LLWorldTour

Berlin is a city on the move. It is one of those rare places that grabs you, takes hold, and never lets you go. You can’t help but love a city that looks back and acknowledges its (undisputedly awful) past with great reflection, no more denial, and respect for the tragic events that either took place or were rooted here. And at the same time Berliners are not just looking toward the future, but sprinting toward it with progressive thought, bold ideas, and striking architecture.

City of Neighborhoods

I tend to like cities that are big and thriving, but made up of smaller, friendlier neighborhoods where one can build a life and a community. Berlin has this. For a more local, neighborhood-feel you can stay in the hip, leafy ‘hoods of Prenzlauer Berg or Kreuzberg (pronounced kroitz-berg).  P’berg is situated in the heart of what was East Berlin. This area had become rundown and filled with squatters after the fall of the wall. Yesterday’s bohemian, alternative-artist types have morphed into today’s hipster pierced parents pushing prams around the quaint, refurbished blocks past innumerable cafes and independent boutiques. During an afternoon stroll around Kollwitzplatz, you can stop in for a latte and a quiche slice at the Anna Blume Café and enjoy sidewalk seating under the awning while watching the young urbanites walk on by. For a younger vibe, head just a few blocks over to Kastanienallee (say that three times fast) where actors, artists, and expats are often found at many of the cafes and bars.

Afterwards you can head north a few blocks to the Kulturbrauerei -a former beer brewery turned ‘culture brewery’ with a lively mixed use space of galleries, restaurants, and cinemas.  Also here you will find Berlin on Bike. They do a comprehensive and down to earth four-hour city tour - very worth the 17 Euro cost. Seeing the flat city on two wheels is a great way to get an overview of this sprawling town and much less ‘insulated’ than one of the many double-decker bus tours around. Besides watching out for cars, you will notice how bike-friendly Berlin is by all your fellow cyclists whizzing about. From your bike saddle, you will see the tourist musts:

• Alexanderplatz and the Fernsehturm (TV Tower)
• Hackescher Markt
• Berlin Dom and Museum Island
• Unter den Linden
• Potsdamer Platz and huge modern Sony Center complex
• Checkpoint Charlie
• The Berlin Wall
• The Reichstag and other modern government office buildings
• Brandenburg Gate
• The Holocaust Memorial
• The Tiergarten - Berlin’s huge, ‘Central Park’

Back in Prenzlauer Berg there are several choices for lodging. For something a bit more affordable I checked into the EastSeven Hostel - one of the nicest hostels I’ve ever stayed in. It’s a squeaky clean place with singles, doubles and dorms. There is a great backyard with tables and even a grill and a lounge and kitchen to use at your disposal.

The more arty bunch of today have left Prenzlauer Berg behind and are pushing the limits in Friedrichshain - around the grungy-turned-trendy Boxhagener Platzand in Kreuzberg - dining on tapas or Indian food on Bergmanstrasse or hanging out at the bars lining the Landwehrkanal (canal) during the balmy summer months until the wee hours.

If I lived here I would pick one of these neighborhoods to live in. And living here seems pretty easy - you can find a small one bedroom apartment for under 500 Euros. No wonder so many people are moving here Quentin Tarantino has flat here, Brad Pitt bought a place here (both are in town filming Quentin’s latest flick currently titled “Inglorious Bastards“, Even 80’s pop star Joe Jackson moved here. Now that says something. I think.  Berlin is one of the cheapest and coolest cities in Europe to live in…something I just might do.

The first time I traveled around the world, I really wasn’t running away from anything. It was more like I was running toward something - a dream; doing something I had always wanted to do, but just never could. But then a small window opened and I slipped out into the world and never looked back.

