My last day in Berlin was a fab day with Leila. We made coffee and breakfast at home, and then took off to explore some markets (selling mostly Turkish wares....we bought lots of baklava), and a little hidden shopping area of Kreuzberg with lots of funky shops with antiques and old books and clothes. Leila read about the best currywurst and best kebabs in Berlin, and both were in the local area, so of course we had to sample the food ("Always planning the food, always thinking about the next food" was a common complaint of Michael's). I have to say, it was THE best kebab I have ever had...it had fried vegetables, including potato on it, as well as salads and garlic sauce, and a tasty herby chicken. Yum!
Later we went to the Topography of Terror, an outdoor exhibition about the political history of Berlin, with an emphasis on the rise and fall of Hitler and the Nazis. I won't write much about this I don't think. It was too powerful and I won't do it justice. One observation though: it seems the Germans deal quite elegantly with their political past. They think it's important to keep teaching the up and coming generations about what happened in it's entirety, so that they can be equipped to face another situation like this should it arise. I was struck by their humble but firm approach, which made our harsh and cynical approach to teaching this material in our schools and universities seem very simplistic.
Speaking of simplistic, can I just say that I'm sick of hearing about Palin's 17 year old daughter being pregnant. It couldn't be more irrelevent. Anyway...
We also visited Potsdamer Platz, which I thought was fascinating. It was bombed in WWII, and then became part of East Germany, and so was left as a wasteland until 1998, although pre-WWII it was one of the busiest business squares in Europe. Now, it was been redeveloped with the only skyscrapers in Berlin, and a futuristic, Japanese-looking dome with shops, cafes, bars and an IMAX, and is starting to become the business and tourist hub it was some 70 years ago. Sometimes it's funny how we need to go so far backward before we go forward.
Leila and I actually found an Australian restaurant in Potsdamer Platz...they served kangaroo dishes and Fosters, and some regular meals with tacky Australian names like Uluru Fries. It was funny to see Leila speak automatically in English to the staff, and struggle to switch to German.
My time in Berlin ended with a good night out with Leila, Tina, and some guys Tina was friends with. Somehow us girls managed to get lost walking home in Tina's own neighbourhood. I loved Tina and her city.
Now, a flying visit from Berlin back to London (which included a rather exciting plane trip...) to visit Lynda, an old friend from Sheffield. It's wonderful seeing each other again, and after 4 years, we just fell back naturally into our old ways...girl talk about clothes, shopping and boys, and good chats about the church and our cities and how Jesus is teaching us and helping us live faithful lives in our opposite ends of the world. This afternoon we went to the Tate Modern, wandered round South Bank, had drinks, and met one of Lynda's friends for dinner. It was a perfect afternoon. And very importantly, after a few days of very average coffee in Berlin (Tina's excepted), I had a good strong coffee at the Italian deli round the corner from Lynda's.
Lynda lives in a suburb of London called Tooting. I think that's funny, despite my lack of appreciation of tolilet humour. And it makes me think of Fist, because she always enjoys a bit of toilet humour. Katie, perhaps you should move to Tooting. Lynda says it's an "up-and-coming" area of London. Read into that what you want...but all I can say is, it's far better than Kensal Green.
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