Pregnancy Hiatus

I keep thinking about this blog.

I love tracking our adventures in Berlin and beyond here and have a stack of posts on our recent trip to Manchester and northern UK in my head, but have failed to get them to the page in any kind of timely fashion. Like many bloggers, life seems to be interfering.

10 Things Berlin has Taught Me

If I got you down with my last post - sorry about that! I've been feeling down while looking for work and seriously felt my love for this amazing city wane a bit. But - sorry parents - that doesn't mean we're going home.

We came to Berlin to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum.

Our kiez: Wedding*

Falling out of Love with Berlin

Usually I look at the "Berlin Hates You" signs and smile grimly, happy to have made it this far in a tough city to call home. But lately the message has been feeling a lot more personal.

We originally moved to Berlin with something that can only loosely be called a plan. No jobs, no friends, no place to stay...we were young and dumb and thought it would work out and miraculously IT DID. We found jobs, Ian as a teacher and I wrote expat guides. We made friends. We traveled. We were happy and the city was our oyster.

Feeling the Gay Lovin'

I've covered the Christopher Street Day Parade on this blog before (A Gay Affair 2011), wrote a post on the work blog about this year's event in Berlin (Gay Pride: An Expat Celebrates Berlin's Christopher Street Day) and waxed on endlessly about equality in person. But this month, LGBT Pride Month, my cup has truly runneth over in gay lovin'. Let me count the ways...

I'm Going to Miss this Place...

...the time is finally nigh - we're home in the States! No, not permanently. Don't be crazy Berlin, you haven't gotten rid of us yet. But we have returned to Seattle for a visit. We love Berlin, but we also really MISSED HOME (you like that parents?).

Tegel Airport

Our Berlin Orgin Story

A certain question has been coming up a lot lately. How the hell did we end up in Berlin? Meeting new people, chatting on that crazy interconnect known as the internet, and in a recent random e-mail:

Hey ebe/Ian,
Saw your blog/tweet, how did you guys manage to survive without job/housing in Berlin? I am back in Berlin, from Singapore and currently trying to see if I can 'survive' here. I was here in April and loved it thus I am back here now, 2nd day actually!

ebe & Ian in our first month in Berlin 2007

Look at these fools. How did we end up here?

Why did you move back to Berlin?

"Because Berlin is one of the most exciting cities in the world."

"Because we weren't ready to be settled in Seattle. "

"Because we love being expats."

We got asked this question (and many more) over & over during the filming of our episode of House Hunters International. Set to air this Wednesday,

May 23, 2012 at 7:30 & 10:30 PM (West Coast time)

we are pretty sure we are going to look like smiling idiots that say things like "Wow!", "rain shower", and one really awkward "I love you". That doesn't mean we aren't excited.

Favorite Part of My Job

After weeks of trying to hang on to a work schedule amid travels (NYC, West Side & East Side of WA), family reunions, and meet-up with friends in Seattle, we returned to Berlin and I, for one, was ready to work. Our internet connection, however, had other ideas.

We flew Seattle-NYC Sunday March 18th, the day after St. Patrick's Day. Strategically, we planned an evening flight. This turned out to be unnecessary as a stomach flu made swift work of the Porter family on Thursday and we were still a bit weak on Saturday. We were only able to handle a few tiny American beers for St. Patty - a sad send off of debauchery. No matter. We said good-bye to family, then friends, only to be dropped off at the airport and note a 6 hour delay. Shit.

We're Going Home!

We have been teasing our friends & family with plans for a Seattle visit for months now. Now the rumors can die as we have something even better:

Plane tickets!

We are flying to NYC for the first time and will fit in as much hot dog/pizza/bagel/deli eating, Broadway shows, comedy, art and pictures as possible. I've got a happy little NYC Pinterest board together gathering all the info of things I want to see & do (please feel free to give us tips, we're flying blind). No joke, we're excited. 