That was two years ago now. Starting October 2006, I left the comforts of my well-appointed home in Chicago and traveled, literally, around the world - staying with friends, meeting strangers who became friends, and having the time of my life. Fifteen months later, I returned to the US. For eight months I bopped between coasts from New York City to Chicago to Los Angeles and back to New York again. And now I actually think I am running away - away from having to ‘root’ myself in an ordinary life; away from having to make a decision about where to live; away from having to work full time again; away from having to pay actual bills and away from the reality of the fact that eventually I will have to give up this vagabond lifestyle and someday buy a bed of my own again.   Or maybe I figure I should just keep traveling until I just can’t stand it anymore. But I think that is highly unlikely.

I am sitting in seat 21D on a Swiss Air flight headed to Europe.  This time around it didn’t seem as monumental leaving the US and all; sort of anti-climatic actually.  No goodbye parties. No big farewells. No major life changes.  I just hopped the subway to JFK in New York City and blew a kiss goodbye to one of my favorite cities.

And soon I will be in Berlin, perhaps my favorite city from my last trip. I am returning for several meetings/interviews for some possible freelance opportunities. Then I will be heading to France and Italy for a few months. I’ve been to these popular destinations a few times before, but not on my last trip. Paris was the first city I had ever set foot in in Europe more than 10 years ago and it had me at ‘bon jour.’ And Italy, oh Italia, I’ve been three times and am anxious to return to see if I still love it like I did every time I was there in the past.

Then I’m not sure where my wanderings will take me. As any traveler knows, my list has not gotten any shorter. In fact the more you travel, the longer it gets. This trip is currently looking something like this:

• Berlin
• France (Paris, Normandy, Lyon, Swiss Border towns, Provence, Bordeaux ?)
• Italy (some of these: Turino, Verona, Assisi, Gubio, Orevieto, Bologna, Perugia, Arezzo, Lucca, Roma, Sicily)
• Malta
• Cyprus ?
• Egypt
• Israel
• Jordan
• Istanbul
• St. Petersburg
• The Baltics (Latvia, Lithuania)
• Denmark
• and eventually back to Berlin and Paris again.

As always, if you know anyone - friend, family, animal, mineral - in any of these locales, please let me know. I would really appreciate it. I love to meet new people and have new friends when I get to a new town.

Unlike the last trip, this time I do have a return ticket. For two reasons: one, I’m taking advantage of all my racked up frequent flyer miles and flying for free to and from Europe therefore needing to book an actual roundtrip ticket and, two, I have a ‘save the date’ in New Jersey in the Spring.  I will return home for my father’s wedding. After thirty odd years of bachelorhood, dear old dad is tying the knot and my tiny family is getting just a bit bigger. Mazel Tov!

I rarely do rant posts…but here is a fun one.

I recently got a notice from my insurance company of, oh I don’t know 15 years or so, that they are NOT renewing my Condo Unit Policy. My company is the very well known giant of State Farm. I have had 2 claims at this property, four years apart. In 2004 my condo was burglarized and I lost a computer, jewelry and other things. I made some cash back from my insurance company but of course nothing could replace my grandmother’s diamond drop earrings. Then just recently as I returned from my world tour, I was dismayed to discover that my tenant had some ‘issues’ with the fireplace and there was some pretty bad smoke damage. So…I made another claim. Well, much to my chagrin I just received a notice in the mail saying that come October they will no longer renew my policy. What – no discussion, no phone call, no explanation? I was basically dumped with a “Dear John” letter.

And do you know why? Because I used my insurance company for what I thought I was paying it for—insurance. Some things happened, I made some claims, and because of that – they had to actually pay me money. So since that goes against their whole scam of cheating us all out of our money in hopes that nothing ever goes wrong – they dropped me like a bad mobile phone call. Oh, so what, Mr. State Farm—are you too good for me now? Are you above me and my vagabonding ways? I mean, ‘like a good neighbor, State Farm is where??’ No, you are more like a bad neighbor – playing your music too loud, three half-cannibalized ford trucks strewn about the front lawn, and two weeks worth of trash sitting at the curb.

