Railroad Grade to Larkspur

I finished typing the notes and then worked on the class. Later I got back to typing. My sister had gone home so I checked with friend. She came down as it was finished.

We said bye and started going. She told me about everything she had done and we realized she had left her sweater somewhere probably at the beach. We walked to Muni but the 18 had gone so we caught a seven and we talked about our plans. Upon getting to the apartment I settled in and went to sleep.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I got up around eight. I made grits and eggs. The coffee was cold. I did everything and to get ready. I interacted with my friend and we agreed to do different things – I went to Matching Half and she went to the Ferries.

I rode up past Wiggle Bikes and into the Western Addition. I realized I had no tools. I parked at the café, found a table and got some coffee. Some people sat with me and I looked at Twitter.

When the participants for the Ride to Larkspur began to arrive I went to the corner store. The last participant came a bit later and then we headed down Baker to the Panhandle and into Golden Gate Park. We took 10th to Lake and climbed up the road to the west of the hospice. People liked this route more.

Two people drove by yelling and one of the participants didn't like that. We stopped at Immigrant Point and asked someone to take a picture. Then we rode Reston and went over to the new ramp near the Golden Gate Bridge. There were a lot of other cyclists.

After that I led the ride onto the bridge and I took a bunch of photos. When we went through the second tower one participant and I got a bit ahead of the others. Some guy was fixing his tire.

We agreed not to go to Fort Baker.  However, the exit from the bridge near the vista point approach to Sausalito was marred by a highway side emergency and a fire truck broke us up. The ride down to the bottom was easy after that even as we passed the resident bicycle ambassador. We stopped in the center of town and everyone did their own thing.

I checked in with my friend and she was at the picnic spot.  We set out for Richardson Bay passing the bay model and under the freeway. On the way some of us got sandwiches at the bait shop. I caught my breath and watched the bikes.  On the way through Richardson Bay one participant told me about local politicians and business developments on Polk.

My friend was waiting for us on Sycamore with a new participant. We spent an hour eating a big pic nic and talking. Eventually San Jose bike party people showed up. Everyone got to know each other.  It was interesting how people that hadn’t spoken all morning were able to talk at this point.

My friend headed back to Sausalito and we headed up Camino Alto.  At the intersection of Blythdale I fell to the back. We went through the light and then started climbing. The ride was really easy eventually I passed everyone and waited at the top.

The group left me alone and descended to Corte Madera ahead of me. We had to wait for someone and then we took the railroad grade to Larkspur.  We crossed the new Drake Bridge but one person took her time. However we went to the brewery with plenty of time.  We parked within sight and we got beers. I bought my friend’s buddy a beer but she had to watch the bikes. I showed her how to get home.

Later we rode to the ferry and made it just fine. There were a lot of bikes. We found a table inside. I got a drink and we sat talking. Once we got to SF we took the bikes up Market street and said goodbye from there.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Snuck in to ZG

In the morning of the tenth of April I learned that my friend had taken a trip to the coffee shop with filters.  We sat down for breakfast and then I started typing.  I left my friend alone with the roommate for a while after that and started posting.  Then I stopped for a breath of fresh air.

We then went for a walk and saw one of the leaders from Sac Tweed.  I friended him.  We stopped at Therapy and got a hat.  We then sat at Craftsman and Wolves for pastries and coffee with our riding partners.  The Bike fashionistas showed up around then and I finally got to meet their son.  We walked towards Duboce then and one of them asked about birds.  He told me about his app and the data he had been creating.

He left us as McCoppin as a well known mission bartender and his fiance showed up.  We all talked and then I snuck in to ZG alone for a drink- that was a breath of fresh air.  After that My friend and I said bye to everyone and stopped by the house.  Then we walked up Valencia and dropped some bottles off at BiRite before heading to Dolores Park.  I left her alone to look at the bike polo and then we walked 19th to Castro.

We had a couple of bloody marys at Harvey’s and then walked to Cliffs where we refilled the carbon dioxide from the apartment.  Then we went to Hot Cookie and got a present before hopping a 24 to Healthy Spirits to buy beers and walked to meet the roommate at Duboce to travel to her birthday party.

We hopped a 28 at 19th then and got off at California.  We let the roommate go her own way and the three of us waited for a PresidioGo at Lake.  At Washington we walked to her uncle’s house.  He was making dinner with his dog inside.  We ate appetizers and my friend eventually started helping.

