(At)tempting fate's bluff, and chinwagging with a VIP (very important Pole).

Prepare yourselves people, this whole story is just too tragic. Honestly, it's like Romeo and Juliet meets Wuthering Heights (in terms of tragic romance, since the plot really bears no ressemblance to either. ) So anyway, here is the story. Prepare tissues. For weeping, there aren't any naughty bits.

I was like all sad and sleepy, so I'd skipped my one class today to go shopping with Lisa, my Mitbewohnerin. Note how the whole situation only arose due to randomly deciding to skip uni, and this was in turn due to me being sad. Time for fate to strike or what? That way you can look back and say, "Gosh, and it all only happened because I decided to skip that class that day." That's the kind of thing people say, isn't it? That's what HAPPENS. Right. So we'd been a-shopping. Not hugely successfully, but a few purchases had been made. Then we came back. I wasn't going to come back. I actually had my swimming stuff with me and had been intending to go to the pool straight from the shopping centre. But I hadn't gone, because we'd mooched around for too long and decided to stop off for summat to drink. So I hadn't gone to class. I hadn't gone swimming. So I was there. At the right time. For the...

DINOSAUR ATTACK.

Not a real dinosaur. Obv, you fool. A person dressed as a dinosaur. Handing out flyers for a puppet theatre show round the corner, in under an hour. And behind the dinosaur, there he stood. The most beautiful man in the world. He had such lovely eyes. He was holding a microphone-on-a-stick. And the other, also quite good looking but essentially insignificant from the perspective of fate, man was holding a TV camera. They asked me what I thought about puppet theatre. NO IDEA what I said. The whole thing was a little weird. But never mind. It turned out they were Swedish, and making a documentary for Swedish TV. Cool. So they asked if we were gonna go, and we said maybe. Then he looked me right in the eyes. And I fell in love. And he said he'd see hopefully me there. And I died.

Of course I went. Lisa couldn't make it coz she had to go meet a friend. I myself had a meeting in another part of the city at half six. It started at half five. But I went. Of course I went. It was in the Schokofabrik, this funky little bar/venue/thing just round the corner from where I live. Just going in there was cool I guess, as I'd not got round to it. It was so cool. Totally dilapidated. And only a few people there, all of whom were either involved in the venue or the puppet theatre. Or Swedish TV. Yup, there he was. SO I sit myself down on a like table type thing. Then I get interviewed about my views on puppet theatre and why I'd decided to come (I claimed it was because of the dinosaur). The best thing was that I was actually instructed to look at him while talking. And his eyes were so lovely, and he was smiling at the amusing things I said. They said they'd speak to me again afterwards. I sit back down.

Then began the waiting. The people doing the show were kinda amateur, so it took them a long time to get ready. I had quite a nice chat to a couple of people there. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact I had just fallen in love with Swedish man and wanted to go tell him we should spend ourt lives together I'd have been generally pround of myself just for going and talking to people auf Deutsch. But time was a-ticking by, and I was getting worried. The meeting, remember? I had to be in the Nikolaiviertel by 1830 and by the time they finally got going, it was already 1800. Shit.

It was marvellous. It was basic and witty and they got bits wrong and it was hilarious and just a little bit moving. Oh, and all the characters were birds. They were typical generation X guys. In a band and shit, getting worried about the future. You know the deal. But time was going by. I'd managed to make slight eye contact with my future husband a couple of times, but obviously he was kinda busy filming stuff (by this time they'd swapped, and he was holding the camera while otherman held the microphone-on-a-stick.) But it was already half six when the thing finally ended. I went to the back of the room to grab my coat and headed for the door. And there they were, outside, waiting for me. So I do my short interview about what I'd thought about the show. I say how great it was. It was great. I do all of this looking straight at otherman while He holds the camera. I couldn't look at him, coz I wasnae allowed. I presume he was still looking beautiful.

And then I had to go. I was so late. There was no time to chat. No time to ask him what he was doing in Berlin, if he lives here, what channel he works for, if I'm gonna be on TV, how old he is, if he has a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a phone number, a name. I had to go. So I went. I smiled cheerfully and said goodbye. And hurried off to my meeting. I ran. Ran to to the U-Bahn. Ran from the U-Bahn, past the TV-Tower, past the Christmas Market, smelling of Glühwein and Wurst, past the Ferris Wheel. And I got to the meeting, only 15 minutes late. And two people were still not there. Kitti had rung. She wasn't going to be there for another 20 minutes.

