ich bin ein berliner

It's hard to believe that we've been in Berlin almost a week! We arrived last Sunday with, honestly, little expectations and even less research. Perhaps this is why we were completely smitten with the city from the start. So far we've taken in lots of WWII and Berlin Wall history - did you know that there were actually two walls with a "death strip" in between where East Berlin soldiers had shoot-to-kill orders for any trespassers? We didn't.

We've eaten some good Asian food (lots of ethnic cuisines here), sampled beers and food at some lovely beer gardens, survived a hail storm during our walking tour, lounged around parks, went to a happy hour at the U.S. Embassy (courtesy of our host) with probably the best view in the city, and ended up at an impromptu "open air" electronica party. Apparently there's lots of open air parties that spread virally and are often in fairly industrial parts of the city so that the noise doesn't disrupt anyone. The one we went to was across a bridge by a canal with some factories. About 300 people showed up and the party showed no signs of stopping when we left around 3am. We've having lots of fun in Berlin.

Some things about Berlin that make it really awesome:

• we're staying at a friend's kick-ass place in the heart of the city (thanks, Elizabeth!). this was formerly "no-man's land" and today cobblestones marking the east side of the berlin wall visible from our window
• very artsy - funky graffiti is considered street art, good music scene, lots of world-famous clubs (we haven't made it to one yet, but that's on the agenda)
• great architecture that's modern, unique, and often colorful
• fascinating recent history - ground zero for cold war / Berlin Wall
• good about confronting their past - things are not brushed under the rug. the memorials tend to be abstract and thought-provoking; sometimes the artist has stayed mumm about what he/she was thinking when designing the memorial - up to the viewer to decide
• very eco-conscious: people are pretty fanatic about recycling (e.g. at the open air party beers were sold with a ticket for 0.50 euro that served as your deposit for bringing back the glass), lots of bikers, green roof requirements for new buildings, organic products abound
• beer is fantastic (if you don't trust me, and I wouldn't necessarily, ask Matt!) I particularly like the grapefruit-flavored ones served in champagne-like flutes
• you can drink beer anywhere! in the park, metro, walking down the street...
• beer gardens everywhere, with absurd amounts of people biking to them. speaking of which...
• it's a very bike friendly city, esp. compared to DC. sometimes its seems there are more bikers than pedestrians on the street.
• apparently you can get naked and hang out in the parks - not sure if this is a plus!
• cheaper than Paris :)
• really, really good chocolate!

We're looking forward to a few more days in Berlin before heading off to the Greek islands on Wednesday!!

brandenberg gate at sunset

memorial to murdered jews in europe

the largest remaining section of the berlin wall(s) is about a mile long. over 100 artists from across the world have painted murals on this section - here's one mural

preserved section of berlin wall outside of where we are staying

bike parking for beer garden - located where the string of lights start

beer garden bratwurst in a hamburger bun makes matt very happy!

p.s. check out our "random pictures" page - we'll be adding more pics there

a little taste of home

Going to Poland has never felt like a typical vacation to me (i.e. new place, group tours, hotels, restaurants). I've been going since I was a little girl and it feels so familiar, like the somewhat musty smell when I open the door to Babcia (grandma) and Dziadek's (grandpa’s) building. A smell that instantly takes me back to being 2 years old and coming in from the monkey bars in the courtyard. Visiting Poland is about spending time with family, catching up and reminiscing. This time I was viewing Poland through the eyes of those experiencing it for the first time.