Some of the roommate’s friends came in then.  We all sat in the living room and got to know each other.  The roommate’s friend and her worked together and the boyfriend told me that he had spent a lot of time riding Marin County.  The roommate’s cousin came in a bit later and he and I talked about growing up in SF.

Dinner was served then.  We talked about names.  He told us about his kids.  The roommate was is really fond of her uncle.  We finished dinner as her brother came in.  I got him a beer and we talked about euchre.  When we had had too much tea and apple crumble we took photos, thanked our host and hopped in cars and headed home.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Some Real Character

I was trying to finish at work when I just gave up and grabbed my things and took the train that left from RWC around 423 and rode to 22nd street.  It was hard to park and hard to interact with the other passengers because it was so crowded.  I went over Potrero Hill.  Some guy in a small SUV was rude so I detained him.

When I got to 19th and Deharo I discovered that there was no reasonable route to the 18th street overpass.  My friend was napping so I went to Uptown and finished the newspaper until she inquired as to my whereabouts.  I left her alone to interact with her contact from HI.  When she had finished we hopped a cab at 455 Duboce (who made a u-turn) and went to the Ramp.

The view from there had some real character.  I had been ordering when the girls showed up.  Her HI contact told me about herself.  I talked about my bikes.  They talked about a bunch of stuff that I didn’t know so I kept quiet.  There was a story of the cat stuck beneath their home in HI.  One of the ladies lived in HI.  When I discovered that the other lived in Durango I asked about pollution in the Animas River.  When the snacks were done we walked to third street and on to Tennessee before saying bye.  From there my friend and I returned to the Mission.  On the way she told me that her contact and she had had a hard time living together in North Carolina.

Around 8 the next morning I stopped by the corner store for some creme before making my friend eggs, potatoes and toast.  That took about 45 minutes.  We then grabbed some stuff and took off for her aunt's house around 930.

It was lightly raining when we rode down Duboce to 4K.  I got coffee by myself and then we boarded the train for Palo Alto.  We mostly had the train to ourselves. At Millbrae though my old coworker appeared with a load of baggage.  We talked about all the people we knew and I noted that she had gotten a divorce.  After a short bit we said bye and detrained with our bikes.

The ride to the aunt’s house was pretty quick but it was wet.  We basically left the town center crossed the creek and went a few blocks towards the freeway.  She gave us plastic bags for out bike seats  and had us park our bikes out back.  While we dried off and settled in with warm beverages, she told us the Stanford Grads that lived with her were out all day.

They hadn’t seen each other for quite a long time so they did a lot of catch up over lunch.  I asked the aunt about her art and talked about other artists I knew.  I looked up the term provenance and related the term to my understanding of art.  I remember talking about some of the galleries I knew and she mentioned Catherine Clark.  I noted that she was particularly receptive to this.

They talked about her brother and that unearthed a lot of feelings.  They were able to say positive things about the relationship but I later noted that while she had concluded she had accomplished a lot she was still particularly bitter.  I learned how to change the subject.

We talked about our commitments then as we cleared the counter and ended up in her studio looking at her newest paintings.  She showed us her older stuff using Chinese and I also looked at her treadle sewing machine.  We made some plans to interact in the future then.  My friend was particularly interested in her development both technically as well as emotionally.  I talked about process and writing.

We went on a walk then.  We found a couple of sewer grates were clogged from the rain.  We interacted with a neighbor and his dog.  We talked about family and then walked back to the house and made ready to go.  She was planning on going to a basketball game and we had a train to catch.

We gave each other hugs then and rode the same easy route to the station.  We got passed at Middlefield by some overzealous drivers.  On the train we had a hard time sitting but the other passengers got off and we were able to sit together.  My friend slept while I watched the train go through the tunnels.

At 4K we rode to the apartment with little trouble.  We suggested to one of the roommates that she eat with us but she declined so we walked to the ramen place.  The restaurant had a wait so we sat at Elixir chatting with the bartender about birds until a seat opened up.  I had a small amount of her soup in addition to my small plate.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Our Discussion of Epistemology

On the day that I wrote this I let my process run at the office and took off for Redwood City Station.  I caught a train to Mib and then rode to the apartment from 16th street.   I was able to turn myself around quick then.  My friend had let me know that she was going to see some friends for a special event.

