Jun
25
All right, so this week the nice weather has finally come back around. Monday I rode my bike up to the Deutsche Guggenheim, but it was closed for the installation of the upcoming exhibition. So I went to Humboldt University, where I read and napped in the courtyard along with dozens of other students also taking advantage of the sunshine. After I went to Buchhandlung Walther König, a really beautiful and large bookshop in Mitte specializing in art books (photography, film, painting, theory, periodicals). Then I met with László and together we went to the Badeschiff -- a swimming pool built into the Spree. For 3€, you get entry to the pool as well as a sandy beach and a dock lined with beach chairs, nylon hammocks, and a couple of beds. Lounge music plays over the speakers most days of the week, but on Wednesdays they host live acts. It's a really cool place and the day we went wasn't too crowded; the wind kept most at bay.Yesterday wasn't much different. I went to the grocery store and Turkish market to pick up my weekly Lebensmittel -- yogurt, muesli, soup, bread, some fresh ravioli, a pineapple, grapefruit juice. Then I took a stroll through nearby Neukölln, stopping at a Canadian pizza place for lunch (Ron Telesky, Dieffenbachstraße 62). I was a good decision away from ordering a slice of the vegetable-pesto, but opted instead for the pie topped with sliced hot dog, french fries, and fried onions. They convinced me to put some Danish mayonnaise on it, too. It was so good. My second piece was baked with rosemary, sliced golden potatoes and sweet potatoes. Sweet potato pizza? Then again, french fry and hot dog pizza? Yes.
To work off my new gut, I took another sun-soaked snooze in the grass along the canal.
Do not be fooled. My life here isn't all... um, exotic... food and naps. The rest of the time I'm on my computer arranging interviews and Googling all things Berlin. That's just a whole lot less interesting to talk about.
For those who are interested, last Friday I finished helping Matt edit some of his stories to submit in a fiction contest. Now I have two internships lined up: one starting tomorrow at a gallery in Mitte, the other starting in August for the literature festival. I'm also scheduled to help next week with a festival on architectural spaces and their acoustics. I just scored a short-term gig as a party photographer -- I'm interested to see where this might lead. As soon as the last of my jewelry-making supplies arrives, I will put together some earrings and necklaces to sell at the market and possibly a boutique or two. Hopefully this will pay for my day-to-day expenses, like food. I'm still searching for more stable, more financially-rewarding work. But it looks like my long, boring days lounging in the park are over.
