Berlin's Allied Museum

We hadn't planned on visiting the Allied Museum. It is located by the American embassy all the way down in Dahlem and we had never even been that far south except on the U3 Ublau.

But then a friend visited at Christmas, was surprised by his wife at the airport, and promptly lost his passport. It was a bit of a roller coaster.

Impromptu visit of the American Embassy at Christmas time!

David Hasselhoff Visits the Berlin Wall

I had never really given much thought to David Hasselhoff. I certainly never expected to see him perform.

But that was before I moved to Germany and my American friends eagerly insisted that Germans love David Haselhoff. It doesn't appear that many actually do, but Americans seem pretty sure.

Berlin: By Foot, By BVG, By Bike, By Car, By Boat, By Train, By Plane

I've talked so much about our adventures outside of the city lately (like new favorite Naples), I haven't been giving Berlin it's due.

One of the reasons it's one of the greatest cities in the world is transportation. Much of our problems with life in Seattle revolved around the mundane issues of how to get around. The city is surrounded by water as it is sandwiched between the Puget Sound and Lake Washington (among other bodies of water). Everyone has to funnel through certain areas, navigating the crisscrossing bridges. Gorgeous, but also capable of creating volcanic fury-inducing traffic jams.

And it's not like there is great - or even decent - public transit to rely on. A light rail system is being implemented, and we do have the laughable monorail from the world's fair, but buses are the main mode of public transport. They come in about 20 minute windows (if you're lucky), and are often crowded with the unwashed, the mentally ill, and the clinically dangerous (just check out The Stranger's frequent articles). We laugh (cuz if we didn't we'd cry) about our fancy neighborhood of Queen Anne having a higher crime than our "ghetto" kiez in Wedding.

Where to take Your Texan Nephew in Berlin

Do you know what 18-year-olds like? I've got no idea. And I've got one coming to our house in Berlin tomorrow, straight off the plane from Texas.

My sister, Brandy, is almost exactly 10 years older than me. My elder nephew is 10 years younger. We're like those Russian nesting dolls. Brandy has trusted us to guide her first-born, Kyle, on his first trip to Europe before he enrolls in the Navy. This kind of trust - I simply don't know what to do with myself/him/etc. I am hoping my Berlin favs will stand up to test and we will have an amazing time. Press your thumbs for all of us....

To document how it all goes down, I am going to track our progress. I am expecting a lot of "okays" and mumbles in response from Kyle. That's how teens communicate, right?  We pick him up tomorrow.

Karneval der Kulturen in Berlin

We were as excited to observe the Karneval der Kulturen parade as last time we were here. We loved the vivid costumes, dancing, singing, and drums. As it was several hours late last time, we took our time, touring Ian's cousins around Berlin, looking at the East Side Gallery, Documentation Center, and enjoying one of Berlin's legendary brunches  (one of our favorites- Intimes).

The Cousins - Jim & Marsha

As we pulled up to Kreuzberg , 20 min late, we noticed signs of the parade being over. Calling friends, they were confused as to what was happening. A few floats had gone by, but now people were breaking up. Well, bummer. Damn those hippies!

No matter- we were at the epicenter of the festival for the second day. Lounging in what was quickly becoming a dustball of a park, we actually got to see some pretty awesome stuff.

Like these bizarre ski things that were promptly broken as drunks couldn't coordinate, but kids did pretty good on them!

An unusual arm chair

Photo Bombing (where's Ian?)

Turkish dancing




Coconut drinks

 And eventually when we wandered away, we got happily stuck in a vortex of a house party that had spilled onto the street. This moment perfectly epitomized why Berlin is like no where else. Events just morph together in ways that you would never expect. It's a collective mindset that I have never experienced anywhere else. I love it. And you would too if you were here.




This weekend- Christopher Street Day (CSD) - an annual celebration and demonstration for the rights of LGBT people. Definitely miss our Seattle peeps & the Gay Pride Parade, but I have a feeling Berlin can match it. Going to be fierce!

For more of magnificent May:

Erster Mai 2012 (May Day) 

May Day in Berlin and Beyond

Just another Karneval der Kulturen