Demo Double Standards

Saturday was an absolute embarassment and disgrace!  Two neighbors and I drove downtown to participate in a demo for freedom and against vaccine mandates... I had actually been to two previous demos downtown and there had been thousands of people.  But this Saturday, there were maybe 50 people?!  The police also evidently expected more people, as there were 2-3 times as many police as participants.  Where did all the people go?!  What's changed in the past week?!  Did I somehow completely miss something?!

It was a disaster from the start... the police kept blocking us and requiring everyone to wear masks and social distance OUTSIDE.  It took us about 10 minutes to walk 100 meters away from the Brandenburger Tor.  My neighbors and I were creeped out by the whole thing - more and more police kept showing up and surrounding us.  It was obvious they wanted to break it up, and they kept closing in on us... so we just bailed.  I had mixed feelings about leaving... but it really seemed pointless with so few people and aggressive police tactics.  

Anyway.  On the way back to the car, we decided to check out the demo for peace in the Ukraine and Russia... which was on the other side of the Brandenburger Tor.  I kid you not:  there were several hundred people gathered, and the majority was maskless.  Even most of the police were walking around without masks on?!  Why the double standard?!  Why does the police totally crack down on our group, require official mask exception letters for people not wearing masks, and constantly stop our demo because a few pople are maskless?  But literally a few feet away, no one cares?  

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it.  It's an absolute disgrace.

Even two days later I'm still wondering where all the people are... in two weeks, the government is going to start implementing mandatory vaccines for certain occupational groups.  Where are all the nurses that were there two weeks ago?  And the firemen I saw last Monday?  And the students who aren't allowed to attend classes unless they're vaccinated?  Are they all out shopping because the non-vaccinated are allowed to shop again?  Though they're still not allowed to sit down and eat inside at a restaurant... and their jobs are still on the line...

So that was Saturday... and then Sunday, I read that there were Russia/ Ukraine protests downtown with thousands of people.  Of course I'm against war (who isn't, other than politicians?!)... but what I don't understand is how people can take it to the streets for other countries, but not for their own country and their own freedom.  Or am I the crazy one?

#Berlin #Covid

Superman and Mary Elizabeth, Part II

 After we got engaged, we started talking about how and when to make it official.  I had never really wanted a wedding, and always thought it was too much... too expensive, too many people, too much attention, etc.  But we still wanted to do something little with our family.  So about 1 month before flying to Texas in September 2018, we decided to go ahead and tie the knot there.  Note that this was Superman's first time in the USA, and first time to meet my family.  It's pretty brave to marry someone the first time you're in their home country and meet their family.  But that's Superman!  :D 

Fortunately, my family thought he was great from the start (who doesn't like Superman?!), and he felt the same way.  So on September 23rd, 2018, we had a little wedding in my sister Emita's backyard, and Kenny initiated the ceremony.  That evening we all went out for Tex-Mex, and after that we had a delicious wedding cake (that matched my dress!) back at Emita's.  It was absolutely perfect - spontaneous, stress-free, and with my favorite people in the world! 

Here are two more pictures from the photo book I made him... in the first picture you can see the ceremonty and a few family pictures we took afterwards - also, the first ever brother picture!  In the second picture you can see the "after party"... as well as our beautiful rose-gold rose-flowered rings and my wedding legos!  What more could a girl want?  :D

(Here's Part I, in case you missed it)

German "Democracy" in 2022

The first debate in parliament regarding vaccine mandates was this week... so I decided to go down town and check out the officially registered demo that was supposed to take place around the Brandenburger Tor.  I figured it would be interesting and wanted to see things with my own eyes... plus I couldn't really concentrate in my "mobile office" (aka kitchen).

Upon exiting the Friedrichstrasse train station (one of the main stations downtown), there was a long row of police vans/ cars... and there were even more police than when Obama was in Berlin?!?

From Friedrichstrasse, I walked towards "Unter den Linden", the street leading towards the Brandenburger Tor.  The entire street was blocked off and there were hundreds of police everywhere... even the adjacent streets leading towards the Brandenburger Tor were blocked, and only people from the Press or with work badges were allowed to enter the area.  

In this next pictures you can see that the police were blocking the road leading to the Brandenburger Tor, but some civilians were there anyway...

So I spoke with several police... and tried to be a respectful, friendly, and masky as possible.

Me: "Do you know what's going on here?"

Police: "Some people are trying to start a demo because of the vaccine debates in parliament today."

Me: "But isn't the demo officially registered? May I ask why people can't participate in the demo?"
Police: "These are police procedures."

Aha... so they were conducting "police procedures" (polizeiliche Maßnahmen), which I assume is Newspeak for preventing unpersons from comitting doubleplusungood activities resulting from thoughtcrimes.

Me: "Ok, but it looks like some civilians are behind you, closer to the Brandenburger Tor.  Are only the press and politicans allowed?"

Police: "No, those are demonstrators; they're currently barricaded."

Me: "So I can't go join them?"

Police: "No, as I said... we're conducting police procedures and no one can go in our out of this area."