I called my local Chicago agent, whom I like very much, and has always been there for me. She explained that the underwriter basically didn’t like the fact that I had 2 claims in 4 years, as the national average is around 10 years per claim. Do you think I wanted to be robbed or my condo to burn down? So, in other words, they didn’t want me as a customer because I used them for what they are supposed to be there for and in turn I wasn’t their ‘golden’ girlfriend anymore who just sends them bags of cash every year for nothing. This seems completely unethical to me. Is this even legal? Isn’t there some kind of regulating board that deals with asshole business dealings like this? Ya know, the ‘asshole business bureau’ or something like that.

Watch this and you’ll see what I mean:

State Farm said I could come back to them in a few years after I’ve ‘improved myself’, but, no shocker here, I will never date State Farm again. If they had a problem when I made those claims they should have told me then. Just like any relationship, you need good communication to make it work. And if they want me back in a few years…they can keep dreaming…because I’m on the hunt for a new insurer to keep me secure and snug late at night. And he will love me just the way I am.

Prologue:

Um, well, it turns out that it was very hard for me to find a new insurer since my record was so ‘tarnished’ so after a few phone calls and begging and pleading, my ex came crawling back and wants to take me back. Er, or is it the other way around? State Farm finally called and wants to get back together. I guess I still did have feelings for them (and the fact that all the other insurance companies I tried going out with were not cheap dates). So, I gave them back my key and are giving it another shot.  I guess everyone deserves a second chance.

I touched down in New York City with a slight feeling of sadness and worry. I was returning to my grandmother’s nearly empty apartment. But it wasn’t the stuff missing that was bothering me. It was that she was missing.

I worried if New York would ever be the same for me since this is the place I always came to be with her. And she was truly the glue that held New York City together for me. I never had to find a hotel when I came here. I never needed to search for some good bagels and lox…she already had it waiting for me.

So, after a four month stint in the sun and easy-life of LA, I was back in harried, frenetic New York City for ten days. I shouldn’t have worried. I loved it all over again and more.

In just my first five minutes walking on the crammed sidewalk amongst the people it hit me all at once how great this city is and what a contrast it is to Los Angeles. Even though they are two huge cities, New York really is a true city inside and out, uptown and downtown, down below in the subterranean jungle of the subways and high up above in the posh financial offices scraping the sky. I know this has been said before a zillion times. But I can’t help saying it again: it’s the stew, the pot pourri, that good old melting pot. I don’t think I ever saw it as clear as I did now after being in LA. You can’t help notice it as you walk down the crammed sidewalk. New York is a true coming together of all races, all classes, and all kinds - young and old, sane and crazy, filthy rich and broke and homeless, every race, every gender, ever class. People are walking alone and yet altogether in one massive sea of life. Wall Street tycoons in Armani suits ride the public bus next to Hispanic moms with three kids in tow next to gussied up teenage girls on their way for some cappuccinos.

I had just come in from a five hour flight from LAX and I was tired and famished. I thought I’d start my stay off here with a New York ‘must:’ a greasy, floppy, delicious slice of New York pizza. But unlike the old days when you could just stand in one place and do a 360 spin to spot the nearest pizza joint, now my view was crowded with Starbucks, CVS, and other chains. Then I spotted a guy sitting on a bench with the package I sought: a white paper bag, a white paper place, and that famous gooey slice. I walked up to him and asked where he got it. He answered in a garbled voice and I realized I was talking to a homeless man. I asked him again. And he said, “I don’t know. Someone gave it to me.”

It couldn’t have been more perfect. New York strikes again. Although often misunderstood, it’s not uncommon that New Yorkers are friendly and generous and very tolerant of one another. Many people chat up their local bums everyday and when going for a bite, often get a little something extra for that ‘guy’ they pass on the way home. Whenever My friend Mark would go buy himself a hamburger at his local fast food establishment he would get two and hand one to the guy that stood outside on the sidewalk holding the door open for customers. Better that then handing him a dollar he’d drop on liquor or worse. Although…perhaps the McDonalds’ burger was just as bad?

