Berlin 2.0

So, what keeps you up at night? These days, for me, it’s anything and everything. Currently, it’s 2:37am and I’m sitting in the common room of the hostel I’ve been staying in. There is a massive snore fest going on in the room I’m supposed to be cozied up in.  But no matter, a couple days ago, it was just a low rumble and I was awake from 12:30am-4.  When there was no noise, didn’t go to sleep until 4am… So, what’s keeping me awake? I don’t know.

Originally, I came to Berlin, early, to get acclimated to the time zone.  I hear, on the Polish Tour, sleep, taking care of your body and eating are important parts of the journey. So, I’ve stocked up on about $100 of Whole Foods quality protein bars, among other snacks.  I bought a wonderful, I mean wonderful, memory foam travel pillow and I came to Berlin early so I could be acclimated.  And, I haven’t slept.   Yeah, I do get some sleeping in between 4, 5, 6am to noon.  But, that’s not acclimated.  I’m supposed to be able to get up and be ready for the morning temple program by 7am.  That means up and at it probably by 6, depending on what the shower situation is which I figure I’ll figure out when I get to Poland.  So, here I am, leaving for Poland tomorrow and up typing this out to you, now.

I guess, on one hand, it’s good I’m doing it now before I move on from Berlin; however, on the other hand… remember that bed I’m supposed to be cozied in? Yeah, I’m not there.

So, I wanted to give you some tips for success on visiting Berlin… let’s just rattle through them, shall we?

First, the language.  I don’t speak a bit of German and even though I studied Spanish for quite a few years, it really doesn’t translate (even though I remember hearing Spanish/French/Italian/German are interchangeable... they NEVER have been for me).  Frankly, I can figure things out better reading them into English in my brain than Spanish.  Generally, when I go places, and need help, I first ask the person if they speak English. This is really important if you want to order a decaf coffee at the millions of café’s around here.  What? Not everyone has decaf (nto even Dunkin Donuts!!!).  Almost always, I’ve gotten a yes. Phew.  Sometimes I get a funny look or a no, but I have never gotten anyone who is upset with me because I didn’t ask in German or that I didn’t start a full blown conversation with them, in German.  The people have been exceedingly nice, especially about this. I’ve heard this isn’t necessarily the case in all European countries (ah hem… France), but I’ll let you know about those ones when I get there… someday.

Back to the people being nice. I mean, they’ve been really nice.  It’s been lovely.  I have enjoyed the people quite a bit. 

Even though Berlin has a dark past, they’ve done a fantastic job rebuilding it. It’s a beautiful, amazingly beautiful city.  I recommend taking long walks and getting comfortable with the public transportation, which, like most European countries, is incredibly readily available.  I’ve tried not to take the same route to or from my hostel every day. Even if it’s a few streets, I get a new glimpse of the area and have managed to get a look at some new Church or Museum or river walk or something.  It really is incredible here.  The city is set up for tourists quite amazingly.  Those river walks? Most of them have outdoor café’s that have random comfortable seating, from hanging basket chairs to no joke, beach loungers.  It’s funny, having frequented many beach vacation areas, to see that when the view is of, let’s say, a tram line.   Along with the beauty, I’ve been impressed with how clean the city is.  Almost every day, I saw a street cleaner going by me at some point.  There are trash cans on the street and recycling is a big thing here. Don’t be surprised if you see multiple people (while you’re sitting at a café watching the tram line) look into those trash cans to try to get the glass bottles out of there so they can recycle them.  It’s amazing.

Speaking of recycling.  This place puts the US to shame on taking care of the environment and the personal impact each one of us has.  It’s kind of embarrassing.  The grocery stores don’t have plastic bags you can just get.  Either you bring your own carrying container or you buy one or however many you need. And considering they cost more than one bottles worth of recycling, you’re probably going to bring your own.  There is virtually no plastic bottling, especially when you compare it to the US.  Milk comes in a carton of sorts.  My yogurt came in a glass jar.  It’s always driven me crazy, if China can go plastic bag less, why can’t the US (and don’t give me the Communist country, the people don’t have a choice line, that doesn’t work for me here)?

