ac486ef01b445d4e6f4b64015d24d6f2
2009-08-19T01:41:39Z
284
1041
1
2
Good morning
2010-03-10T11:57:02Z
23d54eedd45839c0084771eabbddd3b5
This morning we took a tour of the northern half of Phu Quoc. We had
a taxi driver who didn't really say much and a young man from the
hotel who was our guide.
The first stop was a black pepper farm. Then we went to a floating
fish farm that we got to by boat. We stopped at a beach for a warm
beer, then went on a little hike through the forest and saw a monkey.
We got some vegetarian sandwiches from a street vendor as we passed
through town, then went on to a pearl farm where we think they were
able to make a small pearl in three months. Either that or three
years since we had some trouble understanding our guide.
The pepper farm looked kind of like a vineyard. Phu Quoc is famous
for its pepper and we've been licking clean the pepper-salt combo that
comes with the bread and butter every night. Hopefully the kilo of
pepper I bought will taste as good at home.
The fish farm was a bit of a surprise because we didn't know we were
going to get on a boat as part of the tour. But the small outboard
motorboat took us to a floating structure where they were "growing"
about ten different types of fish in nets surrounding the rafts and
platforms all tied together. Most of them looked like vicious sharks
but there was also a very large turtle.
The beach stop was a bit odd...it was nice and everything, but we went
on the tour to do something besides sit on the beach. I ordered a
beer even though it was 10:30 in the morning and it had clearly never
been refrigerated. I walked in the water, then we left for the
rainforest.
There was a wide path through the forest that was used by motorbikes
for some reason (a shortcut?). Because of this, any wild animals or
anything of interest stayed far away from the path. We did hear lots
of birds and eventually saw a monkey jumping between trees very high
above us.
We haven't been able to find a tofu Banh Mi (sandwich) anywhere, so we
asked our guide if there was a vendor on our way that would have one.
He assured us that there was one. Eventually we stopped and were
asked if we wanted egg or pork. We got just the vegetables (cucumber
and tomato). The mythical fried tofu banh mi still eludes us...
Because we were finishing early, they took us to a pearl farm south of
our resort on the coast. There they showed us the oysters that were
making pearls and popped two of them open (the first one didn't have a
pearl inside). There was plenty of pearl jewelry for sale.
The roads we drove on were mostly red clay and very uneven, making for
a bumpy ride. There are only a few paved roads on the island that
we've seen, mostly near town. As usual, the driver was often honking
to pass motorbikes (often have 2-3 people on each bike!).
Overall it was a nice getaway. We liked the fishing boats and our
little boat ride the best.
<p>This morning we took a tour of the northern half of Phu Quoc. We had
a taxi driver who didn’t really say much and a young man from the
hotel who was our guide.</p>
<p>The first stop was a black pepper farm. Then we went to a floating
fish farm that we got to by boat. We stopped at a beach for a warm
beer, then went on a little hike through the forest and saw a monkey.
We got some vegetarian sandwiches from a street vendor as we passed
through town, then went on to a pearl farm where we think they were
able to make a small pearl in three months. Either that or three
years since we had some trouble understanding our guide.</p>
<p>The pepper farm looked kind of like a vineyard. Phu Quoc is famous
for its pepper and we've been licking clean the pepper-salt combo that
comes with the bread and butter every night. Hopefully the kilo of
pepper I bought will taste as good at home.</p>
<p>The fish farm was a bit of a surprise because we didn’t know we were
going to get on a boat as part of the tour. But the small outboard
motorboat took us to a floating structure where they were “growing”
about ten different types of fish in nets surrounding the rafts and
platforms all tied together. Most of them looked like vicious sharks
but there was also a very large turtle.</p>
<p>The beach stop was a bit odd…it was nice and everything, but we went
on the tour to do something besides sit on the beach. I ordered a
beer even though it was 10:30 in the morning and it had clearly never
been refrigerated. I walked in the water, then we left for the
rainforest.</p>
<p>There was a wide path through the forest that was used by motorbikes
for some reason (a shortcut?). Because of this, any wild animals or
anything of interest stayed far away from the path. We did hear lots
of birds and eventually saw a monkey jumping between trees very high
above us.</p>
<p>We haven’t been able to find a tofu Banh Mi (sandwich) anywhere, so we
asked our guide if there was a vendor on our way that would have one.
He assured us that there was one. Eventually we stopped and were
asked if we wanted egg or pork. We got just the vegetables (cucumber
and tomato). The mythical fried tofu banh mi still eludes us…</p>
<p>Because we were finishing early, they took us to a pearl farm south of
our resort on the coast. There they showed us the oysters that were
making pearls and popped two of them open (the first one didn’t have a
pearl inside). There was plenty of pearl jewelry for sale.</p>
<p>The roads we drove on were mostly red clay and very uneven, making for
a bumpy ride. There are only a few paved roads on the island that
we've seen, mostly near town. As usual, the driver was often honking
to pass motorbikes (often have 2-3 people on each bike!).</p>
<p>Overall it was a nice getaway. We liked the fishing boats and our
little boat ride the best.</p>
2009-08-18T10:46:05Z
282
1002
1
2
North Island Tour
2010-03-06T17:06:49Z
8aae9bcb0a99d9cd70f66c4b3937967c
We can't figure out why, but the sun sets really early here. Around
6:30pm. We headed out around six to take a sunset walk on the beach
and check out the neighbors.