It was insane; there were even police from out of state who were in Berlin to make sure that no one could protest the vaccine debates.  The police managed to divide the people into smaller groups and barricade several groups so that there was no large single gathering/ demo.

Me: "Were there problems with the protestors or with the demo?"

Police: "Yes, the people aren't following the Covid measures."

Me: "Oh, ok... such as...?"

Police: "They're not wearing masks or social distancing."

Our neighbor's mother was there with several other people, and was reporting live from within the barricade... she said that the police kept surrounding and closing in on people so that they were unable to social distance at all.  And then the police would take down their data because they weren't social distancing.  

Is this how a democracy works in Germany in 2022?  How did we even get to this point?

#PoliceSelfie #ThoughtPolice #Berlin #Covid

My 4th Monday Walk

Last Monday was my 4th Walk/ Demo... as always, it was both super encouraging, and quite interesting.  This time the count was 1,900 people... and let me tell you: the more people we are, the more interesting it gets.  As our group grows, so does the number of police... and we've also had a growing group of counter-protesters.

Our "Walk" has turned into an officially registered "Demo"... meaning we have to comply with the current Covid-gathering-regulations, and we're escorted by the police.  Ironically, at an OUTSIDE demo again Covid and medical tyranny, we had to wear masks.  But ok... as long as the same rules apply for everyone and there's no differentiation between vaccinated/ non-vaccinated, then that's the least of my worries.  

There were definitely more police than in the previous weeks... and this time they evidently wanted to make their presence known, and even provoked people on a few occasions.  Instead of just escorting us or standing between us and the counter-protesters, they were mingling with us and trying to enforce the mask mandates.  Really?!  Don't the police have something better to do than try to convince 1,900 people who are OUTSIDE to put their masks on?  Sure, they're only doing their job... but it just seems so ridiculous. 

About 4 people were pulled out of the crowd for not wearing masks, and the police took their data... evidently these 4 will get a letter and be fined?!  To me, it's no more than scare tactics and wanting to make examples out of people.

In the first video, you can see me standing in the middle of the street between our people and the police... the police basically stopped us and blocked us from walking further until everyone put their masks back on.  We stood and waited for about 5-10 minutes... but it didn't escalate in any way, which was good.  It really seemed like the police wanted to demonstrate their power, provoke people, and see to what extent people would comply.  Very bizarre.

There were about 100-150 counter-protesters again... most of them with signs like "Go Chip Yourself", "Stop complaining and get vaccinated", "Grannies against Right-Wing" etc.  The media likes to make this a "right vs. left" issues, but it's NOT!  You would think that both right, left and middle would be against government and medical tyranny... but no, our current anti-fascist-left-wingers are instead promoting fascist-like government mandates and medical control.  Oh, the irony.

Below are a few videos... about 20-30 firefighters even walked with us this time!  

#Spaziergang #Tegel #TegelStehtAuf #Berlin #Covid

Superman and Mary Elizabeth, Part I

It's pretty crazy thinking about the changes from 2016 (last time I blogged) to today... I never would have expected to wake up married to Superman in the middle of an apocalyptic pandemic.  So today, I thought it might be fun to write our "how we met" story!

We were originally neighbors in our small row of appartments... he lived in #30 and I was in #36.  He was outside quite a bit with his little pug dog "Püppy"... and always enjoyed chatting with all of the neighbors.  So sometimes I would see him when I got home from work, and we would chat outside for a few minutes.

One day I was sitting on my balcony, and he asked if the little blue Toyota Aygo parked outside was mine...

Superman: "Isn't that your car...?"

Me: "Emm... yes... how come?"

Superman: "You realize that three out of four lug nuts are missing from one of your tires...?"

So with his super-human observation skills, he had noticed that one of my tires only had one lug nut.  As a thank-you for possibly saving my life, I started giving him cupcakes and cookies whenever I baked. 

After the tire occurernce, we started talking a little more, and I even took walks with him and Püppy sometimes. I was going through a hard time at that point (break-up, not many friends, no church), so it was nice having someone who lived close by that I could talk to.  Superman is a little older than me, and we both aren't really eachothers "types", so we were able to develop a great and close friendship first, without any drama.

In June 2017, on Superman's birthday, he told me that he had liked me for quite a while.  It was a shock at first because he was one of my best friends, and I kind of saw him as an older brother.  But after a while, I realized that I coulnd't imagine living without him!

One other interesting thing that happened before we started dating... I had started going to church again, and Superman and I frequently talked about God and the Universe on our long walks together.  At the beginning, he would kind of poke fun at me for what I believed (in a loving way, of course).  One Friday evening at my Life Group, I was inspired by one of the ladies who often had spiritual conversations with different friends and neighbors... so I prayed that God would SHOW me that He's working in people around me, and that I would maybe be able to have a life-altering conversation about Him with someone as well.  So that was Friday... and Saturday, Superman asked me if I was going to church the next day, and if he could check it out with me.  I was pretty shocked, but excited that he was interested.  And he absolutely loved the church - it was different than anything he had ever experienced.  In the past, church was always sad and serious for him... but our little "free church" was something completely different.  It was so cool seeing how God worked in both of our lives.