I had left. I had RUN. I had run away from what will probably be my only chance of happiness in my entire life.For nothing. For social obligation. I could have stayed another 20 minutes with no negative consquences. I could at least have asked his name.

I went back later of course, after the meeting, after the couple of mugs of Glühwein. I claimed to have lost my gloves. He wasn't there anymore. He's probably somewhere editing my face and words to fit the requirements of a Swedish documentary about the weirdos who live in Berlin and spend their days wandering around in furry hats and going to puppet theatre. I hope he thinks I was cute.

Bryn
xxxx

P.S. I'm interviewing the Polish foreign minister on stage tomorrow. Go me.

I'm not dead.

Hello!

I've been told I have to write in the blog again, so here I am to fulfill people's wish. Sorry for the total lack of writing anything, I was just getting all pissed off at blogging. But here I am to give it another go. The fact that my laptop has randomly decided to stop being able to play DVDs means I have a lot of time to kill. (That's right, I'm STILL not really doing much work.) I've been a bit down and homesick recently, and have thus been watching lots of Ab Fab. But now I can't anymore, coz life despises me. Or maybe just wants me to leave the flat.

But I do! I leave it regularly. Every day in fact. (Actually, that may be true, I think it's been a long time now since I had a day where I didn't actually go out at all.) Since I haven't written in over a month I'm just gonna have to skip over November (which was lovely, thanks) and jump straight to today. I went on a trip to the Finnish embassy with the Finnish class, which was cool. I was feeling a bit shakey after a rather hardcore weekend, but it was still fun having alook around. In a typically smug gesture of Nordic solidarity Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finnland all have their embassies together in a very modern, fabulously stylish complex of little buildings. It's fit. I also chatted a bit with some people in the class, which was nice. I think things are slowly starting to thaw out there, it's just taking a lot of time, and I'm having to put in a LOT of charm. However, and this is gonna sound dreadful, I reckon that what with it being a class of 32 with only 3 boys, of whom I am so the best looking, I should be well placed to make some nice female friends (coz my life is so lacking those!). That may sound harsh, but I'm beginning to realise that I am really rather attractive and fanciable...

TO WOMEN. No good for my love life, but at least if they think I'm cute they're more likely to wanna be friends with me. Is that evil? Maybe, but I don't care. I need to speak more German!

However, the being good-looking only seems to work on girls, since even at gay clubs in one of the gayest cities in the world I am still universally ignored. I'm thinking the presumption that I would acquire a boyfriend during this year is gonna need a rework, which in turn has a pretty serious knock-on effect on my hopes of ever getting one ever in my life. I really have a lot resting on this year. 

Actually the boyfriend situation is a relatively small problem compared to the Big Question. Do I like Berlin? Obv I do like Berlin. I love it. But do I like it enough? Will I come back after my degree? Will I actually try and attempt to have a life abroad? I just don't know. I really don't. And that's a bid deal for me, as it shows how much this whole experience is challenging me. Before getting here I was so naive, so presumptious. I was so definite that I'd bugger off as soon as my degree was done with. But it's really not easy. I also really don't know why I'm so bothered by this question already. I've still got months left to make up my mind. I should probs concentrate more on having fun and less on...whatever that is...

Right, now I'm gonna see if I can get this bloody DVD to play. Hopefully I will be able to. Or I'm not gonna be impressed. I shall leave you with some joy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=444L2Kc4zIg

Sooooo good. It's been a really big hit here (they're from Dresden) and I got the album today. Very impressive. I reckon they could even make it in England, since the album is in English. They're coming to Berlin in a couple of months, maybe I'll see if I can get some people together to go see them.

Aaaanyhoo, good night people. If you're there. If not I feel better for writing this anyway, so that's all good. Ciao!

Solitary Brooooooother!

Yes, I am listening to Killer. It is fit. And yes, there is a part of me that wants to live.

So anyway, I'm sad. And just sneezed. This makes me sadder. And it's raining. And I've overdosed on cake. Sadsadsad.

Basically I'm sad because I have no friends. This is of course a total exaggeration, I have plenty of friends. But they're all English. And I guess the people at the Studienkolleg will become more friend-like as time goes by. But I want to make some at uni. I have so few classes, and don't actually take part in any proper degree structure, so I'm just this random outsider who sits there and then leaves at the end. Alone. While they all talk and chat to each other. In German. It is well depressing. I mean, the classes are really fun and stuff. I'm thinking Finnish and Hungarian was a fabulous idea. But I just dunno how to MEET people. I can't function in a university that doesn't have a college structure. Since I don't actually live in uni accomodation and never have small-group classes or supervisions, I don't really feel any connection to the other students or the institution as a whole. How do people at normal universities make friends? Or do they not? Is this adulthood? It this the wonder of being part of the most mobile generation ever created by our individualist society? Is this what it means to have the world at my feet, bursting with opportunity?

