der Landadel - the gentry

dan and natalie discuss the TV tower as icon of cold war era berlin in spy movies - and where dan can get some cake.

my friend natalie, a native german, was here this weekend. she taught us many things - like the emergency numbers, which little towns are worth a trip, and how to say chiropractor in german (it's "chiropractor" with a german accent). she also gave us a guided tour of some of her favorite neighborhoods. i now feel a little more comfortable with berlin and will be a better tour guide for our visitors.

we taught natalie something too - the word "gentrification". as we walked through east berlin neighborhoods she would point out buildings that had been renovated and those that hadn't. we discussed rising house prices, saw capitalism at work in former soviet territory, and chose to participate in it too. (as the temperature dropped those shops and cafés became very inviting.)

after our long day of walking we relaxed at home and researched events for the night's entertainment. through our research we discovered that angelina jolie and brad pitt were in berlin this weekend looking for a new pad. talk about gentrification!