After a tumultuous weekend, filled with rain, tears & a small coronary, I have left Prenzlauer Berg & am now safely tucked away with my bearded Swedish friend, in Wedding. His small apartment comes complete with bare wood floors, white walls, high ceilings & most importantly, plenty of sunlight. The weather this week has been kind & I for one am most thankful. If there's one thing that helps to pull me out of a funk, it's the sun's warmth upon my bare skin.
Cycling to yoga in shorts & sandals has been unadulterated bliss, even if, at times, I do feel a little exposed. The gentle movement from downward facing dog, to plank, up through to cobra, with the light beaming through the windows, puts a smile upon my face every time. Everything, life itself even, just feels more positive when the sun is shining, don't you think.
I have been making the most of my last few weeks in Berlin, with the help of some new friends. Tuesday saw myself & fellow Brit, Max, take a stroll to the Turkish market (Maybachufer, 10967 Kreuzberg), to peruse the eclectic mix of wares on offer. We indulged in delicious chocolate sorbet afterwards, from my favourite gelateria, Eis Manufaktur (Graefestraße 7, 10967, Kreuzberg), whilst soaking up the rays on a street corner & then wandered off to Chaparro (Wienerstr. 15-A 10999, Kreuzberg), to fill our stomachs with burritos, before visiting the East side gallery. The sun shone the whole day & I cycled home in the evening feeling very happy.
On Wednesday, I met up with the mystical anomaly that is tattoo artist Lus Lips (Loxodrom). Magician, rabbi & all-round man of mystery, we sat down at Feibi's (Danzigerstraße 27, Prenzlauer Berg) for a scrumptious bowl of Thai soup, before heading round the corner for juice & a reading. Turns out I'm very structured & now very intrigued.
Today, the sun is shining, I've sweat out my impurities through a tough class of vinyasa yoga & now, I am re-hydrating with a cool glass of juice, whilst I abuse the internet facilities at Lekkerurlaub (Graefestraße 89, 10967, Kreuzberg), a light, airy cafe, that plays very good jazz. Soon, I shall head back into the heat & find a grassy patch in Görlitzer Park to nestle & read my book, whilst attempting to ignore the offers of weed from passing drug dealers.
I am hoping to take a trip to Markthalle (Eisenbahnstraße 42/43, 10997, Kreuzberg) with friends this evening, to indulge in the plethora of food on offer, during their Street Food Thursday. I've been desperate to return since visiting it last year with Charlotte, but things never seem to work out, so my fingers are crossed for tonight.
Left on my list of things to do/see before I return to Rome are: lunch at Café Pfoertner, as recommended by Lilly from In a Pavilion, a night of dinner & drinks at Bite Club, a return visit to the Botanischer Garten, in order to actually see the grounds this time & finally, to take a stroll around the flea market at Mauerpark on Sunday afternoon.
Being without foundations is tough at times, the lack of grounding, but, ultimately, when I shake the fear away, life on the road isn't really that bad.
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