Pentacost Weekend in Berlin

Cass and the kids back in the US for the weekend, I stayed in Berlin to save the vacation days for our upcoming France/Italy trips.

Thursday: Family is gone, house lonely. I compensated by just working late.

Friday: House weirdly lonely. Avoiding it by doing various things:

Prater Biergarten in Prenzlauer Berg, near Eberswalder Str U-Bahn. Chris (friend from the old days in Colorado) and Tim (Berlin agency buddy) accompanied.

Prater is one of the oldest continuously-used biergartens in the city. Probably the oldest, dating from 1837. For over 180 years people have been showing up here after work for a Pils.

A few hours later we took Tim's recommendation to try out Rüyam Gemüse Kebap, a classic döner joint near Eberswalder U-Bahn entrance. The original one is in Schöneberg on Hauptstrasse.

A paste-up from El Bocho, a street artist I am documenting. He paints in the studio then prints on large format paper. Putting on the wall takes very little time, hence the utility of the "paste-up" method among Berlin's grafitti artists.

Former municipal buildings that the Soviets used as admin offices. Some buildings in the area had basements converted into jail cells. Now the city is renovating them for the Pankow district. They closed the access doors to the lots after I came in to snoop around, so I had to climb over the entrance gates to escape.

Saturday:

In the morning I went back over to Winterfeldtplatz, my favorite city market. Pastry from one stand, coffee from another one, then sit and watch the people from a stand-up table next to the coffee cart. Great way to start the day.

From there I went over to Hallesches Tor, where Kreuzberg district starts, to check out Berlin's Karneval des Kulturen.

Berlin's Karneval des Kulturen takes place in Kreuzberg all weekend. One of the city's biggest festivals, it pays to go before the crowds come. And it is why we've never been since it is stressful keeping track of the kids amid so many people. 

After that I wandered over to Bergmannkiez to dip into some bookstores. I went into a back Hof (inner courtyard) at one spot and stumbled upon a bike shop, so chatted with the guy about what I am trying to modify on the Diamant and whether it is possible. He said, it probably isn't to change the handlebars to Bull-Horns and still have everything work. Well, interesting courtyard to explore all the same.

After a visit home to start some laundry, I met Jani out in the Tiergarten to have some beers. 

Afternoon sunlight on the Siegesaüle.

Sunday

Met Jani at 9:15 at the Tiergarten Freilichtmuseum, (an open air museum of ~ 100 historic gas lamps from various cities around Germany) for a ride down and around Potsdam. 80 kilometers.

The Glienicke Brücke between Potsdam and Berlin.

Lunch on the deck. I was beat from the ride since I am not really in shape yet this year. After lunch I took a nice long nap then went out to the Volkspark with the guitar and a beer to sit under a tree. First time I've done that in four years here.

Monday

Met Tim and Ilja over at Ostbahnhof to check out the Flohmarkt over there, one of the ones that has been on my list for awhile. While it had some odd treasures, it wasn't hugely extensive and we got through it quickly.

East German "Diamante" bikes

Lamp options. Ostbahnhof in background.

Karl Marx Allee at Cafe Sibylle with Tim and Ilja. Behind the screen of trees lies the big wide street, originally called "Stalinallee" where the East Germans used to run their big military parades. The gigantic buildings constructed along it were the showcase of East Germany's progress.

Inside this cafe is a historical exhibit on the post-war development of the street, similar to the setup of Cafe Haberland at the Bayerischer Platz U-Bahn station in Schöneberg.

Stasi Museum in Lichtenberg. Housed within the former headquarters of the spy service. This is Erich Mielke's desk, the guy who ran the organization. Many of the original furnishings are still present in these rooms, and the whole place has a very deep 1980's smell to it.

Main conference room on the "minister" level. Sliding panels in the wall contained maps. 

Fun exhibits: buttonhole cameras. Operated by a release cord connected to an air bladder that you would carry in your trenchcoat pocket.

The kidnapping van. You could fit five Enemies of the State in the back of this vehicle.

Flaneuring around Mitte we find the Sophien II cemetery just on the East Side of the Berlin Wall stretch at Bernauer Strasse.

"Wer dich gekannt wird, unseren schmerz ermessen. Wer dich gelieben wird, niemals dich vergessen."
(Whomever knew you, knows our pain. Whomever loved you, will never forget you.)

In the death zone between the hinterland wall and the main Wall at Bernauer, a bunch of old Wall panels and the curved top pieces are stacked in a pile. Since 1990, the trees have taken it over.

And then it was back to work..