Two years ago when Matt and I came to Poland, the attention shifted to Matt; this time, to him and his parents. The collective energy was directed to showing Warszawa and the Polish culture to Matt's parents, which made me part guest/part host. Fortunately there was little work for me as the primary trip coordinator was my cousin Karolina, who did an impeccable job making sure everything was taken care of.

dinner at babcia & dziadek's

We spent the majority of our time in Warszawa - with just a quick trip south to Krakow and Zakopane (village at the foot of the Tatry Mountains). One trait of Poles is a pride in their country, and rightfully so. A lot has happened in/to Poland since...well, its existence. But people remain hard-working, courageous, friendly and optimistic. We saw a quote in the Warsaw Uprising Museum from Gregory MacDonald, former head of the BBC. He said about Poles “Your strength lies in the fact that at the worst of times you know how to preserve hope.” So true. As we spent time showing Matt's parents different parts of Warszawa and stuffing them with homemade Polish cuisine, I felt this pride and regained an appreciation for all the great things about my motherland :)

"stare miasto" - old town, warszawa

"palac kultury" - cultural palace. a "gift" from the soviets. generally hated by older generations for its symbolism, but finding a place among the younger varsovians

More than anything we did a LOT of walking. Our tour guides were my aunts and cousins; they have a history there, a story for every block, which brought the city alive for us. In addition to the must-sees, we walked around the neighborhood where my dad and aunts grew up, saw where they went to school, and we even had ice cream at the same shop where, as kids, my dad and his sisters feasted on 5 scoops each! We showed a bit more restraint...but maybe that's because we'd just come from eating at Babcia's :) Through this lens Warszawa seemed more vivid and alive than any city we'd explored using a guidebook.

Part of our goal for this trip was to really immerse ourselves into the culture of a place. I doubt we could do that more authentically than we did in Warszawa, though I had a bit of an advantage being Polish :) And Matt's practically a Pole as his vocabulary now includes bar conversations (jeden vodka, prosze - one vodka, please), food conversations at Babcia's (I'm hungry, yes, delicious, very good, thank you, of course I'll have more), days of the week and counting to 15. We felt like true Varsovians (albeit ones without jobs or responsibilities). My cousin, Piotrek, lent us his apt, complete with a cell phone, car, and bikes. We ate dinner at my Babcia and Dziadek's and aunt's house, and went out with my cousins to the places locals go. We used the public transportation system pretty extensively (Warsaw has only one metro line, which took about 50 years to build; a second line is in progress for EuroCup 2012, which Poland is co-hosting with Ukraine). And I have to admit that, on more than one occasion, we road the tram "na gape" (i.e. without a valid ticket.) When in Rome...

I used a map in Warszawa for the first time. So many street names are familiar to me: Marszalkowska, Chmielna, Jana Pawla II, Aleje Jerozolimskie. I generally know them in relation to Babcia and Dziadek's place, which I know in relation to Warszawa Centralna (main train station) and Palac Kultury (Cultral Palace). Not particularly helpful when navigating the city by bike as Matt and I did our last few days. Seeing all these familiar places layed out on a map was like puzzle pieces from all my trips put together.

crossing bridge; newly-built Euro2012 stadium in background

One day we biked to Babica and Dziadek's for tea (and cake because really, there's no way you can go there and not eat SOMETHING). It was a fairly warm and sunny day but while there the sky quickly grew ominous, wind picked up and Babcia sent us packing to make sure we got home before the rain started. Too late - two minutes into our ride the skies opened up and we furiously pedaled home in hurricane-like conditions. I couldn't see, the rain hurt hitting our faces and we were completely drenched! Matt was loving every minute and randomly laughing like a crazy man. I was happy once we made it back to Piotrek's apartment. As if on cue, the rain stopped.

just a tad wet

One night, Karolina complimented my handwriting and said it was similar to Dziadek's. Funny enough, the prevoius week I was telling Matt's parents how precise Dziadek's handwriting is - perfectly straight as if he used a ruler; all letters are the same size. My Dad's is the same. I never considered that I shared similar handwriting to theirs till Karolina pointed it out. Such as small thing but it made me feel connected to my family. I thought of how life carries on through the generations, with little pieces of people always remaining in others. To me, our time in Poland felt like a brief stay at home.



