A personal recount of a life within Berlin, Venice and the EU

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Greece 3.0





I did not discover who is the "owner" of the wireless connection that i found in the main street of the tiny village of Fourni...I asked a lot of people...I did not find a single person who actually understood what the hell I was talking about...even my pretty good Italian gesturing art did not manage to let the concept of a uncabled internet connection to be cleared up...so I sit in my room now, write on my MacBook and go soon to the only (and very expensive) internet café of the tiny village of Fourni...

Sunday in the tiny village of Fourni: the mess of 8.00 just ended, old people and wooden sticks floating out of the church, at the speed of lazy cockroaches, in couples, alone, as the accomplishment of their only duty of the day...I sit in the coffee place in front of the church, my favourite one so far, reading a book and stare at them, wondering how can old people from a tiny village be so different in the way they look: an old woman with her stick, small as a sitting chair, as a luggage, bending her left , opposite to the stick, to an old man who is twice as tall as her...they walk away, I read the book till the end...have another shaked coffee...two euros of ice water sugar and a bit of coffee, a sort of officially acknowledged theft, in terms of money...but I found out it is not tourists´ fares...it is just an over priced tasty pleasure...

Bikes (motor-) start to couple the sound of the few bees and mosquitos that run the air, afoolish... I think that sometimes exageration turns reality into a very funny human-stage, ours...nobody drives his bike with helmet: neither adults, nor babies...neither when they are four (F O U R) on, the whole family driving helmetlessly, slowly though, through the tiny village of F O U Rni...nor when they are running through the steep and dusty roads that head up north...but then, ladies and gentlemen, on cigarettes´ boxes you read the very essence of EU´s taking care of us all: smoking kills, destroys lungs, testicules, the lungs of people around you (what about their testicules?), affects skin, makes you dummer, fatter and heart-attacks prone...all true but I wonder, sitting on the marble bench of my favourite coffee place in the heart of the tiny village of FOURni, how many die of car accidents, actively of passively, yearly or mothly; I also ask myself how a person can take one advice seriously when the whole thing does not look very consequent.
I get another sip of my medium sweet, over priced coffee shake and think it is odd enough to be reasoned upon...

The only persons I had a conversation with are the following:

1. a woman, early thirties, from Athens, who was sitting in a restaurant in Menoi Beach, Patmos for a couple of hour as I did, having a solitary woman vacation in Aegean Islands...told me a lot of stories, about Greece and about its islands, about the women in FOURni, who apparently should have a particular attractions for men in a uniform, showed me videos taken with her brand new phone and complained a bit about size, national composition (bulgarian and romanian, macedonian!) and loudness of Athens before leaving with a couple of tips about here and about other islands I should visit, and I will never do...her name? She said it...too difficult to remember anyway...sorry but who cares?

2. A man, Janni (my age? A bit older?), native from FOURni, I´d say 80 percent gay, I´d say 70 percent hitting on me in a havetolooklikeagreekMANway...works on the cruises, as waiter, knows a better-than-the-FOURnian-average english...nice guy, the only one who talked to me...thanks to him or because of him I played with my Ipod at this bar on the beach for half an hour..."The kills" being the only band awakening some sort of interest in the locals ( you know the bum bum bum beat kind of creeping into the song)...we talked about stuff, after during and before my short dj appearance...he likes Holland, has friends there...likes Belgium too, will go to both countries next December for Xmas...does not know that a city called Berlin exists (literally)...does not know what the word university means, I hope only in english ( have to find out, along the greek car-accidents yearly mortality rate, the word for uni in greek)...just to tell how complicated a conversation can be...he "bumped" me the same day of the my dj thing though (realized I am not gay at all?)...a guy is getting married in these days and on that evening a party for him should have taken place, at the same bar at the beach...well the janni guy told me he would have brought me there...supposed to show up at 12.30, never came and did not say why the next day...
Funny people...

Generations´ change is slower here, the difference between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters seems somehow samller in here than in someother countries...there is anyway a lot of sexual issues here under the surface...men being driving all the time, women lagging often a step behind them, boys with scooter, girls without...men handling money, women cleaning and taking care of babies...a bit too much old fashioned for me...but so relaxing and sunny and easy and simple and clear.
The only thing I wanted to take seriously here was myself...I sleep so much and drink almost nothing...swim a lot and smoke less...rehab.
Take care you all and have a nice beginning of September.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Greece 2.1


Observed from a local point of view, the life style I have had since I came to this island yesterday probably looks kind of weird...or extremely boring...
All I do is going for a swim from the beaches close to the village, read in a café or in the beautiful plateia there is in the heart of the Fourni and sleep endlessly. Today I just swam tweice and slept most of the day...I guess I did not feel tired in the first days because of the aufregung of having come to Greece...since yesterday night I probably slept 13 hours in three different shots...unbelievable...but the being tired came out and I am delighted it finally did...this is what I neede to get rid of...