Love, Photos, & Christmas Cheer

Our photo advent calendar for our p's has become a grotesque thing of beauty. We've enjoyed  showing our culinary accomplishments (sugar cookies), showcased our Berlin life (kita Christmas pageant), and showed our decorating skills (Axis of Evil member adorns our tree).

Since we couldn't be with them this Christmas, we hopefully made them smile and laugh at least once a day.

Day 17:

Snowman were swiftly created, just to get into a food fight. We finished them off.

Quilt of Love

As the weather turns cooler, I snuggle under our new quilt. An instant heirloom, my mum gave it to me on their recent trip to visit us in Berlin. Lovingly crafted with my aunt, it is composed of the ribbons I won showing horses. It's amazing.

If you are unfortunate enough not to have a million ribbons from your childhood, a basic ribbon looks like this:

Visiting Halfway Around the World...

Snohomish is a small town in the State of Washington (NO! Not the capital). About an hour away from gorgeous Seattle, it is known for antiques, quaint Victorian housing from it's time as a lumber town, and a charming 1st street that is often used for filming idyllic Americana.

What do we know about Germany politics?

From the political signs littering the city, it's become apparent that there is an election coming up in Berlin. Nothing is as bad as the American campaign process at this point, but German political posters (and parties) do seem a tad hilarious.

Somehow, Ian got in a long phone survey about German politics so clearly it was time to get a little informed.

CDU Christian Democrats - Yeah, the name says it all (assholes). Major players with Merkel in the club

Green - Germans are not into subtlety. Guess what their platform is? It is pretty cool that they once planted some of that wacky tobaccy in the Reichstag garden. (I was trying to think of a slang word for weed and ended up on a parenting site for watching for drug use in teens. Died laughing!)

Die Partei - This is a joke party. They have been hosting an awful campaign of bizarre ads like this blackface ad comparing the "canditate" to Obama. We actually saw them throwing a sparsely populated party in the park today.

Piraten Partei - This is a real party. Named after pirates. "Bbased on the model of the Swedish Piratpartiet...supports the preservation of current civil rights in telephony and on the Internet; in particular, it opposes the European data retention policies and Germany's new Internet censorship law called Zugangserschwerungsgesetz. It also opposes artificial monopolies and various measures of surveillance of citizens."

This explanation is mostly in jest as we really don't know what's going on. Expats can't vote and as we have been barely able to figure our situation- let alone the political climate - we have taken a break from following the dreary and depressing world of politics.

This is with one big BUT. One of the coolest moments we've ever had in connection with the political world was when Obama was campaigning and spoke at the Siegessaule. We saw Obama! In person! Do other people remember that feeling of hope when it looked like he was definitely going to be elected? It was a great moment in my life...and it seems oh so long ago. That Obama has never come to full fruition. Maybe with another 4 years and the freedom of not worrying about re-election we can finally have the president we saw a glimmer of that day. A girl can hope...

Still incredulous we will be seeing the future leader of the USA

Listen to part of his speech here (do be jealous that I watched it live)!  

More pics & video of Obama 2008 campaign speech at the Siegessäule

A Wonderful Way to Live

We have had such a serendipitous perfect Berlin weekend. They are easy to come by in a city that has something happening at every hour on every corner. You start out on a vague adventure that gets flushed out to a full scale ambush on fun. To just briefly sum up what the weekend has entailed

I became addicted to Yelp in foodie Seattle and have let my use slide while in Berlin. An event this Friday may have changed all that as Ian, our friend Kyla, & I were invited to a collective of cafe, bubble tea, and cooking club in Prenzleauerberg - Babbel T. We were champagne'd, taught how to make spring rolls, fed crepes made from a organic vegetable, and collected awesome swag.

 

Next we wandered to Bar 23 where we got second hand smoke, then stood outside a bar talking to a hilarious bunch of couchsurfers, and finally to my new favorite bar in the hood, Frollein Langner. The signs of hipsterdom were unmistakeable - ironic facial hair, seating in a bath tub - but we couldn't resist. I absolutely loved it. And will be back. A lot.