After I walked away from my new pizza-eating friend, he called after me and yelled out that he thought the place was just around the corner. I followed his gesture up 8^th Avenue and around to 23^rd street. There it was – the classic New York pizzeria. It’s nothing fancy – just a few tables, that glass counter which gives you a view of the pies on offer – cheese, pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, and a calzone or two – a soft drink fountain, a brick oven and big, white cardboard pizza boxes stacked up ceiling high. I ordered a simple cheese slice and sat down to enjoy the delicacy. And here I saw it just like I had walking around outside. Every kind of citizen was coming in for a slice – the construction worker, the student, the ladies discussing interior design, the lawyer in a suit, and a mother and son. Here everyone eats a slice. Here everyone rides the bus.

It was New York…always there and always accepting. It was the same as it’s always been – except the slice was now $2.75, not $1.00 like it was when I was a kid. So I picked it up, folded it in half and took that first fabulous bite.

So in-between all the fun and L.A.ery, I was also working, writing articles and found a new career: house and pet sitter extraordinaire. I house sat for 2 poodles, Henry and Charlie, ran with a Sheeba named Ralph, dog sat another pup named Bruce (I get all the guys), and then got the plum assignment: a housesit for Boo the black cat in the Hollywood Hills at the home of a cool couple who work in Television.

I stayed up there in an area famous for its famous inhabitants and enjoyed my new neighbors: Jake Gyllenahal, Will Ferrell, Stockard Channing, KD Lang, Moon Unit Zappa, and sadly, the next-door-neighbor was recently deceased Australian actor, Heath Ledger. He had bought his house a few years ago from Ellen DeGeneres.

I spent many afternoons working and relaxing in their lush, peaceful backyard completely surrounded by towering trees, hummingbirds, and other critters while choppers flew overhead getting shots from the only vantage point of these mansions well hidden behind their tall walls and dense shrubbery.

The only thing missing from my new ‘live like the rich’ life was a pool. Yep, no pool—instead there was a playground for the kids. There’s something about a pool to make you feel like you actually did something with your day;

“What did you do today?’

‘Oh, I went and laid out at the pool.’

‘Cool.’

Even if you don’t go swimming and just work on your tan for a couple hours, it’s still as if you did something with you day, well, in L.A. at least that’s the case.

I definitely had fun house sitting even if I was kind of living a pretend life in my pretend house, with my pretend cats, dogs, and fish. It was all a bit surreal. My surreal life.

After all this star-gazing I saw some real ‘stars’ at the beautiful art deco, newly renovated Griffith Observatory.

And…finally I even experienced a good, LA-style earthquake. It was CRAZY!!!!!! Okay, not really, a few shelves, lamps shook for 10 seconds we felt the floor move. I ran to a doorway and Mark ran to the bookshelf (something is just wrong with one of our positions!) and then it was all over. The news went crazy with coverage and at the epicenter it was around a 5.4 on the Richter scale, but didn’t feel like much at least where we were—plus he lives on the ground floor. Now I’ve felt one in Tokyo and LA.

My last few days in LA were centered on my birthday where I partied like a rockstar (minus the drugs or suicide-like finale of guests like John Belushi) at Chateau Marmont.

My LA adventure has now come to an end and I guess I’ve experienced almost everything here…except the casting couch. There’s always next time.

Hello friends of LLWorldTour! How are you, by the way? This is not a rhetorical question - feel free to leave a comment on my site with you deepest sentiments.

For those of you that read this site on Internet Explorer there was a problem with the last two posts.

Those who use Firefox (much cooler, faster, better web browser) had no problems of course.

So…I wanted to resend these links to my subscribers who did not get the pleasure of reading them.

Livin’ the LA Life: Part Dos

THE Toaster Smash-Up 2008: A Must Read!

Please enjoy and feel free to make comments, suggestions, rants, raves.

Thanks, as always, for reading!

LL