Lins + Lula

No, they don't live here in Berlin.

I surprised Lins when I was in the US last August, showing up at her door a couple of hours before her housewarming party.

It was one of those great Chicago nights, and LLH has an amazing view onto a park.

And of course, Lins cooked absolutely everything-- even crackers -- and it was ridiculously delicious.

Can't wait for her visit to Berlin!

Oh I forgot!

I saw Clive Owen at Tegel, right before I jumped on my plane to Istanbul earlier this month (September)

He was in town shooting 'The International' with Tom Tykwa, the guy who did 'Run Lola Run.'

Mother Knows Best

I think my mother might be the only one that reads this blog, so I am going to write her a letter here:

Dear Mom,
Hallo from Berlin! Diego and I are enjoying the fine fall weather. It's been gorgeous and sunny here in Mitte. Sometimes I feel like I should be a student again: the smell of fall, with the changing leaves and chill in the air, makes me think of school. Not college, because then I would have to smell the subway, taxi exhaust, and pretzels. But school. I guess anytime from when I wa 5-18. Remember those days? I'll bet you are have a nice fall in S (New England suburb).

Today I had a real stupid moment:. I misread my itinerary and missed my flight to Leeds. I read my German itinerary several times and understood that the flight was leaving at 6:45 am, and that I should be there by 6:15. Well, I transposed the numbers and the flight actually left at 6:15-- I was supposed to be there at 5:45am.

I haven't missed a flight since I went to visit Carol Farmer in 1992. Big Guy rewarded me for doing so well in summer school with a long weekend in Boca. I was so exhausted from my exams that I checked into my flight, bought a Rolling Stone, sat at my gate while they called my flight (and it departed). I looked up from an article about The Boss (I don't even really like Bruce Springsteen) and realized that I missed my flight, even though I was sitting right there.

The ticket counter people laughed with me at my stupidity and gave me a business class flight down to Florida for the next day. It turned out well in the end.

On the positive side, I found out that it takes only 20 minutes to get to Tegel that early in the morning from my apartment.

I was able to do my briefing over the phone. Hopefully the film turned out alright. The producer called today and said everything went well.

I will never misread a German itinerary again.

Yesterday was 8 years, and tomorrow is Big Guy's birthday. Even though I love this time of year, it's always a bit sad. How are you?

Alright, that's it for now. Miss you and can't wait for your visit.

xxoo,
Love,
Aph

Bella does Yoga at Barcomi's

Some people might eat bagels at Barcomi's, but Bella does yoga.

Countdown to Christmas

Christmas has officially hit Berlin.

In late September, I went shopping at Zene at Stilwerk and already there were Christmas decorations on display: tons and tons of multicolored glass ball ornaments and tasteful, design-y things for yuletide decor.

I will continue to countdown to Christmas here on these pages. Stay tuned.

Wildlife in Berlin

On Wednesday October 10, Diego found a hedgehog in the grass down the street. We were biking down the street and he stopped dead in his tracks and started barking.

Hedgehogs are ridiculously cute. So of course I made sure that Diego didn't get too close.

This is not the first wildlife sighting in Berlin.

This summer I saw a rabbit in Mon Bijou park, and just the other day, my friend saw a fox-- yes a fox-- outside his house in Gendarmenmarkt at 5am.

This is a funny city.

And because hedgehogs are so cute, I am posting a picture of one I found online. No, I did not pick up the wild German hedgehog.

Istanbul, not Constantinople

(I can't get that This Must be Giants song out of my head.)

I arrived in Istanbul 4 October for a quick weekend visit. Only 3 hours from Berlin, it's an easy trip to make.

I really didn't know what to expect. I bought my ticket only 2 days before arriving here, so I didn't do as much research into the area as I usually do.

I'll be here through Wed morning so there are still more sights, smells, and sounds to take in. I've been snapping lots of pictures so once I get back to Berlin I will post some impressions.

My first thought: I need to come back to Turkey and explore some more.