Legen-Wait-For-It-Dary Weekend

Approximately one day after I booked my ticket to Berlin, my first guest booked his too. My roommate The BFF's BF's roommate BK (good luck explaining that to anyone, much less people whose native language is not English) was lucky enough to be planning a month-long Euro adventure and figured Berlin would be the perfect final stop. I think he made a good decision.

BK is one of those guys that brings out the fun in everyone. To say he is enthusiastic would be an understatement. (Do you know anyone else who sings "Party Rock" in the shower?) In New York you always know it'll be a great night if it's with him and his friends, so I hoped that he would provide the same entertainment here. He did not disappoint.

We started off the weekend with a low-key Thursday night touring my neighborhood and admiring the local prostitutes. What, you can't find a bunch of pretty young sex workers within walking distance? How American of you. (I had stumbled upon these freelancers earlier in the week when I was coming back from Pilates. I saw two of them decked out in pleather platform stripper shoes, tights and lingerie walking toward me. Literally, in my head, I thought oh, they must be headed to a theme party. Who knows, maybe there's a frat down the block!? Where are their tails and ears, it's almost like their costume is 'stripper.' Then I saw another similarly-dressed girl loitering a few meters behind them. How rude they aren't waiting for their friend! Oh wait. There are more of them. They're everywhere. THEY'RE ACTUALLY HOOKERS. Case closed: I am an idiot.)

The next day while I was at work, BK explored the city, learning first-hand how extremely spread out everything is, which is totally not accurately depicted on any map. That evening we met some of my friends for dinner at Prater Garten, the oldest beer garden in Berlin. Not quite The Standard...you know, cause it wasn't full of FJO's...but it was still great to try some local beer and cuisine. We ended up later at an outdoor "beach bar" dancing to techno all night...and running into friends of last weekend's cougarbait. Small world!

The following day was gray and dreary so I did what I do best on the weekends: Eat and do nothing. Luckily by that evening I pulled myself together and we went to my friend Uli's flat where she was having people over. Hooray, the perfect opportunity for me to expand my social circle. Let's just say I owe her big time. (And not just because one of the guys there was very cute.)

It was hands down one of the most fun times I've had in a long time. I mean, how could it not be when it included discussing the greatness of How I Met Your Mother, having a German bier tasting, and making inappropriate jokes. FYI: Laughter is the same in any language. 

It became clear that BK's enthusiasm was quite appreciated, and somehow in the span of only a few hours he managed to have everyone using his "PARTY ROCK!" catch-phrase while also single-handedly bringing (Smirnoff) "Icing" to Germany.

We left Uli's flat in a heard of new friends, leading to what was described as a "very typical Berlin" night. (Or how I imagine it would be to go out in Brooklyn.) Crashing a private birthday party at a "non-bar" co-op? Check. Stumbling on a impromptu dance party underneath a bridge? Check. Going to an underground concert at five am? Check. Walking home in broad daylight the next morning? Check.

Definitely not something I can handle every weekend, but now I feel like I can actually say Ich bin ein Berliner.

(Thanks, BK, for being a great sidekick!)