So, it is my 5th day back in Berlin. As I start to write this, I don’t feel prepared yet to discuss the so-called “feelings” I have been experiencing since I’ve been here, so I am going to start talking about all the physical things that I have done and then hope that, by the end of it, I will be inspired by my emotions.

Last night, I met up with Andy for a BBQ and Moonshine mash making session, because apparently we aspire to be swamp people. He and four of his “bros” went to his place and cooked up some meat on the grill, as well as some gourmet sides (goat cheese stuffed mushrooms, bacon wrapped white asparagus, and a fancy little cucumber tomato onion salad with from-scratch dressing), as is Andy’s wheelhouse. After dinner, we started on the mash, which essentially consisted of throwing a few packages of wheat bran and corn meal into a big glass jar, adding cold water, and then adding a warm sugar solution and some yeast. I would also like to mention that it was at this point when I quietly suggested that we might not want to fill the jars up too much because there needs to be space for gas to evolve. Emphasis on “quietly” suggested, as I am no expert in moonshining.

Turns out I should have been louder, because the first thing I hear from Andy this morning is that he’s cleaning mash off the ceiling because the damn things exploded! Lesson learned: Be more aware of how much yeast you should be using.

Today I went to the Mauerpark flea market as was my Sunday MO this time last year. I wore Gillian, the acid wash denim jacket I got there the first time I went to Mauerpark (which there are pictures of in an earlier post). After wandering aimlessly a bit, I decided it’d be nice to go off to the side and read in the grass. I saw a band of five bow-tie wearing Swedish lads setting up their equipment, so I decided to grab myself a front row seat before anyone else showed up, in case they were any good. They were fittingly named The Bowties, and they were so charming! They played a mix of like, funk and pop, which was super catchy.

Two (or three) saxophones! What!

While I was listening to them, a lady come up to me where I was sitting and asked, “Do you speak English?” I said yes and she proceeded to tell me that she was a freelance makeup artist slash photographer and she liked my style (whilst pointing to Gillian). She asked how long I’d be in Berlin, and if I’d be able to do a photoshoot for her! Obviously I was flattered so I was like, heck yes, while being secretly paranoid that I was playing into a scam (and also thinking things like, I hope she doesn’t notice the plethora of zits on my chin, my crooked nose, my nasty split ends, etc.). Regardless, I sent her an email and looked her up and I think she does adorable work. She goes by “O” and here is her website. We will see if everything works out and if I end up on there eventually maybe, whoooo knows? I am grateful to Gillian for making people think/making me feel cooler than I am. 😉

Like seriously, how hot is this picture? Photo Cred: Elise Kammerer (photographer)

After these shenanigans, I started to work my way back to the U-Bahn, when I stopped to listen to another busker band on the street. These guys were from New Zealand and they were called The Charity Children. They were soooo good. Just the picture of Kiwi-adorable. They kinda sounded like a mixture of Regina Spektor and Of Monsters of Men + an orchestral element. They’re having an album release party on July 11th at Festsaal. Not sure if I’ll be around then as I might be in Bosnia or London, but I’d love to be able to go!

Playing the sweet little diddy "Elizabeth", which is a free download on Facebook, and also reminds me of my wonderful mother :)

I don’t want this post to get too crazy, so I think I’ll save my mushy gushy feelings for a separate post. Just for a little preview, I plan to talk about my hostel situation (with some possibly creepy stories), how my severe nostalgia for Berlin made coming back feel much weirder than anticipated, and how my purpose here is inherently different than it was before. Stay tuned!