verklempt, adj. vihr•klehmpt, overcome with emotion

This past Friday, the parents of children in my classes past and present threw me a going away shindig complete with a master balloonist. He is the creator of the nifty hat you see to the left. I was absolutely amazed and astonished by the work and care that went into this grand sendoff.

I was able to speak with parents and children I had not seen in some time, as well as spend some time chatting with families and children I see frequently. It was truly one of the most touching experiences I have ever had. I feel fortunate enough that I have found a career in teaching that seems to be a perfect fit, but beyond that, I feel blessed to have had five wonderful years at Lyon School with amazing parents and children who are so giving and generous in so many ways.

One of the highlights of the evening was a German Survival Kit complete with three different kinds of sauerkraut, Tums (for all the sauerkraut), a beautiful locket with photos of George W. Bush and Bobby Knight (interpret that anyway you want), a personal photo of me with the General himself, loads of Hoosier paraphernalia, my very own red and white shoes (just like in my Cindy story, and stylish enough to give the pope a run for his money), books to remind me of home, books to help me with my sorry attempts at speaking German, and four Vegan Dispensation certificates to allow me to consume bratwurst during my stay in Germany (I'm going to have to think on that one!). The entire backyard of one of the beautiful homes of a student in my class was festooned with Indiana University decorations, cups, and a big ol' Hoosier flag. Plus, there were German flags, yodel hats, and red, black, and yellow leis everywhere. There was a large table set up for people to write me notes and travel advice, and an amazing soundtrack filled with my favorite songs (yes, Neil Diamond, Hilary Duff, and the Grateful Dead do sound fab together, in case you were wondering). There was also tasty food and a yummy frostingy cake, as well as many grown-up drinks! I drank my special "coffee" out of a venti Starbucks cup as a ruse; they truly thought of EVERYTHING. The amount of effort and coordination that this party took far exceeded anything I expected, and for that reason I kept saying throughout the night...

...I'm verklempt. Danke.

Sweet Sixteen or Bonbon Sechzehn

German translations of things make me chuckle. Bonbon. Hee. In this case, sweet sixteen does not refer to my age (or at this point, half of my age) but to the floor I will be residing on in a high-rise in central Berlin. Today, I was notified that I will indeed be able to rent the Room with a Loo, and the kitchen without a fridge (it is in the office, anyway) right near Potsdamer Platz and Anhalter Bahnhof, which is a very busy area with a lot of history. If you come to visit me, we will be just steps away from Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, and a Starbucks. All of equal importance, as far as I am concerned. Below is a synopsis of the area. I am too lazy to write it up myself, when the fine people from wikipedia.org have already done it for me. Before reading about this historical area, please click here for a panoramic view!

Potsdamer Platz is an important square and traffic intersection in central Berlin, Germany. It is named after the nearby city of Potsdam. In the 1920s and '30s, it was one of the busiest traffic centers in all of Europe. Its heyday was in the 1920s, when together with the Alexanderplatz it was at the heart of Berlin's nightlife. (See 1920s Berlin.)

As was the case in much of Berlin, many of the buildings around Potsdamer Platz were turned to rubble by air raids and heavy artillery bombardment during the last years of World War II. When the city was divided into sectors by the occupying Allies at the end of the war, the square found itself on the boundary between the American, British, and Soviet sectors.

Potsdamer Platz during the early years of the Berlin Wall.

As Cold War tensions rose during the Fifties, restrictions were placed on travel between the Soviet sector (East Berlin) and the western sectors (West Berlin). Lying on this invisible frontier, Potsdamer Platz was no longer an important destination for Berliners. With the construction of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961 along this intracity frontier, Potsdamer Platz found itself divided in two. What had once been a busy intersection had become desolate.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the square became the focus of attention again, since it was an attractive location suddenly near the center of the city. The city government chose to divide the area into four parts, each to be sold to a commercial investor, which then planned new construction. During the building-phase the Potsdamer Platz was the largest building site in Europe. The largest of these four parts went to Daimler-Benz, now part of Daimler-Chrysler, who charged Renzo Piano with creating a master plan for the new construction. The individual buildings were then built by many individual architects according to that plan. This includes the remarkable Potsdamer Platz No. 1 by Hans Kolhoff, now home to a number of prestigious law firms (in the photo on the right, the tall brick building in the center).

Potsdamer Platz (June 2003)

The second largest part went to Sony, which erected its new European headquarters there. This new Sony Center by Helmut Jahn, an impressive, yet light monolith of glass and steel (the rightmost building in the picture on the right), is considered by many to be one of the finest pieces of modern architecture in Berlin.

The whole project was the subject of much criticism from the beginning, and still not everyone applauds how the district was commercialized and replanned. However, the plaza now attracts about 70,000 visitors a day, and many critics are surprised by the success of the new quarter. At almost any time of the day, the place is packed with people. It has become a must-see for visitors, a top shopping area for Berliners, and probably the number-one spot to go for film fans, with more than 40 screens in three cinemas, a film academy and a film museum.

Me, again:

I like movies! 40 screens? I can find lots of movies there! (To see what is playing, click here and here. The "Jetzt Karten für den Da Vinci Code sichern" looks really good.) Who cares if I never make any friends? I'll have movies! And Starbucks! And a Tony Roma's (who knew they went international?). Anyway, I really like the apartment's location, it is right in the city centre, and way up high in the sky. I have attached a photo from my new place, so you can see the fab view. Did you notice the tiny television in the picture of the apartment up top?

