B

THE FIRST time i heard praises about berlin was during arthur’s day at the old stand pub where i meet four irish dudes, three of them named ronan. one of the ronan’s is a hedge fund manager who has travelled for both business and pleasure and the conversation started about how i find dublin. i gave an honest answer that i like it very much giving the context of their literary history and the way of life as i see it around me and as i experience it through joy who is both earning a living and getting a life, two things that are mutually exclusive in new york. when i asked him what his favorite city is, he answered that it is berlin.

WHEN I pressed ronan why, all i got as an answer is these very words that i am qouting: “you are creative. you will get.” i nodded, committed the words and the place it was uttered into memory and we moved on to other topics like after drinking food sources as it was arthur’s day, the birthday of the genius behind guinness and ireland’s second biggest drinking day after saint patrick’s. i learned other interesting things like how trinity college boasts of of nobel prize winners in the fields of literature and mathematics and that these great minds are actual graduates of the school and not visiting professors.

BUT THE words about berlin stuck with me.

WHEN THE time came that we are planning our trip, we decided to drop berlin in favor of madrid. then a compromised was reached and then we added a one night layover en route to mama españa. and then the economy intervened and the spaniards started burning their mangoes and their zaras and we decided to scrape madrid altogether and just go to berlin.

BECAUSE HINDSIGHT is always 20/2o, our decisions could not have been any more fortuitously perfect.

* * *

AND SO we came from schipol airport in amsterdam where juices are freshly squeezed and rolls are freshly baked and yes, i did the whole sushi in an airport that neil gaiman bragged about and for the record, sushi in schipol airport rules. (in the context of NAIA, it is possible for any airport to have local and imported cuisines that are fresh, affordable and presentable).

SO.

WHEN WE landed in berlin, we took the train to the city where our hotel is located within the alexanderplatz area. alexanderplatz is the grand central is the centraal station is the whatever hub of any subway and rail system of any city in the world. there is only one big difference. stare at the berlin subway and rail map for 120 seconds and you will get it. i am not kidding. google the fucking map and stare at it. even at the size of a computer screen it will make sense after two minutes. ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce german engineering and design.

THE FIRST night we did the whole wurst and pitcher of beer thing and then slept early followed by hotel breakfast of bacon and egg before we walked towards the famous gate for our walking tour. our guide is doing his PhD in history at hubolt university, the world record holder of producing the most numbers of nobel prize winners to date. the walk was three hours ling with one soup break and in a very interesting way that only academics could achieve, i learned a lot of things about germany, two of which need to be written here.

ONE: GERMANY paid all their war debts to the last cent. it was fully paid last 2010 amounting to trillions of dollars (in context, the japanese imperial army refuses to pay a single cent. this wasn’t mentioned by the guide as their are asians in the group, especially me who looks like and is always mistaken for a japanese–i am posting my new passport photo as soon as it arrives for proof.) in this day and age where credit history is all that matters, it means a lot. (and here i revise my rule: never trust a man who does not know how to smoke, drink, eat pussy, and pay his debt).

TWO: THE germans too are suffering what that little fucker with that landing strip of a mustache did (and that fucker is even austrian!). they have a lot to be proud about before and now but after that atrocity happened, somehow, the whole of the german people are emasculated. their figurative balls were ripped away and they could no longer be as loud and as proud of whatever their accomplishments are lest they be labeled as that dirty r-word. maybe this is where the misconception that germans are cold comes from. (trust me this is indeed a misconception. from the hotel staff to the museum staff to the airport staff, germans are warm and they know how to smile and they can take a joke if not give one). imagine being one of the greatest nations in the world and you always have to keep your nationalism in check, you always have to guard your pride every single day. isn’t that suffering too? think about this: there are no flag ceremonies in germany and the one and only time they sang their national anthem is during the world cup. think about it.

* * *

WE ALL know that helvetica was born in germany right? and that they have their bauhaus movement? and that while frankfurt is the media capital and munich the business capital, berlin is the arts capital of germany?

IF YOU have any concept of typography and graphic design, berlin is your city. their sense of cutting edge design is everywhere. (rhode island, with its RISD comes to mind but it looks like a kinder kid compared to berlin). you walk and see and breathe design. from public buses to store signs to posters. everything, really. and yes, helvetica is the font of choice.

* * *

THERE ARE cities and their are cities.

NEW YORK, where i am currently living my sixth year this coming february, comes top of mind. everyone here declares that this is the greatest city in the world from locals to visitors to david letterman (that old gizzard who lives in new jersey). commerce, art, politics, sex, faith and what have you all converge in this tiny little  city. but if one asks me what really is the industry of new york, my answer is manufacturing.

THAT’S RIGHT. manufacturing.

WHAT NEW york manufactures is coolness.

