I don’t even know how to start this entry. How do I start? I love my apartment. I love my street. I love my neighborhood. I love Berlin. I love the S Bahn and U Bahn. Uh….

Seriously. I love my little studio on Kopenhagener Strasse. From my window I look down at the street, and a little playground on the corner. Despite frigid temperatures, there are always kids playing there. My first day – the coldest, I think – I sat and watched as some young boys spread their arms and leaned into the freezing wind, like birds do.

There is a wine shop on my street, and an Italian cafe called Bar Centrale. There is a tapas place and also, this internet spot which costs a whopping one Euro per hour. I am less than one block from the Schonhauser Allee station, so I can take the S Bahn or U Bahn very easily from here. Kasch and Tom live just two stops away. I could not be happier with this location I am in.

So Sunday was pretty chill, since it was a) Sunday and b) rainy and c) we were recovering. Yesterday and today, Super Tourist Mode! Yesterday Tom and I headed out to be full on tourists, hitting up many of the typical Berlin sights such as the Brandenberg Gate and Potsdamer Platz. We even went to the famous Cafe Einstein for an overpriced club sandwich. Berlin is a great city just for walking around, even when it is hailing. Yes, it hailed on us, but I didn’t care! Then all of a sudden the sun was out and it was almost hot.

Last night: killer Chinese food and then a late night at the Cafe Gerbaty where Tom and Kasch first met. Everyone smokes like a chimney here but so far I have been able to handle it somewhat.

Today Kasch took me to the KaDeWe department store where on the sixth floor they have this incredible gourmet market. All kinds of spices, chocolate, foods from all over the world… KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce! For SEVEN EURO. There is a huge selection of wine and liquor from all over the world, a bakery, a seafood counter, a deli… and lots of places to sit down and eat something. They even had a Champagne bar and I was dying to go there but Kasch said it was stupid to spend ten euros on a glass of Champagne when outside, you can get a glass of Sekt (German sparkling wine) for only three euros or something. She is right, but I think I might just happen to find myself miraculously at the KaDeWe at some point and I might also have an unquenchable thirst.

Kasch did allow me to buy her a glass of Sekt at a famous cafe called Kranzler and then we went to the totally opposite side of the spectrum, the outdoor Turkish market in Kreuzberg that is held on Tuesday and Friday. Both sides of the street are lined with vendors of olives, arabic breads, fabrics, vegetables, assorted household junk, even a wine guy. From the Neiman Marcusesque vision of the KaDeWe to a Turkish bazaar. Wild. Have I said I love it here yet?

I have to go because I am late for dinner at Kasch and Tom’s, where we will graze on dolmas, tiny peppers stuffed with some kind of creamy stuff, arabic spreads and bread, and cheese that we bought at the Turkish market. Oh, and some Rioja I bought at my local wine shop. I have not had one moment here that I have not absolutely loved.

I am lucky to have such great guides though. Guides that know all the cool places.

Onward.

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