Berlin, zu bist so wunderbar!

I could go on for years about how amazing Berlin is, but here's the Sparknotes version. I fell in love when I visited almost 2 years ago, when I was working in Stuttgart. Along with my friends, I saw all of the major sights... the Dom (cathedral), Museum Island, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Tacheles, East Side Gallery (a part of the Berlin wall that is now covered by murals), the Tiergarten and even the huge Sunday flea market (pretty amazing considering we had 48 hours, and almost half a day was spent watching the World Cup match). Anyways, when I found out recently that my friend Max from UCLA was doing an internship in Berlin, it was the perfect opportunity to see him and revisit the city!


Some of my favorite parts of Berlin:


*History is everywhere. There are hundreds of official monuments, big and small, to the victims of WWII. Each person has their own experiences and stories of life before the wall came down. At the Rotary Club meeting, a Rotarian told me that after all the years after the second world war, he still kept in touch with one of the American soldiers who used to play soccer with him. The gratitude and emotion he felt is still very much alive and even though the soldier is now dead, he keeps in contact with his son who lives in Orange County. I think all Americans need a reminder that American soldiers abroad are not just the ones who make news headlines and have conflicts with local people; however, I think it's a shame that the reputation has changed drastically in one man's lifetime.


*Street art is everywhere.  I really enjoy the fact that it's so interactive and always evolving. Some pieces are critical, others are sarcastic, some make you think, and others are just fun.

*Meeting cool people and crazies on public transport. Berlin is an extremely young city, and I never expected that Wednesday night on the U-Bahn would be so busy with partiers. We met some locals- I can't remember their names but the girl is a quarter Chinese, a quarter Thai, and half German while her boyfriend is half Sudanese and half Spanish. And of course, both are 100% Berliner.




*Döner kebap: Arguably the best döner is found in Berlin, where restaurants and stands are found on every street and corner of the city! Here I am at Mustafa's, which is really famous (the line was 15-20 minutes long)

*The strong sense of community: This is Özman's treehouse, which was constructed on a small piece of East Berlin that remained on the West Berlin side of the wall. This area was useless for either side and, in that time, basically the end of the world. Özman was a Turkish immigrant built his own house and garden in that space. After the wall came down, he was able to keep the house thanks to the help of the neighboring church and according to Berliners, he's extremely friendly and waves to all the passersby when he's working or chilling in the garden.

*Not far away, there's beautiful forest, lakes, and palaces in Potsdam (aka the Versailles of Germany). It was still a bit grey when I went but there were some hints of spring. It's a perfect place to go jogging or biking in summertime!

some tourism in Valencia... ruins, monasteries, Port Saplaya

The past couple of weekends, my friends and I visited some tourist attractions in Valencia that we had overlooked in the past but are definitely worth visiting. We started off at the Museo de la Ciudad where there was an exhibit on traditional Valencian dress and its evolution. Then there was the Archaeological Center which explained the 1st Roman Valencia.



Oh yeah, we also ran into Juan Carlos Ferrero, a pro tennis player who won the French Open. He had been jogging in the city center.


We climbed the Torres de Serrano, one of the two city gates that are still standing.


Also hit up the Palacio de la Duquesa de Dos Aguas and saw its overwhelming display of wealth and overly decorated Baroque rooms.


Yesterday I went with Diego and Hannah to Monasterio San Miguel de los Reyes. Started as a monastery, then was abandoned and turned into a prison (used in the 19th and 20th centuries), and is now an academic library. It's very beautiful and I feel a special connection to it because I feel like I "discovered" it while jogging in October.




Since we were kiiind of in the area, we rode our bikes further up to Port Saplaya, known for its colorful houses and canals.






SO, even though Valencia isn't as famous as some other tourist destinations in Spain, there is still a lot of history and so much left to see for me!

more Fallas

First of all, I must explain that I had such an amazing time during Fallas. Valencia was a city transformed... Ninots around every corner, verbenas throughout the night, churros & buñuelos & chocolate, daily mascletas and nightly Castillos. I realize what I said probably made no sense so I'll show you what I mean!

Mascletas are daytime fireworks that take place in the Ayuntamiento (for about 3 weeks). Apparently each mascleta burns up 100 kg of gunpowder! The best part is at the end when the explosions get louder and louder, and you really feel the force of the mascleta. And I love that at this point crowd gets very animado, and everyone cheers and applauds like crazy.


Castillos are nighttime fireworks that take place in the Rio Turia for the 4 nights of Fallas. I have to say that I've never been so close to where the fireworks are, but it's an event to stand on the bridge with your friends and watch the Castillo.