My hair was puffy as I rode to the brewery where I found my college friends.  We had drinks and I listened to one of them, the roaster, tell my old classmate about mutual friends.  I bought him a drink.  I noticed that our third acquaintance appreciated my suggestion for their dinner planns because she was German.  I, on the other hand, had fish and chips but I did walk them to the German restaurant.

I rode to Valencia then.  I noted that there was a protest rally at the police department but I got around it just fine.  I rode to Patricia’s green and I found the Bike Party.  I had a funny realization that when I was in college I had always identified multiple groups and or events and pursued all of them because it more fun.

There were many new faces and I also saw the old ones too  One guy was there but his smashed window ordeal had caused him to act differently towards us.  The ride wasn't leaving so I walked around saying hi to people.  When we left my friend and a ride leader talked a bit.  I had introduced her to some other people.  The ride did some weird back-and-forth and on the way some guy said stuff about 401(k)s.  Eventually we made it to the playground at Pierce and Geary.

We were there for a short moment before I wanted to go.  The problem was I wanted to return to my college buddies.  I texted them.  My friend and I started saying bye and that was when the ladies came by to talk about the birds.  I talked with one of them about a famous guy on Twitter.  We rode back through Safeway and then went to Webster and onto Grove.  I said bye to my friedn then and headed to another Mission bar.  I noted that the protest had dissipated.

I found the people at Homestead  and we had a long conversation about careers and education choices.  My old classmate said he would do four months in Mexico and then try to get into a University.  We headed to the our favorite bar then. The bartender was surprised to see the roaster.  We had a long discussion about mutual acquaintances.  We talked about how my classmates best buddy was passed out at the hotel.  My old classmate and I continued our discussion of epistemology and how it affected intelligence.

When the German lady said she had to leave for San Bruno, the roaster made to leave too.  My old classmate and I watched the bartender clearing the bar and then we walked to16th.  I was asleep at around two in the morning.

The next day I had breakfast with my friend and hung out on Geary.  Later we went to Fillmore via the parking lot at Saint Dominic's.  She took a 22 Union and I rode my bike to meet her at Wrecking Ball.  I met a guy that she knew.  We had coffee and I took notes.  Then we went looking for a shops but didn't find what we were looking for.  We went to the bus stop and I said bye to her as she boarded.  After that I went to the phone shop and then I returned to the 22 bus.  I rode to Geary and transferred cash at the bank.  Then I bought a mouse and rode home.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Session on Mountain Geography

On the thirty-first of March I wrote that I rushed to RWC but the train was late.  My old classmate was at the apartment before me.  My friend and I sat in the living room then and played catch up.  He shared his plans and I told him about bike party.  He had complicated plans for Friday.

My old classmate and I took the F to Powell and walked to the Hilton where he registered before we grabbed some food and ascended the crowded stairs to the session on mountain geography.   There had been a cancelation so while waiting for an interim speaker to set up we discovered that our old teacher was scheduled to speak.

There were two speakers before his and his wife came in to watch.  The moderator had to deal with a yelly guy after the last speaker went over.  I also saw a professor from Sonoma State.  We spoke to our old professor and his wife on the way out.

We had a drink in the lobby while my old classmate figured out where we would meet his brother and I interacted with a professor from my master’s committee that just happened to walk by.  After that we went to BART and went to 24th.  We bumped into the moderator on the way and he told us about the yelly guy-- apparently he was a not so nice person with the climate group that had a business meeting coming up.

My old classmate’s brother was at the Napper Tandy waiting for us.  We shared the details about our lives.  He had taken a new job on account of his family situation and I was able to share my experiences with him.  We told him about our interaction with the session moderator.  The trivia lady showed up then and my old classmate and I said bye his brother as the Warriors game was ending.

We walked to Ken Ken then and talked about old acquaintances.  We talked about epistemology while eating.  I noted that he confused tools with knowledge.  We went for a drink then and saw another old classmate working behind the bar who surprisingly was working.  He told us that someone had quit and that he had taken her shift.

We met the bartender’s girlfriend and on the way out we talked to his coworker.  He said he would talk to people about us.  Later on our way past 16th we talked about the bars in the old days.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Meeting for Dinner

On the twenty-ninth of March I wrote that I had left the day before from work and was grateful for the bike having been fixed.  My friend had said she was staying in Alameda so I had very little to do after I had transferred Mib to 16th and rode to the apartment.  One of the roommates let me out when I was ready and I took the F to 3rd and back tracked to the Hilton.  I found my session organizer easily and I walked with a session chair to Kuleto’s where the group was meeting for dinner.  We found the chair and a presenter- both were from Vancover- for the session after mine.  She told me that she studied ag and he was presenting African environmental risk.

