Good boy

Here is a picture of Diego on the S-Bahn.

(it is several days after his coif at the Hundesalon so you can see that his hair de-froed a bit).

Before and After

Several weeks ago, my friend Catrin kindly accompanied me to the Hundesalon. Diego needed some grooming. My vet in Mitte gave me the name of a groomer who I thought was nearby. It turned out that this groomer was not as close as I had thought; as the tram passed more and more Stalin-style block apartments, Catrin and I theorized about what the groomer would look like.
'Her name is Missy' Catrin said, drawing on her knowledge of a trend in East Germany to give girls names ending with double consonants and a 'y' sound: Connie, Shelly, Crissie. (Guys had names like Rico-- too cool!).

I guessed that she had true-red hair cut short with a streak of black through it. Catrin added in long laquered nails (I thought that was a stretch because how do you trim a dog with huge shiny acrylic nails.

Who was right? Both of us. She couldn't have been more perfect. The red streak, the acrylic nails. I didn't catch her name, but her dog-- I mean her doppelganger-- was called 'Sissy.'

And how did Diego turn out? He's thrilled with the results. (really, he is so much more himself. He was just too hot in all of that fur this summer. He's back to his playful cuddly self.)

And yes, I am to blame for the big head. It's just that he looks so different when he gets groomed; I think if his face was shaved he would look so different. I like to keep his face as fluffy as possible so that I still recognize him.

Vast East Berlin

This is the only major city I know that has massive open spaces, overgrown and neglected.

This is a huge block near Nordbahnhof which has been adopted by some dog owners as a makeshift dog park. Prime real estate, smack dab in the middle of Mitte. The 'park' has a chain link fence around it to keep people out; conveniently, it also keeps dogs in.

Diego stares at his favorite thing: a squeaky rubber ball with legs.

Self Portrait

In front of Checkpoint Charlie before a delicious Italian meal at Sale e Tabbachi with Romy and her German boyfriend Martin who were visiting from Los Angeles. Diego moved and we got this blurry picture.

We didn't visit the museum.

Am waiting for the summer to end and for Berlin to quiet down before I visit the big tourist sites. In the meantime, I am trying to socialize more and get things sorted out with my apartment on weekends.

Working dog

Here is a snap of Diego doing what he does best: being cute.

He loves his little modest bed from Target and he sleeps in it under my desk at work.

Sometimes I stick my feet on him to see how long he will tolerate it. It's funny because I always tire of it before he does.

Sunrise, sunset

It was a humid day in Berlin yesterday, replete with rainshowers and sticky sticky clothes and hair.

But it cooled down and cleared up by evening, and when I went out to meet some friends for dinner, the clouds to the north (I think) were bursting with pink and salmon and gray.

Nice package!

I was not home when Herr Deutsche Post delivered my Alice package so he dropped it off at the corner hardware store for me to pick up. So kind and thoughtful! And I didn't even have to go to the post office to pick it up.

Go ask Alice

4 weeks after signing up for a new telephone service and DSL, I still do not have the account set up.

Apparently this is normal in Germany.

I am going with 'Alice,' an alternative provider because I will be able to have an open contract that I can cancel at any time; Telekom requires 2 year contract. But whether you go with Telekom or any other service provider, the wait, the unbearable wait is still the same.

But isn't Alice just so pretty?

Meanwhile, I clandestinely check my personal emails at work (hey, by the way, why don't you drop me a line?), and post things here and there.

And I still can't call my friends and family. I miss you guys!

Linked in

I just added some links to other expat blogs that I've found in Germany. They are a bit simple, but then again, so is mine. I don't agree with all of their observations and comments, but it is interesting to see how they are faring in this Teutonic land.

Fahrkarten, bitte- or breaking the law

Public transportation is too easy to cheat here in Germany. There are no turnstiles like in London, Paris and NYC. It's based on the honor system.

You buy a ticket for 2,10 euros, you stamp it, you keep it with you. Simple.

But sometimes you are walking up the stairs with your computer, dog and bike, and your train arrives. And so you run as fast as you can onto the train. Oops, you forget to buy (or stamp) your ticket.

And sometimes you make it to your destination without and trouble.

And sometimes, plain clothed (!) policemen catch you. And they have no mercy. They make you pay the ticket violation right there. And if you don't have cash on you, they have been known to take you to the ATM (EC Card) to get cashola. Or they ask for your address if all else fails.

Claiming ignorance because you are a foreigner works rarely, if ever. Most of us really just didn't know how to pay for a ticket. But honestly, you do kind of know that there must be a system to pay for public transport, there always is.

I have experienced the dreaded 'farhkarten, bitte' inspectors on the S-Bahn. I really had no idea what they were doing. All of a sudden, people started flashing these cards to these guys; I just thought they were strange. They asked for my ticket in English and then I looked, and looked, and looked in my pockets and bag and everywhere, stalling just enough for us to reach the Hautbahnhof and to jump out with Diego. They were distracted by another person with a dog who also did not have a ticket, so I went downstairs to the bank, got some money (from my US account) and bought the 2,10 ticket.

