Asa suna una dintre numeroasele lozinci scrise pe pancartele prezente la marsul de protest de ieri, 26 martie, organizat concomitant  in 4 orase din Germania  – Berlin, Munchen, Hamburg si Koln.

Aproximativ 100.000 de berlinezi s-au intalnit la ora 12 la Postdamer Platz si au militat pe strazile Berlinului impotriva folosirii energiei nucleare, sustinand dezvoltarea surselor alternative de energie pentru o planeta mai curata, mai sanatoasa. Manifestatia, strans legata de evenimentele din Japonia si de explozia reactorului de la Fukushima, a adunat lume diversa, de toate varstele si a pregatit momentul celebrarii Orei Pamantului (20.30-21.30) in fata Portii Brandenburg.

A fost impresionant sa ma aflu acolo. Oamenii venisera care mai de care cu pancarte, cu masti de gaze si steaguri, se colorasera pe fete, isi pusesera banderole cu diverse mesaje de protest. Unii adusesera tobite, altii, butoaie de tabla. Faceau galagie, se cereau ascultati.

Copii de 4-6 ani, cu fetele acoperite de mesaje, tineau baloane in mana si scandau lozinci pe care nici nu le intelegeau prea bine. Unii, prea mici pentru a se face intelesi, dormeau in carucior sau tinuti in brate, ignorand total haosul din jur. Batranii, retrasi mai pe margine, tineau pancartele tacuti. Dar, ceea ce mi s-a parut cel mai important, erau prezenti.

Oriunde te uitai, inainte sau inapoi, strada era inundata de un fluviu intreg de oameni. Dar nu de oameni incruntati si incrancenati. Ci de o lume care-si sustinea punctul de vedere intr-un mod deschis si pasnic. Caci nu venisera sa schimbe guvernul sau sa ceara salarii mai mari, ci militau pentru un scop mai nobil. Isi cereau verdele inapoi.

¡¡Buenas tardes a todos!!

Anoche todo estuvo muy bien. Hizo una noche estupenda!! Estuvimos en Gleditschstraße, en Shoneberg. Es una calle muy animada, hay muchos pubs, bares y restaurantes, donde puedes por ejemplo comerte una Currywurst típica berlinesa por solo 1,70; ¡Y CON PATATAS Y TODO! Es totalmente recomendable, sí.

En este barrio, no he encontrado mucho extranjero, por lo que puedes conocer cómo es la vida alemana y cuando salen. Es un barrio donde la mayoría de la gente tiene un nivel económico medio-alto, pero no por eso es caro. Encuentras de todo.

Pues, como digo, os recomiendo mi barrio. Es muy interesante. Además, hay un mercado todos los sábados en la calle que os digo, y merece la pena ver los diferentes puestos y el ambiente que hay.

Un saludo!!!

¡Buenas tardes a todos y todas! Soy Blanca Caballero, sevillana (aunque por mi aspecto parezca algo alemana) y enfermera de profesión.

Es mi primer post y me hace mucha ilusión escribir aquí y contar cómo está siendo mi experiencia en Berlín y contaros la razón por la que estoy aquí. Es un día especial para mí, ya que hoy cumplo 22 añitos, los dos patitos. Es un día diferente, celebrar mi cumpleaños aquí va a ser especial, espero.

Os cuento: estoy aquí por una beca de la Universidad de Sevilla, una beca de prácticas. Llevo aquí más de dos meses y medio y es mi tercera semana en el curso de alemán. En clase nos va genial y hay muy buen ambiente, tanto con los compañeros como con la profesora. Estoy aprendiendo mucho, pero claro, el alemán es BASTANTE complicado y necesitaré tiempo para afianzar cada uno de los conceptos que aprendemos en clase.

Me despido por ahora. Solo es una introducción ehh!! Bis Morgen!!!

Germany is the Land of Ideas. Spain is The Land of Sun and Thailand, the Land of Smile. Most countries have a brand of their own, something that can shortly define what that country is all about. Some countries talk about their business opportunities, some are proud of their welcoming and generous people, some present themselves as creative, other speak about their history and traditions. There is a special something for each one of them.

As I came to Berlin I kept on asking myself – what is that word able to express the essence of the city? Or what is the word people would mostly associate Berlin with? So I asked a few friends of mine and the answers were really interesting, that’s why I thought about sharing this with you.

A boy told me that “The Wall” will always make him think of Berlin. Why not the Pink Floyd album? I said. My best friend spontaneously associates Berlin with bicycles because in here people ride their bikes everywhere. No matter you go to school, to work, you go shopping or simply enjoy a ride with kids, the bicycle is indeed a noticeable presence in the city.

Other friends define Berlin as the city that never sleeps. There are so many events, so many parties and such an active cultural life that sleeping can definitely wait.

The Alexanderplatz tower is another key image of Berlin. To me it looks like a huge German host inviting people to Mitte.  No matter where you come from, as long as you see the tower, you know you didn’t get lost.

Someone else told me that the first word that comes to his mind is Graffiti. I found this quite interesting, because graffiti is indeed a form of local art present from Tacheles to U-bahn stations.

For the moment I feel they are all right. But I still need to explore the city more by myself. What about you? What is the word that best defines your Berlin?

P.S Hope not this one :)

Don’t know how you are, but when it comes to going out, I cannot say no. I just cannot say no. They don’t call me Duracell for nothing!  And, as I’m new to Berlin, I love doing new things, discovering new places and attending all sort of events. But, what I love even more, is attending these events for free.