Pictures from our 5-day trip to Krakow and Zakopane:

starting on our hike in Zakopane

crossing a stream during our hike in Zakopane

post-hike sampling of oscipek (smoked sheep cheese from the Tatry Mountains - delicious grilled and served with cranberries)

main square in Krakow

Wawel Castle & Cathedral in Krakow

nazdrowie! (naz-droh-vee-yuh)

... is the polish toast.  literally, "to your health."    and, since we were on vacation and spending time w/ family, there were loads of reasons and occasions for toasting.  (if all else fails, we can toast

to not being at work:)

to americans, poland is the land of vodka. indeed, the vodka is plentiful. chopin and belvedere are popular polish brands available in the U.S.  another, zubrovka, is our favorite.  its grown in the
forests where buffalo roam. a piece of grass is put in each bottle. there is a chemical in the grass the FDA doesn't like so sales are forbidden in the U.S.  we had a party at our condo in DC featuring zubrovka and cath's pitch was "want a drink that's toxic?"  she's quite the salesperson.  zubrovka is usually paired w/ apple juice to make a drink called "czarlotka" or "tatanka" (buffalo).  they're delicious and dangerous (they taste like apple pie) and my default drink in poland.

cath's cousins were nice enough to show us the traditional polish method of vodka intake at a warsaw institution, Przekąski Zakąski, which is run by Pan Roman, a distinguished older man who greeted the ladies by kissing their hands.  The men are ignored.  Pan Roman is no dummie.

Pan Roman, keeping the customers happy

The menu is straightforward (see pic).  vodka, wine, beer: 4 zlota (~$1.33).

The shots of vodka are accompanied by a chaser (in our case, OJ).  you can order traditional polish food - herring, steak tartare, pork in gelatin - to go with the drinks to to aid with digestion / reduce effects of hangover.   the place was odd and wonderful, i loved it.  on saturday night, the bar was elbow-to-elbow, people were ordering their drinks and milling about on the sidewalks, drinks in hand.

I was challenged to a vodka shot contest by a diminutive polish girl  who shall remain nameless (Beata).   I won't say how many we had only that we drank the exact same number.  Nonetheless, the polska claimed victory and, true to form, cited some sort of polish tradition.

3 shots, 3 smiles ... and karolina :(

Piwos: poles enjoy their fair share of beers. two of the most popular - and my favorite - are lech (named for lech walensa) and zywiec.  It's hard to argue w/ the price ($2 per pint).

fenwick menfolk enjoying some piwo

Warsaw is an increasingly cosmopolitan city.  It was almost-completely destroyed in World War II (bombings and uprising) then rebuilt by Communist Russia with little regard for aesthetics.  For neighbors, they had Hitler and Stalin (and you thought your neighbors were bad).  Poland and Ukraine are hosting the Euro 2012 football tournament, which is great in that the infrastructure (highways, sidewalks, bike lanes and subway) are getting a much-needed overhaul.

Thanks to cath's family, we were given rich insight to Warsaw's history, neighborhoods, etc. and we came love the city.  It was nice to turn my brain off and not have to worry about navigation, maps,
time and deciphering street names.

can i buy a vowel? 

There were cool clubs, vibrant sidewalk cafes and outdoor bars.   We went to one where people were rockin' out to soul music and swing.  In our last few days, we had good sushi, margaritas at a  restaurant called "the mexican".  When Beata and cousin Piotrek ordered me a cheesecake, the band played furiously, the lights went down and some dude dressed like Zorro ran to our table carrying the cheesecake with a sparkler.  though everyone in the restaurant was nonplussed, i was pretty shocked and nearly attacked poor zorro.  on final night - karolina's boyfriend, piotrek - a guy who became a licensed bartender for fun because he enjoys making cocktails for his friends (in my book, possibly the best friend one could ever had) brought over thermoses with freshly-made cocktails and loads of ice (apparently, americans take much more ice in their cocktails than europeans).  a fitting end, being spoiled in warsaw, drink in hand. 

As a send-off for the long train ride, karolina's piotrek gave me a jack and coke in a can, something to remind me of america (thanks, buddy).

road-coke

disclaimer:  if it seems like we drank a lot, remember:  nazdrowie ... it was for our health :)