American in Berlin

Matthias (Part 3)

Those who know me well know that my German “adventure” actually began 10 years ago. In 1995, each person in my German class was given a “pen friend.” My pen pal was Matthias, from Ulm, Germany. We wrote back and forth for a couple of years, he visited my house and I visited his (pt. 1.) While I was in Freiburg I spent Easter with him and his family (pt. 2.)

After finding out that I would be moving to Berlin, I IM-ed Matthias to tell him my good news. As luck would have it, Matthias was moving to Berlin too! He has been here since this summer.

[Let me also take this moment to note that my obsession with cheese spaetzle began when Matthias’s mom first made this delicious dish for me in high school. Mrs. Schlecker’s spaetzle is the benchmark by which I conduct my extensive research on the best cheese spaetzle in Germany☺]

Fast forward to today… I am happy to report that the Matthias and I met up in Berlin this evening (pt. 3.) It was wonderful to see him again—I don’t think he has changed a bit!

Almost as much fun as seeing Matthias again, was what we did… attended the last art opening at der Palast der Republic (yeah Matthias's connections!) The building was built by the communists and used as the parliament building until the very end of the Cold War when asbestos contamination forced it to close. The building has since been cleaned and gutted and has been used as an avant-garde cultural haven for the last few years. It is slated to be torn down by the end of the year.

The theme of the exhibit was death, which goes along very well with the imminent fate of the building. The whole experience was very Berlin to me—unique people hanging around an old building (communist building no less) looking at very distinct art. The lounge had beds, a disco ball and a haze of smoke. What a cool vibe!

For an explanation of the opening (in German) and other cool tidbits about life in Berlin, check out Matthias’s blog at www.the-exit.net or www.hauptstadtblog.de.

posted by Erin @ 6:09 PM