Being black as the Blackland

I haven't been in such a black metal and rock pub since the beginning of the high school, but couldn't resist to keep in the memory of my camera the special architecture and exterior decorations. 

The Gothic Blackland is situated a couple of minutes away from the S-Bahn Greifswalder strasse, in the wild, wild East.

Japanese food festival in Prinzessinengarten

After the Kjosk, next on my Sunday list was the Japanese Summerfest in the popular Prinzessinengarten (stay tunned for some photos from this hippy place). Relaxed ambiance, ramen and colourful cocktails and corn. Not too much to take, not too much to leave.

Kjosk food market

Via Facebook, I was invited to participate - just a little clarification, avoiding any confusion regarding my poor status in Berlin city: being "invited" on Facebook doesn't mean I enjoy any special status, it's simply a neutral notification you receive together with any other hundreds+ people - to the first edition of the World Street Food Market at Kjosk. Kjosk was recently featured in the New York Times travel section and as I love to be a trend follower, I couldn't wait to see the place with my own eyes and lenses. 

Plus, I wanted to take a serious look at the dishes introduced at this edition of the world street food festival.

As in many cases, when you are expecting to attend such an event you shouldn't expect anything special and glamorous and out-of-order. 

The place looks as a re-used beach, with various pieces of furniture creatively planted all over the place, graffitis and chairs and tables and you are served from the bus - a 1970s BVG Doppeldecker. 

The participants of the food fair - I stopped over Japan, France, Greece and some Middle East dishes - displayed products probably prepared during the morning at their homes, at good prices. People come and go, tasted or, as in my case, only took some pictures. 

The famous bus in the Kjosk

Japanese delices

Middle Eastern choices

A little bit burned, but still French

Maybe the next time it will be something different. 

Germany's oldest mosque

White and always - by now - empty - Germany and Berlin's oldest mosque - Ahmadiyya - is situated in Wilmersdorf, on Briennerstr. 7-8. The regular religious service wasn't held since years, but it could be open to visitors from time to time. Victim of a fire bomb in January 2011, it was inaugurated officially in 1925. Currently, it's owned and maintained by Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, a group within Islam. 

Ha Long Bay von PBerg

Ha Long Bay means in Vietnamese the Descending Dragon Bay and is a touristic attraction, part of the UNESCO Heritage. It is a common name for many Vietnamese restaurants all over the world, but we rarely pay attention to such details. All we, the Europeans, need is a good and, if possible, cheap food. 

The Prenzlauer Berg variant is offering Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and Japanese (Sushi) food at very convenient prices - be careful when do they have happy hours. You are served well and fast and during the sumer you can admire from outside the coming and going from Schonhauser Allee.

As I wasn't so hungry, I ordered a couple of pumpkins sushi and shitake (Asian mushrooms) sushi. Cheap - 1.60 the 6 pieces - and easy.

Veganz life

Following the indications from a leaflet I received the last week at the Flohmarkt, I visited this week the newly-opened Veganz superstore in - where else than - Prenzlauer Berg. I was interested about the products on display in the superstore - not so moderate prices, but almost everything you need if you are vegan or vegetarian or simply you have specific food requirements - but mostly about the restaurant part, where I was hoping to taste again the wonderful vegetarian - gluten-free, by choice - hamburger. The space dedicated to restaurant is composed of three tables, and some outside - hopefully, it was a nice sunny day - and they do not serve the hamburger, but you can have instead coffees, cakes, some spring-rolls and...I don't remember anything else worthy of my memory-bits. In addition, you can find in a corner some cosmetics.

And, if you are a tattooes fan you will have the occasion to admire the body-art displayed by the colourful girls taking your orders. 

Saint Georges from Berlin

In the Eastern side of Berlin, close to Eberwalderstrasse and Greifswalderstrasse, at Saint Georges, I discovered two big rooms, stuffed with English books. Used books, but not second-hand. You could find there good books, 1-2-year old, at 4-5 Euro the book, but also new ones, for 10. Many many of them are dedicated to Germany's history.

The bookstore is also offering the possibility of ordering books, or if you have at minimum 15 and high-quality titles for sale, they could  visit you and offer a proper financial evaluation of your collection. A fair deal, I think.

And, of course, everybody is speaking English there.

First London, then Berlin?

While watching the news about the London unrest I was seriously thinking about when such a fire could start in Berlin. I knew the aggressive outbursts from the May 1st, and other violences taking place periodically in the Eastern part of the city, as well as the notorious cars' burning. 

That latest phenomenon continues at an intensive pace in the last days intensifying the worries about what's next...And, in comparison with London, in the case of Berlin isn't about the big distance between rich and poor but only about a inconsciously cultivated hate against everything going beyond the showing-off of so-called modesty. All those green lovers, eco-friendly anarchists, dressed as poorly and anti-fashion as possible are continuing - consciously or not - the stereotypes of the post-war anarchist left. Intellectuals or beggars, they believe that the minimalism - in working, dressing and thinking - and the overwhelming reliance to the state it's the answer to the world questions.

I wish for Berlin to stay away of the riot and to keep it's minds and hearts open. 

For good and for worse I will stay around with my camera.

Related articles

• Series of car burnings hit Berlin neighborhoods (cnn.com)
• 9 cars torched in Berlin on 3rd night of arson attacks (ctv.ca)

Ready for an adventure park in Berlin

My chance of getting lost is that I can discover new and new places and my camera help me to keep their memory and inspiration for sharing my experiences of Berlin. Recently, I found an adventure park and a volleyball beach just opposite the Nordbahnhof S-Bahn. Not sea, but lots of sand and a wild park in the neighborhood. To try in the week-end!

Mamecha: A good Japanese beginning of the week

I started the week with a friendly gathering of friends - the first after the vacation - at Mamecha restaurant near Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz. Not too crowded at the lunch time, lots of green tea treats - my favorites - and lots of information about Japanese events taking place in Berlin (among others, a Retrospective Hokusai at Martin-Gropius-Bau that I should see immediately).

Pictures from a bentobox

The vegetarian option

Green, my favorite food color

Very quiet corners

Do you read Japanese?

Walls are for arts

The creative corner

Maybe I'm back in Japan...

A tatami adapted for the European tastes

If you want to visit the next days, hurry up as they will be on vacation for a couple of weeks at the end of August. Enjoy your green tea for me please!