Gratuitous Holiday Post

Here are a few snaps from our Berlin trip this past week. One thing - I do not like new blogger. I cannot get the hang of how to format photos and words where I want them, so apologies if this is disjointed.

We arrived just in time for the May Day celebrations in Kreuzberg, where our apartment was this trip. 

 

               
I love Kreuzberg, but I think that my favourite part of Berlin from this trip was edgy, gritty, colourful, buzzing Neukölln.

 









You can buy really, really weird things in Neukölln. 

Like this. 

                          


And this.

     And, yes, there is a market for those dolls.

One of the best things about Berlin is all the green space, and several of the parks are absolutely nuts. Two of my favourites - Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg and and Volkspark Hasenheide at the edge of Kreuzberg and Neukölln.

Volkspark Hasenheide had a funfair and this sign was up. It basically translates as "Rules for having Fun at the Carnival".


Just before we got to this sign, however, there was a very well organised and blatant drug dealing business going on. Apparently, Ewan and I do not look remotely like police as this was all conducted right in front of us.

Just around the corner from this sign was some sunbathing. Naked male sunbathing. I did not know whether to use my hands  to applaud the sunbather who was liberally slathering sun tan lotion on bits that should definitely never get sunburned (although I do think that he was having altogether too much fun doing it) or  gouge my eyes out

We also went to see Killing Joke while we were there. If you ever get a chance to see a band at the Fritz Club at the Postbahnhof, do. It's rather excellent. Killing Joke were great, and I think I caught Jaz Coleman in all his mad-eyed glory.

This car was just around the corner from our apartment. I think it had been there since before the wall came down. I don't know whether you can see, but it even has moss growing under the windscreen wipers.



What else did we do? Well, let's see. We enjoyed graffitti and street art...

Went sightseeing...

Had fun with some specimens at the natural history museum. You can't see this one in all its magnificence, but it was a huge room full of jars and jars of dead things...

...and one of these is the missing link. The other is some sort of neanderthal.

We went to see Hertha Berlin play a very exciting match at the enormous and atmospheric Olympic Stadium...

...we went on a tour of an underground bunker (no photos allowed) and we sampled life in a former East German apartment c.1970, which was fascinating. We were allowed to open all the cupboards, so I did. I found the most disgusting smelling bottle of kiwi liqueur and decided that I am not cut out for the life of Stasi era housewife, mainly due to the nylon aprons.

I am, however, absolutely cut out for this. I believe the translation of this particular menu item was "huge chunks of meat on a dangly stick". It also came with Bratkartoffel. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Finally, we are still puzzled by this sign for a shop called Real Time Honeymoon: "for the bride who dares".  Here, you can buy:

Bridalwear

Flower girl costumes

Girdles

and...errrrr...Lady Business





Tschuss! Bis bald.