<p>We can’t figure out why, but the sun sets really early here. Around
6:30pm. We headed out around six to take a sunset walk on the beach
and check out the neighbors.</p>
2009-08-18T10:19:57Z
281
1026
1
2
Sunset Walk
2010-03-07T15:09:31Z
125c300636f47b536e94132ca9795b60
Monday around lunch time we headed into the town of Duong Dong. It's
pretty close to where we are staying, but the street outside our
resort is under construction so the best way to get anywhere is by
taxi.
We got dropped off on one side of a footbridge in the brutal midday
sun. We crossed the bridge to this area where the market is located.
It was similar in pace and appearance to the other markets we visited,
but smaller in scale and they were less interested in us in general,
however we scored on some cool souvenirs.
We left the market and escaped the sun at Buddy's Ice Cream,
supposedly the place for out-of-towners to get info, but it was very
quiet. The ice cream was tasty (fruit flavors are better than
chocolates).
It was too hot to do much else so we got some help from some locals to
find a taxi driver eating lunch to drive us back. At that point, it's
safe to say, we sweated through all our clothes!
<p>Monday around lunch time we headed into the town of Duong Dong. It’s
pretty close to where we are staying, but the street outside our
resort is under construction so the best way to get anywhere is by
taxi.</p>
<p>We got dropped off on one side of a footbridge in the brutal midday
sun. We crossed the bridge to this area where the market is located.
It was similar in pace and appearance to the other markets we visited,
but smaller in scale and they were less interested in us in general,
however we scored on some cool souvenirs.</p>
<p>We left the market and escaped the sun at Buddy’s Ice Cream,
supposedly the place for out-of-towners to get info, but it was very
quiet. The ice cream was tasty (fruit flavors are better than
chocolates).</p>
<p>It was too hot to do much else so we got some help from some locals to
find a taxi driver eating lunch to drive us back. At that point, it’s
safe to say, we sweated through all our clothes!</p>
2009-08-18T10:17:24Z
280
997
1
2
Town of Duong Dong
2010-03-06T07:58:13Z
91e2891796d936527d5e64609272865d
In Phu Quoc, we drove to La Veranda, an extremely comfortable French
colonial-inspired resort. We couldn't be happier to be done
travelling for a few days at least.
It is gorgeous here. The island is woodsy: palm trees and evergreens
of some sort. The roads are all red clay, most of them unpaved.
Images attached include the view from the restaurant toward the ocean,
Beth at the restaurant indulging in lunch, at the pool, the view of
the main building from the pool, and your bloggers.
<p>In Phu Quoc, we drove to La Veranda, an extremely comfortable French
colonial-inspired resort. We couldn’t be happier to be done
travelling for a few days at least.</p>
<p>It is gorgeous here. The island is woodsy: palm trees and evergreens
of some sort. The roads are all red clay, most of them unpaved.</p>
<p>Images attached include the view from the restaurant toward the ocean,
Beth at the restaurant indulging in lunch, at the pool, the view of
the main building from the pool, and your bloggers.</p>
2009-08-15T10:33:35Z
278
1009
1
2
Phu Quoc
2010-03-04T23:58:38Z
fe9382734e61f890b6cdb2902330e863
We left our swanky hotel in HCMC for an adventure through the Mekong
Delta around 10am. We planned to stay two nights in Ben Tre. We
hired a car to take us the two hours there.
After getting there, we decided to keep moving and get to Rach Gia,
the port town that would take us to Phu Quoc. Unfortunately, it was a
five hour drive--something we didn't anticipate when planning the trip
from Ho Chi Minh. We left at 4:30. It gets dark here early, so most
of the trip was in the dark. Our driver didn't speak a word of
English and we didn't speak a word of Vietnamese. There is only one
road through the Mekong Delta, 1A. It has many purposes: leisurely
stroll, bicycling, motorcycling, interstate highway. So we buckled
our seatbelts as our driver navigated and honked his way there, never
exceeding 60km per hour. He stopped twice to get food. I tried to
get a Banh Mi with chicken (Ga), but what I got was filled with
something questionable.
We finally arrived at a very modest hotel in Rach Gia with very nice
women working there. We woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning
and got the last two seats on the ferry, packed in like sardines for
two and a half more hours of travel. We did see a lot of cool fishing
boats.
<p>We left our swanky hotel in HCMC for an adventure through the Mekong
Delta around 10am. We planned to stay two nights in Ben Tre. We
hired a car to take us the two hours there.</p>
<p>After getting there, we decided to keep moving and get to Rach Gia,
the port town that would take us to Phu Quoc. Unfortunately, it was a
five hour drive—something we didn’t anticipate when planning the trip
from Ho Chi Minh. We left at 4:30. It gets dark here early, so most
of the trip was in the dark. Our driver didn’t speak a word of
English and we didn’t speak a word of Vietnamese. There is only one
road through the Mekong Delta, 1A. It has many purposes: leisurely
stroll, bicycling, motorcycling, interstate highway. So we buckled
our seatbelts as our driver navigated and honked his way there, never
exceeding 60km per hour. He stopped twice to get food. I tried to
get a Banh Mi with chicken (Ga), but what I got was filled with
something questionable.</p>
<p>We finally arrived at a very modest hotel in Rach Gia with very nice
women working there. We woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning
and got the last two seats on the ferry, packed in like sardines for
two and a half more hours of travel. We did see a lot of cool fishing
boats.</p>
2009-08-15T10:27:19Z
277
994
1
2
Mekong Delta
2010-03-08T00:13:12Z
c76801e7cfd8bd56cf969096ab62539a
Here are a few more shots from inside the market in HCMC. Check out the Pho!
