Berlin: My New Viet Friend, Street Art, Bau Musem

I was craving Vietnamese food on Saturday night so I went to a small VN restaurant by the hostel. I chatted with the owner about his background and he ended up showing me YouTube videos of his girlfriend singing and a music video of him that he had produced in Vietnam. I ended up staying for over two hours talking about our families, jobs, the sauna he created in his apartment and the differences between America and his country (that seems to be the topic wherever I go). When all the customers were gone, he busted out his guitar and sang me some VN songs about his break-up with his ex-wife and how he met his girlfriend (Facebook had something to do with it but I didn´t hear him bring it up in the song). Before I left he didn´t let me pay for dinner because he felt that he was welcoming me into his restaurant as a new friend. I didn´t exchange info with him but I´m sure I can find him on FB. Meeting people like him is what enriches my travel experience.

The next morning I walked along Rigaer Strasse, a street known for buildings that have turned into squats. Many buildings have stencil and paper art and graffiti on them.

The Hoff!

After I checked out the flea market at Mauerpark.

I watched people selling bicycles and their old clothes.

Then I went to Bau Museum, the equivalent to the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. From far away I thought this sculpture was a Smurf.

This piece of art looked like it was created by a five year old who spread his feces on the wall.

When I got back to the hostel, I hung out with two guys that are always sitting there with their laptops. They have been staying at the hostel for many weeks because they are both trying to move to Berlin. Even though I´m only in this city for a few days, it´s comforting to see familiar faces when I get back from walking around the city. I spent a couple hours talking to one of them about his past, how he got to where he is now and where he wants to go. One of the things that I love about staying in hostels is that I get to meet people whom I normally would never have gotten to meet and spend time getting to know them on a substantive level. I know we will never meet again, but I usually see the world in a different light as a result of having met them.