So on Saturday, Margie flew into Berlin to visit me from Sweden. It was so great seeing here again and catching up! I love this girl. :D
I picked her up at the airport Saturday evening, and we went into the city to hang out for a while. She chose the perfect weekend to visit, because Sunday was "Tag der deutschen Einheit" (Day of German Unity), a celebration of exactly 21 years since the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of communism in Germany. There were a lot of celebrations going on around the city, including a major one underneath the Brandenburg Gate.
We also hung out with our mutual friend Calder, who showed us around some cool random places. Margie got to try Döner for the first time (a Berlin classic--although it is actually a Turkish item...basically it's a meat and vegetable filled pita thing...sort of hard to describe). We also went to a trendy little bar in Kreuzberg and I tried a drink called "Weird Boobs". It tasted like nothingness, and I don't exactly know where the weird boobs come into play...so much for that 4 Euro...
At one point we also checked out a bookstore of all books in English (great for Margie), and then went to a high-quality absinthe bar and had absinthe for the first time. It was the most amazing drink I've even had, and I could see myself becoming wildly addicted to it if I wasn't careful. Good thing it's so expensive and therefore can only be for very special occasions! That takes care of that problem.
We got all of the fun stuff done we wanted to do, including going to the Brandenburg Gate, Alexanderplatz, the German History Museum, Kunsthaus Tacheles, the Jewish Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, the remains of the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Cathedral, White Trash Fast Food, etc. I also took Margie to a few grocery stores when we went on food runs (exotic! Haha).
Margie bought an authentic Soviet military hat for her brother Kaj, and just for fun we messed around taking pictures at the Wall wearing it and making stupid faces and gestures. Of course at this time, a carload (and later a BUSLOAD) of people drove by, laughing and taking pictures of us. Hahaha. That was only slightly embarassing...
Tomorrow, we get to switch roles when I visit her in Sweden! We are going to do stuff in Gothenburg, then spend a day in Copenhagen, Denmark before she has to return to work and I go tour Norway. Finally, I'll have a day in Stockholm before flying "home". I love my life!