And a pic of one of the pagodas before we returned to the hotel for a
Viet-nap. Suffering from severe mosquito bites and jet lag, Beth
slept for at least 13 hours.
<p>Here are a few more shots from inside the market in HCMC. Check out the Pho!</p>
<p>And a pic of one of the pagodas before we returned to the hotel for a
Viet-nap. Suffering from severe mosquito bites and jet lag, Beth
slept for at least 13 hours.</p>
2009-08-15T10:10:41Z
276
996
1
2
The Market
2010-03-07T05:05:18Z
d0fb07f008388a82fee514c0fb489752
We're in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon...it's a pretty insane city.
We have a gigantic room. The biggest hotel room I've ever stayed in
with a river view and lots of windows. The bathroom could be a studio
apartment. There are two rooftop bar/restaurants and we had breakfast
at one of them and the nicest waitress ever who taught us a little
Vietnamese and gave us some tips and directions. The breakfast buffet
had something for every nationality of tourist...Beth had an omelette
and watermelon and cucumber juice. The coffee was strong and
delicious. I carbo-loaded with several croissants and fruit.
We walked to the Opera House and tried to get tickets for a
performance, but we were denied and it turns out that they don't
really have many performances and no one goes there, they just look at
the building. They have a fancy display of what looks like a cool
Vietnamese opera that should be showing every night, but...
Then we went to the big market. It was indoors, very large and
spacious. There was room for about one person to walk between the
stalls at a time and they were organized by what they were selling.
It was noisy and they were very eager to sell us t-shirts, grabbing
our arms and calling Beth "lady". Once you started looking at
something, the rest of the sellers calmed down and a calculator was
used to bargain the prices, they would always ask for our "maximum
price". It seemed important to let them make the final bid...
I ate some Pho Ga (noodle soup with chicken) inside the market and we
had fresh pineapple juice. They really wanted Beth to eat some soup
but they didn't have anything close to vegetarian.
After that we took a taxi to the Cholon neighborhood which is where
there are several pagodas and Chinatown-type stores. There weren't
any tourists over there. We went to two pagodas, burned incense at
the first one.
It's incredibly hot and humid. I sweated through my shorts.
Seriously. Our waitress at breakfast told us that since it was so hot
in the morning, it wouldn't rain in the afternoon (it is the rainy
season right now). At the time, that sounded like a good thing...
This morning, we're going to check out and take a bus to Bam Tre in
the Mekong Delta. Our hotel will be on the river and it is supposed
to be a more relaxing area where we will rent bikes and explore the
watery areas. A lot of the paths are too small for anything but
bikes...
We also booked several nights in a beach bungalow on the island of Phu
Quoc, which is in the Gulf of Thailand. They keep saying that the
island is about to blow up and be the next hot beach getaway, but
right now it is supposed to be peaceful with very nice beaches and
dusty roads to explore on motorbikes and beachfront restaurants to sit
at.
<p>We’re in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon…it’s a pretty insane city.</p>
<p>We have a gigantic room. The biggest hotel room I've ever stayed in
with a river view and lots of windows. The bathroom could be a studio
apartment. There are two rooftop bar/restaurants and we had breakfast
at one of them and the nicest waitress ever who taught us a little
Vietnamese and gave us some tips and directions. The breakfast buffet
had something for every nationality of tourist…Beth had an omelette
and watermelon and cucumber juice. The coffee was strong and
delicious. I carbo-loaded with several croissants and fruit.</p>
<p>We walked to the Opera House and tried to get tickets for a
performance, but we were denied and it turns out that they don’t
really have many performances and no one goes there, they just look at
the building. They have a fancy display of what looks like a cool
Vietnamese opera that should be showing every night, but…</p>
<p>Then we went to the big market. It was indoors, very large and
spacious. There was room for about one person to walk between the
stalls at a time and they were organized by what they were selling.
It was noisy and they were very eager to sell us t-shirts, grabbing
our arms and calling Beth “lady”. Once you started looking at
something, the rest of the sellers calmed down and a calculator was
used to bargain the prices, they would always ask for our “maximum
price”. It seemed important to let them make the final bid…</p>
<p>I ate some Pho Ga (noodle soup with chicken) inside the market and we
had fresh pineapple juice. They really wanted Beth to eat some soup
but they didn’t have anything close to vegetarian.</p>
<p>After that we took a taxi to the Cholon neighborhood which is where
there are several pagodas and Chinatown-type stores. There weren’t
any tourists over there. We went to two pagodas, burned incense at
the first one.</p>
<p>It’s incredibly hot and humid. I sweated through my shorts.
