berlin, meine Liebe

I'm just come "home" to my hostel in East Berlin, smelling like an ashtray. can't remember the last time that's happened. Even the UK has gone smoke-free, it's unbelievable.

Had a most awesome night tonight with Deb and Seb. (Deb of Montreal/Smith Falls, Seb her Berliner boyfriend.) As part of the PopKomm event, there was an unbelievable lineup playing tonight at Postbahnhof that we paid merely 25 euros to see: Malajube, Menomena, Stars, Architecture in Helsinki.

All the bands were great, but Stars were... just...awesome. So melodic. I want to be Amy Millan. The guy (who is very short, good choice to become a rock star!) played a blow-keyboard! if that's what they're called.

For Stars and Architecture in Helsinki (who are crazy and fun), the last two bands, we were in the next-to-front and finally front row. Deb and I are both going to marry one of ArchInHelsinki's drummers. The same one.

So much to write about! Today I didn't get out til 3 (had work to do), but biked across Unter den Linden, giggling and completely please with myself for the bike plan. Biking in Berlin is such a pleasure, there are a lot of bike lanes and drivers are very watchful and respectful. It was a gorgeous and relatively warm day for a change: 20 degrees. Yesterday (Weds) I was freezing in Deb's apartment.

I stopped at the Brandenburger Tor, Reichstag, Potsdamer Platz, Siegesaule, Tiergarten, Zoo, KaDeWe. Got a half-liter of Heferweizen in a temporary biergarten by the Kaiser Gedachtnis Kirche (the half-tooth?), and had really good gelato (what is up with Berlin and great gelato?). Wandered down the street to KaDeWe, picked up some snacks at a market. Around 7pm, I biked back from West Berlin to East Berlin, glancing over my shoulder at the sunset as I whizzed through the Brandenburg gate. Such a pleasure, indeed.