In July 2018, Superman decided to forge an engagement ring for me, and set up an appointment at a little blacksmith shop outside of Berlin. I had always wanted an engagement ring with my husband's birthstone... and his happens to be ruby, which is perfect (#pink)!  :D  The blacksmith had several beautiful little rubies... I recall going outside with him and Superman and looking at the different rubies to see which one shimmered the best and looked the best in natural sunlight.  

A couple of weeks after creating the ring, he proposed!  After work one day, I came home to find Superman in my appartment in a suit... and he asked me to marry him!  To celebrate, we went to a little ice cream shop downtown :)  It was absolutely perfect!

Here's a picture out of the photo book I made for him later... on the left side you can see him forging my ring... and on the right side are pictures from our engagement!

I'm NOT a F-$&%!-ing Nazi!

As there seem to be doubts, I would like to take this moment to clarify: I'm NOT a freaking Nazi!  And I don't even personally know any Nazis or Neo-Nazis!

At the past couple of demo-walks I've been to, groups of counter-protesters have started forming... and many of them hold signs accusing us (people who want FREEDOM of medical choice) as Nazis, extremists, radical-right-wingers and "Querdenker" (a derogatory term for someone questioning the Covid politics).  Part of me pities them, as this is what they're fed on a daily basis from the mass media... but it's still pretty annoying.

So when I got home, I vented to my dear sister Emita about the "anti Nazi" demonstrators screaming at us.... 

Emita: "I don't get the anti-Nazi demonstrators.  Were they against y'all or do they agree with y'all?"

Me: "They were yelling that we're Nazis! And people from antifa were demonstrating against us... shoulnd't they be against the government deciding what you do with your body, mandates, control, medical tyrannt, etc?  Isn't THAT closer to fascism?"

Emita: "Yeah that seems totally backwards... like the Nazis literally did medical experiments on people..."

Preach it, sister!

One other point I'd like to make: BOTH of my grandfathers, Herman Joseph Kossler and Edgar Willard Barber, fought in WW2 against actual Nazis.  Grandpa Kossler was an Admiral in the US Navy, and Grandpa Barber was a Pilot in the US Air Force.

So to all the people calling me a Nazi, I would like to say:  BOTH of my grandfathers fought in WW2 against the REAL Nazis, and contributed to their defeat... giving YOU the freedom today to demonstrate in the streets, calling me a Nazi.  Congratulations!  How about using your freedom to read a freaking history book instead of repeating history?!?

Flowery Art :)

Super exciting - yesterday I picked up my piece of art that I've been wanting for years!  Several years ago, I saw some pieces by Isabelle Menin at a little art gallery/ shop here in Berlin (Lumas), and it was love at first sight! Her background is actually in graphic design, but now she mixes nature photography with digital art, in what she calls "discorded landscapes." So basically, she takes pictures of individual flowers, augments them, and creates these partially realistic/ partially abstract fairytale-like collages.

Digital art is of course different than, say, a physical painting created by an artist... so what she does is only authorize a certain amount of prints of each piece: normally in 4 different sizes, and 150 prints in each size.  As fewer and fewer prints are available, the work is then classified as a "best seller", and the price for the remaining prints increases.  Fortunately, she had a relatively new piece, so it was still in the lower price-range... and costed about half es much as the "best seller" pieces that I was originally looking at.  So thanks to my Christmas bonus, I finally decided to go for it and buy it!  And it's absolutely gorgeous!  I even like it better than some of the older pieces - the color tones are really perfect - lots of white, pink and purple flowers... and a turqoise background.

So I have #27 of 150... and a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist herself :)

Here are a few pictures :)

Numbers don't Lie...

After hearing from multiple people that "numbers don't lie", I decided to take a look at some official numbers myself... and I found a few interesting charts.  What's more relaxing on a Sunday afternoon than searching the internet for numbers and charts?

These first two charts are from the worldometer website, which has statistics for different topics worldwide: Corona Stats - Germany

As you can see, the number of new cases has definitely increased over the past several days and even weeks, and is even double that of the first two Covid waves.  But interestingly, the number of deaths has remained comparitavely low, and is about half of what it was during the first wave.  It seems like everyone is in panic because there are so many new cases... but if you look at the death toll, it's not on the same level at all.  

This next chart is from the official Berlin Covid website that has things like the traffic light, vaccine numbers, measures, etc.: Berlin Covid Site

Here you can see the number of hospitalizations due to Covid... split into fully vaccinated, non-vaccinated, and unknown.  The January data isn't yet complete, but if you look at the data from October to December, you can see that between 25% and 28% of people hospitalized with Covid are fully vaccinated.  My interpretation of the data is as follows: yes, the vaccine is helping to a certain extent, but it's not helping enough for it to be mandatory.  For example, if only 1-5% of of people hospitalized were vaccinated, then that would be a different story.  But it looks like the vaccine isn't as successful as originally anticipated.