BECAUSE THE city is crowded and prices are through the roof, new york manufactures cool to make everything a bit bearable. that is, so people can pretend that this is what new yorkers do. people actually wait three hours for an overpriced meal because it is cool. people actually buy a shirt made in china but printed in brooklyn for 120$ because it is cool. in other words, real estate is precious and only if you are really in the know will you live the real life. real life tailored to the human scale in space, price, sound level, interaction, etc. i might be wrong here, but i am not forking out 25 dollars for five grams of artisanal salt (pink ones imported from mount pinatubo. google it.) or to be frowned upon by waitress who believes that she is either a poet or a photographer or both.

CUT TO berlin.

BECAUSE THE city has just opened up after the end of the cold war and the tearing down of the wall coupled with the language barrier, the city does not yet manufacture cool. if i may use an analogy, berlin is a virgin while new york is an old, syphilitic whore.

A 3 euro-meal means a sit down with real silverware and china plates. i am not fucking with you. and if you suspect that your waitress is a photographer, she probably is. just look at your surroundings. her cool is not out of place. she does not need to make an effort. joy almost had a heart attack when she saw that a haircut with shampoo not to mention  free cup of tea and glass of wine could be had for ten euros. also, their self-service laundromats have flatscreen TVs and lounges where you can drink beer and eat currywurst. again, i am not fucking with you.  as we strolled around, old buildings and new ones are spacious and the rent, as our guide said, is very, very cheap.

AFFORDABLE LIVING spaces surrounded by peerless graphic sensibility operating on the word-renowned german engineering? i am fucking there.

I HOPE the brooklynites do not migrate here. seriously.

A

THE MISSUS  works in this massive organization where the CEO has the direct line to the office of the president of the united states of america. that, i hope, is enough to paint the picture as to their standing in the fortune 500, their number of offices and employees around the world and on mars, and their mothership right in the middle of times square (it so smack in the middle that they have an archive of every single film set in new york where their high-rise is featured).

SO. IF you think that they have a mobility and logistics department dedicated to the travel of personnel and luggages, you would be right. when we applied a visa to ireland, we were told by the person working in the aforementioned department that the best way to do it would be to secure a single entry visa first and then just seek a the re-entry visa inside ireland. she also said that it would be the fastest, keeping  in  mind that the missus needs to do the work ora mismo.

LO AND fucking behold, our visas arrived two seasons late with winter already springing into summer. and so we went only to find out that one: i am on a visit visa and not a dependent visa, and two: the only way to seek a re-entry visa anchored on a visit visa is to apply to any irish consulate. as there is no chinatown inside china, there is also no irish consulate inside ireland. that would mean going back to new york to apply for a re-entry. that would be three more months of waiting so that we could see the rest of europe. let me mention at this point that we have given up our upper east side apartment and stored our stuff. the horror, indeed.

A DECISION was reached. we are going to see the rest of europe on the way back to new york once the missus’ job is done. this is genius on the surface. underneath, we have no idea that the consulates inside ireland which are not part of the schengen countries would grant us the visa to roam europa. we fired off a number of emails to the five countries we wanted to visit explaining that we are permanent residents of the united states and could we please visit your beautiful country en route back to new york?

ONLY ONE replied.

THE KINGDOM of the netherlands. to paraphrase their responses: we have received your query. while we do not process visas here in the consulate, please book an appointment and prepare the following documents and we shall see what we can do. a signature follows after the list of documents. okay, the missus said, in her best i-do-fucking-analytics-voice. it seems we have no choice but to apply and hope. i agreed, trying to drum up the enthusiasm that was not there.

LITTLE DID we know that that response would be the embodiment of a way of life and thinking known as dutch tolerance.

WE DID as we were advised and on the day of the appointment, we had one major fuck up in the application. we have not pre-booked any hotel in any of the cities we planned to visit. we are all familiar with the mercurial air any US consul exudes where even a look could be grounds of a denial of a visa, right? what the dutch consul did was to give us an email address and said that we should send the bookings as soon as possible. again we did as we were told and after a couple of weeks, i got a phone call to pick up our passports. we got our visas.

* * *

AMSTERDAM IS a postcard that i first saw from a package that the dutch embassy mailed me in high school during that frenzy when it became a sport within our class to write to embassies and ask for “literature” about their country. it was only when we emerged from the train at centraal station that i saw that it is an interactive postcard.

WE STAYED at an apartment fronting the amstel rented from a local who met us and gifted us with a bottle of wine. and as soon as we deposited our bags and admired the view from the window, we explored the city on foot and tram. our first dinner was at an indonesian restaurant that we stumbled upon. it was 5 PM, the staff are just lighting the votive candles and not a soul is in sight. exactly our kind of place. and so we ordered and devoured everything and once i got my second bottle of beer, i noticed that the place was somehow familiar. a quick google and i found out that anthony bourdain filmed a segment at the very same place.

WE DID a walking tour the following morning learned more about dutch tolerance. how the building of the canals called the polder system (first encountered through the aforementioned “literature” and then as an architectural term when i dabbled in that course) is alive and well until today. how, marijuana is, in the letter of the law, forbidden but in the spirit of tolerance, is allowed. how all major decisions are being discussed by all major decision makers. how the problem of squatting was solved (amsterdam is the only city in the world that i have seen where there are neither beggars nor homeless people. seriously. imagine that.)

