Berlin's Asian Market: Dong Xuan Center

Sometimes called Berlin’s ‘Vietnamese mall’, the Dong Xuan Center was originally run and frequented by East Berlin's expat Vietnamese community. It is now a recommended Berlin destination complete with guided tour groups.

The internet had promised us that this compound of warehouses would fulfill all of our Asian food needs on the cheap. As Seattleites, we are used to a high level of Thai and Vietnamese food and Germany's attempts (although infinitely better than when we arrived in 2007) are generally disappointing. We hoped the (fun-to-say) Dong Xuan Center would offer us the tools, ingredients and cheap eats we were looking for.

We stepped off the bus with really no idea what we were getting into. As we approached the gates, I realized we were in for something so much weirder than a shopping trip.

Why You Should Stay in Berlin This Winter

Berliners get extra ungemütlichkeit in winter as the days grow short and ice freezes in your/Ian's beard. Many try to flee the city, but I am making the case for celebrating the darkest season in the capitol. This is partly because we are poorer than ever and condemned to have no escape from the brutal Berlin winter. And since we gotta stay, we are trying to make the most of it and you should too.

Offbeat Northwest: Camping in Montana

Happy Memories Camping

I love camping, but I've never been in Germany. This is partly because we moved to Berlin with 2 suitcases and have literally no equipment. It is partly because our travels outside of the city are in their infancy and I still have relatively no idea of the campgrounds in these here parts. And it is partly because of the Germans.

The one time we tried to go camping was in the Spreewald, just south of Berlin in Lübbenau. It went like this.

Ian: "Are there any camping spots available this weekend?"
Campsite: (laugh) "No."
Ian: "Are there any camping spots available in the coming weeks?"
Campsite: "No, there are no spots for the rest of the year!" 

Germans. Always prepared, unlike us.

Offbeat Washington: Leavenworth - A German Village in America

Growing up in Washington State, trips to Leavenworth are practically mandated. Christmas, summer, or for one of the largest Oktoberfests in America (not quite like the real Oktoberfest). It's cute. It's kitsch. It's a tourist attraction.  

We love it.

Offbeat Seattle Attraction: Archie McPhee

Do you like the tacky, the bizarre, the tasteless, the incredible? No?! Suck it up because when you are in Seattle, a trip isn't complete until you've visited Archie McPhee.

On the Hunt for Mexican Ingredients in Berlin

While we were excited to see our favorite German, Mr. Thomas, back in Berlin, we were a bit stumped on exactly what we should do with him. He has visited us in Berlin a few times now (& we visited him in Cologne) and while the city continues to amaze, we want each visit to be spectacular.

Luckily, Thomas came with built-in interest. After a year living with my burrito-loving family and just off another year in Mexico City, he was as crazy for Mexican food as most of us expats. It was decided. We were going to climb our mount Everest. We were going to attempt the impossible. We were going to find real Mexican ingredients in Berlin. Hopefully the hunt wouldn't kill us.

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.

It's just not quite Christmas without Family

Doesn't it always seem like warp speed toward Christmas, followed by an utter melt down in January? With our trip to Paris, harrowing apartment hunt, and plans to return home, it's easy to forget about the German Christmas magic that swept us off our feet not so long ago.

Here are the pictures of Christmas I didn't share in our Christmas Advent Calendar Count - Down

glühwein

IKEA I spy

As a sublettor in Berlin, you expect everything in your apartment to be from IKEA, but you don't know for sure until you go to the source. Oh, look!

There is our motar & pestle (who needs one of these anyways?)

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.

Greg Porter Everbody!

Greg came, he saw, he conquered, and sadly- he's now left. It was an amazing two weeks of 3 countries, 7 cities, many meals, and incredible sights.