The rest of the group showed up a bit later with the organizer and we sat down to eat.  There was initial interest in what I did for a living but I did my best to let it be known that I absolutely hated it.  On of the chairs at this point asked me what my dream job was then.  That was when I shared my interest in car free jobs, advocacy and lifestyles as a consultant.  I asked the lady across from me- a planner in Santiago- what the session she was chairing was and she said planning pedestrian infrastructure.

When things wound down I paid my bill and walked the african environmentalist to the hotel.  Later I walked to Market and returned to the apartment.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I interacted with my friend a bit before running out of the apartment at around 8.  I took the underground to Powell and went to the Hilton.  I got a cup of coffee and a bit to eat and opened the computer and finished my presentation.  I wanted to quit three times but was able to get through the whole thing in under three hours.

I got another coffee then and checked the conference room.  Then I went up to Sutter and had a meal before returning to the conference room to set up.  There was a lady who had a computer.  She and her colleagues were French.  I asked them to take some photos.  Later I did my presentation.  I had a commanding presence and I could see Lenore in the back agreeing with my statements about the car free lifestyle.

The French lady presented and I decided that her research was great.  There were three others.  One was on grading neighborhoods for bikeability in Taiwan.  I went out for a second between sessions and returned to watch the session after mine.  There were three other people.  The organizer sat next to me for a bit and I got to talk to him too.  I said bye to them before heading back to the station and catching a K to Van Ness and walking to the apartment.  I missed the F.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Frankfurt, Köln, Munich

I was working on the blog for several hours until my friend showed up.  She and mom sat for a while as I was writing.  Mom had choir for Easter and so my friend sat with dad after he dropped her off.

When I finished up we walked to Celia’s.  We discovered that they were closed though and Outerlands was full up so we caught an N bus to 25th.  Dad complained a lot about the walk- he had wanted to drive.  We walked to Noriega and my friend had an easy time.  The sunset was really colorful.  We got a table at Sunset Reservoir easily and then we ordered a shared meal.  Dad got an easy item.  

We talked about his mother in law meeting her my grandfather.  Dad said that she called him a drunk.  He had also told us about his trip from London to Hamburg to Copenhagen.  He said that after he had gone from there to Berlin via Hamburg he had returned to Hamburg and went to Frankfurt, Köln, Munich and a few other towns.  He always slept on the train instead of staying at hotels.

I had a favorite drink and dad had a few.  We had to go pretty soon after that and had an okay time on the return.  Later mom needed a ride so we picked her up.  I was asleep at 11.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I went out for coffee with my friend on our bikes.  We spent an hour with her tango cohort.  Then we rode back to the house and I typed about Frankfurt.  I noted then that I wanted to review the Anlage, Thurn and Taxis, and Innenstadt.

A little later the two of us walked to my sister’s with my mom.  Mom had texted dad and that caused him to drive around looking for us the whole time we were walking.  My brother and I interacted and it was apparent that I couldn’t do anything about it either.  Dad was clearly worried when we were standing at the door to my sister’s after we had walked up Sunset and Ulloa.

I went in and said hi to the nibblings and went upstairs with my brother.  We gave him the chickens that the roommate had made.  I sat with my brother-in-law in the living room and ate the buffet items.  I got a cup of coffee and we all went out to watch the kids look for eggs.  My niece had wanted to ‘win’ the search but the boys were too aggressive.  We went to the kitchen and I made toast because we had forgotten our French bread.  My neice complained about the boys then and they got a good yelling at.

After that I went on a walk with my brother in the Grove and after we had taken a moment to catch our breath.  Later we hung out in the living room and talked until dad came by to gather us up.  We went down and said goodbye to everyone.  My brother-in-law had decided to take his family to a party anyway.

On the way to the parent’s house my brother shared his story about biking around Orange County.  At the house we continued the conversation over his life and the ladies did crafts until he had to go.  I went out and waved him and dad away and then I went up and conferred with mom.  When she said that the day would start winding down my friend and I got ready and caught a bus to the Haight.  On the bus we discussed our lives and I worked on our notes.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

The Pancetta and Chard

On the twenty-sixth of March I wrote that the night before I had wanted to go to Box Dog but the busses said otherwise.  I gave up and decided to return to the computer but I had initiated a software update and so ended up sitting there waiting for an hour.  

