One week down

The past few days have gone from a whirlwind of activity to a slow and do-it-yourself pace.

The bike tour was amazing. For four hours, our guide, Karissa, showed us the more alternative side of Berlin. This city has definitely become more appealing since then. We stopped by the river to get lunch and then continued to bike around for another couple hours, seeing squats and this great park with adorable little Berlin kids playing around. Thank god the bikes’ seats were comfy, as the tour was nearly five hours. After we all got refreshed, most of us went out for dinner and we laughed the whole way through.

Tuesday started our slower free-time days. I went with Marissa to an Irish pub, where she found her subject and we had lunch. That night, we went to Qi. The only word that can sum it up is a musical extravaganza. There were lots of disco songs, lots of sparkly outfits, lots of crazy acrobatics and lots of suggestive dancing. After, we went to see Tacheles, an abandoned building that is full of artists. The place was really cool, and I definitely want to go back there. Our last stop was back to the pub to see the band they had playing.

Yesterday was a slower day, as we got up late and I went on a hunt for a subject. I’m not exactly convinced that I have one yet. A travel agent was willing to be interviewed and his English is beyond good, so I’m hoping he has some interesting quirks that make the project stand out. If not, I’ll go into panic mode. I have some potential people, but they don’t seem as willing and harder to get in contact with. I’m hoping something spectacular falls into my lap.

The rest of the day was spent walking around, then going to a group dinner, where I had the spiciest salad of my life. After trying to see the Reichstag (they close at 11 p.m., but stop letting in people an hour before) we saw Marissa’s subject’s band, the Acoustic Warriors, back at the pub. They weren’t exactly a crowd pleaser. We finally made it to Dr. Pong after, which was the most unique place we’ve seen thus far. A true Berlin-only experience, every player runs around a ping-pong table, beer in hand, and if you miss, you’re out. Eventually, the four or five people left are running to keep up. It’s been decided that our group is going to reunite and make it a craze in Gainesville.