Seriously. Our waitress at breakfast told us that since it was so hot
in the morning, it wouldn’t rain in the afternoon (it is the rainy
season right now). At the time, that sounded like a good thing…</p>
<p>This morning, we’re going to check out and take a bus to Bam Tre in
the Mekong Delta. Our hotel will be on the river and it is supposed
to be a more relaxing area where we will rent bikes and explore the
watery areas. A lot of the paths are too small for anything but
bikes…</p>
<p>We also booked several nights in a beach bungalow on the island of Phu
Quoc, which is in the Gulf of Thailand. They keep saying that the
island is about to blow up and be the next hot beach getaway, but
right now it is supposed to be peaceful with very nice beaches and
dusty roads to explore on motorbikes and beachfront restaurants to sit
at.</p>
2009-08-13T21:39:53Z
274
994
1
2
Ho Chi Minh City
2010-03-04T15:04:16Z
2cf4218d69404ea84a6a01ffeb0de8a6
2009-08-12T12:56:37Z
272
986
1
2
Movie on the beach
2010-03-05T05:44:59Z
3ce7edd14cf8de1949f71f551d0d9b83
Flight to HCM is delayed one hour so we came up to the Red Carpet
Lounge. It is really swanky, here are some pics of our snacks as well
as some pics from the coolest Muji store I've seen, it's got food. ejs
<p>Flight to HCM is delayed one hour so we came up to the Red Carpet<br/>
Lounge. It is really swanky, here are some pics of our snacks as well<br/>
as some pics from the coolest Muji store I've seen, it’s got food. ejs</p>
2009-08-12T12:37:31Z
271
1005
1
2
Delayed flight
2010-03-11T07:03:17Z
14b374117b707eeb93265007fbb1586b
We're in the Hong Kong airport right now waiting for our flight to
Saigon. It's really foggy but there are mountains all around.
The flight here was easy...lots of movies and I think Beth got a full
8 hours of sleep. I didn't sleep much as I didn't want to miss any of
the snacks! We also played tetris against each other for at least an
hour...
<p>We’re in the Hong Kong airport right now waiting for our flight to<br/>
Saigon. It’s really foggy but there are mountains all around.</p>
<p>The flight here was easy…lots of movies and I think Beth got a full<br/>
8 hours of sleep. I didn’t sleep much as I didn’t want to miss any of<br/>
the snacks! We also played tetris against each other for at least an<br/>
hour…</p>
2009-08-12T10:56:50Z
270
151
1
2
Hong Kong Airport
2010-03-09T07:27:47Z
b22c0343c5f7ae6667ba95e70bc1fc7c
I went to [The Armory Show](http://www.thearmoryshow.com) last
Saturday at 3pm. It was mobbed. There was a line hundreds of people
long waiting to pay $30 to get in. As a guy in front of me put it,
"This better be the best thing *ever*. I wouldn't wait in a line like
this for food, and I need that to live."
I wanted to go to Pier 92, but the "ombudsmen" outside made me wait in
a line at Pier 94. After finally getting my wristband and making my
way to Pier 92 and up the elevator, they were also selling wristbands
there and of course almost no line.
It was just as crowded inside and it kind of felt like waiting in line
sometimes trying to move through the space. They even made a line to
go down a staircase between the piers...
But the art was good. This photo is from a wall of self-portraits by
John Coplans at [Bruce Silverstein
Gallery](http://brucesilverstein.com/art_fairs_info.php?id=18&archive=yes).
One would think that this many people spending $30 to see expensive
art would be a good signal to a recovery for the economy...
<p>I went to <a href="http://www.thearmoryshow.com">The Armory Show</a> last
Saturday at 3pm. It was mobbed. There was a line hundreds of people
long waiting to pay $30 to get in. As a guy in front of me put it,
“This better be the best thing <em>ever</em>. I wouldn’t wait in a line like
this for food, and I need that to live.”</p>
<p>I wanted to go to Pier 92, but the “ombudsmen” outside made me wait in
a line at Pier 94. After finally getting my wristband and making my
way to Pier 92 and up the elevator, they were also selling wristbands
there and of course almost no line.</p>
<p>It was just as crowded inside and it kind of felt like waiting in line
sometimes trying to move through the space. They even made a line to
go down a staircase between the piers…</p>
<p>But the art was good. This photo is from a wall of self-portraits by
John Coplans at <a href="http://brucesilverstein.com/art_fairs_info.php?id=18&archive=yes">Bruce Silverstein
Gallery</a>.</p>
<p>One would think that this many people spending $30 to see expensive
art would be a good signal to a recovery for the economy…</p>
2009-03-14T15:42:18Z
205
675
1
2
The Armory Show
2010-03-11T07:29:54Z
b9cca662dc03a5937465633b06bfd75a
I thought I was coming home to blue skies and the beginnings of
spring, but instead, I woke up to this my first morning back...
<p>I thought I was coming home to blue skies and the beginnings of
spring, but instead, I woke up to this my first morning back…</p>
2009-03-14T14:49:02Z
204
315
1
2
Back in Brooklyn
2010-03-06T09:53:27Z
d5d177707d86702a20614733bc592be9
The month is almost over...Tomorrow morning, I fly back to Brooklyn.
It's been a great month. Berlin is a huge, always changing city. I
feel like I've just scratched the surface of what is here, especially
because so much is not in guide books and needs to be discovered. I
met some good people, learned a lot, and had a month jam-packed with
experiences, as well as changing from ledig to verlobt! I feel very
fortunate that I had this opportunity. It seems like the month has
flown by, but it also feels like an eternity since I was in NYC. I
can't wait to get home...
P.S. I'm going to keep the blog going...
<p>The month is almost over…Tomorrow morning, I fly back to Brooklyn.</p>
<p>It’s been a great month. Berlin is a huge, always changing city. I
feel like I've just scratched the surface of what is here, especially
because so much is not in guide books and needs to be discovered. I
met some good people, learned a lot, and had a month jam-packed with
experiences, as well as changing from ledig to verlobt! I feel very
fortunate that I had this opportunity. It seems like the month has
flown by, but it also feels like an eternity since I was in NYC. I
can’t wait to get home…</p>
<p>P.S. I'm going to keep the blog going…</p>
2009-02-28T22:57:49Z
196
382
1
2
Bis bald, Berlin...
