Lame ad

On my way to the market I stumbled upon this fail:

Seems that car ads are becoming more and more absurd. A bussiness god, throwing away money, a woman, happy because of the new car, and a satisfied man (because of the money?) do seem like a parody of happy modern family. Except they are not. This ad is for real.

I'm sure there are people who don't mind getting humiliated to get a new car. However, I liked car ads far more when they were like this.

ABC alternative Berlin

I finally took time to write down few reccomendations for everyone who is interested in less tourists sights of Berlin, especially East part. Not only because it is bursting from alternative culture and is much more colorful and cheaper than West, but also because I live there :).

So here's what you can check out:

Køpi is "occupied" house on Köpenickerstr. 137 which has a long history of fighting for it's legal rights and is today autonomous housing project and (alternative) cultural center. Cool parties and happening till late morning hours. Also very wallet friendly.

Mauerpark flea market happens every Sunday in memorial park, dedicated to Berlin wall. It's one of the biggest I've seen, where you can buy everything from bicycles to records and products from young Berlin artists. And while you're browsing through various stands, you can treat yourself with some coffee or freshly made juice/food.

Bethanien is basically an old mansion, functioning as cultural center. Various cultural events and rich alternative activistis and political happening will not dissapoint those, who seek something more than just a night out.

Cafe Datscha - Cute russian cafe, decorate in Soviet style. On Sundays from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. you can get the most amazing brunch (all u can eat) buffet, I've ever had. Extremely tasty food, fingerfood and sweets - for about 9 EUR. Also they serve my favorite soft drink Wostok - natural energy drink, very tasty, very Berlin. Unfortunately not so easy to get outside Kreuzberg.

Kptn. A. Müller is very cool pub at my favorite street - Simon-Dach Strasse. It is one of those places that are typical for East Berlin and look like a livingroom from the 80's. Wallet friendly prices, satisfying variety of beers, cocktails, soft drinks and snacks are some reasons why it is quite popular. Also you can play table football for free. Unfortunately it does not open before 6 p.m.

Café Bar Sofia - very cool smoker (and wallet) friendly bar, with special affections for kitsch. They don't mind if you bring in your own food, also they have quite interesting toilet. Nice little café, most of the nights music is indie orientated.

Görlitzer Park is nice huge park, right near U-bahn station Görlitzer Bahnhof. What makes it special is that very alive through most of the year. Young people mostly bring their drinks and hang out or bring their grills and make picnics. Yes, it is one of the parks where you can grill food. Very cool, especially in the summer.

So this was something to start with. Stay tuned for more tips.

Useful websites:

• city map
• public transport info
• parties for free
• indie concerts
• tickets for concerts
• events
• queer events
• useful for bicyclists
  

Nationalities

Is nationality really that important? Does it define us? Did it become an inherent part of our lives from which we can't be separated? Why?

Personally I don't think it matters at all. Sure, your cultural surroundings have influenced who you've become and probably also how you behave. But I don't feel like I belong to a country, I don't raise flags and I also don't think there's anything wrong with that. In words of Virginia Woolf:

"As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world."

I think nationality is too often used only to enhance somebodies importance or insignificance. To make a bigger gap between "us" and "them". Here's how:

Sports - I don't really watch sports, I like doing them. But how come that winning a game makes us feel we overruled the country of the other team? Does our educational system suck less because of that? Are we more happy with our government? Of course the true sport spirit says, it's all about participating, not winning. But then again nobody really likes to be a loser, right?

Death - I can't really understandf why is it so important to stress that none of Slovenians (or any other nationalities) have been killed during the plane crash. As if their lives would be more important than lives of other people. What is really the purpose of this information? To calm down potential relatives of people who might be on that plane? Don't you think they would be informed already and probably not by the news? To calm down the others, that there is not any less of us? What?

While we are mourning over death of "our" important citizen which we knew mostly from the newspapers, we forget thousands that are being killed every day on the other side of the globe. Is their death somehow less significant, because they didn't manage to achieve anything "important" while they were dieing over water and territory?

Celebrities - Everytime someone discovers something important or makes an entrance to public sphere, whether a pop star or a scientist, often we hear that their grandparents were e.g. half Polish, or they studied in the capital of this and this country. Like we would want to pin a part of their achievements to our country. To prove we are somehow connected to great minds. Of course we are not so eager to share this joy when it comes to e.g. killers. Nobody wants to brag about "their" socipaths.

So according to my experience, nationalities are mostly about US and THEM. I don't think there is THEM at all. I think it's only us. And we all matter.

I hope there is a hamster heaven

Štefan, I will miss u.

Easy Saturday morning

On Saturdays I go to the market. Even if I don't need to buy anything. I take coffee from the Italian guy. He's always in a good mood, smiling, greeting people with "Buongiorno" and inviting them to try his home made Tiramisu. You can easily notice he's not faking niceness. He's truely enjoying his work, doing it with a big smile.

It is sunny and people seem relaxed. I drink cappuccino and roll a cigarette. He pours more milk into my coffee, we do small talk, both in bad German but nobody really cares. I compliment on the coffee - it's really delicious. He thanks me and whishes me a nice weekend.

I take a walk through the market, sun is bringing out the autumn colors of the trees. The city look even more beautiful. Families are playing on the plaground in the middle of the market, people are enjoying their coffee and buying fresh fruits and veggies. Time doesn't exist anymore, there is only now. Yes, this is home.