The next several charts are from the Robert Koch Institue site, which is comparable to the CDC in the US.  They have a weekly progress report for Covid that I took a look at: RKI Progress Report - January 6

The first chart shows the Covid fatalities... which confirms the validity of the worldometer chart above.  Again - yes, the number of cases has increased (perhaps because we're also testing more?), but the fatalities are significantly lower than the first wave.

This second chart shows the hospitalizations per age group over the past several weeks.  Thankfully, the hospitalizations are decreasing!  Despite the fact that cases are increasing...

And this final chart shows shows only the Omicron data from the past couple of weeks.  This is also important, as the media is creating such a hype around the new Omicron variant.  But if you look at the numbers, only 9 people (of 83 Million in Germany) are currently in the ICU due to Omicron. (Line "Auf Intensivstation betreute symptomatische Covid-19 Fälle").  What's even more bizarre is that 6 people (out of  these 9) are either vaccinated, recovered, or boostered.

And 7 people (of 83 Million) have unfortunately passed away due to Omicron... this is the last section titled "Verstorbene symptomatische Covid-19 Fälle".  Of these 7 people, 5 people were either vaccinated, recovered or boostered.

I'll stop bothering everyone with numbers now... :)  Just thought it would be interesting to take a look at some official numbers from various German sites, as people keep telling me "numbers don't lie" and "look at the numbers."  So I did! :)

My 1st Monday Walk

For several weeks, people throughout Germany have been taking walks on Monday evening to show their support for freedom, vaccine choice, and less discriminatory Covid measures (2G/ 3G).  In Germany, demos have to be registered with the state... so these walks have been a great unofficial alternative.  

The focus of these walks is really freedom, peace and unity - the people walking are encouraged to be peaceful and friendly, not carry signs, and avoid confrontations with the  police.  Also, there's no centralized leader, which is typical for a demo... it's really just a bunch of people who "happen" to be taking a walk at the same time.  Currently, gatherings of more than 10 people aren't allowed (even outside)... but as long as everyone isn't officially gathered, and is walking/ moving, there's really nothing anyone can do.

The media portrays these people as extremists, anti-vaxxers and "Querdenker" (a term recently coined for people skeptical about the Covid situation)... so I wanted to check it out for myself.  Last Monday, I pulled myself together, got nice and bundled up, and headed over to the starting point close to where we live.  Originally I wanted to just observe from afar and report things to our neighbors (who are also considering going)... but somehow I ended up walking along with everyone!  It was a great mixture of people... young couples with families, older/ retired people, students, etc.  And no one looked like a right-wing-extremist-skinhead...

All participants were peaceful and friendly, even the police officers.  At no point did I feel uncomfortable, threatened or in danger... though just to be safe, I kept some distance, walking beside the crowd.  I've heard from friends in other parts of Germany that the police tried to block the walks, provoke the crowd, and were even violent in some cases.  So it was nice to have a positive experience in my part of town.

We were expecting maybe 50-100 people... I live a little north of Berlin, and my part of town is pretty quiet and boring compared to the inner city.  So we were shocked when 500-600 people showed up (most counts were 580, including children).  It was super encouraging!

After spamming my neighbors with videos, I was able to convince several to accompany me next Monday!  So it'll definitely be exciting to go with a few other people.  And it's a great mixed group... 3 Germans, 1 Bulgarian, 1 Armenian, 1 American... 3 vaccinated, 1 unvaccinated, 1 recovered, 1 unknown.  And we're all fine with eachother and our decisions!  We just wanted freedom of choice when it comes to medicine, and no more discrimination based on personal medical decisions.

Here are a couple of short videos I took...

#Spaziergang #Tegel #TegelStehtAuf #Berlin #Covid

Neurologist Appointments

Last Summer/ Fall, I was having an extremely hard time with the whole Covid situation and feeling homesick.  The only thing about Covid that doesn't frighten me is actually getting Covid... I was struggling more with the political and social aspect of the current development.  And not seeing my family for almost two years didn't help the situation.

So Superman set up an appointment for me at the Neurologist, and even accompanied me there on my first visit.  We decided that I should go on anti-depressants again, just to help me get out of the hole I was in.

Several weeks after the first visit, they communicated on their website that they were now "3G".  Allow me to summarize: the neurologist I went to, seeking help for fear and depression regarding Covid politics and social ostracism, was now participating in the strictest regulations, which weren't even a requirement for doctors.  Thankfully, that seemed to backfire for them, and a couple of months later they were back practicing like normal doctors should.

My 3rd appointment was at the beginning of this week... and it's just so strange to me how they are pressuring their patients to get vaccinated.  Sure, if someone is in a high-risk group, or if someone hasn't had Covid yet... then they might want to consider the vaccine.  But I'm healthy, not high-risk, and have survived the virus twice... so why won't everyone just leave me alone?!?

Neurologist: "You might want to consider getting a booster."
Me: "But I literally just had Covid two weeks ago."
Neurologist: "Yes, so maybe you should consider getting it in March."
Me: "I thought the booster was every six months... which would be June?"
Neurologist: "Well things keep changing, so we can talk again in March."
Me: "So you think that I should get the booster although I've had Covid twice, and the 2nd time all I had was a headache?"
Neurologist: "Well, the booster will protect you from more severe symptoms."
Me: "But I only had a headache for 3 days."
Neurologist: "Yes, but the next variant could be even more dangerous."