2010-03-04T21:56:44Z
e64c6ed006214b668c781c872900e2fe
This post has been pending for a while. I was trying to figure out
these chocolates. Katzenzungen means "cat tongues". The chocolates
are little paddles that I guess do look like cat tongues. At the
store where Beth and I got them, there were several different brands
all selling chocolates in a similar shape with the same name, all with
pictures of cats on the boxes.
Of course, there is a [wikipedia
page](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katzenzungen_(Schokolade)) that
says they were first made around 1900 by an Austrian company,
Küfferle.
We thought they must have a story...why make chocolates in the shape
of cat tongues? Perhaps the shape lends itself to a certain way of
eating it? But I can't find anything. In German, there is a verb
just for eating sweet things: naschen. And a person who eats sweets
(a sweet tooth), is a Naschkatzen. So there's definitely something
about cats (katzen) and sweets...
<p>This post has been pending for a while. I was trying to figure out
these chocolates. Katzenzungen means “cat tongues”. The chocolates
are little paddles that I guess do look like cat tongues. At the
store where Beth and I got them, there were several different brands
all selling chocolates in a similar shape with the same name, all with
pictures of cats on the boxes.</p>
<p>Of course, there is a <a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katzenzungen_(Schokolade">wikipedia
page</a>) that
says they were first made around 1900 by an Austrian company,
Küfferle.</p>
<p>We thought they must have a story…why make chocolates in the shape
of cat tongues? Perhaps the shape lends itself to a certain way of
eating it? But I can’t find anything. In German, there is a verb
just for eating sweet things: naschen. And a person who eats sweets
(a sweet tooth), is a Naschkatzen. So there’s definitely something
about cats (katzen) and sweets…</p>
2009-02-28T22:37:52Z
195
656
1
2
Katzenzungen
2010-03-10T02:50:52Z
70e32c07e200eb0459d19be67f2afa0b
When I woke up on my last day here, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
It seemed like a good day for the fußball game, [Hertha
BSC](http://www.herthabsc.de/) (the Berlin team...BSC == Berlin Sport
Club) versus [Borussia
Mönchengladbach](http://www.borussia.de/en/home,116282,0.html) from
the city of [Mönchengladbach](http://www.moenchengladbach.de).
I was pretty sure from what I read on the website that I could get a
ticket from the fan shop in Hauptbahnhof, which I've walked through
once before. It's a lot closer than the stadium, so I went there
around noon and it worked fine. They even took credit cards. I
didn't have much else to do and had seen fans on their way already, so
I headed to the stadium. Somehow, the blue sky had already
disappeared and it was grey again. It even started to drizzle a
little bit.
The stadium is the
[Olympiastadion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Olympic_Stadium),
which has quite a history. Most recently, it hosted the finals of the
2006 World Cup. But it is also where the Olympics took place when
Hitler was in power. Somehow, it wasn't damaged at all in World War
II.
When I got dressed to go get a ticket, I put on my new bright green
hooded sweatshirt. I thought to myself that there's a chance the
opposing team's color will be green, but I figured most of it would be
covered up by my jacket and with all the colors in the rainbow,
chances are slim. I knew Hertha BSC's colors were blue and white, but
everything else was packed for my flight tomorrow. I was wearing my
black and white scarf that I've worn every day and I brought a hat a
gloves despite the blue skies and somewhat temperate weather. As I
was on the subway on the way to the stadium, I kept looking for people
wearing green and didn't see any. When I got to the stadium, all I
could see were people in blue and white, everyone with at least one
Hertha scarf, some with tons of them all over their bodies. But then
I saw someone with a green scarf. I was just mozying around the
stadium as the gates weren't open yet (the game didn't start for
another two hours) and I started to see more green scarves, and they
were often paired with black and white. As it turns out, Borussia's
colors are green, black, and white, the three colors I was wearing. I
couldn't believe it...I quickly bought a Hertha BSC scarf to make sure
everyone knew I was rooting for Berlin! I was also concerned that the
woman who had sold me the ticket put me in the opponent's section
because of what I was wearing, but she didn't.
They opened the gates. There was a special entrance if you had a flag
or banner. I went in and wandered around the olympic grounds. Seeing
the outdoor pool made me wish Michael Phelps had to swim outdoors in
the last olympics. I went to my seat with 90 minutes before game
time. The hard core fan section was already filling up. I had my
section all to myself for a while...it was a good seat near the middle
of the field, just below the luxury boxes. The section behind the
goal opposite the marathon entrance was where the guys with the flags
sat. Well, I don't think they ever sat down. I'm guessing you have
to audition for those seats and pass a test where you can sing all the
songs and wave a flag and whistle really loudly at bad calls. It's a
huge section and it looked like they had a leader with a microphone
who was choosing what the group should cheer or sing. It was also
glassed off from the other sections. The visiting superfans had their
own section on the opposite side, smaller, but also glassed off.
For certain songs, there was no flag waving. Another one everyone
held up their scarf. I'm not sure if it was the history of the
stadium or what, but it kind of freaked me out to see all these guys
yelling and thrusting their arms into the air over and over. Everyone
in my section was rooting for Hertha, but not with any of the vigor of
the superfan section. Sometimes they would sing along a bit, but
always from their seats. It looked like that was the case all around
the stadium. But everyone did go nuts when they scored, which
happened twice, and everyone was into the game.