Coz it just smells a bit like solitude and no matter how much cake I eat it still tastes like disappointment.

Bleergh. I am already so over my whining. Just shut up Bryn. Apologies.

Bryn
xxxx

I have Jet Lag

Right, I have come to the conclusion that I simply can't cope with living in Berlin. It is far too cool for me. How can you got out on a Friday a stay up until 8am and then have worked your body clock round again in order to GET UP at 8am on Monday. Wrong. Ah well, I had a well good weekend. We went to Das Haus B, which will be known to those of you who went interrailing with me as the really trashy gay club near Warschauer Strasse. T'was great!

I have also started my Finnish and Hungarian classes. Hoorah! :-)

Ooh, and I got wined and dined on the top floor of the Hanselmanturm...a really prestigious (and proper well fit) piece of Communist architecture. The view was AMAZING. I'm so into the Studienkolleg. Tonight is the official opening of the Kolleg year, and I'm giving a little speech abou our group's project. Funtimes.

There are so many people I want to talk to in person about specific things. Blogging is a frustrating format. Ah well, such is life. Laterz! xxx

University has started. Not.

So, long time no write. I would like to claim that this is because I have been hugely busy achieving marvellous things with my life, making hundreds of new friends and finishing my dissertation. Sadly I cannot, as that would be a lie, and I'm a good little boy.

I haven't actually been to a single learning event yet, as everytime I attempt to go, there is nobody there. This makes me sad. Almost to the point of crying in the streets. The whole system is so vague and confusing. I mean, it's good to have the freedom to put together your own course and stuff, but I really miss having a director of studies. There's just no PERSON I can go to and say "WTF is going on?" Instead I just wander round on my own attempting to go to lectures which have evidently been cancelled. Hmm. Let's just say I'm finding the transition from the 3rd best uni in the world (better than Oxford, woot!) to one that hovers in the late hundreds a bit of a rough ride. I did get a place on the Hungarian course though, which is good. And Finnish hopefully will start soon. I'm just gonna keep turning up until it does. Then all will be good. I might actually just do those two and give up on the idea of going to politiky lectures. I'm just too fond of well-organised clarity to cope if it's gonna be all messy and unpleasant and undignified. I'm just too mentally neat. Hmm. I'm really trying to be all tolerant and enjoy the multicultural experience, but I'm starting to think Cambridge is just better in all ways...

HOWEVER. Not all has been woe. I went out! Me and Ralph (friend of a friend) decided to frapper gayville (the area around Nollendorfplatz) on saturday night. It was odd. It was kinda empty, there were no women and no young people. I was turned away from a club for wearing trainers...I was really shocked at this as I hadnae thought Berlin was that kinda town. I mean, shoe-based entry policies are just so common. Vodka Revs has one. QED. We were then turned away from another one because we by this point had a woman with us. I got very angry about this, as the guy at the door was really rude to her. Lazy gay misogyny really pisses me off. I mean FFS, our rights are totally dependent on women's lib. There was also a real lack of noisy drunks fighting and women crying...I miss England! :-p

Hmm, I just made it sound like I didn't have any fun, which is not at all the case. It was well fun talking to randoms. And very interesting. I don't think I'll ever go back though. It just wasnae my kinda area. Not enough...well I dunno...life, I guess. Not enough FUNFUNFUN. I always feel like that going West though. The whole place depresses me. Feels so dead and pointless. Fills me with the really strange mixture of creeped-out-ness and pity. The night was, Berlin style, also sooo long. I got home about six in the morning (partly because Nollendorfplatz is so far west, like basically in Cornwall) and then had to leave pretty much straight away for the expat day at the seaside. Turns out that the sea is VERY far away, which I find strange, being from a town about 10 mins from the sea in a country where you're never that far from wetness. It took about 3 1/2 hours...and we're actually really quite near by German standards. Weird. Still, it was really nice there (Zinnowitz) and the beach had real sand and CLEAR water. Take that Felxistowe. Obv it was way too cold to actually go swimming, but we paddled a bit and went in this really cool underwater cinema to watch 3D videos about fish. Funtimes.

Right, I am going to go achieve summat with my life. Laterz.

Bryn
xxxx

ARGH!

