Walking and Exploring

I've spent the past couple of day walking around Berlin and exploring various parts of city which has proven rather fruitful. A couple of night ago me and the Palo Alto kids went to a party at a squat called 'New Yorck' (previously just Yorck before they were evicted), which was serving cocktails and raising money for legal costs. It was a really nice change of pace with people just sitting around sipping on fancy drinks with Latin music playing in the background. I bumped into Marla there, and then a few minutes later bumped into Lucas. I had meet Lucas in Santa Cruz when he had come to visit Anna at the coop, and it was refreshing to see a familiar face. We had intended on seeing each other at the camp, but were never able to meet up. Long story short, he invited us to go on a walk around the Berlin the following afternoon.

Me and Marla ate lunch at a vegan Sudanese restaurant, and then meet up with Lucas at one of the U-Bahn stops. From there we walked along the river for a while through some parks until we reached this monument to all of the fallen red soldiers during the siege of Berlin at the end of the second world war. The monument itself is huge, with large paths and grassy areas all leading up to a large sculpture of a red soldier smashing a swastika. He holds a child in one arm, and a large sword in the other - socialist realism at its finest. After sitting around near the statue and talking for a while, we continued walking along the river until we had reached an abandoned theme park which had been shut down in 1994. I have a soft spot for post-apocalyptic architecture which made me immediately fond of the place, and is perhaps what had attracted me to Kopi squat when i had first arrived in Berlin. Afterwards, Marla and myself ended up walking around for a little while and grabbed falafel, and then I walked around Berlin and did some night photography before heading to bed.

Speaking of which, I have been spending the last few nights in one of the guest flats at Kopi which has been working out alright, although i do feel that its getting old and I figure I'll try to relocate for tonight. Kopi, as a building, is magnificent. However, I have grown tired of the street-punk culture which is pervasive throughout the squat. It's altogether too masculine and macho for my tastes and it's impossible to just relax and think with music blasting at almost all times in all places. I'm glad that I got to experience it for a while, especially with the eviction possibly happening fairly soon, but I've found other parts of Berlin more attractive.

This morning I finally got in contact with a competent person at fedex and they gave me good news - it appears as if I'll be able to pick up my bike tomorrow afternoon, which would allow me to head out first thing Friday morning. Finally! I'm still crossing my fingers however, as i fear of more delays. After dealing with Fedex, i decided to go to the Jewish Museum here in Berlin, which is by far my favorite thing I've come across so far. The building itself was constructed in such a thoughtful and creative way that you feel as if every turn, corner, ceiling and light all are occupied by meaning and intention. There are a lot of interactive video and sound installations, as well as some constructed spaces which i have to say really shook me to the core. I don't want to go into too much detail, as I feel like i couldn't accurately express my experience with the museum in words, but I would highly highly recommend that people visit this museum if they ever make it to Berlin - it is not to be missed.

I have lots of photos but haven't found time to upload them yet. Will post again once my bike is up and ready to go. Until then, -i.