Ein Anfang
Sep. 4th, 2022 07:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeWe have been feeling somewhat grotty since EF, although all COVID tests have proven to be negative so I think it's just exhaustion. Work has come back into full swing and suddenly there's an awful lot to do, while Wolfie has started to hunker down at his new job too. Thursday was his birthday and we were undecided as to whether we would go and do anything or not. With a number of our friends also having con crud, the temptation was to stay in, but Wolfie wanted to do something so we decided last mintue to go to Salami Social Club. It was a little weird having to pay for public transport again, now the €9 monthly ticket is no longer available, but fortunately we did at least remember to get our tickets. Alas, once we had gotten to the pizza place, we discovered it was absolutely rammed. I feared that this might be the case as it was 'Slice Night' where you could get pizza slices for €1 each. This was disappointing and so we ended up going to Brewdog Friedrichshein around the corner. We initially were going to go here just for Wolfie's free birthday drink but for simplicity, we got some food there too. This enabled us to register for Manchester Doggy Weekend, which we did at 9pm our time, as well as have a few drinks. We were sat on the top floor, which was quite empty, largely because many people were outside enjoying the last of the summer sun. Still, it was a good evening and we even ended up in Protokoll, which was around the corner. This was a highlight for Wolfie as he didn't realise just how close it was to Brewdog. They also gave him a free beer with a knife-wielding pug on it and both of us a free bloody mary, which was nice of them.
Friday was a sedate night, with Wolfie again going on VR. I tried, but as ever I struggled to connect with it whenever people I know well aren't around. Indeed, I admire the way Wolfie can bounce from person to person, even people he doesn't know, and just start talking. I take my social cues from face-to-face interaction and I clam up when trying to do this virtually. I know VR is a good way to save money at a time when I need to save money, but Wolfie's suggestion that this could form a key social strand throughout the winter made me feel somewhat depressed. He is right, but I have somewhat fallen out of love with it since being able to go back out again. And in Berlin, as there is so much to do, I always have a deep sense of FOMO. Indeed, there was a wine festival in Spandau I only heard about this afternoon and am regeretting we didn't go down for the final hours. You can't do everything I suppose.
My mental state has detriorated once again, but at least the doctor should get in touch next week about this - or so they have promised. I woke up on Saturday with a deep sense of forboading whereas today I just didn't want to wake up at all. Yesterday was a good day though as despite not being up for it initially, we headed down to the opening event of Berlin Beer Week. This was a giant beer festival in a nightclub which had once been a grain storage facility, with hopper decanters on the ceiling and distressed concrete all over the walls. It was quite a good place for a festival and the 45 beers or so on tap was a manageable number. Two each from each brewery meant there was enough choice without going mad, and we ended up sampling 16. All of these were included and although I thought €59 was maybe a little steep, the atmosphere was convivial and everyone was friendly. We also tried a good range of beers too - we're getting sick of the rather samey IPAs but the pastry stouts in particular were good. Due to the lack of variety, the organisers did give us a free goodie bag which included a can of this year's Beer Week Beer, Queen Kong. In the afterparty outside, we were also entitled to a free glass of this as well as €10 discount in the form of tokens. Alas, you could only use these to get €1 off a beer each time, rather than all at once, which made them a little less value for money. In the end, we only ended up using three as we felt we had had enough. At the festival, we met our empanada friends again - the same ones to whom I had spoken in Spanish at the Spandauer Havelfest a few weeks back - and I opted for a meat empanada which was nice but a bit weird is it contained raisin and egg. After the Beer Festival, to which we had arrived an hour late and departed the afterparty an hour early, we stopped at local fast food chain RISA, very much the McMood's of Berlin. This was quite nice for greasy fast food chicken and the plates were enormous, but it was a place we had been meaning to try and very convenient to where we were. Definitely one for the future too.
Friday was a sedate night, with Wolfie again going on VR. I tried, but as ever I struggled to connect with it whenever people I know well aren't around. Indeed, I admire the way Wolfie can bounce from person to person, even people he doesn't know, and just start talking. I take my social cues from face-to-face interaction and I clam up when trying to do this virtually. I know VR is a good way to save money at a time when I need to save money, but Wolfie's suggestion that this could form a key social strand throughout the winter made me feel somewhat depressed. He is right, but I have somewhat fallen out of love with it since being able to go back out again. And in Berlin, as there is so much to do, I always have a deep sense of FOMO. Indeed, there was a wine festival in Spandau I only heard about this afternoon and am regeretting we didn't go down for the final hours. You can't do everything I suppose.
My mental state has detriorated once again, but at least the doctor should get in touch next week about this - or so they have promised. I woke up on Saturday with a deep sense of forboading whereas today I just didn't want to wake up at all. Yesterday was a good day though as despite not being up for it initially, we headed down to the opening event of Berlin Beer Week. This was a giant beer festival in a nightclub which had once been a grain storage facility, with hopper decanters on the ceiling and distressed concrete all over the walls. It was quite a good place for a festival and the 45 beers or so on tap was a manageable number. Two each from each brewery meant there was enough choice without going mad, and we ended up sampling 16. All of these were included and although I thought €59 was maybe a little steep, the atmosphere was convivial and everyone was friendly. We also tried a good range of beers too - we're getting sick of the rather samey IPAs but the pastry stouts in particular were good. Due to the lack of variety, the organisers did give us a free goodie bag which included a can of this year's Beer Week Beer, Queen Kong. In the afterparty outside, we were also entitled to a free glass of this as well as €10 discount in the form of tokens. Alas, you could only use these to get €1 off a beer each time, rather than all at once, which made them a little less value for money. In the end, we only ended up using three as we felt we had had enough. At the festival, we met our empanada friends again - the same ones to whom I had spoken in Spanish at the Spandauer Havelfest a few weeks back - and I opted for a meat empanada which was nice but a bit weird is it contained raisin and egg. After the Beer Festival, to which we had arrived an hour late and departed the afterparty an hour early, we stopped at local fast food chain RISA, very much the McMood's of Berlin. This was quite nice for greasy fast food chicken and the plates were enormous, but it was a place we had been meaning to try and very convenient to where we were. Definitely one for the future too.