Back to how clean it is. Let’s talk a little bit about public bathrooms.  Since I’ve spent a good 8 hours a day out and about, I generally have to find a bathroom here or there. Luckily, I generally have a café or two to stop at; however, there are the times (quite a bit) where I’m at the train station.  Don’t be surprised when it costs you 1 Euro to use the toilet (I was).  Mind you, today, 1 Euro is $1.60.  But, let me tell you about how clean these bathrooms are.  There is someone there, employed, making sure you don’t have to roll your pants up before you drop trow, to… well, you know. And, there are always paper towels, and soap… and… well, let’s just say. I’d almost RATHER spend that euro to use the public loo!

I did mention the public transportation system, right?  Well, I’ve used all except for the Underground (and I tried to tonight but wasn’t familiar enough with it to start getting lost in it).  It’s VERY easy. Those of you from New York or Boston are going, duh.  But, you’ve probably got the most readily available public transportation in the country.  It’s nice here. Plus, I haven’t seen any 4Runners (I know, I own one - well, kinda'), big trucks or gas guzzlers.  I’m sure they’re out in the country, where they’re NEEDED, but I haven’t seen them in the city.  Smart cars and mini’s and tiny cars are the norm and many, many (not like Amsterdam many) many bikes and scooters are around.   And, bike rental is all over and, again, readily available.

So, this one surprised me. People can walk around drinking.  I’ve only seen beer. But, those large beer bottles the recycling people are searching for, are being drunk on the street as people walk home from work or during lunch.  Some of you are stoked and want to visit even more now.  It’s just something to note. Interesting and something I haven’t seen in any other city. 

Here are a few things to remember about shopping. Which, in Berlin, there is TONS of.  Because there are two fairly distinct city centers (remember that whole Berlin Wall thing?) there is massive shopping.  Berlin West, before the fall, was known as liberated and all of the shopping and café’s and such were considered a status symbol and what freedom and peace meant.  So, there is bunches of shopping in Berlin West (we’re talking Rodeo Drive, baby).  Once the East opened up and started to metropolize (new word), they opened up all of their own shopping.  I walked through both districts and it’s impressive.  Not to mention ALL of the shopping everywhere else.  It’s overwhelming.  And, closed on Sunday’s.  No kidding. All of it.  There may be something somewhere that’s open, but it wasn’t anywhere I walked for 8 hours on Sunday. And, my friend Meredith was in Frankfurt and said the same thing.  It doesn’t matter if you’re Prada or a grocery store. You’re closed.  How nice would that be?  To have a built in day off, no matter what? And, that day off would be the same day that all your friends and family have off too… Imagine that, built in community time…

 What’s also interesting is that not everywhere takes plastic.  I walked into a large convenience store (think Walgreen’s or CVS or something), loaded up on a few things and didn’t have enough cash on me to buy it.  This is not uncommon, especially in the grocery/food area.  So, make sure to have a supply of Euro’s at hand…  And, Berliners have great taste… I saw many Dunkin’ Donuts… Give it up for the DD… (Yeah, there were a bunch of Starbuck’s too, but I’m always partial to DD bringing it to the big guy).

Now, for lodging.  I stayed in a hostel.  I haven’t stayed in a hostel since 2007 when I went to Greece. Then, I had a private room, so my experience was very different; however, remember this.  Hostels aren’t just for college kids anymore.  I was feeling a little awkward reserving my room since I’m well above college age…  I need not to have worried.  Hostel traveling is for the budget traveler.  Which means you get every walk of life.  Now, I’d say it was probably 90% college type kid here; however, there definitely were some not so college age types here.  So, ladies, if your hostel has the option… get the ladies only room.  I’m in a room with 4 guys and me right now because I waited too long and the ladies room wasn’t available.  With the snore fest and guys being guys and all that fun stuff, I just don’t love the situation.  And I’m one of the more independent travelers I know.  There are plenty of hotels out there; however, again, need I remind you 1 euro = $1.60 right now? Really, what’s the point?  I highly, highly recommend www.hostels.com as a resource for hostel staying.  Read the reviews and go by the percentages.  Travelers won’t lie. 

