still
so
wake late
what are we to do today?
lay in bed
watch the snow falling..
we won’t be touring with Dieter today
no
but by the time i’m out of bed
he’s left already with the dogs
taken them to the Tiergarten for a long walk
i wanted to go to the Winterfeldplatz to see if i could find Fluorite today
… but i don’t know where it is.
Dieter gets back at half past 12
and tells me where it is
but says the market probably closes at 1
so i rush off
jump on the U-bahn one stop
and walk down the street to the market..
which is still very much happening.
it doesn’t take me long to realize they don’t have what i want, though
lots of jewelry made by people
but no strands…
some fluorite, yeah
but not beads
and very expensive..
i should have just bought that little necklace over at the wittenbergplatz..
but instead
i buy stroopwafels from a dutch seller: i never got any in amsterdam
… i got some turkish pepper drop too
and a long string of licorice
then some interesting soap from a syrian guy
made of olive oil
and laurel leaves…
walking through the market
the million things…
try a Grömetlz or whatever it was
not very good
yeah
not what i’m looking for
but beautiful market
thank you!
too bad everything is covered in snow…
i make my way along the ice
back to the u-bahn
up at the wittenburgplatz
i’m looking for a cafe that advertises WiFi
no luck
but some guy stops in his tracks
and feels he must flirt with me
inviting me to meet him at the “Old Timers” bar right around the corner at about 11 tonight
yeah?
let’s me know he only lives ten minutes away…
i head back to Dieter’s
where he and Leo make fun of me for missing his stocky bearish x-boyfriend Paul
… Dieter and i share a taste in men, i’ll tell ya…
speaking of that
Dieter makes it pretty clear he wants some time alone with Friedel today
so Leo and i bugger off going to look for an internet cafe…
Dieter told us about one down the Kürfendamerstrasse
but as we approach it
long walk
all the tourist shit
i realize this is not what we want:
EasyInternet
no place for me to plug in..
so i get this idea we should go out to Kreuzberg
i know it’s a poorer artist burg… and they’ll probably have a coffee shop with WiFi or a cheap normal internet place
Plus
Leo used to have a lover out there
the guy he’d stay with when he came here
… died back in ’99 from jumping out his window
Leo hasn’t been back since
so i feel it’ll be good to give an excuse to go out there
let Leo make some peace with that
take the U1 out…
all the Turkish places, yes..
i send a Text Message to CoCo Pierre
telling him where we’re going
he replies “i’m at the big internet cafe right on the corner there!”
what luck
i walk in and plug in
and Leo goes walking..
i had time to post all the journal entries i’d been writing
but hadn’t written that day
… and i used skype to chat with Joshua about our trip a bit…
Coco told me about great stuff going on
an opening tonight
a sauna party tomorrow
then Leo came back
so i went for a walk with him
— he showed me how things used to be…
then we headed back to Dieter’s for dinner
Friedel cooked: pasta
the sauce was great
but the cabressa… the tomatoes with mozzerlla and basil
i was shocked: had no flavor…
but many things have been having no flavor for me lately
my sense of smell hasn’t really returned since the sinus infection cleared up
… i seem to be only able to smell certain very strong odors
and not taste fully…
Friedel has to go home
and we have an invitation to this opening
plus
my friend Sam did call today and ask us to meet him at his studio…
we opt for that
so we head out on the train.
i’m totally shocked that mobile phones work underground while the train is moving.
just when i thought NYC was so fucking sophisticated
here is Berlin
with QUIET subways, smooth rides… and constant mobile phone connection.
Sam calls and gives me his address, how useful!
it’s not a far walk from the stop off the U9
looks like some office building
but through the foyer, behind
is a little house
they’ve rented the whole thing, up stairs and down
their studios, Sam and Roman
and next door: a little gallery for Roman’s sculpture
beautiful sea-like african/asian deity-type creatures
an subtle japanese-like paintings…
we sit and talk
we pour some wine
one bottle through
the second one is off!
we get another
and another
we pick some music
but Kronos Quartet is too much
so i put on a Cafe Del Mar
i’m not too keen on the collections myself
but i know the mood they present
and this one ends with a song i love but haven’t heard in a while
Lamb’s “Gabriel”
so the music’s playing
and we’re all down on the floor
enjoying the beauty of eachother
four naked men rolling around
finding the soft spots
finding some way to touch
and then coming to rest when we have satisfied..
Gabriel just coming to an end.
Sam snors lightly in my ear
we’re all curled up
Leo and Roman hugging
then Sam gets up to.. update his web page
and i feel like it’s time to get going
Leo and Roman cuddle and talk
and i chat with Sam a bit
i distinctly remember telling him to Shut Up when he was talking talking about computer crap
when i just wanted to pet him.
even if you don’t know someone long
you should be able to tell them to shut up when they pull into their heads
and you just want to be in pleasure with them
but i know this show
retreating to the computer
guess we pulled some heart strings somewhere
we’re all falling asleep
it’s nice to see his balls hang over the chair like that
finish our glasses of wine
yes
now it’s really time to go
it’s been beautiful
we walk through the bright moon-lit snow
back to the main commercial street
U9 back to U1 back to Wittenburgplatz
maybe get a currywurst?
OH! it’s closed…
what time is it?
nearly 1 am..
but…
isn’t this a late night town?
maybe it’s the winter
off-season…
we walk to the old-timer’s bar
but we want to eat first
so we walk around.
there are lots of indian places open
but no, we don’t want a big meal…
ah
there
down on the corner of the big street
that’s an Imbiss
yeah
we get showarma and lamachun
but they just call it döner kebab and turkish pizza
really good
really cheap!
we eat and watch the bar kids leaving
some of them are kinda hot
where are they coming from?
pigs?
bears?
we walk back up the cold cold cold snowy street
and go into the Old Timers…
that guy… he’s not there
and we take a place at the bar
Leo’s sitting in someone’s seat
someone who doesn’t speak english
someone in his 70’s…
Leo is Chicken.
the guy is putting his hand on Leo’s knee
it’s cute
Leo will be talking to me
and the guy will start feeling his neck
Great.
some guy named Rhinehardt comes over to talk to us
he asks if it’s alright to talk to us
and it is
so he talks and talks
he’s curious
he says
i don’t look like everyone else
he doesn’t like Munich (apparently no one in Berlin does)
he’s a cute little man
but really
it’s late
and we need to go home
so
home we go
and
shortly after
go to sleep.