So, just in case you like tips, like I do, here comes one!

Imagine it’s Wednesday and you’re in the mood for some live jazz, a glass of cold beer or a hot cup of tea. Then you should just take your jacket and go to B-Flat, a small bar located in Mitte, on 13 Rosenthaler Strasse. It’s true, they have great jazz every weekday, but on Wednesdays you can enter free of charge!

Here, more or less famous performers come and improvise. Most of them know each other, just like in a family, but some play there for the first time, so the sound is always fresh and exciting. The saxophones, the cello, the piano, the flute and the drums create a perfect fusion and a perfect atmosphere.  It’s really fun! I’ve been there for the first time for a birthday party! It was crowded but, somehow, cozy. I remember one of the performers dedicated a song to our friend that was just turning 25.

Last night a 10 or 12 year old boy played the piano in a fantastic manner. Even the other performers from the stage, some of them about 60 years old, were amazed by the talent of the little boy. His parents, sitting at a corner  table, were overwhelmed with enthusiasm. You could read the pride in their eyes.

If you really want to enjoy the music, you should be there around 8.30pm. Starting 9pm you may not find a place to sit, because it’s getting really crowded. But even so, the music is great and the people very nice.

Details here: http://www.b-flat-berlin.de/

I kept on hearing about how great Sundays in Mauer Park are. All my friends go and have fun there every weekend, but, for different reasons, I only managed to get there last Sunday. It was a beautiful day and it would have been a shame not to go.

First we entered the world of “Everything you might or might not need”. If you were there in a Sunday you know what I’m talking about. It’s this big fair where you find everything from buttons to old cameras and gas masks. You can really get lost among all that stuff. That’s why, after a short while, we decided to get out.

But, as we were leaving the fair, I saw a wall singing – a wall of people sitting on the stone steps of what it seemed to be an amphitheatre that were encouraging a little girl to finish her karaoke song.  It was so nice to see that shy but brave 6 year old standing in front of all those people and singing. When she finished the wall of people applaud with enthusiasm.

Then my friend told me that here people come every Sunday for karaoke and the atmosphere is always very good. And so it seemed because everyone was enjoying the moment! We wanted to join them, but there were no more places left, so we decided to watch a little from the opposite side.

After few more minutes a new performer came up on stage. We all recognized the song from the very beginning – it was Whitney Houston’s song I will always love you from the soundtrack of the Bodyguard movie. Not the kind of song you would listen at home, I assume, but in there it was fun to watch.  People started singing next to the woman on stage, while waving hands. It was a full of live and colored wall singing a love song. It was pretty impressive.

That’s when I though, hmm… maybe the Berlin Wall is not the only reason why they call this place Mauer Park (The Wall Park)! I really recommend you do go there in a Sunday. It’s free, it’s fun and there are so many things happening that you’ll surely find something suitable for you.

Have you ever heard about blind booking? Let’s say, for example, that you and two more friends of yours want to take a trip somewhere for about…3 days. You don’t know exactly where to go and definitely you are not in the mood of spending too much. You want a cheap trip and lots of fun.

One thing you could try is to blind book your trip. What does it mean? Go the webpage of a flight company that offers this kind of service (I know German Wings does) and see what destinations you could reach from your departure city. For example now, from Berlin, you can blind book a flight to Bucharest, Stuttgart, Munich, Cologne, Stockholm or Zagreb. Then choose the flight dates and the number of persons and turn your destination into a lottery, letting the system decide where to go.

If you really don’t want to get Cologne, for example, then you can exclude it from the list, but that would cost you a small extra-fee. You can exclude up to three destinations from the list and so the chances to get to one of your favorite cities are higher.

This kind of booking can be great if you’re looking for something different, no matter what. It’s a bit of fun and a bit of adventure at really affordable prices. If you’re lucky you can get a 25-30 euro round ticket to destinations like London, Barcelona, Roma or Lisbon, all taxes and fees included.

I didn’t blind book a trip until now, because Romanian companies don’t have this option, but now, that I’m in Berlin, I think I would give it a try to see what happens. Anyone else interested?

It was my first Friday in Berlin and I was planning to watch a movie with some friends. As I was new in town, a friend suggested me to watch a movie about Berlin, something to introduce me to the urban Berlin lifestyle. And, as our first B1.2 lesson in Deutsch Akademie was about movies, I thought it would be nice to share this with you.

The movie I want to talk to you about is a comedy released in 2006 and called Schwarze Schafe/Black Sheep. It is a collection of both strange and funny stories whose characters are more or less normal people living more or less normal lives.

First, we meet an Ex Handmodel for Rolex who pretends to get sick in the restaurant of a posh hotel in order to get the most expensive room and seduce the blond gorgeous marketing manager invited for dinner. We also meet two Satanists (one of them wearing a Kelly Family T-shirt haha) that plan to bring Satan’s kingdom back on Earth by performing a weird ritual in which a pig mask and a grandmother in coma are involved. An East-German woman and her drunken boyfriend meet a former schoolmate, now married with a rich man from München, and make a real show on a tourist boat. The Berlin couple ends up in the river, a good pretext to present in a subtle way the mentality differences between Berlin and München.  And, of course, I should not forget the three Turkish boys that try to find some women, but eventually all they find is trouble.

The movie is in German and, at that point, I could only enjoy the English subtitles. But the German friends say the slang language in the movie is totally delicious. Whether you understand German or not, the movie is really fun to see. Especially on a Friday night, with friends.