I always hope in the mornings that my favorite Berlin transit music duo will step on the S1 nach Wannsee and strike up the saxophone and guitar. So far they have graced us with excerpts from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," The Beatles' "Let it Be" and Billy Joel's "Honesty." Some favorites. I'm no music critic, but it makes me happeh, and I can never help humming along. It's the little things.
Yesterday I got out of work a bit early and decided to check out a traditional Turkish bath, or "Hamam." (Germany has a large Turkish immigrant population, so such things are common, as well as lots of places serving döner and other Turkish foods). The Hamam came recommended from a website I like here, and really I just wanted a couple hours of total warm. Definitely a neat experience. It was located on the second floor of an unassuming building in Kreuzberg, down the hall from a karaoke place and a gym. But upon entering I found myself in an ornately decorated lobby space that led to two bathing chambers. Now of course I heard "bath" and thought of small pools like the ones in Hungary, but a Hamam is really heated steam rooms with raised stone ledges around faucets. You are given a small bowl to fill with water and wash yourself as you please and then lay on the heated stone. Men are verboten most of the week, so it was just the ladies. It's a nice concept...traditionally women go with family members or friends and bathe each other. I relaxed and warmed to my heart's content while hearing lots of Turkish chit chat around me. Apparently I need to get a lot more comfortable being naked around strangers, though...I blame the nuns for that one!
When friends from the US or here ask me about where I work in Berlin, I often jumble my words (in German or English!). Luckily, I spotted this NYT article in the lobby that does an excellent job of it. Even though the article is from 2003, things seem to be pretty much the same at the AAB, at least from my vantage point in the basement.
Oh what would I do without the NYT? Bring on that pay wall, cause I will definitely shell out the dough for an unlimited subscription.
what a cool article-- sounds like such an interesting place to work!
ReplyDeletealso, my parents went to a turkish bath when they were in turkey and they told me all of these incredibly embarrassing stories involving nakedness.
I've had to block out these memories.