We certainty got on his nerves a bit, and he got on ours every once in a while, but everyone was on their best behavior and it was a joy to have him here (although I may seriously strangle the next person who wants to go shopping). He easily amused all of our friends as I uneasily tried to remember if there were many actually embarrassing stories we had told about him(ask about the watermelon story). Luckily, just laughs were had as he told ridiculous jokes, made inappropriate gestures, and described for me what "tender vitals" referred to (ewww!). It has been 8 months since we saw our friends & family. Damn that's a long time! C'mon over folks - the water's fine.

Along with the post and pics of Copenhagen, here are some pics of Greg in Berlin.

After a beautiful spring & start to summer, the weather was awful the whole time he was here. Luckily, Berlin thrives in gloom.

Greg & I visited Ian and his class and the boys were all over both of them.

Greg gets to know Darius who speaks with a British accent. "Do it again! Upside down!"

The great, the only- Hühnerhaus,

Templehof Park - the former airfield is perfect for jump shots

 

We went old person and did the boat cruise. It was awesome.

When he got on the plane (another close call, although not nearly as tight as the flight to Italy), he teared up, immediately causing us to cry. We watched him enter the security gates with his bags of goodies, and thought of the long gap in time between seeing those you love as an expat. The pay-off of European living, loving, eating, and drinking is worth it...but it's close. 

Complete album of Greg in Berlin.

Update:  Greg had a horrific flight home, but is finally there safely.

"I just got home. The flight from Amsterdam was late, so I ended up missing my flight as did most of the people on our plane, and every other plane that came in on that day.  There was crazy rain and bad wind and it ended up closing the airport.  KLM was awful.  I was in line for over14 hours trying to get a ticket. Ended up spending the night in the airport and not getting out until 10:00 on Friday.  Had to fly to Portland, then Seattle and andy and granny picked me up.  Yikes....what an ordeal!"

Lesson learned - never leave Europe.

A Bergamo Beginning

Once again, we are rating our travel experiences independently for y'all to enjoy (or deplore, either way). Bergamo was the first stop on the Italian week-long tour and while it was largely chosen because it  is a Ryanair hub for Berlin, we were more than pleasantly surprised. 

Transportation

Greg
4 Cappuccinos - Late take-off, on-time landing. Funicular was like an E Ticket ride.

Ian 
3.5 Cappuccinos - Easy access on the bus. Funicular was great. Didn't use it other than that.

ebe
5 Cappuccinos -Notwithstanding our near miss on the flight, it was basically on time, comfortable enough, and got us to Italy. Success. Buses and trains in & out of the city were inexpensive and easy-to-use, and the funicular was able to be used on the same ticket. The attendant even waved us on when we were slightly out of time. Love that side of the Italians, especially coming from Germany.

Accommodations

Greg

4.5 Cappuccinos - Gracious hostesses who greeted us with a family-like welcome. Fresh cappuccino & newly renovated flat with a fantastic view.

Ian 
5 Cappuccinos- Our very own B&B?! What more could you ask for.

ebe
4.5 Cappuccinos -B&B Donizetti opened in the last month and I hope that with success, it does not lose it's sincere charm. The ladies were genuinely sweet and a cappuccino and snack as soon as we arrived was  sorely needed. A shared bath would have been less desirable had there been other guests, but we had the entire place to ourselves and had full use as well as the living room.

Sights

Greg
4 Cappuccinos - An evening walk about in a fairytale town with charming lights, beautiful flowers, and tile roofs as far as the eye could see. Me thinks me in love. 

Ian
4 Cappuccinos - Beautiful old town that was a nice way to get thrown into Italian flair.

ebe
3 Cappuccinos - The old town called as it sits atop the hill. Gorgeous! The city was such a welcome change, so Italian. A really great first look into Italy. However, it's "sights" are limited and I wouldn't spend much time here, but would love to come through again.

Dining

Greg

4 Cappuccinos - Sorry Papa Murphys, real Italian pizza can't be beat. Top it off with a beautiful setting and I'm in gastric heaven.

