berlin drawings

scenic drawings

znova v praze

i have dreamed for a long time of those alluring words, like "alexanderplatz," and berlin did not disappoint.  it was a very special two days, but i am glad to be back in prague.  the day we left for germany, i was in the store buying snacks for the 6-hour bus journey, and a pair of the same mystical eyes as the ones magical sweater czech has flashed at me from nearby.  it was not him, but either a very close relative or this is some kind of breed of czech boy.  the next time i looked, he disappeared.  as every person questioned has not seen anyone with the described qualities, people are beginning to think that i imagined this person.  but as n. put it, it's just that no one sees him the way i do.     

berlin: three

we spent most of tuesday soaking up the perfect lines of antiquity at the pergamonmuseum, and wandering around the city afterwards.  if we didn't have m. to guide us when she had time, we never would have found, and wouldn't have even remembered about tacheles, a former department store and later nazi administration building in east berlin, that stands in ruins after being hit by several ally bombs during the second world war.  in 1990 it was taken over by young artists who used and continue to use the building as living and studio space.  the inside is completely covered in wall art, and the atmosphere is like an extreme version of baltimore's copycat building.  for me, it was moving to see the building because i only know it from a scene in goodbye, lenin! and then suddenly, here it was.

east/west

for me, it was unavoidable to think of the city in terms of east and west.  one the left is the view from our host's flat, in a quiet neighborhood in the west, which is cozy and inviting.  on the right is the typical residence of people who lived on the other side of the wall, in the east, which looks a lot like home.  even in the very fun interactive DDR museum, n. and i recognized some toys and kitchen and living room arrangements not unlike those that we grew up with.  the museum cleverly approaches the bygone era with hands-on displays of "ostalgie" (playing on the german word for "east").  

i was walking down karl-marx-allee, drinking strawberry milk from a glass bottle, and i thought, "it all really happened, didn't it?  it happened, and it happened right here."

prague-berlin-prague

the czech-german countryside is very colorful, with stretches of saffron-yellow canola flower fields appearing quite often among the green pastures.  

this was my sixth time in germany, but my first in berlin.  this is a prague-blague, but i should say a few things about berlin now, because i have long wanted to go there and it fits well into the themes that interest me.  we arrived on monday evening and met our very lovely host m., who lives in a cozy little flat in the west side of the city.  we spent the two full days walking, and at night we slept on her foldout futon.

life is elsewhere

my mom's arrival has reminded me that there is a world outside of my magical cocoon.  i have only reached the halfway mark, but i can feel the panic coming.  "the time has come," the walrus said, "to talk of many things..."  my time here is limited, and eventually i will have to think about credit transfers, my fall schedule, my senior thesis, and doing more work here while i can. n. and i bought bus tickets to berlin for two days.  we even found a very nice woman to stay with through couchsurfing, where you can literally stay on somebody's couch.  i hope i will forget my troubles for a while.