Spring Weather in Berlin

24.3.09

I believe today was the weirdest weather day we’ve had. Spring weather is a welcome blessing after months of dreary winter. This is the Vivaldi version (click here for musical accompaniment) of happy spring gracefully replacing old man winter. Truth is that spring is a sometimes violent change and that old man winter doesn't release his grip so easily. See Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

Today Started grey- normal. 10:30 Hard rain and sleet some small hail. It rolled in like a summer thunderstorm and blackened the sky, and then delivered a violent helping of its wintry brew. It was an odd mix. Then a beautifully deep blue sky followed, with white fluffy clouds high in the sky, which is uncommon in Berlin. Then it got grey again. Noon: Sunny! I suggest lunch before it gets violent outside, and on the way back with the sun still shining it felt like a winter day after a snowstorm with water from the melted snow on the sidewalks. 1pm More snow, and a brief patch of dark clouds, return to sun. 13:45. White wintry snow flurries with a sunny sky overhead, and the more typical Berlin mix of sporadically diffused clouds and haze. 2:15 pm, full on winter snow storm, only reminder of spring is that the snow is a little wetter and heavier than normal. Then 2 minutes in, the sun shines in the middle of it all. Crazy.

It’s just another example of how you never get the same look at this city twice. She’s in constant motion. Till next time and happy weekend all!



Proof that the nice Vivaldi version of spring will come, even if set in non-traditional Berlin.

Berlin/Germany Basics

Reichstag - the building where the German Parliament meets. Having been damaged in a fire it was out of use for sometime. After reunification it was refitted and a glass dome was built over the center where visitors look down over the meeting representatives. This is supposed to symbolize of the people keeping close watch on their elected law makers. It's also another example of old juxtaposed with the new in Berlin and is a nice piece of architecture to boot.



Ampelmenschen - The red and green "people"
in the crosswalk light indicating go and stop. (Ampel - traffic light, Mensch(en) - people, may recognize from yiddish used as "good person") There are two types of Ampelmenschen to be found in Berlin. The rule of thumb was that the old fashion ones with the man wearing a hat were to be found in the East, but now there doesn't seem to be any sense to it as even some Westberlin neighborhoods seem to want the iconic traffic watchmen guarding their streets as well.



Dönerkebab - I hope I can do "döner" justice in this short discription. This Turkish delicacy is lamb meat cut off a rotating spit, put into a slightly toasted pocket of breat with one of a few sauces, tomatoes, red cabbage, onions, and cucumbers. Its cheap, fast, delicious, healthier than Dominos or McDonalds and is generally thought of as a guilty pleasure, good for a quick lunch, or as sustenence on the way home from a watering hole. Whatever your use it gives new meaning to "Turkish Delight." See tribute to the glory of döner here. The text translates to "I have a onion on my head- I am a Döner! Because Döner makes it better! I am poor and like to eat. Baguette makes you fat... I have an onion on my head..."

KaDeWe - or Kaufhaus des Westens (Purchasing House of the West) and yes it is smack in the center of former west Berlin. Notable are high prices (boo) but also a great gourmet food section on the top floor (awesome). They have types of meat and fish on display at this place you never even wanted to know was edible. But it's great for the experience of walking around getting hungry and then stopping at one of the food stands or bakerys to satisfy the craving.

Welcome, Intro and Preview

Welcome and thanks for taking some time to check out my blog. To the title. I wanted something that invoked the current, live, nature of me reporting my own thoughts and experiences as they happen and how they are bound to this place. Hence the second "LIVE," as in live music. "Es lebe Berlin" is the slogan of the public transport system, the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), and is hard to translate, but goes something like, "Long live Berlin!" This is the origin of the first "LIVE" in the title, both at once saying Long live Berlin" this crazy, fantastic city, but also setting a commitment to live the life of the city, to engage in everything possible, and take advantage of the short time available to me here.

It is my hope that this blog will become a way for me to present my time here to you, and stay in touch with you whatever network you fall into, (family, and friends, Fairfield U., other Fulbrighters, employers, random contacts or others with a Berlin experience). While the topic of Berlin could take up a lifetime, I am concerned as well with presenting the topic of my research: microfinance. I hope through hearing the very few stories I will present to you here, you might start to think more on the topic of helping people world wide through entrepreneurial, business oriented means, and also be reminded that those people can exist in developed countries as well. (Info: www.microfinance.net www.microfinancegateway.org)

I hope to divide my blog into a couple different types of entries. I have a work journal that I write in when I am traveling doing interviews. In these types of entries I will talk about the entrepreneurs/borrowers I meet and they're stories, the loan officers, and the experience in and of itself. Other entries will probably center around an experience I had like discovering a great band or cool bar/club, and still lastly I will have to burden everybody with news analysis, and a few thoughts and reflections of my own.

Lastly, for uninitiated into certain German phrases and important basics, I will have a running glossary and a section called "Berlin/Germany Basics" which will hopefully help you if I start talking about the Reichstag, Ampelmenschen, or Dönerkebab and you don't know what that is. (See Glossary)

Hope you're doing well, and enjoy!