Pam and I traveled to Berlin for the Berlin Short Film Festival. Our first stop after a grueling 12 hour flight was the Saint Christopher Hostel which is just a block from the historic Babylon Theater. On the ground floor of the hostel is Belushi’s bar. Several hostel residents were finishing breakfast as we arrived. We wanted to check our bags in early and start exploring the city. There are lockers for bags but the lockers were coin operated and we didn’t have any European currency yet. Pam found a Deutche bank on Google maps and left me in Belushi’s to watch the bags. She was doing me a favor because it was rainy and miserable 0utside.
This became my first opportunity to sketch in Germany. I managed to finish this sketch before Pam got back. International flags lined the walls and a Kansas City neon sign was hidden behind several flags. The Super Bowl would be happening in a couple of days and the bartender was lining the bar with American flags for the occasion. Every night Beluchi’s was packed with drinkers watching large screen TVs that mostly featured soccer matches.
Pam and I went to the DDR Museum on day one. This museum shows what life was like in Eastern Berlin when the Berlin wall was in place. My biggest take away was that they had some very loud wallpaper back in those days. On attraction was a huge elevator that lurched and flickered dark when the button was pushed. Maybe it was just a faulty elevator but it was terrifying. Far worse than the tower of terror. There as also a jail cell, office and basic apartment settings. In the kitchen Pam found that she could print out several recipes, so she might be experimenting with some eastern block food in the coming weeks.
It was raining and cold for every day of our stay. Naked tree limbs were cut, off and the rain made the cold seep deep under every layer of our winter clothes.