The Watchtower,
originally uploaded by Phil Strahl.

Berlin again — at last! It’s been nearly a year since my first visit to this amazing city and hence I am working as an intern at rise|fx I am about to stay much longer than last year which is great. I’ve been here only a couple of days now but I really like this city full of textures and shaders, not only for its textural qualities but also for the new way of living and working here.

Arriving

After a rather exhausting but relatively fast drive with Lisa and my parents I arrived with my stuff at around 3:30pm at my new apartment in Berlin. It is located in the Schonensche Straße right between Pankow and Prenzlauer Berg — and so quiet! The loudest noise you hear comes from the planes many kilometers away above Berlin’s skyline. I am used to bypassing trains, way too loud neighbors and fucking barbecues every motherfuckin’ day right in front of my frickin’ backdoor in Salzburg.

Sorry about that.

My landlady, Jenni, is one nice person who did not only clean the flat and left me her bedding but also she put some milk into the fridge, along with some lemon ice-cream and a couple of Berliner Kindl beer. She couldn’t guess that I don’t drink.

My new living room,
originally uploaded by Phil Strahl.

After schlepping my damn heavy stuff up to the fourth floor, after my parents finished embarrassing me and left, finally, I was trying to hook up my computer to the internet which brought me close to tears. No, it wasn’t that terrible, usually I barely never cry when having computer-related problems but it was because I was so terribly exhausted — after all I was up for another 24 hours with packing my stuff, driving a few hundred kilometers and heaving everything up to the fourth floor.

Exploring

Two cells,
originally uploaded by Phil Strahl.

The flat is very quiet but to get into the city you have to walk for half a mile until you get to the subway and interurban trains. On the plus side you pass every shop that might become necessary on your way to the station, such as a Subway, some bakeries, a place to recharge your phone’s calling credits, an ATM, a cheap shop, a currywurst booth (can’t wait for one of those!) and many more I have forgotten by now.

It wasn’t one of my best ideas to test my way to work on one of the hottest days possible in Berlin, but I guess that was my fault. rise is located in an old brick warehouse on the south bank of the river Spree, a little bit hidden but easy to find as soon as you know where to look. I took some photos in the heat of the day and Lisa and I went back home, not before dropping by at Balzac Coffee for some refreshments.

On my way to work I bought a prepaid cellphone for 35 € so I have a German phone number too. Carrying two cellphones in my pockets makes me feel only a little like a 15-year-old cheerleader with too many friends.

Enjoying

Kauf Dich Glücklich,
originally uploaded by Phil Strahl.

Saturday morning was much cooler than Friday’s heat of the day so we decided to have breakfast at Kauf Dich Glücklich¹. in this little café you can not only have one of the best waffles I’ve ever eaten but also you can buy furniture or just some random plastic stuff at okay prices. But some words of advice: In the sugar muffineer there are at least four wasps, completely hyper and buzzing with sugar. But that’s not enough: You encounter there the fattest and roundest sparrows I have seen so far, they can’t even jump properly anymore. But what they can do is shit from the little elderbush, so watch out when enjoying your breakfast below it. Fun fact: I think we saw Peaches having her breakfast there too.

EDIT: It was Peaches. Yes, it is exciting now but in three months I’ll be ranting about her snatching away the last muffins again. Still it’s interesting how small such a big place like Berlin seems to be, like you know many people walking on the street or you feel like you’ve been in the neighborhood before².

What I have learned since I am in Berlin

• That I am living in an avenue with great textures.
• That I should never let my mother talk to somebody.
• That if I ever get a parcel I have to pick it up at the local sex-shop. How sassy!
• That it takes me about one hour to get to work every day.
• That the buses are air-conditioned in the summer.
• …but that the bus-seats are harder than the ones in Graz.
• That you have to show your ticket to the driver when you get on the bus.
• That a so called “environmental” monthly ticket allows me to take a person with me for free on holidays and after 8pm on public transportation.
• That the local coffee-shop Balzac Coffee looks almost identical to any Starbucks.
• That the local Saturn shop is open until 8pm, the other half of the week until 9pm!
• That they sell there more DVDs and BluRays than I have ever seen in a single store.
• That you walk much less when you take the stairs to the U2-subway in front of the Saturn store on Alexanderplatz instead of walking to the main station and then back to the platform below ground.
• That at Sunday the bells of the church wake you at 1 minute shy of 9am.
• That that much walking everyday will make me as tight like a tiger.

1. a poor translation would be “Shop yourself happy” a lengthy one would be “make a purchase to gain happiness”. [back]
2. …which of course you’ve never walked before and sooner or later you’re lost. But that’s another story. [back]