The next day brought us a lazy "Sex in the City" (oh yes - Ian has grown to enjoy it) delicious fruit salad, and a bike ride out to feed our friend's cats. Since we had to leave the house anyway, we figured we would stop by the Huhnerhaus. It's official - we are roasted chicken addicts. We continued to their place in Treptower, taking a leisurely loop around Spreepark. This abandoned amusement park has been broken into & photographed with glee by many, but we were basically able to roll around the entire thing and even check out the cafe that now has seats made of the swan boats. (There are great shots of the park in the movie Hanna.) I need to come back for the official tour, but my interest is temporarily sated.


That night, we ventured to a Sporkful meet-up where the saturation of English speakers was almost alarming. And people were friendly! We were a little put off. We wandered back towards our place, stumbling upon a funky 5-piece band playing to the street, a share shed of for people to leave things (like candle eyeballs) and take things, a communist street festival, Asian noodle shop for 3.50, and .40 cent beers. Good god I love Berlin. Awesome is less than a stone's throw away. Ian & I celebrated with said friend Kyla over a spirited game of uno. With pictures. (I love it when we discover Shmidty hiding under the couch & promptly incorporate him in our picture making.)

Despite the awesomenest of awesome weekends, there is a heaviness that weighs upon us today. No matter that we don't have any sad personal stories about 9/11 (luckily),  or that we currently live abroad and have not been forced into daily media reminders about the anniversary, we feel the solemness. That kind of tragedy, it's something you feel in your bones.

There is a storm tonight in Berlin. It tantalizes and terrifies.Thunder like this doesn't happen in Seattle.



Thinking about the turns life can make, how certainties can become an illusion in an instant, I just feel thankful to have today. To have my family & friends and this life to keep looking froward to. I think about the level of personal loss & realize all my pettiness and worry has no place in the larger scheme of things. I am free to be silly. I can be irreverent. I'm here. And I am thankful.


Spree Park pics from:
http://berlin.unlike.net/locations/451-Spreepark
http://www.travelettes.net/berlins-urban-legend-spreepark/

What Moving 6 times in a Year has Taught Me

Yes - we have really moved 6 times within Berlin this year (8 if you count our 2 temporary stays on friend's couches - one planned, one not) . Why? I think the prominent point is that we're crazy.

The Good of the Germans

I just did one of the stupidest things I have ever done. The cost was low, but the stupidity was high.

I was rushing down the stairs to the U-Bahn as I saw the dreaded wave coming up to me- my train was here! Struggling through the crowd with my bags I pushed through and got one bag half in the compartment as the doors slid solidly closed. I had the straps, but the goods were firmly trapped inside. Two guys tried to force it open from the inside as I frantically hit pulled the lever. But with a huff, the U-Bahn started to pull away and I threw up my hands & watched helplessly as half my groceries glided away.

As I waited for the next train, I felt enormously stupid. The next train was coming in 4 minutes- what was my rush? Pacing, I tried to remember what was in the bag. Ground beef, chocolate ice cream, and cherry tomatoes. At least it wasn't the beer.....

I jumped on the next train and sweated it out the wait to the next stop. As we rolled through the station, I saw the two guys who had tried to help with my Kaiser bag, holding it up to the passing train. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

I thanked them ineptly in German, and received a short lecture about not doing it again. "Never!" I promised.

Soaking in sweat and laughing like a madwoman, I made it home with all the groceries. As I re-counted the story to Ian, I couldn't believe that I could believe my luck. As much shit as we talk about the Germans, and the one extremely notable instance of us getting scammed, Germans are decent, honest, straight-forward people. While this may result in the blunt assertion, that "Yes, that dress does make you look fat", it also means there isn't as much worrying about hidden fees or getting ripped off. Most of the time- you can trust that things are as they seem. In a city as big and cosmopolitan and turbulent as Berlin, I have never felt ill-at-ease or in danger.

A Prost to the guys that stopped to help, and to all you other wonderful Germans.

Airport Goodbyes

Oh man I love the airport. Always a bit of tension, but you know you are on your way to somewhere new. I guess that's easy for me to say as I am usually the one leaving.

