barbie takes the u-bahn

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as anyone who has visited berlin already knows, the public transit here is pretty great.

in addition to many buses, there are two main lines of transport - the s-bahn and the u-bahn. the s-bahn is like a really sexy streetcar thing that i think would make a great office for me. i fantasize about spending a whole day just sitting there and going back and forth to the end of the line and just writing, reading, thinking. it goes above the city and makes for some very interesting views. love love love.

the u-bahn is the subway, which is also quite pleasant. for some reason it never seems to get busy, and the trains are quite smooth (you can even open the windows!). the typography on all the signs is also very nice. these little things just make me feel so happy for some reason.

so the closest u-bahn to where i'm living (in mitte - former east, now quite desirable...somewhat comparable to queen st. west of bathurst in toronto) is called 'alexanderplatz' and is right next to the kaufhof, the department store where one goes to buy appliances, clothes, toys, workout equiptment - even groceries. it's pretty awesome, actually. i actually get excited to go there. now i know what my mother means when she talks about how enthralling a visit to "eaton's" used to be.

but i digress...

the entrance to the subway looks like this:



you go down these stairs and then you have to go to a kiosk and buy your ticket, then you validate your ticket using another machine (which i find oddly satisfying?) and then you wait for your train on the platform:



this box with the yellow text lets you know how many minutes it will take for the next train to reach the station. i find this quite amazing (even more amazing is that every bus stop also has a timer):



now, as we all know, the subway works best when you know where you're going. and although there are maps of berlin all over the place, they don't really help me because the city is insane and has no parallel lines. it looks like this (i'm in that yellow circle) and the subway lines are twisting and turning and converging and diverging. but i know i'm just used to toronto's very straightforward grid, and it'll probably good for me learn to maneuver amidst this uncertainty:



this is me and the map:



and then the train comes:



bonus:

so the other night i was coming out of the subway, and when i reached the street right in front of the department store, there was some wicked breakdancing going on, which i'm very happy to be able to share with you. the video is a couple minutes long, but i just find it so beautiful...especially "lenny kravitz" with the incredible long limbs. apparently these guys are around ever week, so i'll definitely try to catch them again.



that's it for now. the berlin art biennale begins tomorrow (i was already at openings all night tonight) so the next few days will be pretty nuts, i expect. i'm feeling pretty exhausted at this point, especially after last night's bridge/pictionary/charades marathon at the funny farm. it was VERY fun though - especially watching an te try to act out 'creationism'(!).

xo,
air flare barbie.