Living Berlin, Loving Berlin

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

From time to time I realize it’s not that bad at all not to be in love.
Because then you can fall in love every day. Dozens of times.
And I’m not talking about falling in love with Berlin (but that guy certainly got me!). Even though it definitely has to do with Berlin.


I started falling in love with Berliners. But I must admit, that wasn’t an easy task.
First time it happened to me several days ago. I went to Berlin after classes and since it was afternoon, and I got out of my flat in the morning, by the time I got on the train my battery was dead. The stupidest feature of smartphones!
I didn’t have a book with me, nor my ipod, nor kindle, nor magazine – absolutely nothing to help me pass the time in S bahn. And trust me, even though I keep telling everyone how close Potsdam is to Berlin – it is if you’re using regional trains, only half an hour. But if you happen to have to use the S bahn (S bahn is a system of trains in Berlin, and if you asked me the difference between S bahn and U bahn (the subway), I wouldn’t really be able to answer... S bahn is, unlike U bahn, supposed to ride on the surface, but in practice it sometimes goes underground, and U bahn sometimes goes up... maaaybe the thing is that S bahn has longer lines, so for example it rides all the way to Potsdam, that does not technically belong to Berlin, while U bahn serves only the Berlin area?), it takes forever! Actually I’m typing this post in S bahn as well – because I was late for my regional train, and had I made it on time I would have already been in Berlin and maybe got at least one thing done – but trust me, I’m in the woods right now and it will take me 15-20 minutes more. It’s been so depressing to be one minute late for the trains, and I have to work it out somehow!!! But that’s another topic, and once I do (if I do), maybe I write a blog post about it. Keep your fingers crossed!
Anyway, back to that day. Having nothing to do, and nothing to distract me, I could actually spend the time there as one would do ten years ago. People watching.
You know what? It’s great. It’s awesome. People are beautiful.
There was a guy who was reading the ads on the train, but he couldn’d read silently, he was whispering to himself.
There was a girl reading The Fault in Our Stars and first smiling, then laughing. Another reason to start reading it ASAP. I already downloaded it.
There were two girls who exchanged their names to become Facebook friends.
There was a guy with a Samsonite suitcase and a suit, looking very fancy. I wondered what he was up to – he seemed to be around my age.
There was a woman with a long colorful dress, a tattoo on her leg and a baby. She played with the baby and they both seemed very happy.
There were also a lot of people whose eyes I couldn’t see, because their heads were pointed downwards, towards their phones.
There was an old man wearing socks and sandals, a very German thing, but I couldn't judge because he was reading a book he just bought at Dussmann - that's a huuuge bookshop in centre of Berlin that also has a very big section of English books, and I love it.
And obviously, had I had my phone, I wouldn’t have noticed any of the people above. I wouldn’t have wondered who they are, where they are going, what their stories are. I wouldn’t have fallen in love with all of them.
I continued people watching in Berlin. I told myself I’d never look at my phone on the train again. (Truth be told, I probably won’t be able to keep this promise, but hey, every phoneless minute counts... right?)
On my way back there was a girl busking in front of Friedrichstrasse Bahnhof - the one whose photo you saw above. She was very good. And she too made me smile. Her name is Alice Hills, so look her up. I hope busking makes her happy as much as it does to people listening to her. I found a video of her performing on that very day here (click click). But what I enjoyed the most was Florence and the Machine song – especially because I knew I’d listen to them live in two days. More on this to come ;) 
Lots of love,
Tihana



5 comments:

  1. Hoću ti komentirati, ali nisam htjela biti seljak, ako svi komentiraju na engleskom. Idem provjeriti komentare na ostalim tvojim postovima, i u čudu sam. :O
    Nema komentara. Nadam se da ih ima,a da samo moj preglednik ih ne prikazuje.

    Čitam te već neko vrijeme, i uživam u tvojim postovima. :)


    Pogotovo ovom. Čitam izamišljam te ljude i njihove živote zajedno s tobom, sa smješkom na licu. :)
    U njemačkoj nema iritantih preglasnih klinaca i baba? :D Zezam se. ;)

    Ova ženska što pjeva je super! :O :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, ako se neko i usudi da komentariše, uglavnom su naši. Ima na nekim postovima. ;)
      Hvala ti na komentaru, ulepšala si mi dan :)
      A da si me pitala za preglasne klince do juče, rekla bih da nema. Juče sam se slučajno zadesila u vozu s nekim odeljenjem (mislim da je bilo odeljenje, ili dva), bili su nemogući. S mamama i tatama su ok :D
      Drago mi je da ti se dopada ovde kod mene i šaljem ti veliki pozdrav :)

      Delete
    2. Možda ljudi ne komentiraju, jer razmišljaju: 'Super mi je, sigurno zna to.' ;)

      Sviđa mi se, i navratim redovno. ;) Šaljem veliki pozdrav iz Osijeka. <3

      Delete
  2. I've been to Germany quite a few times but never to Berlin! Reading this post makes me really wanna visit Berlin!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do come! It's one of the most vibrant cities ever! As its mayor once said, "Berlin is poor, but sexy" :)

      Delete

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