katherine_b: (DW - Doctor OMG)
posted by [personal profile] katherine_b at 08:30pm on 11/07/2009 under , ,
I'm about to turn my computer off, pack it away and go to bed so I can get up at 4.30am and go to the airport for my flight to London and then on to Australia. Incredible, isn't it? Can't believe it myself! But my two weeks is up and so I shall see you all when I'm back in Oz on Monday night. (Actually, it's more likely that I won't get onto the 'Net until Tuesday morning.) Hope you all have a lovely few days without me and I look forward to being back in a few days.

*hugs you all*
Mood:: 'cheerful' cheerful
katherine_b: (DW - Doctor OMG)
posted by [personal profile] katherine_b at 08:30pm on 11/07/2009 under , ,
I'm about to turn my computer off, pack it away and go to bed so I can get up at 4.30am and go to the airport for my flight to London and then on to Australia. Incredible, isn't it? Can't believe it myself! But my two weeks is up and so I shall see you all when I'm back in Oz on Monday night. (Actually, it's more likely that I won't get onto the 'Net until Tuesday morning.) Hope you all have a lovely few days without me and I look forward to being back in a few days.

*hugs you all*
Mood:: 'cheerful' cheerful
katherine_b: (DW - Doctor OMG)
posted by [personal profile] katherine_b at 05:35pm on 10/07/2009 under , ,
Thirty-six hours and I will be heading back to London to catch my plane back to Australia.

No, I can't believe I've been here for two weeks either.

But what have I don't for the past two days?

Yesterday was my relax day. I stayed in my room and wrote On My Own. At 3pm I headed out to meet a woman who my supervisor knows and who she introduced me to long-distance. We chatted about all things German and Berlin-related until after 7pm and then I came home.

And sadly today was about as exciting. I woke up at stupid o'clock (4.50, if you were interested) and spent the next two hours trying to go back to sleep. Then I commented all over LJ, had an early breakfast and headed off to the conference which is the reason I'm here. I'm ashamed to admit that my lack of sleep caught up with me and I nodded off several times. Because of that and the fact that none of the afternoon presentations were relevant to my interests, I left at lunchtimes and did a little bit more shopping.

ETA: I forgot to add that I went to the Zoo and have now seen Knut. So I've done what all Berlin tourists must do. *lol*

Now I just have to fit it all in my suitcase... :-/
Mood:: 'shocked' shocked
katherine_b: (DW - Doctor OMG)
posted by [personal profile] katherine_b at 05:35pm on 10/07/2009 under , ,
Thirty-six hours and I will be heading back to London to catch my plane back to Australia.

No, I can't believe I've been here for two weeks either.

But what have I don't for the past two days?

Yesterday was my relax day. I stayed in my room and wrote On My Own. At 3pm I headed out to meet a woman who my supervisor knows and who she introduced me to long-distance. We chatted about all things German and Berlin-related until after 7pm and then I came home.

And sadly today was about as exciting. I woke up at stupid o'clock (4.50, if you were interested) and spent the next two hours trying to go back to sleep. Then I commented all over LJ, had an early breakfast and headed off to the conference which is the reason I'm here. I'm ashamed to admit that my lack of sleep caught up with me and I nodded off several times. Because of that and the fact that none of the afternoon presentations were relevant to my interests, I left at lunchtimes and did a little bit more shopping.

ETA: I forgot to add that I went to the Zoo and have now seen Knut. So I've done what all Berlin tourists must do. *lol*

Now I just have to fit it all in my suitcase... :-/
Mood:: 'shocked' shocked
katherine_b: (Mythbusters - nothing happened)
posted by [personal profile] katherine_b at 05:33pm on 08/07/2009 under ,
*groan* More sore feet and legs, but a very productive day. I have a new favourite weird place in Berlin - the state library newspaper archive. It's set in the middle of the docks (yes, the landlocked city has docks!) and also in the middle of huge amounts of building works. I felt very out of place wandering among blokes with sledgehammers and barrows and laying cement, I can tell you.

But the end result was brilliant - almost thirty articles for my thesis from various German newspapers - and I got to print them all for free! More than makes up for yesterday's annoyance. I got there at 10.15am and was out the door by 11am. How good is that?!

