Back in Börlin

It's hard to believe it's been 2,5 years since I was in Berlin with AnCa. It feels like a year, tops. But despite wanting to see friends in the city, I haven't had the urge to go back for a long time. It might sound strange coming from me who couldn't get enough of Berlin 7 years ago, but now it feels more like a closed chapter, albeit an absolutely wonderful one. It's a different part of me now. But I must say that it was great being back this past weekend. It was just as it should be; not too nostalgic but not too distant either. A perfect mix of feeling at home and feeling like a visitor. A few glimpses;

 It was 25 degrees and full on summer-spring as it can only be in Berlin. Trees everywhere and a lazy mood.

We had breakfast at Silo (Gabriel-Max-Straße 4, Friedrichshain) one morning and it was better than I remember. The menu had changed and it was delicious. The coffee was outstanding, too, though that hadn't changed.

I have never been a big fan of Friedrichshain. I'm more of a Kreuzberg-Neukölln kind of girl and love the U8-vibe just as much as the next hipster. But Karl-Marx-Allee has always meant something special to me and it was good seeing this impressive place again.

We walked through the foodmarket at Boxhagener Platz on Saturday and came back for the fleamarket on Sunday.

Here I am in front of a bush of lilacs that smelled insanely good.

 We went to see Hertha Berlin play Augsburg and I was completely out of my comfort zone. A little like the time I went to Milan to watch Formula 1 with the boys - but this football match grew on me. Particularly because it's fascinating getting a glimpse into a strange world, and because places like those are great for people-watching.

 Saturday night, we met up with Cordula for dinner and drinks and dancing. And ridiculous photos, of course. My god, my party photo game isn't what it used to be.

 Og Berlin, your facades and boxy cars...

On Sunday night, we biked to Kreuzberg to have Best Meal In Bread (just as 2011!) and sit by Admiralbrücke with a beer. When we biked over the tracks by Warschauer Straße, the sun was going down and it sent rays of happiness directly into my old Berlin heart. What a perfect way to say goodbye. It might be 2,5 years until next time but it's OK. Berlin will always be a part of my skin.

B E R L I N

AnCa and I went to Berlin this weekend. It's sort of our city; we went to school together from age 8-13 and then drifted apart. In 2010 we both wound up in Berlin and went out for coffee. We've been best friends ever since, and she's one of my favourite people. Always fun, always deep, always the best. It was great being back in our city; we went to our favourite places and old hangouts, and it was a great break from stressful everyday lives. I haven't photographed much, mostly because we had too much fun, and because I was hungover and melting a lot of the time....

We rented an apartment in Bergmannstraße and enjoyed the walks to Gneisenaustraße u-bahn every day.

Friday night was spent at Manouche (Grimmstraße 23, Kreuzberg) near our old apartment on Urbanstraße drinking several Moscow Mules and talking for hours. We woke up to a sunny Saturday and decided to start the day with eggs and avocado at Melbourne Canteen (Pannierstraße 57, Neukölln).

Afterwards, we took the u-bahn north to Mitte. We were going to a festival but had some hours to kill and decided to spend them browsing the shops around Münzstraße. We are Danes after all, and a visit to American Apparel is mandatory when in Berlin......

But we both got such a bad headache that we didn't really feel like doing anything related to loud concerts. So we retreated to Father Carpenter Coffee for some banana bread and ice coffee. Such a nice place. (Münzstraße 21, Mitte)

So we ended up not going to the festival. Instead we went to Prenzlauer Berg to pay a visit to one of my favourite places in Berlin; St. George's English Bookshop (Wörther Straße 27, Prenzlauer Berg). We spent almost an hour browsing, and I picked up a copy of East of Eden. Can't wait to read it for the third time!

We spent some time at Kollwitzplatz looking at people and getting the aspirins to kick in and clear our heads. After some sushi we felt good again, and an ice cream at Kauf Dich Glücklich (Kastanienallee 54, Prenzlauer Berg) did the trick.

Rosenthaler Platz looked pretty in the vanishing sunlight. And the Fernsehturm just peeks up over the rooftops.

