It's A Beatiful Day

I admit that I came up for the title of this post before the rains hit this afternoon. But for the past couple of days, Berlin has been a summer wonderland. On Sunday, the Tiergarten, Berlin's vast, wooded central park, was filled with people enjoying the warm weekend, and the "Grill Gebiet (grilling areas)" were filled with families warming up the coals on their three-legged portables grills. The smell of kebabs was just starting the fill the air as I passed through. There is a huge Turkish population in this city, and they appeared to be the most enthusiastic picnickers, as many generations came together around the grill, with grandmothers in colorful headscarves sharing the table with grandchildren dressed in the colorful H&M style of all European teens.

The neighborhood where we are staying, Prenzlauer Berg, was also a happening place to be. Lines formed out of the local waffle and ice cream shop, Kauf Dich Glücklich, and the candy colored chairs on the patio were filled with people enjoying a sort of hip German Sunday brunch. Prenz'l Berg is nothing if not hip, and where better to walk along leafy streets and survey the street cafe scene spilling onto the sidewalk to make the most of a lovely day? An evening spent in the local Biergarten, Prater, with my guide, Katka (we were working, of course) felt like the only way to end such a day.

Of course, such times don't last forever; the grey skies have returned. But I'm from Seattle, and a couple good days are all I need and I'm set for the week. Berlin, I couldn't have asked for more.