This country is bloody ridiculous sometimes. Matrikulation was a huge disaster. I mean, in Cambridge it was just an excuse to dress up in our gowns and ponce around a bit before signing a piece of paper. Here it's a massive black hole of bureaucratic nightmaricy. Here is the process in bullet points:

1. Go to desk.
2. Wait in (something that in abroadland counts as a) queue.
   
3. Get piece of paper allowing you pay fees.
4. Go to other end of university and pay fees.
5. Go see a man who will write on a piece of paper that you have a piece of plastic proving that you have health insurance.
6. Return to desk.
7. Wait in "queue".
   
8. Receive number.
9. Wait.
10. Matriculate.

Anyone with a basic understanding of, well, just about ANYTHING can see that that is stupid. No multi-stage process should ever require returning to one of the earlier stages to proceed to the end. Especially not when this stage is a desk being run by ONE very stressed looking Italian woman. This is basically the platonic image of a bottleneck. Honestly, it was a better bottle neck than the actual neck of the actual bottle from which Jesus poured the wine in the Holy Grail before sacrificing himself to rescue the souls of mankind. (Except anyone working in the admin department of the Humboldt University, who are quite clearly servants of Satan.)

The system also allows no self initiative. My attempts to pay my fees at the Kasse without first going to the desk and getting my pink piece of paper allowing me to pay my fees were firmly rebuffed. So I go to the desk, wait for ages, and then receive my piece of pink paper, on which there stands not a single piece of information that was not already on some other piece of paper elsewhere. How ridiculous.

Even more ridiculous, by the time I had got my piece of pink paper giving me the right to give them my money and hurried down to the Kasse, it had shut. And that stupid cow down there was SOO rude. Bitch. I hope she gets very very itchy thrush. Well, with the Kasse shut until one I couldn't pay my fees, and without paying my fees I couldn't matriculate. The Kasse opens again at one, but this is when matriculation closes...

Excuse me?
No, but, actually, EXCUSE ME?

What the hell is wrong with these people? How on Earth can they have such amazing public transport but be SOOO rubbish at what is actually a fairly simple administrative task. Honestly, if they had just given me all the forms I could have done it myself in about ten minutes. FFS.

So, Bryn is now pissed off and has to go back tomorrow to finish it all off. *weeps*

Laterz.
Bryn
xxxx

Wannsee Life

Hillo all, hope you've been a-having a nice week. I have.

So, I was in Wannsee for the introductory week of the Studienkolleg. It was well cool, but bloody exhausting. Much discussion, many speeches and lectures, much drinking, much eating, much befriending and much dancing, and a little kissing. Alles auf Deutsch of course. Funtimes.

They're a really nice bunch, which bodes well, as I have to work with them for the rest of the year. There was a little too much democracy going on, as in endless constant discussion and voting of what we should do. But still, it was coolfit. I even had an introduction to conflict management, so should any of you fall out with a friend, workmate or neighbouring state then you know who to call!

Best of all, we sorted out our project groups and I pretty much got to do my idea. Hoorah! There's five of us, and we'll be travelling to the border between Hungary and Serbia to look at the effects of the recently-extended Schengen zone on those living near the border. Am tres excited.

In even more exciting news, I am FINALLY matriculating at the Humboldt tomorrow. Yay! Lectures, however, don't actually start until the 14th of Oktober.

Bryn
xxxx

Farewell!

Hi peeps! (I've decided to act as though lots of people are reading even though I suspect the numbers are slight.)

This is basically just a quick hello to say that all is well. I'm missing the homeland, well the few people I care about in it. I don't miss England as such at all. However, despite the slight Heimweh I am still loving Berlin. Am feeling much more at home now, and very excited about the start of uni.

More importantly, I'm off to Wannsee for the Studienkolleg Introductionweek tomorrow! Wahoo! A week of Europe. Funtimes. And after much pondering I've finally come up with an idea for a research project...

The Schengen accord: Open Borders?
A comparison of reactions to the Schengen Agreement on the intra-EU Vienna-Bratislava route (now border-free after years of cold war) and the Ljubljana-Zagreb route (now with a militarily monitored border after years as part of Yugoslavia).

Fit, hein? Hopefully some others will agree and join my group. Although I won't be that bothered if it doesn't klappen, so long as I can go to the Balkans at some point. It's all about the Balkans.

Anyhoo, I'll start to post again once I get back. Hope you're all topfit!

Bryn
xxxx

Uralismus.

Aight people.