Ian 
4 Cappuccinos - Pizza was great and just the right amount of gelateries and bakeries to keep me happy. 

ebe
3.5 Cappuccinos - Lots of touristy options (menus in English & German) which is bad & ok. A liter of wine lubricated the delicious pizza meal. Buffalo Mozzarella makes my world.

Overall

Greg

4 Cappuccinos- Although it's small, it was full of charm and the welcoming people made it a place easy to return to. 

Ian 

3.75 Cappuccinos - Beautiful old town with an overall great experience. A great way into dip your toes into the craziness that can be Italy.

ebe
4.5 Cappuccinos - I loved this. Really. Especially after the stress before the flight, it was such a relief to actually be back in Italy and enjoying the adventure we were on.

More pics of our Italian adventure 

It's the Little Differences

Just got back from a grocery run and one of those little differences Ian & I just can't get past occured.

Woman with a cart was running all over the store. About 10 min after she pushed (literally) past  us, I saw her knock a champagne bottle to the floor. Wet floor & glass = instant clean-up....in the US. There is much to be said about the negative effect of our litigious history, but this seems like common sense. Not so for German Netto clerks. Another 10 minutes and it's still there. We even have to tromp through this slick glassy patch to get to the register.  We watch two little boys slip in it and barely escape falling on the glass as we stack our items on the conveyor belt. Thinking maybe they just didn't know, Ian asked if she was aware. A simple "Ja" cemented it- FEND FOR YOURSELVES!

As I said, it's the little differences 

Spending Spree!

We spend so much time being frugal, always kinda freaks me out when we actually spend some euros. But we did spend our Saturday getting some super cool stuff:

postcards (sorry for anyone who hasn't gotten one. Complain & one will be sent)
Calendar -yes we are that cheap that we wait until after Jan 1st. Berlin 1900s for 7 euro!
Bottle opener- in the shape of the German Eagle (had Ian's name all over it)
Thia food fixins - twas one of our best Asian inspired dishes ever
Picture- AWESOME photo of Oberbaumbrücke in black & white with the yellow U-Bahn train
Entry to the German History Museum to see the Hitler exhibit

An excellent Saturday.

Ian Encounters a Gypsy Family at the Penny Markt

Ian doesn't know how to put pen to paper, (or finger to keyboard in this case), but every day he comes home & tells me funny stories. For example.....


A Stop at the Penny markt before Home

Kids now-a-days...

There are times when I love my job, and then there are times when I utterly despise it... namely when I have a class with a little bastard named Justin. Every time my Thursday afternoon classes roll around, a shiver rolls through my spine. This shiver is reminding me of the cold heart of Satan's very own spawn: the very same Justin as mentioned above. From him running around the room, to throwing legos across it, there's really nothing I can do to keep him in control... unless of course, mention soccer. Soccer, and my growing disdain for it and the German's uni-lateral support of this "one and only" sport, almost shares my wrath I feel towards this child. I must, however, leave soccer to it's own blog topic. And here too I must turn my attention away from the negatives of teaching children (Justin) to the funny things I've experience, or else I have an attack thinking about what this Thursday brings...

I think the funniest thing about the kids here in Germany, is that pretty much everything they say is in German... naturally of course, seeing as we are in GERMANY! But I guess what I find funny about it is the way in which the kids put their sentences and the words they use. For instance our first experience with a funny child phrase was early in our trip, Munich I believe, where upon hearing he couldn't get a sweet, he responded to his mother, "Wahnsinn," or for the rest of the audience, "madness." I mean, what child would say such a thing back home? Maybe one to be destined to become either Frasier or Niles Crane.

The other day in one of my youngest classes, a girl kept repeating to me, "Nase laueft, Nase laueft, Nase laueft," which means "nose is running, nose is running, nose is running." I almost started laughing right in her face, but luckily I controlled myself and gave her one of my very economically cheap tissues (seriously, you can buy like 30 travel size packages for like 1.50 euros!), which she promptly threw onto the carpet after using it.

