best of times / end of times.

I had a beautiful afternoon at the corner of Revaler Strasse and Warschauer Strasse - dare I call this the most perfect people-watching spot on our planet.  What started out as a quick outing for a Chicken Döner mit scharf soße landed me at the corner of busy and vibrant on a sunny, clear day.  My cold Warsteiner in-hand slowly took the form of a second, and a third.  I just couldn’t leave the wonderful moment I was sharing (alone) with this city.  Over the course of 90 minutes sitting at my small table under the warm sky I took in:

• The standard Friedrichshain ratio of 4:1:1:7:2:1:5:1:1 (scuzzy punk:rad old person:businessman:hipster:graphic designer:nouveau-hippie:obvious tourist:fashionista:crazy old person)
• The usual bustle heading towards the nearby train stop.  Rare is the East Berlin suit, but fantastic is when it comes with an old man sporting a twirly mustache.
• A British mom exclaiming “look how cool THAT guy is!” with young son 1 (of 2) responding “whoa!” just before I realized she was talking about me.  Moments later she spins her head around, wearing a MOMMY LIKEYS smile that made me blush.  I keep forgetting I’m a foreigner that people mistake for local flora.
• A cluster of skateboarders trying to impress the ladies underneath the new-to-me-possibly-guerilla sculpture.
• A guy in crazy leprechaun pants, white suspenders, and the stupidest (some circles might call it “most ironic”) hat known to man approaching every cute girl on the street and getting rejected over, over, and over again.
• Several pairs of people passing me from behind excited about their fresh strips of photos from the next-door photobooth.
• Token young American girl complaining how dogs aren’t on leashes.  OH COME ON THERE ARE ENOUGH RULES IN GERMANY AS IT IS LET A PUP RUN
• An old lady swinging her cane at a young boy on a bicycle that came a little too close.
• A bearded guy in a Motörhead t-shirt sitting against the local bank, banging out a solid beat on a portable kit.  His wide smile after I threw him a compliment made up for the glare I got when I tipped my beer to a Beck’s-carrying passer-by.
• No less than two dozen Berlin girls in black tights and brightly-colored Converse.  I have no idea why this trend is so damn popular but Chuck Taylor must have made a small German fortune.
• More than a few happy dogs eagerly following their bike-riding owners, disturbing no one.
• The Turkish song of the kebab shop carver drifting out of the open window.

Oh Berlin.  Just when I thought I was ready to move on…