My mum & dad are visiting my Aunt & Uncle in Northern California and it was so good to see them all. Video chat can often seem so intimate, regular voice chat is the route we usually take. Kinda makes days like today when I do try to look more presentable for our chat more special.

Plus- my mum reminded me to look at some shots she had posted from my nephew's visit.

Look at that handsome family! My dad, Gavin, & Kyle

Ferries, Trams, but mostly an Automobile

We're back! I don't know about a triumphant return, but an epic trip was had. And (so far) no issues with the car rental! That is true success (a little skittish after car rental in Iceland).

Truly- this no-planning vacation exceeded our expectations and proved that throwing a little money at travel really does make things easier. Who knew!? Oh...everyone? Ok, well we didn't.

We will post in-depth soon with plenty of pics & video, but as for now we have had several stressful days of driving (actually only Ian, I was a happy  passenger), lots of drinking (don't worry mum- not at the same time), and we have a Wii and bunny to attend to.

BUT if you are really curious, here are ten pics at random of our (tiny) European roadtrip.

ok- not really from the trip. But Herr Schmidt is one cute bun amiright?

No sooner had we got in the car then we took a wrong turn. Luckily, we got a unique view of the Siegessaule

Golden Stag at Schloss Drachenberg in Germany

Dinant, Belgium

Literally 5 min too late to make this brewery tour. Gr#$^^%&^! Luckily, we were able to drink some of their beer a stone's throw away and bought some beer & a glass in the shop after the tour

After finding out that Belgium's southern "cities" are literally little more than villages, we finally settled on a very pleasant hotel just outside of Chimay and drank some of it's beer to celebrate.

Colmar, France. Just south of Strousberg, this city has shared French & Germany history and is phenominal

Bamburg, Germany. More like "Damn city! You're beautiful"

Bamburg's old square hosted a beautiful cathedral

Back in Berlin! Enjoying some pils, doener, and salad with scharf sauce. Du bist so wunderbar Berlin....

Pardon the Interruption, BUT....

I'm in the midst of reviewing/uploading Copenhagen BUT I wanted to break from that to update on the apartment scammer situation:

We went to the police station on Friday and identified the thief. We had heard he had been caught, along with an accomplice (the supposed girlfriend/wife). But we hadn't heard much else.

We brought Greg along and justified it by saying it was an experience he wouldn't normally have (sorry Greg). The security was actually friendly and we were greeted by a very nice & quite attractive policewoman - double surprise. She gleefully told us more about Herr "Peter Berger".

• Though he told us he was Austrian & spoke with a slight Austrian accent, he is actually German
• He is not a petty criminal, but a "Grosse Criminal". He was on Germany's Most Wanted
• He has been thieving for at least 8 years all over Germany. He was caught in Cologne.
• Of course, Peter Berger is not his real name. He has over 20 aliases.
• Along with aliases, he has multiple girlfriends who were helping him set-up scams

So - basically he is a miserable sleezeball. While I hope he'd be in jail forever, the police woman helpful told us he will go away for "at least 5-6 years". Are you kidding? You said he was a major criminal for at least 8. But here in Germany people often only get 20 years for killing someone. Odd place to show sympathy Germs.

Also, the money is still in limbo. The police will be pursuing a criminal case, and it is up to us to find a lawyer and pursue a civil case to possibly gain back the money. We are going to ask around & see what our options are, but all in all, we're pleased. He's been caught! And while we definitely could have protected ourselves much, much better, this was a real life bad guy. We're sorry to come into contact with him, but happy that justice was actually served. How cool is that? Our lost faith in humanity has- at least partially- been restored.

We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings.
Albert Einstein

Success!

A Gay Affair: Berlin's CSD

With New York finally legalizing Gay marriage & Berlin's Christopher Day Parade this Fri/Sat- we were feeling like happy rainbows. We missed our Seattlites & Seattle's always wonderful Pride Parade, but we were pretty sure Berlin could bring it. And it could. With leather chaps.