Parties & Concerts

Happy Birthday To ME!

I woke up to rain this morning, but I put on a happy face anyhow. After all, I’m in PRAGUE and it’s MY BIRTHDAY!! Nothing can Rain on My Parade.

Thanks to Brian P who texted me at 8:00 am this morning just to tell me Happy Birthday (yes, darling, you were the first and that made it all the more special!). I know you stayed up way past your bedtime, and trust me, it was greeted with a smile.

Anyhow, after helping the roomie – I’m staying in a hostel and sharing a 4 bed room with a Spanish guy named Francis Jose or something, a chinese guy named Zhong, and (joining us at midnight last night) a beautiful american hispanic from California named Ruby – with a search on the internet (Jose speaks no english – he’s from San Sebastian Spain) – we went for breakfast. We ate at a cool little restaurant across the street (huevos rancheros – yes, even in Prague they have Mexican) . Then, I popped back in and Ruby and I headed up the hill to see the castle in Prague. I feel a little bad though – because we wound up in the lovely catherdal with about a zillion people packed in – and I lost her in the crowd. After sticking around for about 30 minutes, I wound up going on and exploring the castle myself. (I’ll apologize to her when she gets in tonight – I feel REALLY bad!!) I took a ton of pictures, but as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in and of itself, I realize that I’ll be going back tomorrow – why? Because I didn’t get to explore all of it. My feet were killing me (you try trekking around on steep cobblestone streets for 2 days straight) and my legs and back were cramping. I decided at 18:30 I was tired and hungry and to head back for the night. I’ve seen most of prague now (by night) and figure I’ll have a few hours tomorrow morning to see the couple things I missed.

Otherwise, Happy Birthday to me – this makes Castle NUMBER 3! (Oh and Unesco world heritage site number 4 in 3 days!) Not that I’m counting or anything….

In the meantime, I’m 32 years young, (the spanish Jose guy says I look 25 – so that’s a plus – or he’s great at flattery) and glad to have gypsy feet, wanderlust, and the opportunity to fullfill it because my health has been good. Thank God for that and all the blessings I’ve been given this year. May the next be filled with as many. *AMEN*

Share

Happy Mardi Gras!

or Literally –
A day dedicated to the FAT in all of us!! WOO HOO!
Ok so it’s not exactly dedicated to people being fat, but it is fat in the sense of Living Large, on a grander scale, partying hardy before we have to give it all up for the somber and solumn season of Lent.
In that tradition, I say that even though Lent happens, and Guilt and solumness – what’s wrong with Livin Large every day – but not to excess?!?
Living Large to me is basically doing the best you can every day, having the most fun you can every day and quite simply, enjoying every aspect of your life. Sure, it means throwing a few beads once in a while, showing your tits once in a while, screaming “throw me some shit” (and literally having shit thrown at you sometimes), but it also means realizing that those aren’t the core of life – but instead, just the fleeting fringes.
That deep philosophy being noted, I’m going to try to lighten the mood by saying…
HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!!
Now, throw me some shit, gimme some beads, and Yep, I have a pair of tits!
Share

Long(er) night at museums Jan 27,2008

(AKA, 4 days of going with very little sleep). Wow What a weekend. I need a break from all the go go go, but hey, if my weekend is any consolation, at least I’m young enough to have enjoyed it completely. There will be 3 entries posted in one day (Jan 28) so forgive me y’all – I wrote it up but didn’t have time to post
Ugh – I woke up Saturday morning with a bit of a hangover, but nothing that I can’t handle. The concert was great and I had a fun time hanging out with everyone. I wondered briefly (after getting home at 3 AM Saturday) if I was going to make it out to the Long night at museums, but yes, I did. (With the caviot to NOT Drink – I was successful here too!)
In case you don’t remember what it is, the Long Night at Museums is a huge night from 6pm – 2am the next morning where all the state owned museums in Berlin are open extra hours. Tickets cost 15 euros and cover all the museums, transport and so on. Most of the museums have some kind of event going on (think exhibit opening, special tour, music, or costumed performers) to enhanse the visit – and make it extra special for those visiting the museum.
This 6 months series long night was themed “Time”. Basically, all the museums had a different take on it (time related to archaeology, time related to the planet earth, time related to astronomy, time related to painting or religion, a special exhibition on clocks, etc.).
Once again, Kat, “bubba” and I wound up heading out to this – despite the cold, rainy blustery weather. It was great. I went in 2 churches, and 4 museums I’d never been in before, and 1 church I had seen before. I took a few pictures, and had a really nice time.
A few highlights – the Kultureforum at Potsdamer platz had a nice exhibit on black and white photography. I couldn’t take pictures of course, but this made some interesting images come into my mind – that I Must try with some of my own work.
The Marionkirche was open – and the interior renovations are almost complete. I got to see all the sculptures this time – they had previously been covered by plastic sheeting and stacked in a corner. Yes, I had to take pictures – once processed, I’ll add them to flicker and the blog. The angels there are exquisite.
The knoblauchhaus museum was open with a beautiful cellist playing music. It was the least crowded of the museums I was in (Kat and bubba gave up and went to dinner before I did) and was enjoyable. I’m glad I didn’t pay for this one – mostly because it’s like walking through a house of antiques. Interesting, pretty, but not really something I’d have wanted to pay for seperately.
Similarly, the palace gallery near Ephraim Restaurant was interesting, but I didn’t get it – due to my lack of German. This place has 5 floors that are dedicated to different exhibits. Tonights was – lowest floor – jewelry from the 1800’s, 2nd floor, modern art paintings in a cubist /abstract style. 3rd floor – the art of iron – so trinkets like boxes and jewelry, candlesticks and corner candelabras, and so on. 4th floor – the industrial age – developing a city using steel and city panning for industry – including a bunch of maps, antiques that were made in the area and other things. 5th floor – they had a jazz band playing up here so it was way way crowded – and I didn’t get to see much, but it appeared to be some kind of an exhibit of political cartoons over the last 100 years. (That I would have liked to see but again, too many people).
I then also proceeded to wander around the old town of Berlin for a bit, found some cool statues, and then wandered back toward the Egyptian Museum. This is where I found no lines, but decided (after chatting with Bubba) to wait on seeing it. I headed home (soaked to the skin and freezing cold – despite the lovely art and too hot, mostly overcrowded museums) and went to bed about 1:30 AM.
It was a worthwhile experience – once again – and I’ll be sure to attend when it happens in the summer.
Share