Apologies for the previous post, which you should all take as proof that one should NEVER go on the internet while deeply drunk. *ahem* Perhaps I ought to clarify what I meant slightly. The party wasn't heartbreaking, the party was fun. Very much so actually, although I was accidently a total expat again. Never mind, one day I'll speak some Deutsch! The (unfortunately very brief) visit to the most fabulous club ever was also splendid, as was the tanzing in the slightly less fabulous club. The heartbreak was related to summat else which I would describe if I weren't so paranoid about the readability of the internet. Oh shit, I've just realised this could now all sound like it was referring to summat else that other people might think I was talking about. Damn this vicious web of cyberlies! God, I miss the days when having a blog was just me whinging and being honest. Where did those days go...?

Anyhoo, closing that chapter now. :-p

Right, erm, I've now forgotten what I was going to say. Oh yes! My degree! As I mentioned, I've decided I'm going to do Skandilala Studies as my main subject. I'm presuming that I'm allowed to ignore all the rules about how degrees are put together, since that's what Potsdam told Catherine. Well, so long as I am allowed to do that, then I think I have now actually got a timetable! :-) You have to put it all together yourself here because Germans are evidently very self-reliant people. So, after about 20 aeons fighting with the Komentiertes Vorlesungungsverzeichnis (Annotated Lecture Timetable) I seem to have pulled together quite a funky mixture of stuff:

Swedish,
Finnish,
Hungarian,
Skandilala Politik,
Deutschy Politik,
International Relations,
Introduction to Health Policy

It amounts to about 24 hours contact time a week, which I'm worried might be a bit much. All the politiky ones are actually just lectures, and I'm not planning to submit any assessed work for them, just attend and do some reading, which might overlap nicely with Studienkolleg stuff. But still, learning three languages at once might get a bit hardcore, as I really would like to do fairly well in them. Together with the Studienkolleg I reckon this could mean I was working about 40 hours a week. Which is actually loads now I think about it.

Perhaps I should drop a language. But I want to learn them ALL! :-) And if I do Finnish and Hungarian this year then I'll be set for a simply delicious dissertation in my fourth year all about Uralic morphology.

Hmm, we'll see. Anyhoo, I'm gonna go do some reading now, ready for my hopefully-very-fun week in Wannsee. It makes for some delightful bedtime reading:

'Institutionelle Struktur und Governance in der EU'

50p for any non-Germanists who can read that. :-p

Bis cake!
Bryn
xxxx

P.S. I've finally bought Mia.'s new album, 'Willkommen im Club' and it's DEVINE! :-)))

An evening.

Am drunk.

Hello.

Right. Girl's birthday. Fun! German.

!

People were there. Mild frustration, and slight heartbreak but also FUN!

Heartbreak is noteworthy (ish), but I have accidently publicised this blog, thus I cannot actually be honest. This was careless, oder?

Anyhoo. It is now nearly half six. Good night. I wosh I could talk about boyyyyys! Stupid blog! I need a friends only version! Maybe I should go back to LJ?

Bryn
xxxx

P.S. Electro is soooooooo cool. I need vistors NOW.

P.P.S. I love these kebabs!

It's getting hard to think of titles for these things...

Hello all! (If anyone is actually reading...which I can't tell. If you are, please comment sometimes so I feel less like I'm cybertalking to myself. I can, and do, talk to myself perfectly well in several languages without the use of the internet.)

I have changed my mind about what degree to do. It has now become perfectly obvious to me that I simply must study Skandinavistik/Nord-Europa Studien. You get to do two languages: one of Swedish/Danish/Norwegian, and one of Finnish/Icelandic, as well as stuff about the Culture and Politics and shit of Scandinavia. Sounds well fit. And alongside I could still do a few hours of Sozialwissenschaften every week as a Beifach. Since I'd only be doing the first year of it, it's overwhelmingly language work. Yay! New languages make me happy. And FINNISH! Fit. That way I could do Finnish at uni, try and find someway to actually get half decent at Hungarian and then do a fourth year dissertation on Uralic languages. Plan? Plan.

I am also happy to annouce that I received post today. This makes me feel very at home here. even better the post was a BanhCard and a fabulous photo collage from Claire. These both make me happy as friends and trains are both very special to me. :-) All I'm waiting for now is my stupid German Sim-Karte from bloodyrubbish Simyo. Despite ordering it over two weeks ago it had still not turned up, and then yesterday I get an email saying it had been returned due to an incorrect address. Fools. The Handy I ordered on the same day got here just fine. AGES ago. Humph.

