Berlin

Last Thursday was Corpus Christi {or something catholic}, so of course I had a four day weekend, which I spent in Berlin with the zukunftliche Frau Doctor Kukies {jetztliche gastkusine Alina}.

The primary reason for my visit was that I needed extra passport pages so that there would be room for my Spainish student visa. This process was pretty easy (they didn't care that my form was filled out in blue instead of the required black ink), but there were two noteworthy parts:

1. As an American you are supposed to cut the security line. There aren't two separate lines, a sign that says Americans are meant to go to the front, which is super awkward when there are Germans who have been waiting for who knows how long in the drizzle.
2. As you walk from the U-bahn to the Embassy there is a McDonalds directional sign that points towards the American compound (mickeydees isn't actually inside it's a few kilometers away)

After my successful interaction with bureaucracy, I went shopping then Alina and I did some very hip Berlin things. It would be incredibly uncool of me to tell you about them, but I'm going to anyways... I mean I'm a ruhrgebeit girl now, so I have to gush about the big city.

• Went to a 'party' slash art-thing in a crumbling-mostly roofless building, which was an homeless shelter in the 1800s and a nazi flag factory afterwards. There were those acrobats that twist themselves up in what looks like bedsheets then let go and stop six inches off of the ground, poetry and a quasi decent guywithguitar,
• Fleamarketed
• Club-Mate + Dönner u-bahn dinner (mate like the tea, not your homeboy; however, it is also your friend, because it keeps you awake). All the cool kids drink this carbonated acquired taste tea so they can leave to go out at 2 AM.
• Four story super awesome thrift store
• Watched the Christopher Street Day parade - basically Berlin Pride. It was really nice and interesting. Everyone was happy and dancing to the techno and the gaga. I mean mad respect for anyone who walks {or hoops} a whole parade route... especially in those shoes.

From Drop Box Met different groups of Alina's Berlin friends for dinner, coffee, beer, waiting in lines... watched rugby, ultimate and soccer being played in a park that didn't really have sports fields The not so awesome part: stupid knee pain thwarted all efforts to go clubbing in Berlin {again}... someday in the future I won't be so old and broken. Overall, it was a nice a productive weekend. I'm in Bonn right now for the DAAD RISEpro meeting, which has been fun, but I haven't been sleeping well...more on this weekend later.