various things

I will be signing the contract to purchase the apartment on Monday. Very much looking forward to that. The process of buying seems simpler here than back home. Maybe part of that is because in my case, I do not have to be financed by a bank here. I can't wait to start furnishing it. I want it to look all post-modern. And thankfully I am having them remove the crappy kitchen that came with it so I can put a new one in. Apparently you can buy kitchens at this place called Innova, they are all ready to go, and you just hook everything up. Our friend Klaus is a real handyman and can do all of this for me.

On other subjects. These are some silly things I notice around Berlin:

Scarves
Scarves are very popular here, even when it isn't really cold. It's contagious, too because I have bought 4 of them since I got here. I read an article somewhere that said Germans wear scarves a lot to keep from catching a cold. Not sure how true this is.

Prenzlauer Berg and babies
If there is any place to procreate in Berlin, it's in Prenzlauer Berg. On one particular day, we were having brunch, and over the course of an hour or so, I noticed at least 6 different pregnant women in the same restaurant. And nearly every other person walking down the street is pushing a stroller.

Characters
When going to the same general areas on a regular basis, you sometimes realize you see a lot of the same people. Both this time and last time we were in Berlin, we have noticed some interesting characters, whom we've never met, but see often. Kent and I are of course curious about these folks and have fun guessing what they are all about. I'll start with two. Maybe I can add to this list in later blogs.

1. Crazy Depeche Mode Guy - we have seen this guy every time we went to a "Depeche Mode Party" at different nightclubs in Berlin. He's tall and very hyper and outgoing. He seems to like both the boys and the girls. Kent told me one time he asked him to come into the bathroom with him... but of course Kent bailed.. haha. He's got his hair shaved into a shape so that he appears to have little devil horns on each side of the top of his head. The first time we saw him, he was yelling to the DJ to make the music "louder! louder!" He also likes to mimic Dave Gahan (DM singer) pretending to sing along into an invisible microphone.

2. Guy with Antenneas - recently noticed around town is a guy that is frequently seen around the Hackescher Markt area, particularly near the coffee place called Caras who has a rather interesting hairdo. It's shaved real short, but he's got these two long braided pieces of hair sticking straight up that look just like two annteneas. We think it's so strange that it's ultimately cool. I mean, this guy takes the time out every day to assemble these things. Why? Who knows... but... it's cool. We're hoping to catch a photo of him sometime soon.