As a final thing of note: I stayed up all night! Drinking! But mainly being OUT. As in in a place that's not my flat, not as in being gay. I find this very exciting. To have been in a bar until gone seven makes me feel very much like a city-resident. Especially as it was a Tuesday night. That worst of nights. I'm so hardcore.

Anyhoo, comment people! Otherwise I'll hang myself.

Love you!

Bryn
xxxx

Dancing in Cyrillic and Reservoirs of Art

Oh, my goodness, what a fabulous weekend!

Yesterday evening was Russen Disko, a crazy clubnight playing a mixture of Russian and Ukranian pop music. It was started by Wladimir Kaminer, a Russian autor who has lived in Berlin for years and is a bit of a local treasure, and it's really rather famous, getting really good reviews in guides'n'stuff and still being popular with locals and Eastern expats alike a few years after starting. 

Well, it did not disappoint. Honestly, I tanzed like a loonpot! I think the teapots of cocktails we had consumed before coming out - made of lovely German Korn spirit, at just £3.50 a bottle - may have had summat to do with this. And once it got going, the floor was packed. Argh, it was so cool! It's at this club/restaurant/thing on the same road as my flat, like seriously close, called Kaffee Burger, which is decorated in the most fabulous DDR style, including ancient floral wallpaper and bad commi light fittings. It was so perfect. The only bad thing was that being lightweight Cambridge students, (I went with a few fellow expats) we left at about half two, at which point there were still a lot of people only just coming in.
I'm defo gonna have to get into partying all night long, I mean I have done it quite a few times before. My flatmate didn't get in until gone six this morning and then slept until half six this afternoon. Nice one.

Right, so then today was also amazing. Me and Rosalind, one of the aforementioned expats, decided to Do Something with our Sunday, so she came over here for planning. After looking thorugh a few of the listings, we decided to go up to a former underground reservior in Prenzlauer Berg, which is now used for artsy things, where there is currently a sort of Soundart Installation. It might sound pretentious, but it was actually AMAZING! Seriously, it was really creepy and moving and weird. The reservoir itself was totally freaky, a concentric network of big brick tunnels, and this amazing space had loads of speakers all over the place playing really interesting atmospheric sounds. It was all done to play with the space and kinda confuse your senses. Argh, it's impossible to put into words how cool it was. It was just such an overwhelming sensory experience. Full marks. We were in there for ages and it only cost 3€! There was
actually even two of them...another one had big plates of glass and metal functioning as speakers, which was fun. I love modern artsy things, so much better than paintings of fruit and wars.

So, then we wandered round Prenzlauer Berg a bit. I still hadn't been up into the heart of that bit of town and OMG it's so bloody nice. Like, Germany does Paris or summat. And it was really cold and crisp and felt deeply festive. Marvellous. And we played on this terifyingly odd merrygoround thing.

Good times. I like Berlin.

Biccies and Piccies

My mouth is sore. :-(

Because I went to LIDL and bought loads of biscuits!!! :-)

After my disappointment at the rubbishness of the nearest Aldi compared to my one in Ipswich, I went of on a hunt for a LIDL. And it was fabulous. I love LIDL. As well as the biscuits (99 cents for a 500g bag, bargainasm!) I bought MORE potato salad, and some salami, and some funny little Frikadellen things with cheese in the middle. Yum.

Even more interestingly, on the way to LIDL I got kinda lost, a nd thus got a nice walk around Friedrichshain, which is hardcore communist. Some of the buildings are really nice (if you like communist architecture, which I kinda do) and some of them are well scuzzy. But it all felt suitably commi. I also kinda forget that most of the city and all of the area around it were actually in the DDR, and that the DDR was communist and kinda nasty. It just doesn't seem to tally with my idea of Germany as really western and Berlin as really liberal.

Hmm. *muses*

Bryn
xxxx

P.S. Here are some photos of my flat, finally:

Success!

Hoorah! I've finally managed to get Telefon-Banking to work for long enough to be able to tell the Postbank that I have moved. I find this very comforting. Deutsche Bank started their long awaited attempt to buy Postbank today. And I'm a customer! It's probably a bit sad for me to feel excited about this, but I am. I was reading all about it in the Tagezeitung (fabulously leftist newpaper to which our flat has a subscription) today and felt very HERE. T'was marvellous.

In other news I have finally finished "decorating" my room, by which I mean I have stuck photos and postcards all over the walls. And I did my first loads of washing today. Feel very at home now! :-)

Am now having a rave-for-one listening to Beirut Nights, the best online rasion station ever.

http://loudcity.com/stations/beirut-nights-radio/files/show/indexvhinoss.htm

Gute Nacht!