During the game, the only food being sold inside the stadium was by a
guy with a wicker basket full of pretzels...he rang a little bell as
he walked around. Outside they sold all kinds of stuff...Sausage in
many forms and beer, of course, but also crepes, fish sandwiches, and
candy.
It wasn't sold out, but they announced that there were 48,000 fans
there. These teams are in the Bundesliga, which is the premier league
in Germany. During the game, there was no commentary from the
loudspeaker guy except when there was a substitution or when someone
scored. Besides that, it was just the fans. They would project on
the screen when there was a change in score in one of the other games
in the league going on at the same time, which caused cheers or sighs
throughout the stadium. Before the game, Hertha BSC was tied for
second place. Borussia was in last place. Despite being in last
place, they seemed pretty good and it was a close game. Hertha scored
two goals in the first half. In the second half, Borussia got a goal
on a penalty kick. After that it was very tense as Hertha fought to
hold its lead. They did and won the game, and were at least
temporarily in first place.
<p>When I woke up on my last day here, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
It seemed like a good day for the fußball game, <a href="http://www.herthabsc.de/">Hertha
BSC</a> (the Berlin team…BSC == Berlin Sport
Club) versus <a href="http://www.borussia.de/en/home,116282,0.html">Borussia
Mönchengladbach</a> from
the city of <a href="http://www.moenchengladbach.de">Mönchengladbach</a>.</p>
<p>I was pretty sure from what I read on the website that I could get a
ticket from the fan shop in Hauptbahnhof, which I've walked through
once before. It’s a lot closer than the stadium, so I went there
around noon and it worked fine. They even took credit cards. I
didn’t have much else to do and had seen fans on their way already, so
I headed to the stadium. Somehow, the blue sky had already
disappeared and it was grey again. It even started to drizzle a
little bit.</p>
<p>The stadium is the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Olympic_Stadium">Olympiastadion</a>,
which has quite a history. Most recently, it hosted the finals of the
2006 World Cup. But it is also where the Olympics took place when
Hitler was in power. Somehow, it wasn’t damaged at all in World War
II.</p>
<p>When I got dressed to go get a ticket, I put on my new bright green
hooded sweatshirt. I thought to myself that there’s a chance the
opposing team’s color will be green, but I figured most of it would be
covered up by my jacket and with all the colors in the rainbow,
chances are slim. I knew Hertha BSC’s colors were blue and white, but
everything else was packed for my flight tomorrow. I was wearing my
black and white scarf that I've worn every day and I brought a hat a
gloves despite the blue skies and somewhat temperate weather. As I
was on the subway on the way to the stadium, I kept looking for people
wearing green and didn’t see any. When I got to the stadium, all I
could see were people in blue and white, everyone with at least one
Hertha scarf, some with tons of them all over their bodies. But then
I saw someone with a green scarf. I was just mozying around the
stadium as the gates weren’t open yet (the game didn’t start for
another two hours) and I started to see more green scarves, and they
were often paired with black and white. As it turns out, Borussia’s
colors are green, black, and white, the three colors I was wearing. I
couldn’t believe it…I quickly bought a Hertha BSC scarf to make sure
everyone knew I was rooting for Berlin! I was also concerned that the
woman who had sold me the ticket put me in the opponent’s section
because of what I was wearing, but she didn’t.</p>
<p>They opened the gates. There was a special entrance if you had a flag
or banner. I went in and wandered around the olympic grounds. Seeing
the outdoor pool made me wish Michael Phelps had to swim outdoors in
the last olympics. I went to my seat with 90 minutes before game
time. The hard core fan section was already filling up. I had my
section all to myself for a while…it was a good seat near the middle
of the field, just below the luxury boxes. The section behind the
goal opposite the marathon entrance was where the guys with the flags
sat. Well, I don’t think they ever sat down. I'm guessing you have
to audition for those seats and pass a test where you can sing all the
songs and wave a flag and whistle really loudly at bad calls. It’s a
huge section and it looked like they had a leader with a microphone
who was choosing what the group should cheer or sing. It was also
glassed off from the other sections. The visiting superfans had their
own section on the opposite side, smaller, but also glassed off.</p>
<p>For certain songs, there was no flag waving. Another one everyone
held up their scarf. I'm not sure if it was the history of the
stadium or what, but it kind of freaked me out to see all these guys
yelling and thrusting their arms into the air over and over. Everyone
in my section was rooting for Hertha, but not with any of the vigor of
the superfan section. Sometimes they would sing along a bit, but
always from their seats. It looked like that was the case all around
the stadium. But everyone did go nuts when they scored, which
happened twice, and everyone was into the game.</p>
<p>During the game, the only food being sold inside the stadium was by a
guy with a wicker basket full of pretzels…he rang a little bell as
he walked around. Outside they sold all kinds of stuff…Sausage in
many forms and beer, of course, but also crepes, fish sandwiches, and
candy.</p>
<p>It wasn’t sold out, but they announced that there were 48,000 fans
there. These teams are in the Bundesliga, which is the premier league
in Germany. During the game, there was no commentary from the
loudspeaker guy except when there was a substitution or when someone
scored. Besides that, it was just the fans. They would project on
the screen when there was a change in score in one of the other games
in the league going on at the same time, which caused cheers or sighs
throughout the stadium. Before the game, Hertha BSC was tied for
second place. Borussia was in last place. Despite being in last
place, they seemed pretty good and it was a close game. Hertha scored
two goals in the first half. In the second half, Borussia got a goal
on a penalty kick. After that it was very tense as Hertha fought to
hold its lead. They did and won the game, and were at least
temporarily in first place.</p>
2009-02-28T22:11:49Z
194
438
1
2
Hertha BSC
2010-03-07T17:00:24Z
ab5f4ac626f794146f62f31fbc41ee05
I wanted to seem some electronic/techno music before I left, so I went
to [Maria am Ostbahnhof](http://www.clubmaria.de) last night. It was
very close to [Radialsytem
V](http://patrick.beamalot.com/posts/173-Dinner-for-4-Barok-Lounge-Radialsystem-V)
in East Berlin, right near the
[wall](http://patrick.beamalot.com/posts/134-The-Wall). The address
(Stralauer Platz 34/35) is irrelevant...you go along the road as if
you were going to cross the bridge then follow a path that would go
along the river to the entrance. I'm sure it's a converted
something-or-another, but now it's just a big concrete space.
