Quick Update for Week 19 of 2010

We are back from Berlin so here’s the new update for week 19 of 2010 (05/10 – 05/16).

Miracles

Last week I told you about my grandmother. She is home now and quickly reaching the end. My mother told me that she’s really calm and serene. It probably will not take long now for her to pass away. She has said goodbye to all her loved ones and seems to be at peace. One of the last things she talked about was about something she experienced while she was in the hospital. My grandmother is someone who is interested in esoteric and paranormal things, but normally things that those things happen to other people and certainly not to her. From her hospital room she could see trees full of black birds – crows I think. She really wished there would be a white bird amongst all those other black birds. And just then, a white bird appears and stays around for a while and spreads its wings – just as if to say “Here I am”. When she told the story to my mother, she was clearly moved. And then she quickly added that the white bird could just have passed by – that it could all be coincedence. Of course, that could be true. But sometimes it’s nice to the think miracles do happen.

Berlin

The last few days we were in Berlin. It’s a beautiful city with lots of history and plenty of things to see. With our Barcelona Encounter (Lonely Planet) as our guide we went on a quick sight seeing tour. Here are some tips for if you ever plan to visit Berlin.

1. Visit museums and more specifically, visit the right museums. The second day we visited the Pergamon museum. Certainly one of the best museums I’ve been too. Be sure to take the audio guide (included in the admission price). The museum features Greek and Babylonian artifacts and even whole gates have been reconstructed inside the museum. The next day it rained and that seemed like a good time to visit another museum. Berlin has about 175 museums, but it is best known for displaying the bust of Nefertiti. According to our edition of Barcelona Encounter (2007) it had been moved from the Egyptian museum in Charlottenburg to the Altes Museum on the Museum Insel (museum island). So we stood in line for that museum and only learned at the front of the line that the Egyptian collection had been moved to the Neues Museum… The good news is that you can buy tickets to the Neues Museum at the Altes Museum (and you can buy tickets that give you access to all the museums on the Museum Insel), the not so good news is that the Neues Museum is very popular and if you’re lucky you can get a timeslot ticket at the end of the afternoon. Be sure to inform yourself of what is displayed in what museum. After that you can find out which museum has the shortest queue waiting outside and there buy the tickets for the museum you would like to visit (I think this works for all the museums on the Museum Insel).
2. If you’re vegan like us, you can always visit one of the many Italian restaurants. Places like the 12 Apostel (close to Museum Insel) can make a delicious pizza without cheese (Pizza Tommaso ohne Mozzarella und Pepperoni – wir sind Veganer). Furthermore, there are plenty of Asian restaurants – it should not be hard to find vegan food at a Thai or Vietnamese restaurant.
3. Visit the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie Museum for a quick history lesson on Berlin and the wall, and some stories of herioc and really creative attempts to cross from East to West Berlin.
4. Buchhandlung Hugendubel has a corner in the mega department store KaDeWe (Europe’s second largest department store, right after Harrods), but that can’t compete with several floors of books and the opportunity to have some cake and a cup of tea at the Buchhandlung Hugendubel on the Tauentzienstrasse (near Kurfürstendamm). Here I bought my first Moleskine notebook. According to their own information these notebooks were also used by Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway. There are many notebooks to chose from – plain, sketchbook, ruled, squared. They even have journals to keep track of the movies you saw or the books you read. In the end I went for the Moleskine Squared Reporter Pocket. I also bought a short pen, so that I can take my notebook and pen everywhere I go. Most of the text from this blog post was based on notes I took in this journal.

Books

On the long train ride to and from Berlin I had plenty of time to read. The book I intended to read was Swan Song by Robert McCammon. I read about 150 pages (of the 950) and just couldn’t get into it. The book is bit like The Stand by Stephen King, which I loved. But this book just didn’t do it for me. It was not a bad read, but I found out that I wasn’t looking forward to reading the next page or the next chapter. Maybe I had enough of post-apocalyptic drama after reading The Road and this wasn’t the time to read this book. Nevertheless, reading should be fun and/or entertaining so I have decided to switch to another book – The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly. I have read three of his books so far, all featuring detective Harry Bosch – and all fun and entertaining to read.

Another book I have read, and not finished yet, is What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. Last week I told you about Freakonomics and my interest for these kind of books. This a book that I will finish. It has you saying “Wow!” at about every page. Gladwell has the ability to make the most common and uninteresting topics really exciting. I didn’t know that I could read that reading about hair color or birth control could be that much fun. The title of the book is influenced by Cesar Millan, the host of National Geographic’s The Dog Whisperer. I’ve seen a few episodes of that series. It’s a real pleasure to watch Cesar work his magic with not only the dogs, but also the owners. Gladwell describes how he interacts with dogs and draws parallels to dancing and interacting with humans. Great book so far.

CDs

And one last note. In the Berlin Underground I saw an ad for the new Pain of Salvation CD, Road Salt One. It was the album of the week. I was really surprised to see this band on display like that. Not that I don’t think they deserve it. I’m a big Pain of Salvation fan and have been to the concert that has been filmed for the DVD Ending Themes: On the Two Deaths of Pain of Salvation (Paradiso, Amsterdam 2007). I just thought that not that many people were into this kind of music, but that seems to be changing. Give this band a listen if you like progressive rock with hints of metal, folk, and Arabian and Oriental influences. I like all their CDs, but my favorites remain The Perfect Element and Remedy Lane.

Here’s the official video for Linoleum, from Road Salt One.

Well, that’s it for another, not so quick, update. Maybe I should change the name of this weekly rundown… Any suggestions?

Take care,

Gerber