Bryn
xxxx

P.S. I'm going to Russen Disko tomorrow. This is exciting, as it's famous, and like ON MY ROAD.

Expat life

I have accidentally turned into an expat. Oops. I have seen lots of English people over the past few days. And am about to go see another.

I feel very culturally inauthentic.

Cue linguist-angst.

In fact, when I was with said English people the other day at the Kulturbrauerei (old beer factory that's been turned into trendy melange of bars, clubs, theatres, cinemas etc...) I met someone who'd been TO MY SCHOOL. (As a pupil, not a visitor.)

Like, wtf.

Anyhoo, I am soon going to begin a process of rebecoming German, as I now have a student Montorin. Her name is Julia, and hopefully she will tell me the following:

a. How university works here, no fucking idea.
b. How I change course, they've given me the wrong one.
c. How I make any friends and thus avoid being a loser/recluse.

Right, I am now going to empty the washing machine. Coz my life is excting like that.

Bryn
xxxx

P.S. I was cultured yesterday! I went to the official wall memorial, very sad, and then two galleries! They're free on Thursday evenings. I was actually only meant to go to one, but got to see the outside of another because I went to the wrong one...down the other end of the city. Oops. What japes!

Phones, paper and Bier are good. Banks. Are. Bad.

Right, I'm going to make my three postive comments first. Then rantrantrant. *emotionally prepares for rant...advises you to do the same...especially if you are a bank*

1.) Ich bin ein Berliner! I finally registered with the authorities today, meaning I now have my beautifully stamped (they love stamping shit here) certificate confiming my address in Berlin and my right to stay here. As an EU citizen they can't stop me staying, but still feel the need to spend time processing me all the same.

As it turned out, I very nearly forgot to go to my appointment because I was so busy playing with my new phone (see point the second). Cue mad dash across town (well, a few U-bahn stops away anyway) to stunning Commi-licious Karl-Marx Allee, which is where the main Stadthaus for Berlin Mitte is. When I got there, just on time, I asked where I had to go at one of the many desks. I must have missunderstood her slightly, because after several minutes rushing around downstairs in an underground network of disorientating white corridors desperately trying to find Platz 5, I bumped into a pair of security guards who were in equal measures amused, suspicious and helpful. Anyhoo, I eventually did get to Platz 5 and after a few minutes of signing things and watching the lady photocopy my passport several times and stamoplots of documents, I was handed a couple (stamped) pieces of paper and that was it. I was a Berliner. Still am. Fit.

2.) My new phone is so lovely! It's all pretty and shiny and plays music and I think I may be slightly sexually attracted to it. No more on that note.

So, should anyone want to ring me on my German mobile (or more likely send me a text) then my number is now: 0049178 1890239

The sim card isn't here yet so I'm using it with my English one at the moment. However, as of a few days I'm not gonna be using my English phone very much, so communicate with me by email, Facebook, German phone or Skype. That should be options enough!

3.) I went to Treptower Park with the Flatmate this evening and sat  by the Spree drinking Bier. It was so nice. I love Berlin. I really wish I'd been here for summer...it must be so cool down there when it's warm. (Lol, totally missed the contradiction there as I was writing!) I also love the big statues of holey men they have in the middle of the river down there.




4.) And now for the quick little rantette. ARGH FUCKING GERMAN BANKS! I have moved. D.h. I no longer live in England. I want to tell you this. LET ME TELL YOU. But no. I go to the branch. "Oh, do it by telephone banking." I attempt this. After being repeatedly dropped by the system and thus spending loads of money doing nothing but logging in I give up and ring customer services, only to be infomed I can't do it via them as I haven't logged it. The lady at customer services says I should do it online, but I have now attempted this three times and everytime it has said "an error has occured, please try again later." I did try later. Same problem.

So, I have now exhausted all four possilble means of contacting my bank. All four of the them were easily availble and fairly easy to use...but sadly none of them actually WORK.

England is simply better at banks/money.

And that's saying a lot, as I get bloody pissed off at my bank in England too.

Arm, aber sexy?

Oh shit, I'm poor. Why did I spend over 100€ on a phone, 55€ on a BahnCard and 40€ on a (-n admittedly rather fabulous) jacket without thinking through my finances? That was careless. And I keep eating out. Oh, and I bought all those (admittedly relevant to my dissertation) books in that hypnotically enormous bookstore! Shit. No wonder I have no bloody money! Stupid city life eating my finances.

