American in Berlin

Special Delivery

I am most pleased to report that Cheryl, one of my oldest and dearest friends, arrived from Connecticut on Tuesday. We’ve been having so much fun, there has hardly been time for a blog posting.

Determined to help Cheryl stay awake all day on Tuesday, we set off for the Turkish market in Kreuzberg as soon as we dropped her bags at the apartment. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed by the market. I’m glad I went once, but it is not nearly as cool as the Kollowitzplatz market up in Prenzlauerberg. Many of the stands sell the same things and it was too crowded and hot to leisurely stroll. But really who cares what the market was like because Cheryl and I had a great time catching up with each other. Stop #2 was Bergmannstrasse in Kreuzberg. We had dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant in the city and walked up and down the street. I figured that between the jet lag and the heat, Cheryl would be ready to crash after dinner. NOT SO! The Pad Thai gave her a second wind and soon we were off to the Kudamm for a bit of shopping at H&M, Mango and S. Oliver. It was great fun to shop with someone who knew which styles are also in the States at the moment, and which ones were either freaky Berlin or funky European looks!

Jet lag hit a bit harder today and there was not a “Cheryl sighting” until 11am. But that was okay, because I had a chance to work. We got rolling after a “German breakfast.” The first stop of the day was the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. It continues to be one of my favorite museums in Berlin and a must-see for newcomers to the city. Stop #2 was the Gendarmenmarkt, followed by the memorial to the Nazi book burning, UN Buddy Bear exhibit, the city toilette, (I told you I was taking guests there) and finally the Hackeschermarkt area. Just about baking from the heat (as you can tell, I am a major baby when it is hot and nothing is air conditioned,) we then headed back to my place for a bit of a rest. Then it was back to the Kudamm to shop at Zara and to see the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Dinner found us in Prenzlauerberg at the Alsatian restaurant Gugelhof. Cheryl was a trooper during dinner, but the jet lag caught her again and we had a quiet and sleepy subway ride back to the wild and wonderful west.


Cheryl at Gendarmenmarkt


What a uniter I am:-)









A swimming pool in the Spree River, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag are on the to-do list for tomorrow. With the mercury expected to climb to almost 100 tomorrow, lots of complaining about the heat will also be in line:-)

P.S. For those following the continuing series “Erin vs. the Foreign Service,” the heroine of the story found out tonight that she passed the written test again and will be taking ANOTHER oral assessment this fall;-)

posted by Erin @ 6:21 PM