Me: "That's what you said the 1st time I had Covid..."

Why the push?  Maybe I'm oblivious, but I feel fine.  My immune system evidently recognized it the 2nd time around and was able to extinguish it pretty quickly.  Again, if someone is high-risk, has pre-existing conditions, or decides to get vaccinated for whatever other reason, then that's perfectly fine.  But I cannot comprehend why recovered people like me are being pressured.

At least the medication is working... so I can laugh about conversations like this... though maybe it's even working too well.  Instead of sitting at home and crying because I feel discriminated against and am scared that I won't be able to go grocery store here soon... I'm doing other things: going to demos, buying expensive pieces of art, asking my boss for a raise, and driving everyone crazy with my high-energy levels.  I guess it could be worse?

Symptoms

Just thought it might be interesting for my dear readers to see some of the symptoms I had during my two bouts with Covid.  Superman and my experience was different than much of what we saw in the media... so I like to be open with what we went through and try to curb some of the fear and panic that so many people have faced.  

Our first round of Covid was in June/ July 2020... and at that point we didn't know anyone else personally who had been through Covid.  So this was completely new for us, and I was pretty shocked and scared at the beginning.

Here are the symptoms and their approximate duration during the first round in June/ July 2020:

• Loss of smell (about 8 weeks)
• Body aches and pains (about 2-3 weeks)
• Mild but frequent headache (about 1-2 weeks)
• Feeling spaced-out and unconcentrated (months and months...)
• Mental capacity below 100% (months and months... even up to today)
• Extreme fatigue after any physical activitiy (2-3 months)
• Sudden ability to speak Mandarin (just kidding)

The hardest thing was just feeling tired and worn out for months.  I couldn't even take a short walk or vaccum the living room without feeling like I had just run a marathon.  Though I never lost my sense of taste during Covid, my taste has changed slightly since being sick.  For example, I can't drink most carbonated drinks anymore (coke, pepsi, lemonade, etc.) because they taste like dishwashing soap.

Here are the symptoms/ duration for the second round in December 2021:

• Headache, especially painful behind my eyes (about 3 days)
• Mild body aches and pains (about 3 days)

And that was about it... so as you can see, the second time I had Covid, it was much milder than the first time... even without a vaccine. 

Sometimes Superman and I joke about wanting Covid again... sure, that might be morbid... but there are advantages to not smelling the neighbors when they chain smoke, not smelling trash in the almost-100-degree summer without AC, and not smelling not-so-pleasent scents emitted by husbands.  When my sense of smell slowly returned after about 2 months, it was a huge adjustment... everything stunk!

If anyone has any questions or concerns about Covid, or wants to chat with someone who has been through it twice, then let me know!  

1st Experience as "Genesen" (Recovered)

As most of you know, Superman and I had Covid back in June/ July 2020, before it was so popular. Without going into detail (I'll document that in another post), the course of the virus was relatively mild compared to what we had expected and seen in the media. I was able to work from home the entire time, and didn't even have to take any sick leave. 

Due to the fact the our symptoms and experience were pretty uneventful, I decided to wait with the vaccine. Then, at the beginning of December 2021, I tested positive again... this time, with even milder symptoms. I was actually quite ecstatic after testing positive, as I now have the "2G" status mentioned in my previous post, and will be a free citizen until my recovery certificate expires on May 30th 2022.

After 2 weeks of quarantine, I decided to go shopping again, which otherwise wouldn't be allowed because I'm not Covid-vaccinated.  All I wanted was a little bundt pan to make cinnamon bread for Christmas... and this turned out to be more complicated than originally anticipated.

The first stop was TKMaxx, as they have a great kitchen deparment... and I had even been in the store several days ago and seen a bundt pan that I wanted to purchase. At the store entrance, there was a line of people waiting to have their vaccine status checked to be able to enter.

Me: *shows my official (paper) letter of recovery from the health authorities*
TKMaxx Employee: "Do you have a QR code?  I'm not sure about this..."
Me: "No... I only have this official letter... they didn't give me a QR code.  But here's the QR code from my positive PCR test that was several weeks ago."
Employee: "Let me call my manager..."
Manager: "What's the problem here?"
Me: "I was actually in the store last week... and here's my recovery letter."

Manager: "But you need a QR code... and you have to be recovered for at least 30 days to enter our store. The employee shouldn't have let you in last week."

And then they proceeded to literally send me away, which was horribly embarassing, as I had held up the line and there were quite a few people who were waiting and observing the whole ordeal.

Ironically, as I was searching for a customer service e-mail later that day, I saw a statement promoting "inclusion and diversity" and speaking out against discrimination on their website. I guess that only refers to acceptance regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual preference, color, etc... but it's ok to discriminate people based on their personal medical decisions.

After being sent away from TKMaxx, I decided to give it a try at Fissler, a more high-end kitchen shop.