To keep you busy.  There is so much in Berlin.  Tons of museums.  Tons of WWII remnants and landmarks.  I chose not to go down the museum route this trip because I wanted to be outside; however, there really were a million.  Even though I didn’t go to them, I was busy every day and saw something different every day.  If you choose to see the museums they have some great bundle options for admissions because it really will take you many days if you want to see them all.

Clothing… Let’s see, it’s rained all but one day that I’ve been here.  Generally it’s been off and on showers with intermittent sun with a couple days of just rain; so, have an umbrella or rain jacket. Today, I got seriously rained on.  Extra good dumping. Everything, everything wet.  So, be prepared for that.  The weather feels humid to me, but my skin was dry and my clothes I washed dried incredibly fast.  So, lotion is good but other than that basic late spring clothes work.  I had a very light sweater wrap that was very handy when the sun hid behind clouds, other than that tank tops/t’s, shorts/jeans are totally do able and I actually really enjoyed the weather.  Nice and temperate.  Apparently, I need to move to a place that is 75 year round… I’m loving this temperature, not too hot not too cold.  

So, I think that’s it for traveling in Berlin at this point.  Logistics and practicalities.  Just wanted to share if you’re ever interested in traveling here.

It’s now 3:22am and I’m going to start writing about something else so you have some more “Juice From the Road” to read about next time.  Part of what has been keeping me up is everything that is running through my head.  So, now that I feel like I’ve unblocked some of the blog block and now I have a bunch of things I want to share with you.  Although, from what I hear about the schedule I’m about to take on, there won’t be a whole lot of time, so wish me luck!

Here’s what I’ll tease you with for next time…

I feel like this whole ‘trip’ has been such a trip because I was ripe for the picking.  I actually, fell off the tree…

Berlin 1.0

Again, I wish I could write from my most creative moments… This time, it’s when I’m walking… can’t quite do both.

So, I came to the realization today that I’ve been suffering from a severe form of blog-block and think I may have found a way around it, for now.  I am missing a huge chunk of my journey that should be titled USA 1.0 - Virgina, USA 2.0 – East Coast Tour, USA 1.2 – Virginia again, USA 3.0 - Dallas, USA 4.0 – LA, USA 5.0 – Seattle, USA 4.2 – LA again… What I realized today is that I’m overwhelmingly struggling with how to communicate the deep love I have for all the people I was able to visit, stay with, share with and just be with.  You have all, in the past, present and future; have left an indelible mark on me and I hope to be able to express my gratitude in a more deserving way at some point in the near future. 

I also am not sure how to address the difficulties in my family because it’s such a huge part of my journey and an ongoing part as well.  The struggles I’ve gone through are something that so many people have had to deal with and I would hope the learning’s and realizations I’ve had over this experience could maybe, one day, mean something. For now, I don’t know how to even start to talk about it all and what it means and how deeply I’ve had to search into myself, my family paradigm, my worth to my family and what I’m willing to go forward with through this process. Needless to say, it’s been a long journey and a difficult one. Many many many tears have been shed over it. Hearts have been broken. Relationships torn apart. Illusions shattered. And, some real beauty has come from it as well. I am cautiously optimistic about the future.

So, that brings me to Berlin.  Someone who is very dear to me inspired me, today, to write from where I’m at; rather than where I’ve been. I do hope to re-visit where I’ve been over the last few; however, Berlin is bringing me to my knees in a whole other way.

I am in Berlin, preparing for, and waiting for “The Polish Tour” to begin. For those of you who don’t know what this is or I haven’t explained it to you, it’s this… Indradyumna Swami, the Swami I met in Vrindavan (gosh, that feels like seriously forever ago) has created “The Festival of India” along the Baltic Coast of Poland for 20 or 25 years now.  It looks like we’re going to be in 14 towns/cities this year. I’m going to try not to explain too much about it, since I really have no idea. It is my first time going.  I do know we’ll set up for 3 days at a time from place to place and have nightly performances of a taste of India with a nightly Bhagavad-Gita reading from Indradyumna Swami and a Kirtan… That’s about all I know. 