Saturday night started with drinks at Klunkerkranich on the rooftop (Karl-Marx-Straße 66) with Berlin by our feet and ended at another bar further into Neukölln. I didn't get more than an hour's worth of sleep so Sunday was a little blurry. We headed to Friedrichshain to meet Cordula for coffee at Silo (Gabriel-Max-Straße 4, Friedrichshain). It was 33 degrees and we were melting.

We took a trip around Boxhagener Platz to look at the flea market, and then we went home for a nap before spending the night at Babylon Kino watching 'Amy'. Such a good film! I do blame my sleep depravation as well, but I had to fight hard to keep the tears from bursting.

Monday morning I went back to Friedrichshain. Here I met Flora Amalie for coffee at Coffee Profilers (Karl-Marx-Allee 136, Friedrichshain). What a great place! Fine coffee, fine service and a very fine location. I love love love Karl-Marx-Allee and the grandness of that street. So sitting there talking was great. I could have done without the heat, though. 35 degrees is too much for me.

Later, we stopped by Hallesches Haus (Tempelhofer Ufer 1, Kreuzberg). It was far too hipster for me, but I was glad we saw it. It's a combined café and shop in an old warehouse building by the canal. Good idea, just way too cliché for me.

Before catching our flight back to Copenhagen, we made another trip up to Klunkerkranich. Mostly to photograph the view, but also for the atmosphere. Despite the insane heat, it was good to be up there.

A little glimpse of our apartment.

Thanks again for a great weekend, Berlin!

Kayaking around Berlin

So I spent last week in Berlin packing up my apartment, saying goodbye to dear friends and working on some things for a newspaper. It was a week that I'd been dreading for a while; what if I regretted my decision of leaving the city once I was back? Luckily, everything fell into place once the plane touched ground late Tuesday night. Not in a bad way, but in a settling way: Berlin has been such a big part of my life, but I just don't belong there anymore. I didn't get that wave of excitement seeing the TV-tower in the distance; I didn't even feel at home once I walked into my apartment. Sure, it was a good week, and it was so lovely spending time with people that I miss in my daily life. But it was such a good feeling driving back to Copenhagen, knowing that I've closed a chapter in my life without the drama and overwhelming sadness that followed last time. So now I'm excited about things that are to come. I have some interesting projects, and some good news I'll share over the next few days. I feel like I've taken an important step, and it makes me calm, happy and fortunate. 

On Thursday, I kayaked around the canals of Berlin with Pablo and some American exchange students. Not a big sports person, I was kind of nervous before take-off, but I had the best time! Do try it out if you're in Berlin and want to experience the city from a different angle! 

We ended up on the Spree where Oberbaumbrücke and the TV-tower made for a beautiful backdrop.

Hello!

Glimpses #8

I'm leaving for Denmark tomorrow. I'll be gone for a month and it feels sort of strange. I'm looking forward to seeing people, obviously, but I don't want to leave Berlin. In January, it took me so many days and so many upsetting thoughts to mentally get back to this place after the holidays, and now I'll be gone for much longer. I guess my relationship with Berlin is a little more complicated than first acknowledged. And then there's the whole spring thing. For years I've been looking forward to being in Berlin during spring, and I'm afraid I'll miss it while I'm up north. But I think I just have to do this to get a significant chapter of my life out of the way. Glimpses from last week;

I met sweet Jessica for a coffee at List (Weichselstr. 66, Neukölln). The coffee wasn't too good, but luckily, the company was.

It was a sunny day, and just before the sun went down, we took the elevator up to the parking lot at Neukölln Arcaden to photograph this beautiful city. I should do that every time I'm feeling down or out of touch with this place; there's something truly magnificent and reassuring about seeing things from above.

On Wednesday, I took a spontaneous spring walk with Johanne.

On Thursday, I worked with Johanna at Roamers (Pannierstr. 64, Neukölln).

And Sunday was brunch time with Ida and Stine at Aunt Benny's (Oderstr. 7, Friedrichshain). I'd been wanting to go for a long time, and despite the bad light for photography the place didn't disappoint one bit. Great coffee, excellent brunch, and then it was just three Danish girls having a terribly good time - I'm sure we raised a few eyebrows by our loud loud laughter fits and shameless conversation! (Luckily, there weren't many Danes around to hear what we were talking about...)