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Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Maribor, Slovenia.
Portoroz, Slovenia.
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A dancing club in East Berlin, of the old-school variety.
Welly, welly, welly, well. Some thoughts about my week in Berlin:
* I’ve been to the city twice before but the last time was back in 2000. The big surprise for me this time around was Potsdamer Platz, which is quite simply grotesque. When the wall came down, Berlin had this really unique situation: a gigantic open space right in its ripped-open gizzards. Out of this great and tremendous opportunity came… corporate offices. Plus some cafes, a McDonald’s, some shops, tourist traps, and of course…
Die Hard would be a great slogan for Viagra.
…a monsterplex or two, so that Berliners can go watch Bruce Willis grunt through his latest adventure for 8 euros a pop.
Sometimes it feels like cities are actively collaborating together to become indistinguishable.
* But even if cities are all becoming the same, thankfully people are not. And I realized during this trip that I really like Slovenes. Really. There were all kinds of European journalists there and I chatted with practically all of them, but I felt myself naturally drawn to the Slovenes. I’m still trying to sum up their national character, but some of the key ingredients are irreverence, humility, bawdy humor and (unfortunately, at times) aloofness. They’re kind of like lobsters: once you crack open their shells, you can feast on all kinds of good stuff inside of them. And it’s almost always good in there. Especially with butter.
Lately I’ve been wondering if I chose to live in Slovenia or if Slovenia chose me. I think it’s one of those countries that seems to balance chaos and order in a nearly perfect way. Germany, where they pass ordinances on the length of dog leashes and where authorities in Berlin count and label every tree, is a bit too ordered for my tastes. Serbia, on the other hand, is a bit too “Ah, fuck it” for me. (Although I would live in both)
This diagram pretty much sums things up for me:
There is absolutely no science behind this — much like the Die Hard films.
* During my trip, two strangers (one Slovene and one American) recognized me as the author of this blog. I also apparently just missed running into this charming lady in Brač. I find these encounters wonderful. But they’re also a painful reminder of how blogging (unlike most other activities) provides no material rewards for any measure of success. The previous post was #800, and all this effort has earned me about enough money to go see Die Hard 4 once or twice. (Depending on if I want popcorn or not)
* Speaking of money: The pissoirs in the new chancellery are made by Villeroy & Boch. I found this to be both funny and a great metaphor for the German government’s talent at pissing public money away.
* Die Hard 4 is currently among the top 250 movies in human history, according to IMDb’s rankings. It’s scheduled for Slovenian release on August 2.
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What? No John McClaine quotes?
on the other hand, thanks to being splitted for so long, Berlin is one of the most interesting citiesin Europe and quite different than the others..
I have a German quote by McClane: Yippy Ya Yeah, Schweinebacke!
Majki, your analysis of Slovenes and Slovenia provoked a tear of homesickness in my eye. *sigh*
Hehehe… Doesn’t quite cut it in German, does it?
@pengovsky: Actually, to me it sounds hilarious, but I admit it could be nostalgia speaking - watching all those movies on German TV as a kid - spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood or movies with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill… Now that I think of it, it was all films with a lot of violence. Hmmm…
Somehow I don’t recognize Berlin in this post :-), not the way I know it, anyway (apart from the cinema and the ugly Potsdamer Platz). Of course this happens because of different views and stuff, but it still surprises me…
I once saw a lady with a beautiful summer hat sleeping on one of the benches in Tiergarten…
One night on a bus, a passenger suddenly started singing Amazing Grace - she was great. And it was exactly the feeling one has after a good party in Berlin… And so on.
Now all this German Order is of course very obvious and very present, but in my experience it is often only (public) words. In reality, it is simply not possible to adhere to all those rules so people don’t. And they will leave you in peace, mostly, if you don’t, because it’s your choice.
Funny thing is also, how one gets accustomed to some of the results: I have grown quite allergic to dirt on the streets…
I just wonder what’s the best translation for “Die Hard”:
German: “Stirb langsam”
Slovene: “Umri pokončno”
Croatian: “Umri muški”
What do you reckon Michael?
Beating the Lobster-Slovenia analogy to the point of annihilation…
Does one need to boil the Slovene, just like the lobster, to get to that tasty all-providing Nirvana that rawness just doesn’t provide? And what is the boiling medium?
Lasko?
Vino?
Voda?
Inquiring minds and all that.
Matej,
Za Hrvatski, wouldn’t it be
“Tesko je Umriti” (unless one is living in Knin).
Matej: They should have gone with a literal translation Stirb hart, or even better: Sterben Sie hart.
And Darko, I would guess some kind of alcohol, since it’s more widely available and easier accessible than water.
alcessa: I wouldn’t say I had a bad experience in Berlin. I enjoyed myself and do like the city (with the exception of PP) although Hamburg remains my uncontested favorite in Germany.. It’s got that chaotic streak that appeals to me.
oh, Hamburg…
I hope to go there this summer… for a house-warming party. Ms. Onemorehandbag said she liked it, too.
But you know (as I think you do), if you want Germans to scold you for “loosing” things on the street, Stuttgart is the place to go…
I have to copy that diagram and include it in the Powerpoint presentation explananing why I am moving. You will be credited as The Manske Institute.
O_O Let me just say i nearly had a heart attack right now - seeing the link to my blog! SO exciting! Am now calling all my friends to report what from now on we will refer to as “the July 3rd wonder”.
And of course…it was a shame we missed each other. Then again, no wonder since a) i am a very unknown blogger and b) still don’t think in terms of “sure you can meet other bloggers in RL”.
Ekhm.
And now to comment on one of the REAL subject matters of this post… have never been to Berlin, but planning on going this fall. Also, i have a friend from Berlin, and he claims that it’s THE city to live in. But he would, since he’s a born-and-raised Berlin boy…
Every pissoir in Germany is made by Villeroy & Boch! I’ve always gotten a slight thrill using fine china for such a purpose.
I agree with Gandalf, there’s simply no other European capital that has the appeal of Berlin. Paris and London have been turned into tourist attractions and the rest aren’t much better.
I remember an acquaintance from years ago, a scientist from Liverpool working in Ljubljana, remarking that he, too, liked Slovenia because “it’s got just the right amount of chaos.” I think Slovenia appeals to many expats from some of the more restrictive nanny-states for exactly that reason — it loosens the reins of The Overseeing Eye to a comfortable extent, but you still know that if real trouble ever hits the fan, there will be SOME kind of backup from more or less reasonable authority figures to clean things up. To a degree, anyway.