Berlin Pt. 2

To continue from the Kulturforum, I went shoe shopping. My last pair of shoes were literally falling apart. They'd had holes for a few months, but then the elastic laces broke on the left shoe and it was time. I checked out a few skateshops, but couldn't find a single pair that I really liked. They had to be usable as skateshoes but still nice enough for me to be able to wear to work, and I had to find them somewhat aesthetically pleasing. These seemingly simple requirements were more difficult to meet than I had imagined. I ended up at an Adidas store and settled for a one-size-too-small pair that I was a bit lukewarm about. This is why I hate shopping. I never find anything that I really like when I need it, never have money when I do find something I like, and nearly always end up regretting my purchase. And unfortunately, I do regret this purchase. The next day I came across some other stores with awesome shoes that I imagine would have fit me instead of causing the most painful blister of my life. This blister is covering half my pinky toe. I don't even know if I should refer to it as a single blister, as the original blister popped and a new one formed right on top. Last night I was in such pain that I couldn't walk or even think all that clearly. Today is a beautiful sunny day and I can't go out and enjoy it. Fuck.

So ANYWAY, after shoe shopping I spent a couple hours walking around Prenzlauer Berg. This neighborhood was clearly the current hotspot, there were hip boutiques, cafes, bars, and people everywhere. Later that night I ended up at a collectively run vegetarian cafe/bar in the neighborhood called Morgenroot. I had a couple beers and chilled out to the funky soul music they were piping through. This was one of the most awesome spots I've ever been too! It was a bit overwhelming, especially thinking about how perfect his place was for Cate.

On my last full day in town I began with a brunch buffet at Morenrot. The buffet cost 4 to 8 Euros and its up to the patron how much they want to pay "based on how rich they are." Well, I'm not much rich but I do love that place. The rest of the day I ended up doing more wandering around Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg. I also walked around Mitte's gallery district. Mitte was the hotspot in East Berlin in early nineties, but now seems a bit corporate and commercial. I did stop into a really cool gallery called Circleculture that was exhibiting some silk screen graphics by Sister Corita Kent. Longer post about her to come?

I ended up having a final dinner at Morena, a cozy spot in Kreuzberg, and later that night I went back to Bais for a couple more cheap drinks. And that was pretty much the trip! A few touristy things but mostly just walking around and enjoying Berlin's atmosphere or reading in one of its fine cafes or bars. And I did a fair amount of reading, too. I finished The Color Purple on the trip down, sped through Pride and Prejudice as quick as I could, and bought Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs at an English language second-hand bookshop.

When I got back to Oslo yesterday it had snowed about four inches, which is causing me a great deal of psychological pain. I saw flowers here three weeks ago! There should not be this much snow right now! Its going to take a while to melt, I bet, and I don't want to deal with all the ice again. Hana, my Slovakian roommate from last semester, moved back into our flat! She's back in town for about a month and a half and around the tail end of April Isi and Weibtke will visit. So that's fun.

So that's the update. By the time you read this there should be photos posted up on Flickr.