Berlin Diary Number 10: Berlin in My Bones

I think the thing about being anywhere for a month is that you have, at once, the feeling that it is gonna go on forever while at the same time the superego reminder that your time is running short and that you cannot plant roots. Favorite haunts are filed away as travel tips for others, the maps in your head, the ways you learned to burn your trail through the place will quite possibly have to be relearned when you return. Your last days become frantic dashes to reconnect for one last time with the people and places you liked the best, but you can never get to them all and you know it. And so I was in Ostbanhof station on Sunday morning, having parted ways with the last of my Berlin last-nighter all-nighter buddies (who were heading out to a disco at 6am), thinking about meeting up with one last friend at a bar a few stops away, when my body just said no, when I realized I had to let go, pack my bags, and catch my flight.

Sloshing through rainy Berlin streets to the shuttle to Schoenfeld unto checking in my overstuffed luggage. Catnapping in the terminal and then up, up, and away.

The Captain was at the airport to get me and drive me the rest of the way home. His face was like a dream. I couldn't remember all the contours, I just thought "WOW, who is this hot guy picking me up at the aiport? Lucky me." But then we talked and joked, and I remembered the tones and the Familiar and the sun was shining (ahh, sunshine) and we drove and drove and then I was HOME.

Upon arising from my first night back in my own bed (ahhh), my heart lept because I was right where I wanted to be. But as the morning turned into afternoon and I plowed through my luggage explosion, I couldn't help but sidle over to my computer and type in a quick cheeky search:

"cheap flights berlin"

Details filed away in my brain. I will undoubtedly be back, and back, but soon.

Here are some pics from my last few days in beautiful Berlin.




on Bergmanstrasse




my trip to KaDeWe




last day with friends from German class


at a dentist's office on Kottbusser Damm


at my local U-bahn station


last day with friends from German class, aw memories!


My super cool classmate (he's a brotha from Philly) made fried chicken for my last day. It was FANTASTIC!


last brunch - La Femme on Badstrasse


last dog walk


Humboldthain Park


Humboldthain Park - Rose garden


i dashed to Harry Lehmann perfumerie for last minute gifts


beautiful shop


at Ostbanhof - 5.30 am, full of party people