I said bye to mom and dad after I was finished typing and took the seven to Little Chihuahua.  It was packed but most of the people were alright.  I sat and ate next to two guys in their forties.  They were talking about bikes and friends.  After that I went to Page Bar and looked at my phone before I left.

In the morning of the day I wrote this I was up a bit early.  My friend told me that she was having trouble so I waited on her until 830.  We went to whole foods and walked around with a cup of coffee until I had eggs, potatoes and toast.  I also got pancetta and chard.

When I returned to the apartment I needed to take a moment to catch my breath because I was tired.  My friend had shacked up on the couch by the time I was ready to start making the meal.  When we sat down the pancetta and chard turned out to be very tasty.

When I headed out I made arrangements to buy the rootmmate’s chickens.  I went to the bike shop and got my bike with the new handlebars.  Then I grabbed my stuff and went to whole foods to drop a milk bottle before hopping an L to 46th.  The 18 took its time but I caught it at Rivera.  On the way I called and emailed the bike shops.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Heading to Checkpoint Charlie

On the twenty-fourth of March I noted that we left CK and took the tram to Alexander Platz.  There we walked past the Rathhaus Passage and the radio tower.  We had to navigate some crazy roadway to get to the U2 which we took to Freidrichstrasse.  Once there we stopped by the pharmacy and bank before heading to Checkpoint Charlie.

I took a picture there and noted that my friend was rapt in her attention to the place and I was surprised at her interest.  Eventually though she decided there were too many tourists for her taste.  We walked Muerstrasse and after a few blocks we ended up on CharlottenStrasse and eventually went into The Q and sat looking at Google Maps.

We then went to the Gallerie Lafayette, had chocolate and climbed to the top floor.  We didn’t find anything that we wanted though so we returned to the ground floor and eventually visited Newton on TaubenStrasse.  We looked at social media and had a couple of drinks.

We took the U2 back to the room.  I noted that the train was at the same level as The Q.  We got off at Wittensburg Platz and walked.  I left my friend to her thing and she took a nap.  Later we got ready for dinner.  We had identified a nice Osteria nearby but quickly learned that we needed to come back in about 45 minutes.

We returned to the room and packed then.  That took a while.  We thought we still had time so were about to go for some drinks but the waiters said they had a small table for us.  We split the burrata, a salad and the sausage pasta dish. There was tiramisu and I had the grappa.  They really liked us.  We returned to the room and went straight to sleep when we were done.

I got up at around 430 and tidied my things.  I ran off to Wittensburg Platz then with my friend but we were too late so we ended up waiting for the next train.  We went to Zoologischer Garten then and transferred to a bus which proved easier to find than I had anticipated.  We had 45 minutes but I knew that that was not enough.  My trip through security ended up eating a lot of that time.

I got me a cup of coffee and I posted our departure to Twitter.  The flight to Paris was easy.  We had coffee and a croissant and that was it.  In fact the taxiing actually took up about one eighth of the trip.  We got off the plane and rushed to the next.  In the process we passed through a couple of security checks.

We found a seat next to a large group.  Plenty of the people in our lounge were sleeping.  One set of people was waiting for another flight altogether.  I got coffee with the rest of the cash in my pocket.  At the last minute I wanted macarons so I returned to the shops to do that.  We were screened a second time as we boarded and we tried to make sense of why.  I decided it was because we had been on a connecting flight.

My friend went through several movies on the flight and I went between napping and looking at the view of the clouds.  Eventually I started writing.  When I had stopped doing that I started typing.  I tried the computer but it started to die.  I ended up spending the rest of the trip typing on my phone.  I noted that that had turned out better than I had anticipated.  In the meantime my friend’s movies kept distracting me.  I also took a bunch of naps.

We got up a few times but at that point I was no longer entirely coherent.  The plane started its long descent then and we got to know our neighbor.  That continued all the way to customs.  There was a second passport check on the way.  In the end we went through the door together and the officer was all smiles.