So, I now have about £150 to live on for the next 20 days. Very doable of course, but totally puts paid (ho ho) to my idea of a month spent perusing museums and browsing chic boutiques. It also brings into question my current project: buying a hatstand. I really want one. No, need one. The wardrobe is already full because coats are big, and the room will look so complete once it's here. And this defo means buying a sofa bed is gonna have to wait. Thankfully it turns out that I can keep the mattress on my floor. This is now my bed. (And if I say so myself, it actually looks rather splendid when combined with the charaming Syrian rug I'm using as a bedspread.)

Oh darn, stupid money. I am really most peeved. And above all, stupid bloody Ipswich for hating students. If only I'd had a job this summer I'd be totally fine. I really thought I was gonna have enough to live on here, but it seems that this summer of unemployment is going to have repurcusions for a looooong time.  Stupid disgusting Ipswich. How dare it do this to me.

And the worst thing (well, apart from the fact almost my entire loan has gone on paying my Mum back the £1000 I had to borrow to move out here *glares at Ipswich again*) is that as soon as I get my 600€ next month I have to spend 270€ on rent and 250€ on Uni fees. So that leaves 80€. Shit. Never mind, I get my nice fat wad of moving expenses towards the end of Oktober. Then I should be able to exist slightly more. And once I'm settled in at Uni, I shall attempt to find a job.

Then all will be well. And I will be happy.

Right, another mug of fennel tea.

Bryn
xxxx

Ich will tanzen gehen!

Argh, I wanna go OUT. But I can't because I don't know anyone, and going clubbing alone could rightly be seen as tragic. There is a whole city of clubbing goodness out there and I'm here on the internet. Sadness.

Sigh.

I wish university would hurry up and start so I had people to frapper la ville with.

Ah well, I guess I'll just go buy some noodles, and stick things to my walls. I bought some pritt-sorta-equivelent-to-blu-tac. And ribbons. For the curtains.

Bryn
xxxx

P.S. I went to Potsdam yesterday and bought a jacket. It's well cool. I am also getting through money at a terrifyng rate. Maybe it's a good thing I can't go clubbing yet...

Hallo alle!

Right then, I promised I was going to start a blog to keep people up to date on life in best city in the world.

And here it is.

It's been a while since I've done this, but since I'm deeply self-obsessed and doing something rather interesting, I suspect I'll get back into it soon enough! I can't really make any promises or predictions about what it will be like or how often I'll post. The nature of blogging means you'll probably just get a few random anecdotes and a lot of musing, with no real clarity as to what my life is really like or how a day tends to pan out. If you're hoping for a timed and dated list of things what I have done then I suggest you hire a private detective to follow me. Or even better get the hell off your arse, turn off the computer and come out here to stalk me yourself. Just make sure to buy a transport pass, as I get a lot of trams and trains...

Anyhoo, shall I actually say something about what I've been up too since arriving here, still rather hung over from a fabulous farewell party, at 1000 German time on Sunday? (Yes, I had got up at 0330 in Ipswich to go into town to get the coach to Stansted. Fun.) 

Hmm, dunno what to say really. Already so many little things have happened to make me feel at home here. The flatmates being nice. The amazing location with trams and an U-Bahn-Station. The day of feeling lonely when I took myself of for a walk in the palk and then felt a bit better, and then went out for a Guinness with Lisa and felt much better. The fabulous trip to Ikea with Catherine, complete with rain-sodden walk alongside a motorway clutching some flatpack shelving. Seeing naked people from my window (the building where I live is mainly gym and the men's showers sometimes have the window open...). My huge ingenuity creating a wardrobecurtain with a fleece throw and some packing string. Oh, so many memories already! 

I guess at this early stage the best thing to say is that I love it. Fear not for me! It's weird. I was expecting to feel very abroad, but I don't. What I do feel is very in a city, which is proving a big change from life in Ipswich/Cambridge. A good change. There's just so many people! I can wait to get to know some of them and start making memories...

It's gonna be a great year. I'll keep you posted.

Bryn
xxxx

P.S I'll put up some photos of the flat soon, so that you can be amazed at how fabulous it is. For those who know Berlin, I'm living here:

Torstraße ###, 10119, Berlin

P.P.S For those who don't know Berlin, that's a really good location.

P.P.P.S You should be able to subscribe to this as an RSS feed, meaning that you won't have to keep coming back and checking, everytime I write something new it'll just pop up and say hello.