Me: *shows my official (paper) letter of recovery from the health authorities*
Fissler Employee: "Do you not have a QR code?"
Me: "No... I only have this official letter... they didn't give me a QR code.  But here's the QR code from my positive PCR test that was several weeks ago."
Employee: *monologue about being fined if I don't have the correct documents*
Me: "But this is an official document from the health authorities."
Employee: *monologue about the fact that I could have falsified the documents*
Me: "Of course... any document can be falsified?! But I'm recovered - you can even call the authorities if you like."
Employee: *monologue about the importance of QR codes*
Me: "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."
Employee: "Is vaccination not an option for you?"
Me: "That's my personal decision... and I'm recovered! So you're saying that although I'm recovered and have an official letter from the healther authorities, I'm not allowed to enter your EMPTY store and look at the bundt pans?"

The employee then proceeded to grant me access to his store... but he accompanied me to the bundt pans, staying by my side, and observing my every move until I left the store. I felt like a horrible person, like a criminal.

I will be boycotting both TKMaxx and Fissler in the future.

That afternoon, I went by the Apotheke (Drugstore), and got my official EU certificate of recovery, including the mark of the QR code. The lady there was super friendly and helpful, and even let me know which app to download and how to get my QR code in the app... 

Me: "Thanks so much for your help - I actually have a TKMaxx gift certificate, and would like you to have it... Merry Christmas!"

Employee: "Ohh, no, I can't take that!"

Me: "Please, take it - I'm going to be boycotting them..."

Employee: "But maybe in the new year you'll find a place in your heart to forgive them..."

Me: "Nope, no... no forgiveness here!!"

So hopefully she bought herself a little something nice for Christmas with the gift certificate.

And thanks to my wonderfully supportive and shopping-addicted husband, I had 3 little bundt pans delivered within the next several days and could choose my favorite one to keep!

International Traveling in Covidian Times

With all the craziness going on in the world, I decided to start documenting some of my experiences here in Germany again.  For the first time in almost two years (#covid), I was able to visit my family in Texas... and the comparison between the two countries was particularly interesting. 

Just a little background... here in Berlin we've had what we call a "3G" rule for months... meaning you have to be "geimpft" (vaccinated), "genesen" (recovered) or "getestet" (tested) to do even simple things like sit down and eat at a restaurant. Masks are also required indoors, and even outdoors in some of the busiest areas of town.

For larger and non-essential events and some shops, there is even the "2G" rule, meaning you have to be "geimpft" or "genesen".  This basically excludes everyone who is not Covid-vaccinated.  I even missed a Coldplay concert last year because I wasn't "2G" at the time.

In order to fly to the US, Superman (Dirk, my husband, will be referred to as Superman on this Blog <3) and I had to pay 100 Euros each for a PCR Covid test.  The test was checked by Germany security personell in both Berlin and Frankfurt. But when we landed in Houston, not ONE person asked about our vaccine status or Covid tests.  And not everyone was wearing masks.  It was literally like entering a different world, or taking a trip to the "pre-Covid" past. 

After two weeks of freedom... no 2G/ 3G rules... eating out... no mask mandates (though we wore masks indoors just to be safe and respectful)... we returned to the dark winter of Germany, which was quite the adjustment. Meanwhile in Berlin, the 2G rule has been implemented for everything except grocery stores, drugstores, doctors and banks. So basically if you're not Covid-vaccinated, you can't even enter a shoe store to buy new shoes... or go to the tailor to get something fixed... or go to the clothes store to buy new underwear. But hey, at least the government still lets you buy food, so stop complaining and #getVaccinated!

In order to return to Germany, I had to get a Covid test, but Superman didn't (he's vaccinated). So I paid 200 USD for a same-day PCR test in order to fly back to Berlin. The interesting thing is, that absolutely NO ONE checked the test - neither in Texas nor in Germany. 

Houston Check-in Agent: "You're flying to Germany...? Emmm...? Let me check..."

Me: "I need a test, but my husband doesn't because he's vaccinated..."

Agent: *walks over and whispers with his manager"

Me: *tries not to panic*

Agent: "Ok, you're fine to go."

Me: "Perfect, do you need to see my test?  I have it here."

Agent: "No, you're fine."

When we arrived in Germany and went through border control, no one checked it either... which makes me wonder why I literally spent 200 USD on a Covid test that no one even looked at.  Especially if the situation in Germany is so horribly dangerous that a non-Covid-vaccinated person can't even sit down for a cup of coffee in an empty bakery.  And 200 USD is a LOT of money - that's like 130 Sonic drinks... or 500 Lindt chocolate balls... or a Lego modular building... or 11 Thomas Kinkade puzzles.

Anyway.  The actual flight was relatively uneventful, except for the fact that a young man passed out and had to be revived in the isle right next to my seat. Why? Because of lack of oxygen due to wearing a mask for a 10-hour flight. After the flight attendant found a doctor on board and they got the poor young man on oxygen, the crew was gracious enough to let him go maskless for the rest of the flight. 

