B flat and the shoe cupboard

It is 11.23 am and I am sitting having just finished a true German breakfast of heavy bread and ham. I am in east Berlin with the sound of cars bumping along the cobbled streets and trams in the distance.
This is my third visit to Berlin and I feel so at home here it is a city with such spirit and colour. All avaliable surfaces are covered with stickers or writing a form of communication to which all can subscribe.
My few days here have been frenetic with continued activity, setting off from Reading at 5.30am and arriving at midday in Berlin. After a lunch the afternoon was spent exploring a district of the city in the east, looking at the old GDR clothes and furniture, sitting on sofas in the street, eating a pizza whilst on the move in a tram and trying to choose earrings from the huge and colourful selection and ofcourse playing board games. we stumbled across a cafe where you buy a drink and then settle down for the day to play as many board games or puzzles as you wish. A man with big glasses and dark wirery hair selected games for us to play from his personal collection that were lovingly stacked from floor to ceiling. We were bothslightly lagging the competitive gene so I believe the game progressed at rather a slow pace.

Last night after a day moving slowly along the river on a boat tour that showed us the wealth of variation in the city from the husstle and bustle of the parliamentary area to the green expanses of the parks, we returned to Aylin's flat and cooked alot of pasta. After filling our bellies we were out again to a jazz bar to watch their 'jammin'. We sat in the hot room, its huge floor to ceiling windows showing us the people and the trams passing by. We sipped cocktails in the red lit room and were treated to wonderful lively jazz which drew a huge crowd and raised the temperature even higher.

We met some characters whilst watching the performance, Josh an American living in Berlin working as a translator, his friend Rudi a musician living in Berlin originally from Israel. We all sat communicating through the international language of the beat and the enthusiasm shown by the drummer who wore pink trousers and socks with a beautiful bright blue shirt.
You realise how small the world is when Rudi asked where I was from and we talked about Norwich as he is a fan of the football club! We have decided to meet with them on Friday as they have suggested a place which they say sums up east Berlin so we shall see.

Oh I must explain the shoe cupboard.
Aylin was disappointed at my ignorance and lack of worldliness when it came to my wonderment and delight at her shoe cupboard. It resembles a tall thin filing cabinet that holds all her shoes. This and the fact that Aylin says I was snoring in my sleep last night confirms what I believed I am just a younger version of my Mum!

And on that note I will venture out into the sun to visit some sand sculptures and a beach bar in the middle of the city!

Love to all

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