Times in Berlin were great. I did a bunch of tourist stuff like the East Side Gallery which is a piece of the Berlin wall covered in street art. On the other side of the wall was a really interesting photo exhibition about walls around the world separating people.
Mariko also took me to a sightseeing tour to the centre of the town including Potsdamer platz, Brandenburger gate and the Holocaust memorial. And along the way I got to taste some real Bavarian white sausage with sweet mustard which was delicious! Mmm.... Meat in tube form.
The area I actually lived in Berlin is called Neukölln and it is the best part of Berlin. Lots of Turkish and middle eastern immigrants so the shwarma and other restaurants are plentiful. Also a lot of Shisha bars wich only the old immigrant men go to puff the pipe and drink some coffee.
But back to the food. Along the way I got to taste other common Berlin foods such as Currywurst, Turkish pizza and Leverkäse (made by Chris) and all was good. Finland and Germany eat alike. :) I returned favor by making some brown sauce with minced meat (jauhelihakastiketta) and potatoes. Granny style.
I totally missed out the club life while there so I will go back there. Apparently the party starts thursday/friday and ends monday/tuesday. And I mean the bar is open all the way thru! Good luck trying to do that in Finland!
Anyway lets move on. Byebye Berlin and hello 7 hours in a bus towards Frankfurt. Nothing much to tell there. Nice clean and packed hostel called Five Elements in the middle of the ass and titties part of downtown Frankfurt. Spicy shwarma.
16.9. Monday 14:40
Destination: Shanghai. 11 hours later and no sleep at all I'm there. And boy was I in for a ride.
25 fucking million people! 5 times Finland in one city! As soon as I get from the airport to the town it's around 9 am and its already 26 degrees celsius and rising. I need a drink. Drink vending machine. All I understand from it are the numbers below the products and the word cold. Good enough for me. Put the money in and press a button. Nothing happens. Frantically smashing every button on the machine until something pops out. I take out the can. "Cafe Latte" Motherf....! Right when I leave the machine in search of breakfast I bump into a local student named James. He says he can show me a nice place to get some food. Really nice guy and happy to meet me because now he can practice his english. Apparently I happened to come to Shanghai during a tea festival and James wants to take me to experience the chinese tea ritual. Into a tiny shop we enter and sit down in to a even tinier booth. A lady enters and starts preparing the first cup all the time talking in chinese about the history of tea in China and about the teas she is about to have us taste. How to hold the small cup and how to smell and drink the tea. All the time James translating what is happening. All very interesting and the tea is probably the best I ever had. Then I happen to check on the prices. POOF! My daily budget is blown on 3 different flavours of tea! Oh well, while in Shanghai... Next off to some soup dumplings. Really tasty stuff and way more cheaper.
Then before I know it I'm already on my way to the subway to see Bund area, the iconic business center. With James happily waving me off I climb on to the fully packed subway and start thinking: "was it 2 or 3 stops when I need to get out?" And Berlin subway is nothing compared to Shanghai subway. This area is all about Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Ferrari. I make most of it and use the toilet in Shanghai World Financial Center. Hi tech with washing modes and all.
If you are not willing to spend a lot of money there is not lot to do in Shanghai. Peoples Park is really nice and free, but almost everything else costs. Except food. You can eat a meal with few dollars.
Some say Chinese hospitality. I say Chinese I smile while taking your money.
Well that was only for a one day so it was manageable. Now I'm in a better place. Sitting in Top Banana guesthouse and its rooftop bar drinking green tea in Phnom Pehn. Yesterday was massive jetlag so I slept well into the afternoon. And poker evening. I think I'm gonna spend few days here just relaxing and getting my bearings.
On to the headline of this post. My camera broke down. Apparently "MB MIRROR BOX SUB UNIT" is something that tends to break down on Sony alpha series. I will need to head into town to go see a repair guy. I just hope It doesn't take a month as the guy in Frankfurt feared. If so I need to think of other options, because there is no sense for me to travel and carry all that camera gear with me if I don't have a working body.
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