Recollections: Kladow, Sacrow, Pfingstberg, Russische Kolonie

This should have been written a while ago, but alas! My project is eating up my time like it's made of chocolate. Yum.

For the 16th Wandervogel on the weekend of Pentecost we...what did we do? There was a big ferry we took from near the S-bahnhof Wannsee to Kladow (still in Berlin), where we looked around for some good old German Schloesser or Schloesschen or whatever else that was good and old and German-Brandenburgian. At some point we made it to Sacrow (Potsdam) where we stumbled upon the Kleingartenverein located near the Heilandskirche (Church of the Redeemer).

Besides walking past beautiful garden after beautiful garden, we accidentally found the beekeepers' residence we thought we would never find unless we were really stubborn. There's so much trust in this community, even towards strangers, it seems. But it may also be a village thing that you can just walk into somebody's yard, sit out by their goldfish pond and have a cup of mineral water while they show you their delectable selection of self-made honey and discuss life before and after die Wende (when the wall came down).

Since Sacrow became incorporated into Potsdam in the 1930s, it was part of the former east, but it was physically separate from the the urban areas under communist control by the Havel river and a big forest on the other side of Sacrower See. Kladow would've been the easiest urban area to reach, so if you lived in Sacrow and wanted to get some supplies from the city without going for a swim/boarding a boat, you'd have to show your passport each and every time, since you were crossing into Berlin from Brandenburg. Pain in the arse, no? Yes!

The Imkerei/Apiculture in the Kleingartenverein has been run by the couple whose front yard we were sitting in (before it started to rain). If there was ever a display of German Gemuetlichkeit, this was it. There were anecdotes, photo albums, and even entry into the the small house once it started raining (looked just like it did in the old photos!). I wish my lack of confidence with the German language didn't hinder me so much, that I would've asked more questions and had a larger part in the conversations, but it seems that I'm much too much better a listener than a talker, as always. That, however, does not negate the utter neatness of the experience as a whole.

But eventually we reluctantly decided it was time to end the visit if we were to run to the Heilandskirche before the rain got much worse, which was not an unreasonable assumption. In fact, it turned out to be an accurate assessment, as shortly after we got to the place, it was pouring. Our fearless leader, Jacob, has an impeccable sense of timing. The inside is not so spectacular, but the outside is just plain lovely, and the architecture made me think of my recent trip to Milan. Even better, the back side was right on the river. The rain was pouring, the wind was blowing, but we were having a blast under what little roof we had, watching between the columns as the river tumbled wildly about.

Eventually, it let up, and we dared to come out from our narrow shelter and head towards the nearby Schloss, which wasn't that grand. No, rather, the 1000-year-old oak that was falling on itself in this and that direction was quite *deep breath* AWESOME! ButIhaveyettouploadpictures,soyou'lljusthavetowait.

Afterwards, we somehow ended up on Pfingstberg, one of the tallest places in Potsdam, whose Belvedere was unfortunately closed once we got there. It was still nice just looking around, and guess what: we made it! Since the German word for "pentecostal" is "Pfingst", we just had to do ascend, but whether the name of the mountain/hill (hard to call anything in Berlin a "mountain") had anything to actually do with Pentecost, none of us were really sure at the time. Accroding to the above-linked Wikipedia article, it was either renamed in memory of the Prussian Queen Luise Pfingsten after her death or due to an alleged visit by the Prussian King/Elector of Brandenburg Friedrich Wilhelm III, on Pentecost.

In the vicinity of the hill was our next and last stop, the Russian Colony Alexandrowska (the "w" is pronounced like a "v" in German). Even in the gloomy shadow of the clouds, the lovely woodwork on the cozy houses were still visible, and even though our plans to catch an open-air showing of Battleship Potemkin was foiled by the weater, we still managed to enjoy a lovely, traditional Russian dinner at, well, the one restaurant we found there. Can't miss it, as it's near the colony's historical museum/open-air cinema site.

A day like this was definitely worth walking around in wet socks and shoes for hours on end :-)

Ooh la la: Caravan Palace

This turned out even better than I expected.

My berlin.unlike subscription (available via Google Reader) led me to discover Caravan Palace, this classy electro-swing group that - really - has it all. And fortunately I did manage to check the feed when I did, as I had just got back from Austria, was feeling a bit kaputt, and the concert was on the day I saw the post (i.e. yesterday).

I fell in love already by the first song I came across on their MySpace page, but the actual concert experience was AWESOME! Already in the beginning I wish I hadn't been so cheap and just simply shoved all my stuff in the Garderobe, as there was just dancing, dancing, and more dancing. Club house beats + jazzy, brassy swing = everybodyhappydancing!

The stage presence was amazing among all members, and of course especially among the main vocalists: the lady vocalist and the violinist-vocalist continually caught themselves in an amusing diva-dance showdown, complete with funny-facial-expressions-and-microphone-theft-galore. Did I mention that everybody was dancing? When the audience claps their hands to the rhythm and scream at the top of their lungs without prompting from the stage, that's a pretty good sign of (satisfaction)^100.

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So yes, I'm feeling pretty kaputt today, but in a good way. I also discovered, in searching for their MySpace URL, their music video for Jolie Coquine, which makes me love them even more, if that's even possible.