The Ofrenda involves processions by the Fallas to Plaza de la Virgen in the city center, where they offer flower bouquets that are placed in the huge structure that becomes her dress. Here is the Virgen "half-dressed" and "fully dressed."






The processions went on for two days, and the Falleros were all in their traditional clothing. We came across the "pre-parade" area where the little girls were eating galletas and getting ready for the Ofrenda.


Babies are welcome to participate too!


I think bouquets are really an understatement for the offerings. Check out this flower-bike, celebrating Valencia's bike culture!


The Calbalgata del Fuego was another procession/parade which celebrated fire. Mystical creatures came around to scare the spectators and we were all impressed by the flames and sparks.




Buñuelos de calabaza are basically fried pastries made with a pumpkin dough (although there wasn't much pumpkin flavor at all). The best ones were the buñuelos de higo, which had a dried fig inside the pumpkin dough.


And of course, the biggest event was the Crema, which took place Monday night. First the Infantil is burned and about 2 hours later, the Ninot. Firefighters must be present at each burning, so even though the actual burning may not take that long, the setup and waiting for the firefighters does. The two kids were the main "Falleros" of the previous year and the Crema also symbolizes an end to their "reign." Although I didn't see that much crying, I did the boy cry.




The two lit the fuse, which set up off some fireworks and then the burning. This particular infantil did not burn that fast, after about 10 minutes one of the dolphins was still completely undamaged.


Surprisingly, the bigger structures burned much faster! Here you can see the bomberos hosting down the fire to make sure that the houses nearby didn't get burnt. It's actually amazing that there isn't much property damage during the Crema because some of those streets are extremely narrow.


And here are the ashes.


Something I should mention is that many local Valencianos escape during Fallas. There's too many people, streets get shut down and it's difficult to get around by car, there's loud music from the verbenas and partiers at night, despiertas in the morning (the bands of the Fallas go around at 8am playing obnoxiously and setting off firecrackers to wake up their neighborhood), and kids everywhere tirando petardos (throwing firecrackers on the sidewalks).

Anyways, another great part of Fallas is that it really unites people, whether through the humor of a Ninot, or the power of the mascleta. Until next year!

political, satirical, and just plain silly

The Ninots of Las Fallas are the giant paper-mache figures that are displayed all throughout the city. All of them will be burned in the Crema on Monday, except the 1 or 2 that are deemed the best by a group of judges.

It's definitely impossible to go around town visiting every single Ninot out there, but that's the beauty of Fallas. It's everywhere... not just in the city center but in every neighborhood.

Here's some of the blatantly political Ninots, with of course Rajoy, Merkel, and Sarkozy making apperances:






Something to keep in mind is that each Ninot has a main figure or group of figures in the center, and various scenes or smaller figures around it. The tough part is that all of the text is in Valenciano, so for many Ninots I didn't understand the point at all. For some, it's quite obvious what the point is and for others they tell a story that isn't blatantly political or critical.

I also enjoyed this Ninot quite much, which offered a criticism of Valencia:
the ubiquitous pertardos (firecrackers) that children play with, creating loud explosions and lots of smoke


the botellón which is where people bring their own alcohol and drink on the streets (happens all the time but especially during Fallas)


the street market (although I'm not quite sure what the criticism here is)


the dog poo that is found EVERYWHERE in the streets (definitely my biggest pet peeve about the city)


the construction projects that have been paused because of the crisis


There were a few Ninots related to China which caught my attention. This one somehow had some story about the marriage of China and Valencia... there's a Chinese girl with castanets and a flamenco panda. Rice, silk, and gunpower (aka firecrackers), which are very important in Valencian culture, all came from China! Silk and gunpowder are especially important during Fallas, since all of the Falleras wear huge elaborate dresses made of silk, and each day and night we see fireworks. There was also a Ninot about the Silk Road, and another about the Chinese in Valencia complete with 5 euro signs and Chinese restaurants.




This Ninot was called "Invasio oreintal a la placa del mercat"... which is basically Asian Invasion!


Here's one of the tallest Ninots I saw, in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. Higher than 5-story buildings! There was a storyline of the process of creating a winning Ninot, from contracting the artist to the judges to the burning.



This Ninot, all about Leonardo Da Vinci, was so intense that they charged 2 euro for visitors to visit all parts of the Ninot and go up a ladder and see it up close. Very very impressive.



Here's the award-winning Infantil (mini-Ninot)


And here are some of the sillier Ninots.








It's really incredible how much detail and work goes into a Ninot. It's the combination of art, humor, and sometimes sheer size that makes each one unique. For example, in the last photo, there's a list of suggestions and one says "If your mom asks, tell her you're growing exotic plants."