Journaling Life Abroad
So I haven’t taken a single photo since we got back to Berlin. I guess, sometimes, you live life by capturing it, moment by moment, like butterflies in a net. And sometimes, you live it by participating – the greatest gesture of affection is to simply be.
Since our return a week ago, we’ve gone on long walks through the park, got our Asian food fix at Monsieur Vuong’s, went on a 4-hour hunt for Thai food hunt to make coconut soup, curry & yum nuea at home (with a rhubarb crumble for dessert!), went clubbing in Kreuzberg, ziplining, had a writing date, joined in the party at Karnivale de Kulture, saw Men in Black 3, took a boat tour, made friends with a prominent Iranian, and…today, we’re doing laundry.
Photo by hubby, Toby Keller
One thing, I definitely have to hand it to Berlin, for the variety of bars & clubs they have. On Friday night, we went to one situated in and around some abandoned buildings right on the waterfront. It was such an eclectic mix of graffiti art and comfy couches, party lighting and river views. We got there early (and by early, I mean we arrived a little after midnight). Most people didn’t show up until about 1 or 2 a.m. (when bars would normally close in CA), and the party really began to heat up around 3:30. We started to tire out soon after that, such old married fogies as we are, so we left a little before 4 a.m., just as the sun began to light the sky. There was still a long line of people to get into the club as we were leaving. We had to catch the subway back home so it was nearly 5 and the sun was actually up by the time we stumbled in.
Sunday was the Karnivale de Kulture, a parade of sorts celebrating different nations and other cultural things, like swing dancing and hula hooping. The part of the parade we saw wasn’t totally exciting. It was clear that the Karnivale was basically an excuse for a party in the streets.
Photo by T.
Lucky for us, Toby’s cousin Susi lives in Kreuzberg, right near the parade and she and her flatmates were having a party that day. They invited us over and we could sip mojitos and beer while watching the party from above.
Photo by T.
And tonight we have tickets to see the Blue Man Group. I’m very excited. Toby has seen them before, performing in New York, but this will be my first time. Other than that, we’ll try to keep things a little more low key through the rest of the week and enjoy our remaining days here.
We fly back to Thailand on Saturday night…and it’s going to be evil. Pure evil. Our flight leaves just after midnight on Sat. night/Sun. morning and arrives in Moscow at 5:30 a.m., where we will then have a FOURTEEN HOUR layover. I don’t even remember what time we’re supposed to get to Bangkok, but then we will still have to hop on another flight to get back to Chiang Mai.
(Today, I shall be downloading plenty of books for my Kindle and make sure my iPod is fully charged.)
But then we will see Dot!!!! God, I miss that mutt.
Anyway, that’s what’s up from over here. If we were really meeting for coffee, this is probably the moment where I’d realize I’d been talking way too much and my cappuccino has grown cold, and then I’d turn the floor over to you. Tell me, what’s going on in your part of the world? I am, as they say, all ears.
Also linking up with:
You know, I had the best intentions to take hundreds of pictures while I was in Dubai, and in the end? I snapped a dozen on my iPod and decided I was just going to enjoy the rest of it through my eyes rather than any sort of lens. (Although, I'm sure it eased my guilt knowing I'll be back in Dubai in July
Anyway: I *love* Thai food. Didn't you link to a Thai recipe site recently on FB? I think I need to visit it.
I am so sorry about that crummy layover! Yikes! Be sure to share if you stumble across any awesome Kindle selections
I hope you have the BEST time at the show tonight!
Yes! Here is the link in case you need it: http://www.thaitable.com/thai/recipes I love it because it does a really good job of explaining most recipes and it's also made with people who live outside Thailand in mind, so the ingredients they use are ones you should be able to find in most Asian stores. I don't know what the supply is like in Baku…but I did find everything I needed when I used in in the U.S. and again here in Germany.
Also – I've been reading "Radio Shangri-La" about a woman's trip to Bhutan and it's been a really entertaining and fascinating read so far. Plus the author is Lisa Napoli from KCRW's All Things Considered. I don't know if you ever used to listen to NPR in CA, but I did, so it was a nice little touch of home!
Sounds like you're having quite an adventure! Good luck on the flight! (Ugh.)
I can't keep up with all of your adventures Jade! I love this! It sounds like you had a wonderful time : )
Hope Blue Moon Group blows you away with their coolness ; )
I am envious of your fun adventures!! Love the pics!
Those flights sound HORRENDOUS! Is there an airport hotel you can stay in for some of those 14 hours?
And also – thanks for the tip. If I ever return to Berlin I'll plan to sleep until 2 or 3 am and THEN go out for the night. That's the only way I'd ever see 4 am!!
Thanks Lyndsay! We thought about popping out to Moscow for lunch during the layover, but unfortunately we need visas to go there AND you have to get the visa from an embassy in the country of your passport. We have American passports and live in Thailand…so that complicates matters.
Boo.
LOL – that's so true about going out in Berlin. The only way I made it that late was because we didn't get started until midnight. If we had gone out at 10 p.m. I wouldn't have made it past 1 or 2 a.m. for sure!
14 hour layover? Holy hell! I'm so jealous of your trip to Berlin. I would really really love to go, particularly in the summer
Berlin is one of my favorite cities! I'd definitely recommend you go, if you get a chance! So much fun stuff to do…and the shopping is fantastic.
So glad you enjoyed Berlin. Hope you liked the Blue Man Group.
Lovely photos! How was the Blue Man group? Seems like such a fun show to see.
They were a lot of fun! It was really an entertaining show. I'd recommend seeing them if you ever get a chance.