Berlin

I'm in Berlin now. And of course, I haven't even finished telling about the Hungary/Romania trip that happened months ago. So, I'm kind of behind. I'm going to try to tell you about Berlin and Paris then in a quicker, non-narrative way with just the highlights, to speed the process up. Plus, I'm working on the novel too, which I ought to be writing instead of blog entries (I'm pretty behind in that too, 2,869/50,000 words completed so far).

So, now, a couple brief notes on Berlin:

• Right down the street from Checkpoint Charlie, there is a Schlotzsky's Deli. And it even has free refills! (Try as I might, I can't find the classic "Schlabitzky's Deli" commercial online)
• I noticed that a theatre was screening Guy Maddin's Tales From The Gimli Hospital tonight, so I went there. As I was waiting outside the auditorium for the last movie to finish, Guy Maddin walked out into the lobby. I ended up talking to him for ten minutes about Betty Boop.

Other than that, I've seen a lot of cool Picassos at the Sammlung Bergeun and other cool stuff at the Neue Galerie. Berlin is pretty awesome. Parts of it remind me a lot of downtown Chicago, including the Neue Galerie, as it was designed by Mies van der Rohe.

I can't post any music from here, so everybody just listen to Berlin by Lou Reed and the Berlin Trilogy by David Bowie.