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To double the fun, the concert took place at arena Berlin. Basically: alien red lights, gigantic park benches, chia-pet cars, hammock-and-heated-pool deck on the Spree, and a family of swans. One of those times I should've given in to my Asian impulses and brought my camera (or stole Joseph's :-D ).

Döner in Berlin: Cheap Distraction

In my last post, I mentioned a Döner shop near Karavan that nearly caught me in if it weren't for my resolve to spoil myself just a little. This was due to the fact that it was the cheapest Döner I have found in the city yet, and considering that it's poor-but-sexy Berlin, this is pretty impressive.

The place is called YUPPIS, indicated in big bright red letters across the top of the front along Wilmersdorferstraße (east side of street, very close to Schillerstrasse). Their Döner come in three sizes, with their smallest size (L) marked at a deceptively modest 1,50 euros. I have yet to become a customer, but it is definitely in my plans. Though I have to wonder, why the name?

And just to let you know, with the XL and XXL sizes, you don't necessary get something in a bigger flatbread, or so was the case when I was in Marburg. There was a Döner shop there that only had either XL or XXL in addition to the regular (and even a smaller) size. Basically, most everything is the same except they pack in what may be 2x to 3x more meat, which in and of itself is quite overwhelming. I would imagine it's the same deal here, as there are pictures on the front of the shop and this is what they suggest.

YUPPIS also doubles up as an "asiatische Küche" with the usual noodle boxes and whatnot. I have not personally ordered a noodle box of any sort from any of the Asian Imbiss places in Germany, so I can't really say if I'm a fan or not. One Chinese-American friend of mine did and had a not so ideal experience. But then at another Döner-Nudel hybrid along Torstrasse somewhere, another friend of mine ordered a noodle box that turned out to be a success. It might be a hybrid thing, or it might not be. Figure it out at your own risk.

Döner in Berlin: Gourmet?

It's inevitable that at least one of my entries would be about the wonderful Döner Kebab that is utterly and deliciously prevalent in Germany, especially in the city of Berlin. Not only is it yummy and fast, but it's (arguably) good for you, as it's a cheap way to ensure the regular consumption of veggies.

And of course, since the stuff is pretty standard fare, some places have taken the deliciousness to the next level. Located in Charlottenburg at Wilmersdorferstr. 134 (according to Google Maps, as I was too busy munching to look for the street number) is Karavan, a lovely chicken Döner shop that throws in a few extra-special things. I've only been twice so far as the price is somewhat higher than the usual fare, with a Dürüm costing 3,30 euros, and both times the product came out a bit different, but in a good way.

The first time was a few weeks back when I ordered a chicken dürüm with scharfe Soße (spicy sauce), and I very, very much approved. Their 'Salat' consists of an abundance of cucumbers that you can really savor, as opposed to the usual dominanting effect of iceberg lettuce and red cabbage that you'd get at other places. Also, they threw in just a bit of goat cheese, which really made the difference. Moreover, I really like their scharfe Soße. Granted, I don't often order schafe soße and therefore lack much experience to compare with other places, but usually I prefer scharf on chicken (I do now anyway) and Knoblauchsoße for lamb Döners.

I had a craving today, and nearly got distracted by another really cheap Döner place nearby (see next entry), but no, I felt for all the craziness I went through this week, I ought to splurge just a little. This time, however, there was no goat cheese, which was a downer at first, but then after the first bite I realized they threw in a bit of this mixture with potatoes and eggplant. Oh, joy!

So yes, if you feel like going for a little bit of luxury, this is definitely a place I would recommend.

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There are definitely other places that present a different twist on this delicacy, including a different subset of sauces such as mango and sesame. You can definitely find these with a simple Google search, or you could just as well and more easily stumble about late at night through the city and see what comes up in your quest for dirt-cheap sustenance.

(Towards the end of) My year in Berlin

Previously, when people asked me where I'm from, I'd give them one of two immediate responses:

(a) I would cryptically inquire along the lines of "What exactly do you mean?/Where I was born or where I was raised?" As if I had some big secret to hide.

(b) "I was born in Beijing, China, but then I moved to Columbus, OH, and then I went to school in NYC for four years, and now I'm here! Tada!"


It took a city like Berlin to finally get me to condense it to the following lines:

(a) "I'm from Columbus, OH. They like football there. WHOOOOO!"

(I also supplant the above response with an description of Ohio's approximate geographic location in North America upon request. ^^v)

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Columbus is not really a small town per se, as it is the capital and the largest city in the state of Ohio. But among the people I have met here in Berlin, either they know exactly where it is or don't have an utter clue except maybe that it lies somewhere within the Canada-NYC-Mexico-California ring complex.

Is it in fact small? Relatively speaking, yes. Is it boring? Perhaps, but usually if you don't live there. Am I proud of where I come from? Why, yes, but it might take some time to explain why. Granted, I haven't always been filled with pride (e.g. when the state voted red...twice), and it can be more exciting to claim that I'm from a much bigger city.

But I gotta say, when everyone else comes from Beijing/Shanghai/New York/Chicago/Tokyo/Moscow/Paris/London, then coming from Columbus makes me feel a bit exotic!