Indradyumna Swami graciously invited me to come and help out on the tour.  What I will be doing, I have no idea. I plan on pitching in wherever I’m needed.  I know that I have a whole host of qualifications and a resume that is pretty full of material abilities; however, when stacked next to these people who have been studying the Bhagavad-Gita for 5, 10, 20, 40 years, I feel wholly uneducated.  Or these amazing dancers who have studied Indian dance their whole lives and perform ‘on the big stage’, as it were, in India… yeah, not me… Or people who can do the most amazing yoga-asana – yeah, not in this body, yet.  Or people who desire, so much, to cook for thousands of people – please don’t put me in a hot kitchen, I sweat too much… I pretty much can come up with a reason or explanation as to how I would be a bigger bother than help. So, my intention is to go in and fill in the gaps and holes wherever needed.  I am going with a heart so full of gratitude to learn from all these amazing people, that I just hope I can help them do their ‘jobs’.  All in all, there will be 250-300 people who will be ‘working’ during the program!

So, I’m in Berlin to get acclimated and see more of the world and wait for the school, where we’ll be staying, to open.  I’ve been here for 5 nights and am deep into another night of no sleep.  It’s been epic.  I have never suffered jet-lag like this in my life, until today I finally realized that this absolutely just can’t be jet lag.  I don’t get to blame that anymore.

I’ve been walking around Berlin, seeing all the sights, taking pictures, fairly passively.  I walk down the street my hostel is on and all I can see when I look up is bombed out buildings. Because that’s what it was. Almost nothing in Berlin hasn’t been rebuilt.  I did see 1 building today that is known for the fact that it made it.  I get on the train and think about the people who were riding the same tracks to their impeding imprisonment.  A new friend told me how the kids of Berlin take field trips to old concentration camps… I took field trips to the White Mountains to see Glacial Boulders…  So, last night I finally got out of bed to eat something out of helplessness, since I couldn’t sleep.  I was sitting in the kitchen, pissed off, as I was stuffing green beans in my face… Finally, 6am I found sleep. 

As I was mulling over this whole thing today, trying to figure out what on God’s green earth could be keeping me awake, I realized that I am feeling this place.  And, that I feel stuff. Dammit.  Like, when people start rattling off their dreams to me. I haven’t done a ton of dream work, but enough to know that you’re telling me way more about yourself than you know or than I really want to know.  That, yes I actually am sensitive.  Yeah, shocker… here I am, a 33 year old woman saying I’m sensitive… I’ve always been the jock. I’ve always rolled with it. I’ve always been the president of this, captain of that, in charge of this, over that.  Generally, I haven’t allowed myself to feel through it.  Or admit that I feel.  The good news is, generally I move on so my whole life isn’t about to come crashing down on me in this moment, it just means I need to be more aware that I feel.  And, not just stuff.  My digestive system isn’t iron clad.  Food affects me.  Sleep affects me.  I’ve spent so much of my life just muscling my way through.  I have felt deeply and moved on.  I have been sick and kept going.  So often, these would be considered admirable qualities, right?  But, what’s admirable in that? If I blew off your experiences, or your feelings, or your indigestion when you came to me; wouldn’t that be callous and mean?  So, why should any one person be expected to blow off their lives’ experiences and just move on?  I say the hell with that.  So, as I’m walking through Berlin today, taking yet ANOTHER trip to the Holocaust Memorial because it fascinates me, I need to realize that I’m going to not just see 2,711 stone pillars.  I’m reminded that I need to be aware of what I’m subjecting myself to.  I think of a moment in India when we were getting a tour of the hospital and the director wanted to take us to the cancer ward.  Our guide was emphatic that we don’t need to go there.  This is a spiritual journey and we weren’t in a place to need to be that.  Now, different thing entirely if we were there for something else; however, let’s be aware of how we are affected because this effects how we affect others.  The question now, is can I integrate it all?  I’m not going to put myself in a bubble and I’m not going to keep blowing myself off either.

For now, I need to just be aware that I’m sensitive. I’ve lived my entire life as though I’m not. That there isn’t this deep, sweet tenderness in me.  And, that’s enough. How to integrate it will come.

And, so, hopefully, will sleep.