The only reason I managed to not pass out was because I ate and drank almost the ENTIRE time... hey, I might have gained 10 pounds on the flight but at least I could breathe like a normal pre-Covid person.

Despite some slight travel drama, the trip back home was absolutely FABULOUS, for both Superman and me. We had a wonderful time with my family; there were quite a few interesting activities; and Superman was able to experience Thanksgiving for the first time in the US.

Changes

A few weeks ago, I booked my Christmas flight to China, and can't help but think about where I was last year at this time.  And let me tell you... the difference is night and day.  Last year around this time, a few critical things happened that started a process of change in my life... and the stark contrast between last Fall and this Fall is crazy.  Sometimes you don't realize how bad a situation was until you've gotten out of it, and a certain amount of time has gone by.

Here are a few changes I've noticed... 

Dreading the weekends --> actually looking forward to the weekends

Being told to stop texting/ calling --> being chewed out for NOT calling when I needed help

Having drunk guys crash my place at all hours of the night --> being able to sleep peacefully

Being sad/ frustrated about flying home "alone" over Christmas --> being excited about Christmas vacation!

Getting calls from friends stuck in prison --> getting calls from friends stuck in traffic

Getting graphically bloody pictures from friends after a street fight --> getting gorgeous pictures from friends on vacation in Singapore, Bali, Mallorca, etc...

Constantly fighting and crying --> only crying when it's absolutely necessary... or crying happy-tears!

Feeling like a 5th wheel --> actually feeling like a few people here like me

Having to re-paint cause a door frame splintered in a fight --> peacefully re-arranging my lego collection

Not being able to use my own bathroom cause a drunk guy passed out in it --> using my own bathroom at my convenience

Constantly dealing with negative comments about my appearance --> wearing the brightest, flowery-est, clashy-est clothes that I want!

Being a human bank --> being taken out to dinner every now and then

Being a taxi for drunk people --> being chauffeured every now and then

Repeatedly being cancelled on --> doing things with people who actually want to hang out with me

Watching soccer every freaking weekend --> not even realizing it's soccer season

Talking about soccer and street fights 99% of the time --> talking about God, ethics, politics, culture, social issues, art, etc.

Being told to shut up and stop singing in the car --> singing Karneval-duets and 90s music in the car

Going nowhere and doing nothing --> taking advantage of everything interesting going on in Berlin!

Taco Disaster...

So… I had a Boy over the other day, and even made tacos… which is a big deal for me, as cooking is definitely not one of my fortes.  Especially cooking for someone else.  Especially for a Boy.  I had been craving tacos for a few weeks, though, and figured he might like to try something Tex-Mex… so I went for it.  But alas… he didn’t really like them.  He found them "interesting."  How can someone not really like tacos?  I’m so confused.  Every normal person likes tacos… and tacos should be a staple in every household.  A dislike of tacos is comparable to not liking oxygen.  Or showers.  Or sunlight.  There are some things that human beings simply need.

Anyway.  At least he was still able to carry on an interesting conversation, despite having to simultaneously force the tacos down.  Which is positive, so I’ll at least give him some credit for that. 

I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t enjoy a good taco.  We used to have tacos every single Sunday for lunch!  So this situation has definitely thrown me for a loop, and is making me question everything I’ve ever taken for granted in life.  It’s certainly going to be quite the challenge being friends with someone who would prefer to eat bamboo than tacos.

Obama in Berlin...

One of my favorite things about Berlin is that there is ALWAYS something going on.  There's rarely a dull moment.  The past couple of days have been pretty crazy here, thanks to a farewell visit from Mr. Obama himself. Basically, the entire city center was on lockdown for 2.5 days... police and tanks were everywhere,  public transportation was delayed/ canceled/ re-routed, and much of Berlin was turned into a temporary no-fly zone.  This might be normal for city-kids... but not for this suburb-raised girl.  It was definitely exciting following what was going on, and seeing how a city operates when top leaders visit.

As most of you know, I live about 5 minutes from the Tegel Airport and drive past it on my way to work.  Wednesday evening when Obama arrived, I knew it was pointless to even try to drive home... so I asked a friend who works downtown if he wanted to meet up and see what's going on!  The entire street leading to the Brandenburger Tor was blocked off, and there were police and barricades in all of the adjacent streets.  So you couldn't even see the main street... and only people who live or work there were permitted access.  It was so intimidating that I was too scared to even take a picture!

Then, on Friday afternoon at work, I suddenly saw two black military helicopters circling around (picture below)... evidently accompanying Air Force One!  Unfortunately I didn't actually see Air Force One, as it was a rather cloudy afternoon... but I did hear it!  Exciting stuff!  

If it were to happen on a daily basis, I'd probably be annoyed with the traffic and interruptions... but observing everything from afar for a limited amount of time was definitely interesting.

#Berlin #ObamaBerlin

Family Reunion in Berlin!

My favorite guy in the universe was in Berlin a few weeks ago!  Although he was here on "business", we still had some great times and talks together!  It's crazy thinking about all the places we've been together... we've really been all over the globe.  And of course, whenever he's in Europe, we have to meet up.  Nanjing... Amsterdam... Brussels... Basel... #Berlin... been there, done that.  :)

At the Brandenburger Tor... :)

And at the capitol building...