WITH THIS in context, i can’t help but compare and contrast singapore and amsterdam.  both are very strong economically, both are seaports to a bigger continent, both have no housing and healthcare problems. but one rules with an iron fist while the other rules with open arms. given these things, where do you want to live, or even work at, or even visit?

* * *

GOING BACK to our apartment.

SO TWO huge windows frame the amstel river and this is the view that we first see upon waking up with a cup of coffee and the last view that we see upon sleeping after a glass of wine. something to brag about, right? especially that it costs way cheaper than a hotel.

WE MET another traveller at the red light district tour (ladies wearing nothing but tiny panties and hipster glasses, yum!) and over drinks at our fourth bar, we exchanged stories about our accommodations and so i praised our apartment to high heavens. the man just nodded, smiled, nodded again and smiled some more when i went into details about the view, the free wine, the cost, etcetera.

AND THEN he casually said that he is staying in a boat moored in a canal off centraal station that only costs 35 euros a night.

I AM coming back amsterdam. and i am living in a fucking boat.

L

JOY LEFT about eight hours ago and has just emailed and texted that she is back at work in Dublin.

HERE IN new york, I woke up very early after having slept at around 10 PM yesterday. My sense of time is still messed up and the only guidance is the fatigue that I feel at odd times. I planned to have a drink with host but after a dinner, the pull of the bed was just too strong. I hope this does not make me groggy for thanksgiving later being hosted by JC and Rica.

THE EUROPE travel was a learning experience to put it simply. I still have to organize my mind and write down a proper entry per city. That would happen as soon as my sleep pattern returns to normal and some semblance of theme arrives. Right now, I just miss Berlin. And Dublin, of course.

A FEW things I am grateful of being in New York right now (this is thanksgiving after all):
– Internet speed.
– Falling in line.
– English speaking people no matter their ethnicity.

I MISS Berlin but I wrote that already.

B

berlin bullets because i don’t have much time. a full dispatch will be released once i am back in new york.

• so far, this is my favorite city.

• berliners smell nice, perfume nice.

• vietnamese cuisine is big here the way mexican cuisine is big in dublin.

• hubolt university has 29 nobel prize winners as professors.

• very cheap. as in very cheap.

• and of course, very organized.

* the guide gave us perspective of the history and its people which was very educational.

• this very moment is the best time to stay in berlin – before them ‘mericans destroy it.

A

We are staying in this interactive postcard where two big windows frame the Amstel river by day as I drink my espresso and the same view by night as I drink my vino.

And then I met someone who is living on a rented boat moored to one of the canals. For half the price we are paying for this apartment.

But this city is really beautiful. More will be written later once I get all the “organic” stuff out of my system.

Tomorrow we head out to Berlin. Friends, please visit Amsterdam.

C

three tv series that got profiled one weekend in one of the local papers. thanks to the torrents, i’ll be watching these back in new york.

this one is set in italy and the protagonist is some kind of a gourmand. from what i have read, this is both a food porn and a crime series. what is not to love.

one of the latest nordic noir imports that the brits are going gaga about. the current series are actually being shown on BBC 4 but i resisted and will just start the series from season 1.

this one from the same creators of the killing and in the same vein, is also a political drama. also shown on BBC 4 and it would not belong before american TV adapts this, if not the whole three.

T

 

went on our last out of town tour and visited a tomb that predates the stonehenge by a thousand years and the pyramids by five hundred years. inside, human remains were found making it either a tomb or a church or an altar of sacrifices.

 

 

 

the entrance of the tomb where every summer solstice, the sun rays enters and illuminates the interior. as this is a once a year phenomenon, bookings are reserved decades in advance to heads of states with a few slots reserved to the public by lottery. this year, around 20,000++ joined. before we left, we filled out a form because, hey. you never know.

 

 

the tomb is ringed with this neolithic art carved upon stones. nearby tombs showed artworks depicting man and the earth and the sky which is very much like “prometheus”.

 

 

on the way to our next destination, we passed slane castle where U2 recorded “the unforgettable fire”. the grounds has since then become a concert venue for music festival and next summer, bon jovi is set to headline polarizes the musical community of dublin.

 

 

 

the hills of tara which was previously a viking community. this is where the first halloween costume party was held thousands of years ago as the residents celebrate the darkness to welcome the coming summer.

 

 

yesterday, i entered trinity college once again. this is main entrance that houses student dorms and organizations.

 

 

the bell tower at the square. the square itself is the floor of the monastery of all hallows upon which the college was built.

 

 

 

bikes are everywhere in the campus. profs to students alike ride to school.

 

 

the centerpiece of the college inside the old library. a real must-see, the collection of ancient books in its ancient housing.

 

 

we watched a play at the samuel becket theater based on dracula’s writer. the performance was superb. i asked for a poster and was kindly given one making my stoker collection complete. i can’t wait to have them framed when we finally get a house back in new york.

M