To Berlin, once again.
I’ve been feeling Berlin for sometime.
Like, last week, when I was showing my best friend here the pictures from my 10 day stay in Berlin in the summer. And explaining what it is like it in Berlin, or what Berlin is, for me. That day we discussed a lot of politics, like the photo from the GDR (East Germany) museum of a 1:1 banner in a crowd, which is about the currency conversion issue after the German reunification, which, according to the museum, “West Germany made a concession to East Germany by giving a 1:1 instead of 1:2”. Concession. There’s a Kennedy museum behind the most important place in Berlin, just near the American Embassy, and McDonalds and “Charlie’s beach” near Checkpoint Charlie. Everyone knows who won the cold war, and what is the meaning of a concession to a loser.
Back to feeling Berlin.
How the Russian researcher girl from St. Petersberg, with whom I am very much in love with and who detests Putin and loves Vienna and 10-euro piano concerts, was so excited about visiting Berlin during the new year’s eve. And the film Good Bye Lenin, which I saw three weeks back, and about which I was talking to her, or rather, trying to give my sagely wisdom, when she said she already had seen it two years back.
And the French girl in my lab, a staunch trade unionist who attends the strikes about pension age, whom also I love, who is so freaking excited about Berlin, and told me last week that she wanted to do her PhD there (she is finishing her PhD in France, now), and that she thinks Berlin is so great, and said there’s history alive on the streets, and that you can go to some place (which I forgot) and dance, and says, may be if she stays in Berlin for two more days she would probably hate it and she is probably stupid to love Berlin so much.
And the something that I read in some blog, under “My travel plan for 2011”, that the author had clear plans like 1) 1 Festival 2) 1 Historic place 3) 1 Natural park 4) One ocean etc, reading which I too decided to go to some Festival this year, and freaking me decided that Festival will be a Film festival, and decided it will be Cannes, and checked, and found that Cannes screenings are mostly for the invited elites, but I can join the thousands that will see some movie in the beach in the evening if I wanted, which I am sure gonna do, but it still doesnt pass as a Festival because I wont be seeing the main part of the Festival,
and then I saw the German-Turkish film Gegen die Wand yesterday and I absolutely liked and loved. There’s something about Germany that I find very interesting. Something stupid of course, some feeling that the houses and windows and all that there are more straight and squarish rather than round, it has strong edges or something unlike the French one, some stupidity like that, and something about the “depth” of Germany and German movies compared to the simplicity of France and French movies, for example the Berlin punk culture, and counter-culture, where they wear so many tattoos and have weird hair and listen to punk and rock, while the French eat their cheese and drink their wine, and Paris is so dead anyway, and the strength of listening to German and the fun of listening to French, ah, there is a tram stop Denis Papin, and what do they call it - “Denni Paappa” !! , and look at this, they call their firemen “Pompiers”, and the funny nosed French actors and the fun I had while involving in hurtful jokes with a French friend in my lab, who calls me brown and gives me 5 cents ( 3 Rupees) to send to my family in India so that they can eat for 1 year, to whom I respond with who ruled France in the 1940s, and such and such jokes.
Stupid reasons and thoughts of course but that is mind.
Anyway, Cannes is out as a Film Festival even though I’ll be visiting it, and then I thought of Berlin and decided to check out Berlin Film Festival, which I knew is very famous from my friend there who’s a wanna-be film maker and a film lover, and yes it is in the next month, and I check the air ticket prices and sure it is great prices, just below 50 Euros two way, while even 1 way train costs 100 Euros. I checked with my friend in Berlin, who generously offered this poor student tickets to the festival, and I booked the flight tickets, and then came the cream:
Another girl with whom I am in absolute love, a Turkish one who I met in a party and told me about Wilde’s Dorian Gray and which I later read and loved so much, but never met her again because she said she’s mostly with her boyfriend, but this time she tells me she is jealous of me going to Berlin, and I ask if she wants to join, she says she cant but may be Cannes, and then we talk about Gegen die Wand which I saw and is somewhat about Turkish people in Germany and the director is Turkish, and she says she loves the film and the director, and recommends another one from the director “Soul Kitchen”. She tells it might be possible to get ticket to Cannes by luck, she somehow saw Revolutionary Road by some luck at some festival, etc. Of course I love this film too. And guess what, she says her favorite music is jazz, all of which means she’s freaking cultivated, and I rarely saw anyone of that specie before, and I say we have met only once, and she says what a pity.
Back to feeling Berlin, and yes, Berlin here I come. But this time I want to do what I missed last time, like the ever present Currywurst, which is pork sausage with curry sauce and I avoided last time because I hate pork, and visit at least some parts of the punk Berlin, and the pubs and such, unlike last time when I totally avoided the nightlife, instead eating rice and omelette with my friend while discussing Kerala politics, and then also take some photographs, visit some specific places, like the Soviet war memorial museum which was closed last time, take pictures of the ghost metro stations, etc, basically use the 3.5 days I'll be in Berlin maximum squared, super busy, etc. I am super thrilled.
