Jever Beer

Delicious! If you can get it in DC (or SF), try it! Its a Pils, so if that's your thing...

The Baltic Sea/The Baltic Sea Redux

Last weekend, Sascha, Katja and I went to the Baltic Sea. Katja's grandparents own a home up there, in a town called Karlshagen, which sits literally feet from the ocean. After the three-hour car ride from Berlin, it was refreshing to hear the ocean in the distance.



It was pretty relaxed and low key. We went to see a museum, which was only accessible after a walk through what looked like a picturesque midwestern prairie, complete with cows and endless blue sky. It was pretty unique, however, because of the cool sea breeze that blew through all of the trees. That's something Kansas certainly can't brag about!



We ate lots, drank lots and relaxed lots. The picture below is from one of my favorite moments, in which we sat at a small cafe and had coffee and pastries. A small cat (who we later came to know as Tommy) came at Katja's call, and became a fast friend when I fed him chocolate and cream. It was a weekend of indulgence, and I couldn't see why Tommy couldn't impart on our vacation!



On Thursday this week, Sascha and I drove back up (after Poland) to help Katja's grandparents build a fence around the backyard of their property. Although it was a lot of work, it was actually really nice. I don't actually get to do things like that very often, and I realized that I actually really enjoyed it. It was interesting to see gender role dynamics, with Katja's grandmother doing the cooking and cleaning while the boys did the manual labor.

I'll write more on that later, but all in all, it was a good time. It gave me more time to lay on the beach and enjoy the summer, which is quickly coming to a head here in Germany.

Dear Keli (2)

Dear Keli:

Hows it going? I miss you. I told you I'd write you and I guess maybe it sounded like a postcard or something written. Oh, well. Maybe that will come. I still need to go to the touristy parts of the city and pick up things like postcards to mail.

Anyway, your birthday is coming up on Monday and I just want you to know that I haven't forgotten. And no, not because Facebook and Myspace keep reminding me. I finally figured out what to mail you, but apparently they don't call it the snail-mail for nothing, especially when it comes to shipping overseas. I'll see if I can express it at a reasonable rate.

How are things going with you? I hear you guys are still doing things with my family, which is cool. I'm glad you guys are neighbors, and such good friends. Its weird, huh? I never thought things would be the way they are now, but I definitely like it. I know my family really likes you guys. I hope that when Nati is in Berlin you guys still hang out with my mom. I hear she's brewing up activities for you guys to do (probably involving alcohol, but hey ...)

In any case, let me know how you are doing - interviews, things with Ryan, and such. Have fun in Philly this weekend!

Love - Julian

Sunday Dinner at Katja's Mom's

On Sunday night, Sascha, Katja and I rode bikes through the city to Katja's mom's for dinner. It was about a half-hour bike ride, and for once, I showed up to something I had been invited to on time. Probably nothing to brag about.



Katja's mom was very warm and energetic, and she reminded me a lot of my own mother. She busted out three bottles of wine, one sparkling - anyone who knows me knows this is a good way into my heart. We talked about a wide variety of things, one of which was her new dating life, which only endeared me to her more. Her English was a little strained, but way better than my German.

Her flat was amazing, too. It was in a cute part of town and apparently, both she and Katja grew up in the house (at least, part of the time). Its amazing to think that some families have homes as heirlooms, and that houses can hold so much history. It was really nice and pretty big, so I couldn't imagine parting with it, either.



For dinner, she roasted rabbit and some vegetables, and on the side served potato pancakes. For dessert there was créme brûleé, and a plum cake that one of her friends had made. We sat for a while after dinner and talked, mostly Sascha and Katja about their recent trip to China. I tried not to get too tipsy in anticipation of the ride home.

All in all, it was a really lovely evening. We rode back on our bikes happy with full stomachs.

First Photos From Berlin

Here are some photos from my trip so far. My top 5 favorites.

1) Of course, the TV tower, the iconic Berlin symbol. While we passed through Alexanderplatz, I had to take a photograph of it.



2) This was taken at the East Side Gallery, a segment of the Berlin wall that was kept up to show visitors and young Germans what it was like to live with a wall. Artists were allowed to come in and paint whatever they wanted. This one reads, "Peace for everything that lives on the earth."



3) What's cool about this painting is that it actually happened. In 1979, leaders Erich Honecker, from East Germany and Leonid Brezhnev, from the Soviet Union, show communist solidarity by kissing. Although this seems strange in western cultures, and makes an iconographic photo, it was rather common to kiss other men on the lips as a greeting.



4) A cute bumper sticker I saw in one of the bars Alex took me to.



5) This morning, Sascha and Katja got in from China, and we went to the farmer's market down the street. We bought a ton of food, and ate it on the balcony outside of their living room. Looks good, right?

Dear Nati (1)

Dear Nati:

So, you´re going to love flying Lufthansa. As soon as you get into the air, the first round of drinks they distribute is mostly alcohol and mixers instead of the standard soda or juice option, which everyone takes without question or judgment of the person they are sitting next to. Best of all, its free. I, of course, took some red wine, and what´s really nice is that they come back three or four times to make sure that your glass stays full. Needless to say, I slept very well on the plane.

The person I was sitting next to on the plane was a dude named Vladimir from Bulgaria, and we hit it off. Every time I´d begin to doze off to sleep he would wake me up for the next round of drinks, and we´d cheers our plastic glasses of wine together after every pour. It was kind of pesky at first, but I soon got to enjoy it.

They also feed you (twice!), which was nice, even though before the flight I made sure my appetite was satiated with some Potbelly. It was nice flying with an airline that doesn´t seem at all to have been affected by the crashed economy.

Yesterday I mostly slept, but Alex, Sascha´s old friend, picked me up from the airport and brought me home, and he also met up with me later to take me out to dinner. We had pizza on this nice patio with fountains and couches. The food was really good, and we drank hefe(weizen, but everyone just calls it ´hefe´ like Spanish for ´boss´). I slept in until noon today, and now I´m more ready than ever to get out there.

Today, I need to get a converter charger for my computer and phone, as all of the outlets are a different shape than American outlets. Its raining though and I´d almost much rather continue to rest so that when Sascha and Katja get here I'm good to go. Although they´ll be jetlagged themselves ... well, whatever.

Miss you! I wrote this letter in this format because I´m going to post it on my blog, so don´t worry - your response doesn´t have to be as lengthy as this one. Haha.

Love - Julian

Countdown - Tomorrow

I'm getting the jitters. It starts with fear and ends with a nostalgia that leaves my mouth dry. No quantity of liquid can satisfy it. It sits in my stomach. My eyes are too dry to cry.

Not sure what I'm going to do or how I'm going to get through it. Nervous. I got off the phone with my dad and I can't imagine putting more distance between us. Or putting that same distance between anyone of any relation to me. My friends. Dare I say it - my home?

More tomorrow.


-- Post From My iPhone