(Un)romantic

Just few seconds before the ending of what it was supposed to be romantic comedy.

Cherry: Oh come on! Smooch her already!

Fairy: Yeah, I gotta pee.

I think we have a winner for the worst movie of the year. On scale from 1 to 10 I'd give it 0.5.

Where is home?

Moving to Berlin wasn't really that difficult (apart from all the physical exercise that was included). Probably because I wasn't completely aware of what I was actually doing. Of course thoughts like "Am I completely nuts?" did cross my mind from time to time but then quickly disappear to the "Don't panic!" area. Douglas Adams knew what he was talking about.

First days were kinda exciting and confusing at the same time. Mostly I was dealing with fundamental questions like: where is the post office, where can I get decent caffeine fix and where am I anyway. While looking for answers I found extremely useful things like:

• Soft drinks with gas are very popular,
• if you make out words that sound german, people might even understand you,
• organic wine is actually quite tasty.

I also found out that it IS a good idea to visit huge computer stores without a credit card. Especially if they have also Apple Store.

So right now I am still kinda adjusting, discovering the city and trying to practice my German. I'd say I covered the basic level by mastering shopping conversation (hello, how much, goodbye, yes, no) and random useful phrases like: Can I have some toilet paper?

What's next? I have no idea. Let's wait and see.

Germanwings FAIL

I made it to Berlin, unfortunately without my hamster. My first post here should probably be dedicated to glorifying the city, however I am still too irritated by Germanwings and their serious lack of information skills. Here's why:

1. I read the info on their website: So I got a note form the vet, my hamster is under 8 kg and is not in the category 1 restricted breeds. I just needed to make a phone call to "check" him in. According to this info I should pay about 25 EUR. Not really cheap but OK, I don't really have a choice.

2. The contact page is somewhat confusing as not all the call centers have the full numbers. After second week of trying to reach them on five different numbers and some effort trying to get the right number, I finally managed. The guy on the other side, supposedly empoyee of germanwings, said I need a note from the vet and 35 EUR which I pay at the check in. Ok, So maybe they raised prices because of the crisis.

3. I come to the check in, already check in all my luggage, including the cage, and then point at the hamster. Only then they told me that rodents can't travel with planes. And if I wanted to get the cage back I would surely miss my plane. Splendid. I swear I could hear Murphy laughing out loud.

So now I have the cage while my parents, only 700 km away, are stuck with my hamster. I would to complaint to them but there is no email on their website and I am too pissed off to spend money on calling them.

So dear Germanwings, we spent fun few years together but now it is time to move on and find something else. Because I deserve better :P

Good, Better, Sziget 2009

Sziget proved again to be my favorite festival. Excellent camping spot in a beautiful and gigantic park (island), insanely diverse cultural/other happening AND superb concerts. What's not to like? Plus I got to go there for free thanks to my DJ friend Luk@May.

This years main theme of the festival were animals. Inflatable and furry animal toys, animal costumes, tents in the shape of animals and of course the beasts that come out of people after a bottle or two of vodka. Very primal, very zoo-otic.

It was literally impossible to go to all or even most the concerts and performances that were happening, so I choose only the ones I really wanted to see.

Highlights:

• I am X,
  
• Editors,
• Bloc party,
• Primal Scream,
• Klaxons,
• Fat Boy Slim.

"Discovery":

• Pendulum

Cultural happening:

• Performance show in Magic Mirror,
• Dance and theatre show with gigantic wheel.

A slight dissapointment:

• The Prodigy,
• The Ting Tings.

Too bad I missed the White Lies AGAIN, because they were performing in an owercrowded tent. I think it's time to finally recognise their potential and put them on the main stage. Seriously.

As it is for the rest: It's been almost a week and I am still recovering from everything. If you are bored there, it's probably your own fault.

Urban adrenalin sports

I used to think adrenalin sports are quite exciting. Bungee and parachute jumping were on my teenage "to do before I die" list. Now they are on the top of "to do if I want to die" list. Not because I wouldn't like adrenalin sports, but because I'm already doing too many as it is. Like walking through the city.

Being a complete bookworm, I own lots of books. So many that I still didn't manage to read even half of them. Naturally that doesn't stop me from buying new ones. So every time I see a bookstore, I have a two level adrenaline experience: passing and entering.

Entering usually includes complex dilemmas such as: do I really need it, can I afford it, should I wait for few more days... Most of the times they are solved by a swing of my credit card. There's probably no need to describe the "excitement" when the money is actually taken from my account. What goes for books, goes also for movies and CDs, except I actually get to see and listen to most of them.

My other daily intake of adrenaline is provided by biking through the city. It's quite amazing how it resembles the ride on a train of death in the amusement parks:

• disorientated pedestrians, randomly apprearing from nowhere,
• overwhelmed supermans on bikes, rollerblades and motorcycles, imitating the speed of light,
  
• drivers paying more attention to their phones and make up than to the road,
  
• cars, parked on the cycling tracks with drivers opening the doors only a second before the biker appears,
  
• people, throwing stuff outta windows.
  

Need I say more?

So I don't really need to do any extra adrenalin sports, because living in a capital provides me with all the adrenalin I'll ever need.