We went to BART and repacked.  Then we walked from 16th to Four Barrel and laughed at other peoples’ over heard conversations.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Museum Island

On the twenty-third of March I wrote that by the time we had arrived in Spandau I had written up most of the previous days events while my friend had dozed.  Later we went to the dining car and I had had a long conversation with the man sitting across from me about the art show in the station he had gotten off in- an international event that happened only every five years.

We got off at Berlin hbf and sat at a bakery trying to figure out the train system.  Eventually we established that we would have to take an S and then the U2 to Wittenburger platz.  When we got off I could see some of the famous buildings a few miles down the road as we passed Dolores Burritos on our way to the hotel.

The desk clerk knew about the birds and was effusive over our room and stay.  She was so thorough that we had little trouble after that with our room.  After we settled in we posted some pictures and then figured out how to get to the Berliner’s place.  We passed a few older buildings on the way but most of the buildings were newer.

Our host was in the kids room as we came in-they were a family of four.  We got to know each other in the kitchen but went to the sitting room for lunch.  We sat and got to know each other for a while.  The eldest seemed well behaved and the other cute.  Our hostess was in the kitchen for a while so the host had to entertain.  I had a little trouble trying to connect with him but eventually made sense of it.

As the meal wound down the kids needed a walk so we took them out to the playground across the street.  It was witch themed.  The eldest, who was really independent and managed to climb all of the structures, needed help with the high bars.  There was a witch house with a slide that the youngest went down on his stomach because he was short.  I liked the rope swing because the seat was a big long and thick rope while the thing that it hung from were smaller ones.

They had given my friend a rainbow umbrella which she used as we returned to the house and I read stories while Julia made dinner.  They were impressed with my skills as an English teacher.  When we sat down we discovered that they had made a delicious soup a few days earlier.  We got into a political discussion.  It was raining when we left.  We went to Potemkin afterwards to have a drink over our ongoing discussions.  I went to bed around midnight.

On the twenty-second of March I was up at 930.  My friend and I had breakfast at Potemkin.  I wanted the french toast but ended up with the fruit and cheese instead.  She had a huge breakfast.  We returned to the room and prepared for fain and then walked to Schwabisher Strasse.  There was a special entrance- through the building- there that we had to look for.

There was an iconic church in Shoenburg that we had to pass, which I made a photgraph of on the way to Double Eye.  When we ordered we found all the baristas spoke english.  Later we walked to a station and went to Mockenbrucke near Kreuzberg and walked to Potsdamer plats with a bunch of high school students.  I took a picture of a magpie on the way.  After that we had a somber experience at Ebertstrasse.  We got lost amongst the steles and rain.  I got yelled at for walking on them too.

We went to Dunkin Donuts when the rain became unbearable and then proceeded to the Brandanburg Tor where we took a photo.  Then we met one of the Berliner’s at her office.  She had us sit down for coffee and snacks before she received a message from her husband saying to meet her at the Museum Island.

We walked through Humboldt University and found him standing next to the Spree with the car and the kids.  From there we walked on to the island and then to the Dome.  Later we took photos in front of the palace which they described as being rebuilt in spite of all of the problems.

We returned to the car and we crowded into it to drive to the Berlin Wall Memorial.  There I got lost and they waited for a long time in the elevator.  I took photos and then we bought postcards.  Then we got back into the car and past the Tiergarten to their place and had dinner.

This time my friend read book to the kids whileI played with them.  At dinner I made faces at one of them and the other really liked it.  They wanted us to visit their dance instructor and the hostess spent some time making calls to people.  We sat with the host for a bit and when the babysitter had shown up and they walked us to the hotel.  I went to bed around midnight.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this we were up at 930 and went to breakfast in the restaurant beneath our hotel that the guest house had started.  The food was ok and the coffee bad.  We returned to the room and then dropped the clothes for cleaning before going over to Wittenburger platz and dropping the post cards.

After that we got tickets and took the U2 to Senefelderplatz.  THere was a film being made at a nearby cafe.  We walked past the water tower there and went to No Fire No Glory and I spent a lot of time writing.  I really liked the place- real neighborhood quality.  We looked at a trike on the way out and then we went to a cafe nearby called CK where I finished writing.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Quadruple Shot of Jack

On the twenty-first of March I wrorte that we left Holy Cross and walked through the Romer and up to the Zeil until we got to the center where we saw a bunch of German and American skaters.  We walked around Goethestrasse then and finally returned to the hotel.  We rested then for about an hour.