That anxious interaction with the Inspectors is not worth it. Now, I try and buy a ticket each time I get on public transport.

That's my contribution to the German public transport system. It's the least I can do.

Ordnungsamt

I have never felt like someone who breaks the laws, or who fears the police. In the US, I usually felt that the police were here to 'protect and serve.' The meter maids are just pains in the asses, but I don't fear them.

But here in Berlin, I am scared.

There are fine ladies and men who rule the parking meters in Germany, and they are called Ordnungsamt. These are the people that get you if you violate order or rules on the German streets. And as you guessed it, there are a lot of rules on the German streets. And everday, I violate a couple.

I am still a newbie here, so I will cover just one area where I come in contact with the Ordnungsamt, and where I seem to constantly break the laws: in the context of my dog.

- All dog owners must pay a Hundesteuer which is an (annual?) dog tax. This can be anything from 75- 120 euros for your first dog. I have been convinced by Harald, a guy from my office who has Daly the Jack Russell Terrier, not to bother with this tax. They fine you 10 euros for not paying the tax on your dog; it makes more sense to avoid paying it and to get a fine every so often I am assured.

- Dogs in Berlin can be off leash but must be within 1 meter of owner. I'm not sure if this is a real law because the friendly Ordnungsamt can give you a ticket for having your dog off leash period, I think. Once I had Diego off leash and was walking down the street talking to my friend Richard in English. Richard turned to me and said that an Ordnungsamt had just tried to approach me to give me a ticket but when he heard me speaking English he turned the other way. I looked over to see him crossing the street.

- Dogs cannot be off- leash in a park. They give you tickets for this too. Today when I got to the park, on my bike with Diego running beside me, this guy Marvin told me that I just missed the O's who would've certainly slapped a ticket on me. I think the off leash ticket might be 20 euros.

- There is a list of dogs that are considered dangerous in Germany and therefore get special laws. A pit bull or a staffordshire terrier must wear a muzzle in public after the age of 7 months. The dog can also take a strict obedience test and be exempted from wearing the muzzle. Then does the owner have to walk around with a certificate or something?

- You must pick up your dogs shit. I do this religiously, so I feel self righteous and law-abiding.

Still, I am a rule breaker and I am not proud.

But I also want a nice life for my dog, so I will put him on a leash in the city, but I will continue to let him run wild in the park where there are no people.

Show me the money

In Germany you are paid at the end of the month, not at the beginning.

And there's no 15th of the month kindness either. Money hits your account around the 27-30th of the month. But you still pay your rent at the beginning of the month.

Just wanted you to know.

Schlactensee

On Sunday, I went back to the Schlactensee with Diego and some friends. The lake is so close to Berlin, you can take the S-Bahn there. But it feels very far from the city.

There is an dirt path around the lake which is surrounded by trees. Through the trees, you can see some of the big houses of Grunewald; but mostly if feels very quiet and isolated.

People are running, walking and biking around the lake, and swimming across it too. It's not too crowded.

I took a dip, and the water was chilly, but it was a nice warm summer day, so it was refreshing.

Peter threw the tennis ball, and Diego jumped into the lake to retrieve it. The picture here is of Peter's wife Gabriela and their kids Phillip and Maria laughing as Diego doggy paddles his way back to shore. He did this a million times.

Later we ate wursts with kraut and drank apfelschorle, an apple juice spritzer. Very German indeed, although only one of us was 100% deutsch.

The Wunderbar Chocolate Bar

I love the Wunderbar.

This is a caramel candy bar, stuffed with crispy, crunchy and soft peanut butter, and dipped into smooth chocolate. You bite into the bar, and the caramel seals itself around the peanut crispiness, so it's like a caramel/peanutbutter ravioli. The smoothness of the chocolate and caramel is contrasted with the Butterfingerlike crispiness and creamy peanutbutter.

Want one? I'll bet they sell them in UK sweet shops in the US and also in Canada.

Moving on

The movers say that my stuff left California on July 31; two months after they packed it up and promised it would be on its way to Europe.

I've been told that it will all arrive in Berlin in mid August. Yeah right. Right now my container is probably at some truck stop, and the driver is smoking a Kent on my couch after eating some greasy diner food. I'm lucky if it arrives before September.

Never believe what the moving company tells you. This industry should be better regulated. I have moved so often, and each time I can list the number of ways the company has screwed up the move: damaged items, underestimated tonnage, extra fees at receiving end, drunk moving guys... And I have friends who tell the same stories.

So how will my items travel? To the east coast and then to Hamburg? To Long Beach and then through the Panama Canal and then to Hamburg? I'm not sure.

And then how long will it sit in Customs? Will they charge me extra import tariffs?

And will my things arrive broken? scratched? mildewed? Will the Germans make me pay additional fees not covered in the US moving fees? Will they put the legs on the chairs and tables they so carefully removed and assured me would all arrive in the delivery? Will they unpack the stuff they wrapped and wrapped and take away the boxes and paper like they promised?

I miss my bed. I miss my kitchen stuff, my clothes. I want to be settled at home.