Incidentally, it was one of the places where [Berlin
Calling](http://www.berlin-calling.de/en) was filmed. I saw it one
night at [Moviemento](http://www.moviemento.de/).
The show was "ECHOCHORD SHOWCASE"...I'd never heard of any of the
artists but one of the magazines here said it was going to be good, so
I picked it. It started at 11pm and I was already nodding off on the
couch to Eurosport before I left, but I still went. I got there
around 11:15 and was the second person there. A DJ just started when
I got in, playing Jamaican dance hall music for no one. I nursed a
beer forever, sitting on a couch watching people slowly trickle in,
see that no one was there and retreat to the smoking lounge.
As this continued, I set a deadline of 1am for leaving if things
didn't improve. On my way there, I passed some other club that had a
sign written in English that said they were open from 11pm until
sundown. I thought to myself, "It's sunrise or sunup, people, not
sundown". As I sat there in a nearly empty club nodding off despite
the thumping bass, I realized that they probably translated it
perfectly and that this show was probably going to go on forever as
well. I saw a guy that looked like the guy from the advertisement
come in and briefly set up a macbook and a midi controller on the
stage, though, which looked promising, so I stuck it out past my
deadline.
He kept coming back on stage and bought the DJ a shot and setting up
more but still the DJ kept going. He had now transitioned to more
techno music and about three people were dancing intermittently.
Finally they switched to the guy with the computer...
It started off well and I liked it and the crowd came out...but after
a few minutes, this guy came up and picked up a microphone and started
sort of singing and absolutely ruining it. I thought that he might
just be temporary, but after about 20 minutes when it became clear
that he was going to keep singing, I left and went back to
Schönleinstraße. I'm sure if I had stayed another 5 hours, it would
have been great, but...
<p>I wanted to seem some electronic/techno music before I left, so I went
to <a href="http://www.clubmaria.de">Maria am Ostbahnhof</a> last night. It was
very close to <a href="http://patrick.beamalot.com/posts/173-Dinner-for-4-Barok-Lounge-Radialsystem-V">Radialsytem
V</a>
in East Berlin, right near the
<a href="http://patrick.beamalot.com/posts/134-The-Wall">wall</a>. The address
(Stralauer Platz 34/35) is irrelevant…you go along the road as if
you were going to cross the bridge then follow a path that would go
along the river to the entrance. I'm sure it’s a converted
something-or-another, but now it’s just a big concrete space.
Incidentally, it was one of the places where <a href="http://www.berlin-calling.de/en">Berlin
Calling</a> was filmed. I saw it one
night at <a href="http://www.moviemento.de/">Moviemento</a>.</p>
<p>The show was “ECHOCHORD SHOWCASE”…I'd never heard of any of the
artists but one of the magazines here said it was going to be good, so
I picked it. It started at 11pm and I was already nodding off on the
couch to Eurosport before I left, but I still went. I got there
around 11:15 and was the second person there. A DJ just started when
I got in, playing Jamaican dance hall music for no one. I nursed a
beer forever, sitting on a couch watching people slowly trickle in,
see that no one was there and retreat to the smoking lounge.</p>
<p>As this continued, I set a deadline of 1am for leaving if things
didn’t improve. On my way there, I passed some other club that had a
sign written in English that said they were open from 11pm until
sundown. I thought to myself, “It’s sunrise or sunup, people, not
sundown”. As I sat there in a nearly empty club nodding off despite
the thumping bass, I realized that they probably translated it
perfectly and that this show was probably going to go on forever as
well. I saw a guy that looked like the guy from the advertisement
come in and briefly set up a macbook and a midi controller on the
stage, though, which looked promising, so I stuck it out past my
deadline.</p>
<p>He kept coming back on stage and bought the DJ a shot and setting up
more but still the DJ kept going. He had now transitioned to more
techno music and about three people were dancing intermittently.
Finally they switched to the guy with the computer…</p>
<p>It started off well and I liked it and the crowd came out…but after
a few minutes, this guy came up and picked up a microphone and started
sort of singing and absolutely ruining it. I thought that he might
just be temporary, but after about 20 minutes when it became clear
that he was going to keep singing, I left and went back to
Schönleinstraße. I'm sure if I had stayed another 5 hours, it would
have been great, but…</p>
2009-02-28T21:15:23Z
193
555
1
2
Maria am Ostbahnhof
2010-03-05T06:04:08Z
31ace2fc7175762448a894bbf1f402b5
Two of the S-Bahn lines make a complete ring around the inner city of
Berlin. I got on at Hermannstraße and took it all the way around,
clockwise. It's not really that scenic as you are basically going
around the outskirts of the city, but it is cool and the S-Bahn trains
are really nice and relaxing. It took about an hour.