When it was time to leave we walked through the park to my old friend’s and gave her some Parisian breads.  I looked at her bikes in wonder and then she walked us to the same cafe that we had gone to that morning.  So we walked on and talked about the city.  My friend and walked with her then to an almost random place on Bergerstrasse where we talked about old acquaintances and times.

As we were leaving we discovered that my brioche had not arrived so we took it with us.  After a brief stop at the bank we then walked through the Chinese Garden, where we took some photos.  Then we followed the old city wall looking at old buildings until we found one of the city’s old towers across from a hotel with a paternoster which we rode while taking pictures.  We then continued our walk past the Thurn and Taxis estate.

We ended up retracing our steps from the morning from there but this time we crossed the Main via the Altbruck and went to Sachsenhausen.  I took a great picture of the Porticus on the way.  We stopped in Alt Frankfurt where I insisted we get a drink at one of the dive bars there.  The bartender screwed up my drink and I had to have a quadruple shot of Jack with the smallest amount of coke in it.

We walked on then and I noted that the old wall- on Muerstrasse- there had a set of buildings that looked very gate-like.  My old friend had chosen a very cute restaurant there.  We had cider and ordered my friend an apple juice to tide her over until we ate with an acquaintance that had come to dine with us.

We caught our new visitor up on a bunch of stuff when the food came.  I also took the time to learn about her since she and I had last seen each other.  I noted while my friend and her got to know each other that my conversations with my old friend didn’t often go anywhere because she didn’t seem to remember a lot about the times we had spent together.  One example was in how I had accompanied her to Villingen Schwenningen.   I noted too that it was a long time ago.

The conversation mostly came down to the present then.  We had gotten to know each other and talked about the food and shared with one another.  I had an apertif and we killed the cider.  We were all full.

When we left I tried to ride our acquaintance’s bike and she and I talked at length.  I noted that my friend’s talked a lot during this period.  Our hosts said bye to us then and my friend and I went up to the hotel to start packing.  I was asleep late and the night was a confusing array of cloud like pillows and sheets and a strange dream.

I had attended a strange theatrical event that happened to include James Woods.  At some point I had sat next to him in the audience and had leaned into him while drinking my juice and he told me to stop.  Then he told me that he wanted me to go away.  As I did so a bunch of audience members sitting behind me were outraged and their complaints had begun disrupting the theater show.  I awoke to them yelling and throwing popcorn.

My friend and I discussed the dream later.  The bags were already packed at this point so we had very little to do to get going.  I did situps and then we settled the bill, had the house breakfast and walked to Konstablerwach to catch a train to the station.  However, we ended up going to Frankfurt Sud and had to double back.  Eventually we made it to the correct platform and I had a coffee before we boarded.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

A Contentious Twenty Minutes

On the twentieth of March I wrote that I had quit writing halfway through the trip to Frankfurt because it was so exciting to watch the countryside roll by.  The acquaintance we had in Frankfurt- with whom I had traveled through Asia with- replied to my message.  She was surprised at my imminent arrival and said that she hadn’t expected me that night.  That was when I received a reminder that the stay in Frankfurt was not for another day.

This confirmed that our plans were a mess.  We had two rooms on the same night in different cities but just one ticket to Berlin.  A contentious twenty minutes later we were at the station.  My friend was rebooking our rooms and I had to fetch her from a cafe when I realized that I might need her to rebook the train.  However, we quickly learned that we couldn’t rebook Rail Europe and had to instead book through DeBahn itself.  We decided that it would be easiest to simply eat the loss and rebook.  I sent a message to our acquaintance soon after this saying things had cleared up.

Later were navigated the S Bahn on the way to the hotel.  I had us get off the wrong stop but we ended up on the next train and it was easy.  I went to bed at 1030 but awoke several times.  When I got up I noted as I tidied that the room was in good condition but that the furniture was poor quality.  My friend and I were hungry when we met around 930.

We walked through the park nearby (it was the old city wall) and tried to find a place in Freidburger Platz but the one place we found NordLicht was too busy for us so we went to Strand Cafe and had a good meal of eggs and juice.  I had coffee later.  The waiter was enthusiastic.

Later we walked to a cash machine and I reoriented myself to remember where I had gone the last time I was there.  We took a U to the plaza across from the giant Euro then and walked through the Römerplatz and looked at the Main before settling in at Holy Cross for coffee.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.