Hallo, ich bin Alina. Ich lerne die deutsche Sprache an der Deutschen Akademie. Ich bin 20 Jahre alt und  komme aus Moldawien. Moldawien ist eine kleine Republik, die sich zwischen der Ukraine und Rumänien befindet. Ich bin in Berlin seit sieben Monaten als Au-pair Mädchen. Ich lebe in einer deutschen Familie und helfe den Gasteltern um die Kinder zu kümmern. Diese Familie hat zwei Kinder. Das sind ein Mädchen und ein Junge .Die Kinder helfen mir jeden Tag meine Deutschkenntnisse  zu verbessern. Ich habe schon zwei Sprachkurse besucht. Und in diesem Monat mache ich Niveaustufe B2 an der Deutschen Akademie. Mal schauen, was daraus wird.

Mit warmen Grüßen aus dem kaltem Berlin,

Alina

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It is a gigantic *****. Why? Well, I guess “Der Spiegel” can explain it better than me:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,664926,00.html

Classy!

According to these wretched scales that you can find in Möckernbrücke (U6) I am too fat. I want to believe they follow post-war standards, but I guess that is not even true and I have had too many döner. It was worth it, in any case…

I think it is a gret idea that the plastic bags are not given for free in German shops. In my country, if you buy three items in a shop the average number of plastic bags that you get is 6. No kidding. We could probably line up all the bags I have got in my life until now and we could go to the moon, cover it in plastic bags, come back to Earth and give every human being a plastic bag in case they go to Germany and need some of them. Why do the Spanish people love them as much as the Germans hate them will remain a mystery forever…

Pretty good. That’s my verdict having nearly completed two month-long intensive German courses at language school DeutschAkademie, Berlin. I’ve been living here for a year and a half, but as every English speaker knows, it takes dedication to learn German when every German wants to practice his English. It is really only over the last two months that I’ve begun to decode and appreciate the full extent of the world around me. Many thanks go to my two excellent instructors at Deutsch Akademie, Wiebke and Olaf. Unfortunately, I have to take a break from classes this month in order to do some traveling–but I intend to keep my newfound skills fresh using Deutsch Akademie’s free online german course, which sounds great.  But you don’t have to take my word for it: German online course. Thanks again, and see you next time!

–Malcolm

The Dong Xuan Center lives on the eastern outskirts of Berlin, just shy of the Germo-Vietnamese border. Three huge hangars house hundreds of vendors hawking every oddball item you never realized you needed, along with some excellent viet-food.  You will be immediately bowled over by the scope and scale of odd, seemingly useless stuff for sale. These products make you feel very close to the sweatshop–as if perhaps in order to cut costs, some vital voice of reason has been eliminated from the value chain, leaving the misguided factory bosses to churn out thousands of wildly inappropriate statuettes, insane toys and eccentric clothes. Between the fake flower stalls and nail salon supplier shops there are a couple of fine supermarkets with huge tanks of leaping carp that splash passers by. After having your mind blown, and perhaps picking up a musical-LED–birdcage-lighter, be sure to settle in at one of the Dong Xuan’s excellent restaurants for one of the best dishes in Berlin: Bún Thịt Nướng (marinated barbecued pork with rice noodles and vietnamese-style sweet and sour sauce).

Dong Xuan Center‎

I thought I’d share my review of Herr Lehmann, an entertaining German film I might never have discovered were it not for my classes at Deutsch Akademie.Der Film Herr Lehmann von Leander Haussmann öffnet ein Fenster zu der Welt Berlin Kreuzberg vor dem Mauerfall. Christian Ulmen spielt überzeugend den melancholischen bier-süchtigen Herr Lehmann der versucht die chaotischen, bunten Leute und Situationen seines Boheme-Lebens. Aber der echte Hauptschauspieler des Films ist die Stadt-selbst. Wir sehen viele gut entworfene Szenen der grauen Berliner Strassen wie es im Jahre 1989 war. Diese Strassen, wie Herr Lehmann-selbst, scheinen zwischen der alten und neuer Welt verloren, aber Veränderung bestimmt.

In the no man’s land between Potsdamer Platz and Checkpoint Charlie, in the shadow of the ruined Anhalter Bahnhof, lies a hobbitish Kneipe named Stadtklause. The warm atmosphere in this seemingly ancient building is excellent–as is the dark Klosterbier on tap and the homemade pub food. The place also boasts a cellar museum dedicated to the once great Anhalter Bahnhof, as well as a truly hobbit-sized smoker’s lounge in the attic. But beware! While it may seem like the perfect launching pad for a big night out on the town, the mellow charms of Stadtklause can make a quiet evening quite compelling.

To the not faint of heart, I recommend visiting one of Berlin’s most striking modern ruins: the former listening station towers atop Teufelsberg. The berg itself is a man-made mountain assembled from the wreckage of World War Two. The listening stations, which resemble giant golf balls, were built by western forces to intercept radio communications from the east during the Cold War. The complex has since fallen into a state of extreme disrepair, helped along by the prolific efforts of squatters, vandals and zombies of the post-apocalypse. It’s a powerful sight to behold, and the sunset view of Berlin is among the city’s best. In the interest of full disclosure, one must trespass through barb-wired fence holes just to get in–not to mention ankle breaking holes in the floor, rusty shrapnel, piles of broken glass and doorways to nowhere. I advise bringing a flashlight, a bottle of wine and perhaps a first aid kit. Enjoy!

“Prince Denmark” is a funny sort of brand name. I’m not sure if it is meant to evoke the most famous prince of that Nordic land, but one might free associate “mass tragedy”, “untimely death” or “ear poison”. The play is a blood bath, after all. Turns out it’s cigarettes. That took a while to figure out since advertising is limited to the helpful but understated bike racks pictured above. My bets were on discount condoms, hygienic shoe inserts or malt liquor.