You do see Flughafen Templehof, which is the airport the U.S. military
used for the East Berlin airlift, and although it is deserted, there
is still an old U.S. sign up. I've heard various reports about this
airport, one that they are rebuilding it to make it the main airport
for Berlin and another that it is going to host a Woodstock-like event
in 2010.
<p>Two of the S-Bahn lines make a complete ring around the inner city of
Berlin. I got on at Hermannstraße and took it all the way around,
clockwise. It’s not really that scenic as you are basically going
around the outskirts of the city, but it is cool and the S-Bahn trains
are really nice and relaxing. It took about an hour.</p>
<p>You do see Flughafen Templehof, which is the airport the U.S. military
used for the East Berlin airlift, and although it is deserted, there
is still an old U.S. sign up. I've heard various reports about this
airport, one that they are rebuilding it to make it the main airport
for Berlin and another that it is going to host a Woodstock-like event
in 2010.</p>
2009-02-27T19:48:26Z
192
418
1
2
S-Bahn Ring
2010-03-08T11:48:57Z
c1ceffb12ab2165d741e51dd394dcfec
It took my eyes a long time to adjust to this...the sun coming out.
In other weather-related news, either I'm getting used to this cold,
it's getting warmer, or it's just not as damp. I think they should
show the damp-chill factor in the weather report in a similar way to
wind-chill factors.
<p>It took my eyes a long time to adjust to this…the sun coming out.</p>
<p>In other weather-related news, either I'm getting used to this cold,
it’s getting warmer, or it’s just not as damp. I think they should
show the damp-chill factor in the weather report in a similar way to
wind-chill factors.</p>
2009-02-27T19:41:40Z
191
332
1
2
A Rare Sight
2010-03-10T07:40:04Z
e823ca966d96732c5ed3c6b69bd287cd
I went to the [Stasi Museum](http://stasimuseum.de/) today. It's in
the former Stasi headquarters in the DDR. A lot of the museum is very
similar in presentation to the [Checkpoint Charlie
Museum](http://patrick.beamalot.com/posts/135-Checkpoint-Charlie):
pictures and text on the wall. If you're German isn't too hot, most
of it will be unintelligible. There are a few English placards, but
only a few. But one floor they have left as it was when it was
offices, and that was pretty interesting. They also have a lot of the
devices used to either secretly record conversations or take pictures.
The camera in the picture was mounted to the back of a button.
The best part was the old lounge area of the office. They have left
it the same and now they sell drinks and snacks and have a TV playing
contemporary movies about the Stasi (they weren't playing it while I
was there, but I'm sure they show The Lives of Others). I ordered a
Coke and a Snickers, the guy (who seemed like he might live there) got
it and then told me he didn't have change for my 20 euro bill (this
was at around 4pm and presumably he had been collecting money all day
and the lounge was crowded with people all eating or drinking
something, but...). I didn't have anything smaller. He told me to
just take the food and enjoy it and not to tell the office downstairs.
I wasn't sure if I was understanding him correctly (I thought he
might want me to go downstairs and get change), but he was insistent
and just gave it all to me. I gave him all the change I had and
thanked him.
I would have stayed and had a coffee, too, but I couldn't really ask
him for anything else for free...but I did have him write down the
name of the movie, [Die Klärung eines
Sachverhalts](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176121/).
<p>I went to the <a href="http://stasimuseum.de/">Stasi Museum</a> today. It’s in
the former Stasi headquarters in the DDR. A lot of the museum is very
similar in presentation to the <a href="http://patrick.beamalot.com/posts/135-Checkpoint-Charlie">Checkpoint Charlie
Museum</a>:
pictures and text on the wall. If you’re German isn’t too hot, most
of it will be unintelligible. There are a few English placards, but
only a few. But one floor they have left as it was when it was
offices, and that was pretty interesting. They also have a lot of the
devices used to either secretly record conversations or take pictures.
The camera in the picture was mounted to the back of a button.</p>
<p>The best part was the old lounge area of the office. They have left
it the same and now they sell drinks and snacks and have a TV playing
contemporary movies about the Stasi (they weren’t playing it while I
was there, but I'm sure they show The Lives of Others). I ordered a
Coke and a Snickers, the guy (who seemed like he might live there) got
it and then told me he didn’t have change for my 20 euro bill (this
was at around 4pm and presumably he had been collecting money all day
and the lounge was crowded with people all eating or drinking
something, but…). I didn’t have anything smaller. He told me to
just take the food and enjoy it and not to tell the office downstairs.
I wasn’t sure if I was understanding him correctly (I thought he
might want me to go downstairs and get change), but he was insistent
and just gave it all to me. I gave him all the change I had and
thanked him.</p>
<p>I would have stayed and had a coffee, too, but I couldn’t really ask
him for anything else for free…but I did have him write down the
name of the movie, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176121/">Die Klärung eines
Sachverhalts</a>.</p>
2009-02-27T19:32:59Z
190
538
1
2
Stasi Museum
2010-03-04T23:54:55Z