kiba and neukoelln

the picture isn't that great, but i uploaded it because it captures the ambience of sandmann, this cute little place with live music and pool every monday. but it's supposed to be a picture of kiba (short for kirch-banana), a german drink which is a combination of cherry and banana juice. it's kind of suspect because the juices don't actually mix (maybe you can see the white?) but it's actually quite lecker (delicious).




i live in a kind of uncelebrated district of berlin (neukoelln) which people call "ghetto" and stereotype as some kind of "hard" area of berlin. the area does have problems, so it's not without some reason, but usually exaggerated. anyway a few weeks ago i walked into a one euro shop in the heart of neukoelln and i saw a 2 euro pregnancy tests. ghetto indeed...

but actually most people overlook that neukoelln also has a lovely collection of gruenderzeit houses (homes that were built in 1871 when the modern german state was first founded). pictures to come soon.