Right now I'm actually drawing a blank on further funny things said by German kids, but there are more, I promise. Something that I found funny and disturbing at the same time, and which keeps coming back to my mind, is the response I got from a boy named Mohammed (whose parents come from Egypt). After asking him if he or anyone in his family had ever been to the US, he said, "no and I'll never go. They'll kill me there." It really bothered me at the time, and it still does a little bit even now. I tried to explain to him that it's not like that at all, and that there are even more Egyptians and arabic peoples in the US than all of Germany. I don't know if he believed me, but something tells me his parents don't believe that, or else he wouldn't be taking English...

...still searching for an apartment in Berlin

We only have 1 night left in our 1st fabulous sublet apartment & still no permanent home. We've been close, but not quite. The perfect one will be along soon, right?

In the meantime, Berlin is amazing. On the way to see an apartment yesterday we stumbled upon a farmer's/Turkish street market. A road along the river was lined on both sides with stalls. Fruits, vegetables, and materials I had never seen before. I wish we had written it down, but we ate this cool grilled spinach & cheese sandwich thing with and amazing flaky crust (maybe a Borek?). And all of the Turkish ladies were toting those mini suitcases with wheels to haul their groceries. Just a bit different from our markets.

When we got to the end, a bunch of swans were delicately looping around in the river in front of the market. There were so many, Ian & I had never seen so many all at once. A couple males kept lifting their wings to assert their dominance but they just reminded me of the swan cars on the merry-go-round. There were also a few ugly ducklings that kept getting their feathers pulled if they got too close.

Everyday we encounter new things we have never seen, or done, or never even heard of. The whole experience can be a little surreal, and a little trying with each day full of difficult (& usually costly) decisions. It is, however, beyond my wildest dreams. Beyond fun. The perfect adventure.
I asked Ian today, "So, are you ready to go home?"
"No! Are you?"
"Nope."
and so we will see where this road takes us...

To hear more about our epic failures and successes in Berlin real estate,

"What Moving 6 times in a Year has Taught Me"

Our Berlin apartment!....kinda

So we have an apartment....for a week. It actually might lead into a longer arrangement, but we mostly just needed to get out of the hostel! And the flat is great. In Prenzlauer Berg, one of the current hippest section of town, it is on a quiet street with a modern facade and an amazing historic interior. It is basically a studio with a really funky layout (the shower is in the Kitchen) but is an altbau (which means it has original wood floors, high ceilings and huge original windows). It also has a cool little balcony with some plants that we are planning on eating breakfast from and looking at the very tip of the Fernseturm (famous TV tower). There are also a load of trendy bars and comfy bakeries all around. There is also a shower in the kitchen - but hey! It adds character.

We just got back from our 1st serious grocery shopping since we now have a kitchen & it was an adventure. Leeann had been nice enough to give us a crash course in the Netherlands, but we still have a lot to learn. We walked in through a turnstile only to immediately realize that carts were on the other side. To get the carts you need to put a refundable 20 cents or so in the cart.

Once we had managed that obstacle we tried to return some bottles. After wandering around for a while we were directed to the machine over by the drinks and tried to read the directions. An older women asked if she could go quick so we dumbly watched her as she neatly slid the bottles into a conveyor belt & the machine computed their worth then spit out a receipt to be redeemed at check-out.

Next was trying to remember the word for a dozen different foods and connect that word with the price listed and then translate grams into ounces. To check out we had no grocery bag so we had to buy 2 plastic bags to carry our goods which were promptly pushed past the scanner and needed to be quickly put into the bags which we had just purchased so the next person could go. An adventure.

And of course we forgot to redeem the coupon for the returned bottles. Next time...

As for now, we are reading in front of the beautiful windows looking over a peaceful neighborhood in Berlin and contemplating making nachos. What can I say? Life is good.

To hear more about our epic failures and successes in Berlin real estate,

"What Moving 6 times in a Year has Taught Me"