I’ve been feeling Berlin for sometime.
Like, last week, when I was showing my best friend here the pictures from my 10 day stay in Berlin in the summer. And explaining what it is like it in Berlin, or what Berlin is, for me. That day we discussed a lot of politics, like the photo from the GDR (East Germany) museum of a 1:1 banner in a crowd, which is about the currency conversion issue after the German reunification, which, according to the museum, “West Germany made a concession to East Germany by giving a 1:1 instead of 1:2”. Concession. There’s a Kennedy museum behind the most important place in Berlin, just near the American Embassy, and McDonalds and “Charlie’s beach” near Checkpoint Charlie. Everyone knows who won the cold war, and what is the meaning of a concession to a loser.
Back to feeling Berlin.
How the Russian researcher girl from St. Petersberg, with whom I am very much in love with and who detests Putin and loves Vienna and 10-euro piano concerts, was so excited about visiting Berlin during the new year’s eve. And the film Good Bye Lenin, which I saw three weeks back, and about which I was talking to her, or rather, trying to give my sagely wisdom, when she said she already had seen it two years back.
And the French girl in my lab, a staunch trade unionist who attends the strikes about pension age, whom also I love, who is so freaking excited about Berlin, and told me last week that she wanted to do her PhD there (she is finishing her PhD in France, now), and that she thinks Berlin is so great, and said there’s history alive on the streets, and that you can go to some place (which I forgot) and dance, and says, may be if she stays in Berlin for two more days she would probably hate it and she is probably stupid to love Berlin so much.
And the something that I read in some blog, under “My travel plan for 2011”, that the author had clear plans like 1) 1 Festival 2) 1 Historic place 3) 1 Natural park 4) One ocean etc, reading which I too decided to go to some Festival this year, and freaking me decided that Festival will be a Film festival, and decided it will be Cannes, and checked, and found that Cannes screenings are mostly for the invited elites, but I can join the thousands that will see some movie in the beach in the evening if I wanted, which I am sure gonna do, but it still doesnt pass as a Festival because I wont be seeing the main part of the Festival,
and then I saw the German-Turkish film Gegen die Wand yesterday and I absolutely liked and loved. There’s something about Germany that I find very interesting. Something stupid of course, some feeling that the houses and windows and all that there are more straight and squarish rather than round, it has strong edges or something unlike the French one, some stupidity like that, and something about the “depth” of Germany and German movies compared to the simplicity of France and French movies, for example the Berlin punk culture, and counter-culture, where they wear so many tattoos and have weird hair and listen to punk and rock, while the French eat their cheese and drink their wine, and Paris is so dead anyway, and the strength of listening to German and the fun of listening to French, ah, there is a tram stop Denis Papin, and what do they call it - “Denni Paappa” !! , and look at this, they call their firemen “Pompiers”, and the funny nosed French actors and the fun I had while involving in hurtful jokes with a French friend in my lab, who calls me brown and gives me 5 cents ( 3 Rupees) to send to my family in India so that they can eat for 1 year, to whom I respond with who ruled France in the 1940s, and such and such jokes.
Stupid reasons and thoughts of course but that is mind.
Anyway, Cannes is out as a Film Festival even though I’ll be visiting it, and then I thought of Berlin and decided to check out Berlin Film Festival, which I knew is very famous from my friend there who’s a wanna-be film maker and a film lover, and yes it is in the next month, and I check the air ticket prices and sure it is great prices, just below 50 Euros two way, while even 1 way train costs 100 Euros. I checked with my friend in Berlin, who generously offered this poor student tickets to the festival, and I booked the flight tickets, and then came the cream:
Another girl with whom I am in absolute love, a Turkish one who I met in a party and told me about Wilde’s Dorian Gray and which I later read and loved so much, but never met her again because she said she’s mostly with her boyfriend, but this time she tells me she is jealous of me going to Berlin, and I ask if she wants to join, she says she cant but may be Cannes, and then we talk about Gegen die Wand which I saw and is somewhat about Turkish people in Germany and the director is Turkish, and she says she loves the film and the director, and recommends another one from the director “Soul Kitchen”. She tells it might be possible to get ticket to Cannes by luck, she somehow saw Revolutionary Road by some luck at some festival, etc. Of course I love this film too. And guess what, she says her favorite music is jazz, all of which means she’s freaking cultivated, and I rarely saw anyone of that specie before, and I say we have met only once, and she says what a pity.
Back to feeling Berlin, and yes, Berlin here I come. But this time I want to do what I missed last time, like the ever present Currywurst, which is pork sausage with curry sauce and I avoided last time because I hate pork, and visit at least some parts of the punk Berlin, and the pubs and such, unlike last time when I totally avoided the nightlife, instead eating rice and omelette with my friend while discussing Kerala politics, and then also take some photographs, visit some specific places, like the Soviet war memorial museum which was closed last time, take pictures of the ghost metro stations, etc, basically use the 3.5 days I'll be in Berlin maximum squared, super busy, etc. I am super thrilled.
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