Here's a team picture... these were some amazing people, and it was a very encouraging couple of days with them.  God is doing some #crazyShit here in Berlin!

Berlin Pub Talk

Last evening was quite eventful... an acquaintance works in political/ social media, and asked if I wanted to tag along to a discussion forum.  The topic was hate speech in social media, and how to deal with it as both an organization and individual.  It was all super interesting, with a good mixture of guest panelist monologues and audience participation (or interruption, in some cases :D ).  This was definitely a much different group of people than the groups I normally associate with... let's just say the evening was started off with the moderator welcoming the "speakers of the press"... and me shifting nervously in my chair, hoping no one would notice the stray financial analyst in the room who can't even identify the current US Secretary of Defense.

One of the most interesting discussions concerned the extent of free speech on Facebook in Germany vs. the US.  Of course it's always entertaining hearing people talk about the US, and hearing an outsider's opinion of "my" country.  Evidently there's quite a bit more tolerance of online free speech in the US than there is in Germany... so the big question for the German social media leaders is:  to what extent should an American service provider (i.e Facebook) cater to German laws?  Is it Facebook's responsibility to tailor their product based on the country in which their service is?  Or is it the country's responsibility to deal with it, create their platforms, etc.?  

Another observation is that my German definitely isn't as good as I thought it was... I feel kind of like I did when I first moved to Germany and had an extremely difficult time with the "church lingo."  These are the types of words you just aren't exposed to in school, and definitely have to learn as you go.  So this is a much-needed challenge, as I always love learning something new and haven't really been pushed or challenged on an intellectual level in a while.  Score!!  :D

Anyway.  How do you know you're in a room full of social media gurus and journalists?  By comments such as these...

*spoken in panic*  "Does anyone know what the #hashtag for tonight is?  Do we have an official #hashtag?!"

"I haven't tweeted my location tonight... I don't want any trolls showing up."

"OMG!  The Russian press office re-tweeted me!!!"

#pubtalk #socialmedia

Blast to the Past!

Last weekend, I was in my old hometown for a very long weekend!  It was weird being back there, seeing old friends, being so close to my old work, and driving the familiar Autobahn routes.  Though I love it in Berlin, I think western Germany will always feel like home, in a way.  After all, I spent 8 years of my life there... had my first professional job there, my first apartment, my first car.  Here are a few impressions from my time back "home."


On Saturday, I saw my old coworker at Photokina - the biggest imaging trade show, where both Canon and Zeiss had stands, of course!  Ahhh - worlds colliding!  It was so much fun getting to see her again.  :)  She even said they're looking for someone in Finance... hmmm.... :)


One of the bridges leading to the Kölner Dom is completele covered in locks... it's beautiful how bright they are - glistening in the sun!


*bling bling*


Lego needs to create a Kölner Dom set... just my humble opinion...


Yes... we climbed the 500+ steps to the top... yes, it was creepy... yes, we were out of breath... yes, I need to start exercising... yes, it was extremely high... yes, I envisioned it crumbling to the ground... yes, it was definitely worth it!  :)


Next stop... the Lindt Chocolate Museum!  My favorite part was the production line... and of course the samples at the end. :)


It's snack time!

I also visited one of my all-time best friends from back "home", but unfortunately don't have any pictures... I'll blame it on her four-year-old who kept distracting me and correcting me German... or her two-year-old who kept peeing all over the floor... or her 6-month-old who was terrified of me and would inevitably start screaming if I even looked at her.  Needless to say... it was a crazy, busy, amazing visit!


#Cologne #Köln #NRW #Photokina #Schokoladenmuseum

Lollapalooza 2016

So... one of the September Highlights was the Lollapalooza music festival here in Berlin.  And as Lindsey Stirling was there, I of course had to go!


It's Lolla time!  This was probably the most expensive bracelet I've ever worn...


Lindsey!  She's by far one of my favorite performers of all time.  Her music is great, and she has so much energy on stage.  She played a great mix of some old songs as well as songs from her new album.


The Kaiser Chiefs!  They were hilarious... I don't think I've ever seen a goofier or smart-aleck-ier lead singer.  We were dying laughing!  I would definitely see them again...


Ah, the Chainsmokers... honestly... they were so-so.  They did have some good beats and remixes... but the transitions from one song to the next were anything but smooth, and practically non-existent.  Also, the remix clips that they did were so short... I felt like they were moving from one song to the next every several seconds.. without any real thought-out transitions.  But I did hear their new single, which is one of my current favorite pop songs... "Don't let me down."


Last, but not least... Kings of Leon!  They were also amazing!  Though by the time they were on stage, I was pretty tired of standing and jumping around... :D


Yeah... this pretty much sums it up!  :D  Though I didn't "repeat"... one day was definitely enough.


#Lollapalooza #LollaBerlin #Berlin #TreptowerPark #LindseyStirling #KaiserChiefs #Chainsmokers #KingsofLeon #NeverAgain