Sanssouci, ohne Sorge

Neues Palais

A trellized gazebo

Chinesisches Teehaus

Orangerie where the guests stayed

Today we had a day off, so we went to see Potsdam, the town of the Prussian King Friedrich der Große who used to live in the rococo castle Sanssouci in the years 1745–1747. The castle and the whole park Sanssouci was amazingly beautiful. Apparently the king loved his small castle so much that he wanted to be buried there with his greyhounds. He was, nevertheless, buried in Potsdam until only in 1991 his will was fulfilled.

The pavilion Chinese Tee House was almost like from some sugary Disney dream. The Orangery, where the royal guests were accommodated, and the solaro-ice cream orange Sanssouci castle with its turquoise roof were, on the other hand, as though they had belonged to some wealthy and exotic Southern country. The statues, fountains, kaleidoscopic flowers and the grand trees crowned the noble grounds.

The town of Potsdam with its Dutch quarter and small cafés made the open-air day perfect.

Möhrenkuchen Tag, again

Today was another Sunday for new Flohmarkt findings. I went to explore the Boxhagener Platz flee market. This time the market was much easier to grasp due to its small size and more organised structure (compared to Mauerpark). I only bought a tiny English-German dictionary that I can have all the time in my bag. I had my bike with me so I went around the Viertel and found a sweet artistic café called Alice Gryphius. Apparently she was some kind of an anthropologist and an author but I didn’t manage to find out much about here, apart from the information on the web site. There was a small gallery for art exhibitions in the next room. The ethereal and quiet atmosphere of the café enchanted me. I had fresh ginger tea from a big glass and carrot cake (once again).  

Night out

We held a PR event for the NPR Berlin Radio at the ICD (Institute for Cultural Diplomacy - the place where I do my internship). We interns had to wear cocktail dresses and suits and be soignée. That was a good excuse to continue the evening to some other place. 

First I went to drop of my laptop (the heavy thing) at Caterina’s place, and then we met the others and left to the “Far East” again. This time we went to explore the Friedrichshain streets, which were full of small bars and pubs. Later, a little bit further there was a hip club/biergarten called Rosi’s. What I loved about the place was the garden like atmosphere outside (even though the weather was a bit moist), the ping pong table and the cheap drinks (beer 2€) and entrance (5€). When buying a drink in Berlin Biergartnes, you get a chip (or in this case a pin), and when you return the bottle inside to the counter you'll get 50c back. I saved my pin but found two other on the floor, returned two bottles and got 1€ back. The music was danceable (the Killers, Blondie, Bloc Party, Nirvana, Yelle...) although it (and the whole place actually) was very much hipster-like. But these kind of places are still difficult to find elsewhere than in Berlin. 

The people go and stay out very late in general. On the way home, while waiting the trains, people might eat Currywurst (sausage in red currytomatosauce) or sandwhiches. We did that as well. Wurst is one of the most distinguishable smells in Berlin.  Since East is east and I live in the North, I was home at around 5 a.m. Fortunately the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn have people going to places day and night. This way you feel relatively secure alone in the train even during the night.

Mauerpark adventures

Sunday was bliss. I went to discover the treasures of the Mauerpark Flohmarkt (flea market) and spent literally the whole day there. Mauerpark is situated in Prenzlauer Berg in North-East Berlin. When you enter the fenced are you will find mountains and mountains of stuff: Flowers, fruit, honey, fresh juices, Middle Eastern pastries, jewellery, kitsch, junk, cameras, records, paintings, broken, new, fancy, faded objects, anything, everything  and more. You find piles of jewellery but in the end you don’t buy anything because there’s too much choice. I could stay there the whole day because of the good facilities. There is a toilet (highly appreciated) and many food stalls to fill up your stomach. I had a feta spinach wrap for lunch with an English girl Marie-Claire, to whom I strolled into randomly. Later I also had a piece of walnut carrot cake and fruit salad, yum.

At around one o’clock I was already about to leave, when I happened to discover the actual park next to the market. A karaoke afternoon was about to start in the park and it wasn’t just any karaoke. The singer would be performing to at least 300 people in the amphitheatre looking graffiti styled stage. We stayed there in the sunny stand with some friends, Caterina, Felicitas and Aurelia, from work and thanks to that (and the delusion that the day was going to be cloudy) my nose was red in the evening. 


As I was walking around I came across with a small, white outworn, collapsible bicycle. I immediately fell in love with it and it got the name Mahti (the Might). The man who sold it to me was very nice. Using my poor German I managed to bargain the bike to 55€ and the man gave me the keys so that I could cycle to the nearest cash point. On the way there I met a girl, who asked where I got the cool bike and already wanted to buy the thing. I gave her my number, although it’s already difficult to think about giving up on the bike. The bike seller was also ready to buy the thing back for 20€ if I would go back to Mauerpark before going back. 

Before leaving I went to sit on the burned grass in the shadows of trees, and listened to the band Stitch Craft among others, which was making their European Tour with a collective called the Pleasant Revolution. They asked people to come and cycle bikes around the band to generate electricity for the sound system. There was a juggler fooling around on the grass and too many people were smoking. Hippy feeling. And then a ride home with my mighty vehicle. 

At the lake

It felt as though the whole Berlin went to the lake on Sunday

Heat and Disappoinments

It is hot also here in Germany. Today we had over 30 degrees. The heated atmosphere got a little calmer yesterday after Germany lost the football match to Spain. I quite new the result – didn’t Paul the psychic Octopus say so. Me and two other Finns watched the game in a Latino Bar. Other Biergarten terraces were crowded, natürlich. Most of the faces of the people in the metro on the way home were somewhat dull and bored.

Today, after work, I stepped outside to explore my surroundings. The neighbourhood of Wedding is not as boring as I thought it would be. It’s actually quite lively and lush. The metro takes me from our door to work at Ku’damm in less than 20 minutes. A walk by the classically beautiful school of medicine took me to the river bank where I spotted some illegal grilling in the bushes. The Germans love grilling, I heard. 

New home

I have now settled down to a room, which has happy airplane posters on the walls and teddy bears on the shelves. I cleared out some own space, managed to swap the basket sofa to a big and comfy sofa i.e. bed. And yet again do I have IKEA fittings.

There’s no way I can complain now, though. I have two wonderful roommates, Charlotte und Kira, to whom I blabber elemental German. Even though I must sound like a baby, I feel proud that I have managed to avoid the temptation of speaking in English and actually explaining myself clearly. Well, at least for now there haven’t been bigger misunderstandings. Not that I know. I don’t always understand what they tell me but either I ask “Wie (bitte)?” or "Was" and look enquiring or just let it pass. The girls don’t exactly speak slowly to me, which I perhaps start to appreciate a little bit later. Most of the things are easy to understand but forming clauses is difficult. Compound(?) verbs such as aus/packen (= to unpack), vocabulary and inflexion of words (“Ich gebe den Kater ein Fisch”) are the hardest.

Now I’m preparing myself for tomorrow’s work. I feel like an adult. I have work and I am going there tomorrow by metro in my new black leather shoes and airy pants which I just ironed. I hope that I will get a good night sleep. Last night I woke up to a huge bang and in the morning I found 3 kilos of sugar on the floor. The two black cats were rampaging at the darkest hours of the night. Gute Nacht sagt der Sandmännchen.

Ernie wanted to drink some water and managed to drop the vase.