
After that I wanted to get out and soak up the sunshine so I hopped on the U-Bahn and headed to the tourist stop by the Brandenburg Tor. I had seen it before, but I distinctly remember rushing through my Berlin sightseeing that trip and I couldn’t remember why. I thought it might be because that trip was for business and I was probably on a tight timetable. When I stepped out in front of the Brandenburg Tor I quickly remembered that it wasn’t a tight schedule that had made me move along quickly. Tourists mull the area.
Just as the Eskimos have many words from snow, I think travelers should have many words for tourists. These tourists that I am talking about are not just holiday sightseers. They are the kind of tourist that travel in large groups, move at a snail pace, and have street performers and beggars encircling them desperate for the spare change they will drop from their pockets. It’s this kind of crowd that makes appreciating even the most spectacular art near impossible. Instead I quickly scattered down a
neighboring street and hurried to a different neighborhood where it was easier to breath.
Even though I had no sense of direction and couldn’t tell you where I was, I got lucky and found a lovely coffee shop on a road filled with beautiful brick buildings. It looked like a small University and that was the perfect place to stop for “Ein café und ein mineral wasser, bitte.” So I sat and studied for my online physiology course for a while (I know that might sound lame, but trust me – it’s fun for me).
Then I wandered around some more and wound up at the Berlin Hbf where I found a Kamps. Kamps is my favorite German bakery. Now I normally don’t eat a lot of bread, but German bread is so good that I love carbo-loading here. First off their pretzels are fantastic. Second, the körneck is a triangle-shaped wheat bread that is made from an intense amount of nuts and seeds. They are normally served with cheese and vegetables in them as little sandwiches, and I can’t get enough of them. Finally, the best part of Kamps, is that it’sso cheap. All food in Berlin is reasonably priced, but getting a sandwich made of fresh Körneck for 2 Euros is pretty amazing to me.
After my delicious snack, I wandered until I found the next U-Bahn station
and hopped on to get home in time to meet Nina for dinner. What a good day, guys. What a good day.
Today I went on a run. I shouldn’t call it a run, because as I’ve learned from “running” with Nina, my idea of a run is more like a jog-walk, a jalk if you will. Today I went on a jog-walk and twenty minutes into this jog-walk I took in my surroundings and realized that I was in the middle of the next Grimm Brother’s tale, and was surrounded by a vacant carnival.
Apparently these odd spectacles happen often in Berlin. A few days’ prior Nina and I had come across a medieval jousting group that was fighting with foam flails and pole arms. I was surprised, not because they were fencing in the middle of an abandon airport turned public park, but because they didn’t have a ballista. Obviously the runway of the airport would be a perfect opportunity for this, although that being said, there were too many people skateboard windsurfing that foam cannonballs being catapulted might have been too much, even for the magic group. Later I told Nina about the carnival and she asked if I had found the peacocks in the park. I hadn’t, but I guess this gives me motivation for my next jalk.
After that I wanted to get out and soak up the sunshine so I hopped on the U-Bahn and headed to the tourist stop by the Brandenburg Tor. I had seen it before, but I distinctly remember rushing through my Berlin sightseeing that trip and I couldn’t remember why. I thought it might be because that trip was for business and I was probably on a tight timetable. When I stepped out in front of the Brandenburg Tor I quickly remembered that it wasn’t a tight schedule that had made me move along quickly. Tourists mull the area.
Just as the Eskimos have many words from snow, I think travelers should have many words for tourists. These tourists that I am talking about are not just holiday sightseers. They are the kind of tourist that travel in large groups, move at a snail pace, and have street performers and beggars encircling them desperate for the spare change they will drop from their pockets. It’s this kind of crowd that makes appreciating even the most spectacular art near impossible. Instead I quickly scattered down a
neighboring street and hurried to a different neighborhood where it was easier to breath.
Even though I had no sense of direction and couldn’t tell you where I was, I got lucky and found a lovely coffee shop on a road filled with beautiful brick buildings. It looked like a small University and that was the perfect place to stop for “Ein café und ein mineral wasser, bitte.” So I sat and studied for my online physiology course for a while (I know that might sound lame, but trust me – it’s fun for me).
Then I wandered around some more and wound up at the Berlin Hbf where I found a Kamps. Kamps is my favorite German bakery. Now I normally don’t eat a lot of bread, but German bread is so good that I love carbo-loading here. First off their pretzels are fantastic. Second, the körneck is a triangle-shaped wheat bread that is made from an intense amount of nuts and seeds. They are normally served with cheese and vegetables in them as little sandwiches, and I can’t get enough of them. Finally, the best part of Kamps, is that it’sso cheap. All food in Berlin is reasonably priced, but getting a sandwich made of fresh Körneck for 2 Euros is pretty amazing to me.
After my delicious snack, I wandered until I found the next U-Bahn station
and hopped on to get home in time to meet Nina for dinner. What a good day, guys. What a good day.
No comments:
Post a Comment