I am sitting on a bench at the sea side and look at the end of this beautiful sunset...there is already nobody in here...it is so quiet and I feel tired anyway, even if I did nothing...this next decision of coming here did not emprove my level of "normality" from the point of view of the local community I guess...

I probably said ten words in the whole day (a coffee, please, a coke, please thank you twice and formal hi in greek a couple of times)...I do not find it strange, I have to say...
Locals are not welcoming lonely planet tourists, I guess...at least if it is just one person...kind of stupid of them but I expected that...

All the colours from blue to blue are into this stripe of light I see in between sea and sky, I guess a star is coming out soon...Greece here is easy, does not ask you to be anything special...erases a lot of the features you bring along with yourelf fom your place...there is no big expectations about the way you look, the swimsuit you have or the shoes you dress....there is not even a club to go to, zum Glueck!

The most obvious thing people tell you when you explain you go for vacation by yourself is that you actually will not be able to share with somebody the amazing moments there will be...but so far I do not consider it a problem...I am definitely a solitary man, this vacation so far shows it is not so bad...anyway I just took a picture of this harbour and I think I am going to post it along this text in the blog...
The funniest thing that happened so far is that on the boat to here, sitting three seats on my left, there were two Stammgäste of the Goldener Hahn...we do not need even two grades of separation in Greece!

The Felice Brothers had released a first album that was just fine...now with the second (but I read that it should be the first American release...did not get it) they are turning into a really cool band: a couple of tracks I listened to today have a super cool groovy beat and smart guitars, and his voice is remarkable...textwise I cannot say...I think they talk about women all the time..not such big news...

This Fleet Foxes band has released a very interesting album, which, as you should know if you read this blog, is named after the band, but there is one single, not in the album (on the torrent it is actually named "Mikonos") that is pure poetry...when I went to Mitte with the bike on monday night, I listened to it over and over again, way and bak non stop, until you get the feeling that the next song of the tracklist should be the song itself!...the first two minutes of this track are so beautiful...

Comparing this vacation with a vacation to New York makes no sense...that is the reason why I should stop making comparison in the first place...easier to say than to do, since I think about what time should be there now every couple of hour...how long is it going to last this not being able to state once for all: "Whatever!"?
We are on the edge of the 10 months...I do care about time when it does not give you the feeling to work on the right memories in a proper way...it has been too much time, damned...way too much...

The sunlight is totally gone and it is too difficult to type properly...enough for today then...

Greece 2.0

23rd August Samos
23.20 p.m.

I am in Samos but since this is both the name of the whole island and the name of one of ist villages, I have no idea how to locate myself...and it is really so...
I actually have a map of the harbour where i am staying, I know how to reach the place where I found a room and by the way I am writing this post from there...but since the names are all written in this alphabet I am not really familiar with yet, I have to take a bus tomorrow from here to get to the next harbour where the boat to Fourni is leaving from..

The voice of a child and of her grandfather are the only sounds in the air since I started writing...children voices...even when it is greek, it is so amazing and bringing me somewhere else...I am sitting on the balcony of my small apartment, the sea is probably 50 meters away with ist rocky beach and salty water...the child is talking with her grandpa...I even exchanged a greeting in greek with him when they arrived home 20 minutes ago...her voice has been the most wonderful thing that happened to me today, August the 23th of this fucking 2008...and she still talks and I thank myself to have brought me here....
I love kids´ voices in all the languages, both those that I know and those that I do not...so far but probably forever...I thought I could start having some of these cute smart animals soon...

I am leaving tomorrow, finally heading to the island I consider my personal krankenhaus...it is dangerous since I have never been there...but I did not find any better solution, after having been messing around with a dozen of girls and having been making new plans since december...

This language I do not understand sounds a relief when spoken by this small girl...