Having so much time on my hands, I headed for the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. I have seen this being built during my two visits to Berlin in 2004, but this was my first chance to see it complete and it's quite astonishing. I find the information centre beneath the field of stone more interesting as well as very clearly explained and informative.

For some comparison to the rather depressing visit, I headed for the German Resistance Museum. However I have to admit that I was once more irritated that they continue to ignore the existence of the Rosenstrasse protest. Would it be too much to include a presentation on that to accompany those of the other civilian protests like the White Rose and the Rote Capelle? *sigh* Apparently I'm being greedy!

But then I got this and I can't help giggling. Rather a lot actually. Enjoy!

If you're as sick of the security alerts as I am... )

And now it's back to writing!
Mood:: 'weird' weird
katherine_b: (Mythbusters - nothing happened)
posted by [personal profile] katherine_b at 05:33pm on 08/07/2009 under ,
*groan* More sore feet and legs, but a very productive day. I have a new favourite weird place in Berlin - the state library newspaper archive. It's set in the middle of the docks (yes, the landlocked city has docks!) and also in the middle of huge amounts of building works. I felt very out of place wandering among blokes with sledgehammers and barrows and laying cement, I can tell you.

But the end result was brilliant - almost thirty articles for my thesis from various German newspapers - and I got to print them all for free! More than makes up for yesterday's annoyance. I got there at 10.15am and was out the door by 11am. How good is that?!

Having so much time on my hands, I headed for the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. I have seen this being built during my two visits to Berlin in 2004, but this was my first chance to see it complete and it's quite astonishing. I find the information centre beneath the field of stone more interesting as well as very clearly explained and informative.

For some comparison to the rather depressing visit, I headed for the German Resistance Museum. However I have to admit that I was once more irritated that they continue to ignore the existence of the Rosenstrasse protest. Would it be too much to include a presentation on that to accompany those of the other civilian protests like the White Rose and the Rote Capelle? *sigh* Apparently I'm being greedy!

But then I got this and I can't help giggling. Rather a lot actually. Enjoy!

If you're as sick of the security alerts as I am... )

And now it's back to writing!
Mood:: 'weird' weird
katherine_b: (Allo Allo - Only Tuesday)
posted by [personal profile] katherine_b at 10:18pm on 07/07/2009 under ,
Yesterday was much like my first day in London, in that I spent the whole time wandering around buying things - DVDs and CDs mostly, those that would cost more if I bought them on eBay or something. Only two books so that my case won't be a problem to get home. (It was only 18kgs when I left London - go me!) Lots and lots and lots of walking. That should make up for he lack of gym (although I'm not exactly eating super-healthy, but that's hard to do without my own kitchen).

Today had a fair share of minor irritations. As usual, I ran headlong into German bureaucracy, this time at the library where I spent so many hours in 2004. I forgot that I had to book a time on the microfilm machine, but it wouldn't have mattered if I'd booked out the whole day because I found nothing. *sigh* Still, now I have more specific dates, so hopefully things will turn up tomorrow at the newspaper archive.

I was going to go to Potsdamer Platz for the evening, but I got back to my hotel room and started writing my story for the current weekly prompt, which is waaaaaay longer than a drabble, so between that and the Michael Jackson memorial service, I never got there.

Maybe tomorrow.
Mood:: 'frustrated' frustrated
katherine_b: (DW - Doctor squee)
posted by [personal profile] katherine_b at 06:23pm on 05/07/2009 under ,
My plane landed about an hour ago, having departed 15 minutes late and arrived 10 minutes early.

No, I'm not sure how that worked either. I suspect the TARDIS may have been involved. ;-)

I'm going to go out shortly to do a bit of shopping and survey the lie of the land to see what's around, but I must say that I'm quite a bit more spoilt here than I was in England. Huge room in comparison, with a bathroom four times the size (Clare will understand that!) and a glorious huge bed.

My love for Berlin had waned a little over the past few months and years, but now, being here again, I remember why I love it so much.

A week is far too short!
Mood:: 'happy' happy

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