Portland Uber Alles

So that morning we compiled a list of meetup points that the G8 sites had reccomended for getting info. The nearest was a bar, called The Clash, so we would go there first. The second was an infoshop called The New Yorck, and the third was a squat, about to be evicted, called The Köpi. We took the subwaz to The Clash, only to find it was closed... not terribly surprising since it was now 12.30 in the morning, but things are of course much different here, especially concerning vices. So we sat and we waited for it to open. After a while someone came by and let us know that they usually open around 3pm. So we went to get some food and drink while we waited. We went around the corner and got some samosas and beers. Then we went back to The Clash, which was now open, and got more beers. We asked about g8 info and they informed us that the info for meetups and such came out tomorrow, and they'd be happy to tell us where to go tomorrow. I was briefly stumped as to what to do, but Seda immediately jumped in and said of a farm she knew the owner of in the East. We agreed that it would be fun to go there, but Seda said she couldn't call her until the evening. So we went to get Vegan food (The Clash had steak on their menu, and when we ordered something that looked vegan, they said their menu wasn't up to date.)

So we went around the corner to a restaurant, and ate some bougie vegan food and sat on a bench until Seda was ready to call her friend. She gave us directions, which lead us to the regional trains, which went long distances, and are kinda spendy (a series of regional trains are how we got to Berlin). So we did our best to manage the subway system to get to the train station at Lichtenberg. We rode trains for an hour and a half or so until we were there. She was waiting in a car for us there, and we crammed ourselves in. When we got there she introduced herself as Carmen, and we found out she didn't own the farm, she just lived and worked there. She was very hospitable and generally plesant. We all passed out just about as soon as we got there, and woke up that morning at 7 or so.

When we first woke up we were very afraid of running into other people there (social anxiety is magnified by at least 10 when you don't speak the language). But when we got into the kitchen there was freshly baked bread laid out for us and a note saying to help ourselves. We ate well, and went back to the room to cower. When it was lunchtime for Carmen, she came in and said that everyone was saying it was weird that they didn't see us. So we went out and took a quick tour of the farm, eating little bits and pieces of things growing. Then it was time for her to go back to work, so I went back to the room and took a quick nap while Vanc, Säed and Seda swam in the pond. Later Carmen came back and gave me, Seda, and Säed a more full tour while Vanc napped. We met the horsies, Max and Mori. We met cows, who I gave various beautiful names to. And we met bees, whom I cowered from.

Then we had a picnic dinner of pasta and salad, and I played on the swing. It was a beautiful relaxing day, all in all. So we went to sleep again, and the next day, we walked the half mile to the bus stop and got on, to go to Frankfurt Am Oder (a different Frankfurt) where we caught a train back to Berlin.

Once in Berlin we went back to The Clash. There they had a list of info for travellers coming for the g8. They said if you needed a place to stay, you should inquire at an infopoint. So we inquired, and they hooked us up with a squat that had an open room. We ate soup while we waited to go there, and checked out the radical bookstore from the Slingshot (it was like 20 meters away). While there, a man came in to let us know there had been a raid and there would be a rally that night. I really really wanted to go, but we had confirmed with the squat that we'd be there at 7, and that's when the rally was. Oh wells. I want to give you more info about the squat, but I can't while I'm still there, security is becoming a real issue with all the raids. But rest assured, we now have a nice place to stay, in a room of our own, for the rest of the time we're in Berlin.

Toodles.