Friday, August 22, 2008

greece 1.0

...it is really true then that I do not fear the sunset...for I am in Patmos and right now "ist Untergang"...I have been cycling 15 kms, swam three times in a day and read just a bit...I went by swim to a rocky beach where I was the only one, as I wanted as I was longing for...I also had an amazing lunch at four in the afternoon in the middle of the island, where I was asked by the owner of the restaurant to come into his kitchen and check what they had...I went for some fried sardines and a greek salad...the best food I can remember since ages...Greece is easy...it is wonderful...you just have to get rid of this lame mass of dudes and girls with scooters and it turns into the best holyday place if you need to get yourself back together again...it is just a bit expensive...

I am drinking a ouzo at the port, I am not skin burnt yet...heading to Samos tomorrow...I still think about her every 5 minutes, as in the last two years, and I wonder what the hell is wrong with me...aber ich bin wirklich nicht in der Lage, noch weiter zu meckern...

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

not the sunset nor the rain....

...
I am not afraid of the suffering or the pain
I am just afraid that I haven´t been finding you
...

The most beautiful song I have heard this month, at least...

DM´sB

Sad loss

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

2 days to go

Iron & Wine - The Shepard´s Dog (again after a while)
Micah P. Hinson and the Red Empire Orchestra
Port O´Brien - All we could do was sing
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Wayne Shorter - Night Dreamer
The Felice Brothers - The Felice Brothers


Apparently I found somebody to fly to France with...I have such a bad pain in the breast since early this morning...I think about Australia and about all the screaming parrots, the funny animals, the gigantic egg breakfast portions, white cars and trucks that I have seen there...

Sunday, August 17, 2008

If I could stop dreaming of her while I sleep next to somebody else...
If I could not think about the dreams for the whole next day...

On the same day, from the same airport, apparently at the same time...but not flying in the same place...

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Are you sure that this guy should be our foreign minister?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGYJHCt5yBQ
not sleeping, not studying, writing or doing sports...
But at least I have some visitors...

What is wrong with this summer?

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Still on the room renting thing....

Share also this one...

To be forwarded to those interested

Even if I do not have a lot of money saved so far, I planned a 4 weeks long vacation period that should bring me to Greece and France for sure, and maybe to Turkey in between.

By the way, I am seriously (and it is really meant for what is written) looking for a girl who wants to join an handsome, silent and polite Italian guy for a 3 and a half days trip to Nizza: 12-15 September.

The only things I consider kind of important are:
- not an orthodox of any genre;
- not a fan of soap operas;
- not a vegan, nor a berlusconi/gigi d´alessio/britney spears/metallica/max biaggi/coldplay/carla bruni/coehlo supporter or fan.
- she should be able to speak (at least) a bit of one of the following languages: Italian, German, English or French...you know, just for those few words that are necessary once in a while during a day.

Double Room, three stars, downtown.


If you know people who are coming to Berlin in the next weeks, well, please forward them these links. I would really appreciate it.

Craigslist Berlin
WG- gesucht
Studenten-WG

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

I. Calvino, Lezioni Americane (Rapiditá), pp. 59-60.

(...) Dall´antichitá si ritiene che il comportamento saturnino sia proprio degli artisti, dei poeti, dei cogitatori, e mi pare che questa caratterizzazione corrisponda al vero. Certo la letteratura non sarebbe mai esistita se una parte degli esseri umani non fosse stata incline a una forte introversione, a una scontentezza per il mondo com´é, a un dimenticarsi delle ore e dei giorni fissando lo sguardo sull´immobilitá delle parole mute. Certo il mio carattere corrisponde alle caratteristiche tradizionali della categoria a cui appartengo: sono sempre stato anch´io un saturnino, qualsiasi maschera diversa abbia cercato d´indossare. Il mio culto di Mercurio corrisponde forse solo a un´aspirazione, a un voler essere: sono un saturnino che sogna di essere mercuriale, e tutto ció che scrivo risente di queste due spinte.
I am so against everything that I cannot even stand the sober version of myself...but I am pretty good at working, at least when that means to be totally alone...

Tomorrow there will be a post on Calvino...

I am so sad and silent

Monday, August 04, 2008

Wedding invitation

one of the few girls, who drove me really crazy at some point of my life, is getting married soon...the first...not the last, I guess...

The Times are A-Changing...

Saturday, August 02, 2008

The beauty and charm of italian women...is something you cannot get totally rid of...my love for jazz, W. Marsalis and its music from 20 years ago...the beauty of a sunrise in Berlin...the loneliness of a man still in love with his past...the long chain of sleepless late nights, and hangovering dayafters...

She was in my dreams yesterday...what is it going to happen in the next few hours?