But who cares about that, because I'll be right next to the movies!!!

My Room with a Loo

Unfortunately, I was not the clever one who thought of the title for this post. I am currently using an apartment broker based in the UK to help me find a suitable pad in Berlin. That happens to be the name of the company. Surprisingly, they are not as lighthearted as their name would suggest. Quite serious, righto.

True, there will be a relocation agent available when I arrive in Berlin in July, but if any of you know me in the least bit, you realize that I much prefer to have things squared away ASAP, and that I like to heavily (and by heavily, I mean obsessively) research anything before proceeding. Unless it involves cute footwear; shoes I am comfortable buying on a whim. I like that word - whim. Maybe if I ever get another cat, that will be his name. Whim.

Continuing on...I received eight possible listings that met the criteria I gave the Loo people. I was intrigued by one of them (as was my cousin's exceedingly cute daughter, Autumn who "liked the pretty chairs"). The offer is as follows:

Flat, 1 Room(s) in stresemannstr. , Mitte, 39m²
(that's 419 square feet to you U.S. folk)

Furnished:Yes; Heating: central,only for non smoker; Internet: DSL;

in the triangle of mitte/tiergarten/kreuzberg at anhalter bahnhof near potsdamer platz (about 300 metres fare away)at the 16th floor (of 17) with a panoramic view over whole berlin (3 big panoramic windows)modern furnitures
(Potsdamer Platz is a big hub in Berlin; the major landmarks are just a few steps away, and it is also a S-bahn and U-bahn station - plus there's a mall! Mitte/Tiergarten/Kreuzberg refers to the three neighborhoods that this apartment is near. Mitte=city center like West Loop in Chicago, Tiergarten=big park like Central Park in NY, with a Zoo!, Kreuzberg=funky hip area like Wicker Park. Modern furnitures=IKEA)

Click here if you would like to see the layout (note the location of the fridge, and the dubble bed!): http://mysql.snafu.de/zberliner/photos/648_Stressemannstr/Wosseng0.jpg

Click here if you would like to see the panoramic view and non-offensively patterned gray sofa and chairs (I've seen some seriously scary stuff during this apartment search - think 1980's futon covers in plum, mustard, and aqua): http://mysql.snafu.de/zberliner/photos/648_Stressemannstr/Wosseng1.jpg

Click here if you would like to see the bathroom sink (?): http://mysql.snafu.de/zberliner/photos/648_Stressemannstr/Wosseng5.jpg

Click here if you would like to see the kitchen (that thing is bigger than my Judy Clock!): http://mysql.snafu.de/zberliner/photos/648_Stressemannstr/Wosseng6.jpg

Click here if you would like to see the modern dubble bed (which they couldn't manage to make up for the picture?): http://mysql.snafu.de/zberliner/photos/648_Stressemannstr/Wosseng8.jpg

That about covers it! The Loo people emailed me today to tell me that the girl who is currently in the apartment is going to tell them in a few days if she was planning on staying on (not sure why they're advertising it then, but whatever) so this may be a good possibility! One of the girls from school emailed me some info on the area, and confirmed that it was not the clubbin' hotspot (Bummer, because I am such a club kid. Not.) and that it was a nice area, but not the most neighborhoody, as it is mostly highrises in the area.

But there is something about living in my own little shoebox up in the Berlin sky that appeals to me. Especially if I have a dubble bed.



P.S. - My new Starbucks...that doesn't open until 8am!!! And no, I didn't include that requirement in my search criteria.

The Flughafen Debacle or Why I Will Never be a Ballerina

Some of you may know this story. Some of you will not be surprised by it. Some of you will just have your opinion confirmed that I am not meant for activities requiring coordination. Here goes:

I've never lived in Germany. The only experience I've actually had there besides a layover was last summer when I was desperately trying to catch a flight back home to Chicago from Rome, and my connecting flight was late. I was wearing a poorly chosen outfit of a $20 linen dress I'd bought from a street vendor in Florence and flip-flops. While taking the escalator steps three at a time, my flip-flop caught a stair, I fell gracefully into and then consequently down the escalator, sustaining some really attractive escalator-step-point contusions on my leg. And massively stubbing my right toe. A toe that had actually just healed from being stepped on (while wearing said flip-flops) by a large Italian man (by large I mean tall, but remember with every inch of height there is an additional amount of weight to consider) as I attempted to get off of a scooter in Rome.

Did you know they don't have hydrogen peroxide in Europe? The Italians tried to clean my initial toe injury with alcohol (non, grazie!). The Germans tried to clean my second toe injury with iodine (nein, danke!). At least the Italians had the decency not to charge me for the treatment; I recieved a bill from Flughafen München for €76.32 six weeks after I arrived home in Chicago.

Needless to say, I was still determined to make my flight home, and so ran from one end of the Munich Airport (blasting through customs; not an easy task in Deutschland) to the other only to have the gate slammed in my face, and several anxious German workers trailing my path of blood spatters. Maybe the €76.32 was for the clean-up. 'Cause iodine, a piece of gauze, and surgical tape can't cost all that much.

Even with the exchange rate.