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The last time I was in Berlin I visited the Mauer Park flea market in Prenzlauer Berg for the first, but definitely not last time. It's a fantastic market - huge, great selection, and a ton of mid-century modern stuff. I only had an hour and change to spend there so I only got to rush through, but on my way out I did a double take when I saw a yogurt maker. I'd been wanting one for quite some time and had bookmarked a few on ebay (my new best friend), but wasn't quite ready to commit. At €5, I pretty much had to get this one. The only problem is that it's from the 1970s and came with no instruction manual. I set it to the highest temperature and hoped for the best, and the picture above shows the outcome. I used a starter powder together with a liter of milk, heated it to (what I think is) 45 degrees Celsius, dissolved the powder and then poured it into the jars. I then left it in the yogurt maker for about six hours, followed by 12 hours in the fridge.
For a first attempt I'm quite pleased, though I would like my yogurt to be a little thicker than it turned out. The second attempt turned out a little lumpy and a little runnier than the first, but I pretty much know why, so it should work out better next time.
During a visit to Berlin I found these memorial tiles on Oranienstrasse in Kreuzberg.
The five tiles read as follows (from top, left to right):
Here lived
Dieter Hohenstein
Born 1934
Deported
34th Eastern transport
[died in Auschwitz on April 20, 1943, at the age of 9]
Here lived
Alfred Hohenstein
Born 1898
Deported
34th Eastern transport
[died in Auschwitz on April 20, 1943, at the age of 45]
Here lived
Erna Hohenstein
Born 1905
Deported
34th Eastern transport
[died in Auschwitz on April 20, 1943, at the age of 38]
Here lived
Elsa Goldenthal
Born 1889
Deported
34th Eastern transport
[died in Auschwitz, date of death unknown]
Here lived
Walter Lustig
Born 1903
Deported
31st Eastern transport
[died in Mauthausen, May 12, 1945, at the age of 42]
This site lists the houses on the street and their residents. The Hohensteins, Elsa Goldenthal and Walter Lustigs resided in 206/207 Oranienstrasse. Dr. Alfred Hohenstein apparently also had a medical practice in the building. Three more of the building's residents, Channe Schnurmacher and Albert and Martha Sorauer, were also deported. I was unable to locate any information about Frida Lessmann, another listed resident of the building. Also appearing on that website is a list of the remaining Jewish homes on the street, the current occupants of the buildings (whether original or rebuilt), and the location of other tiles, which I'll have to look for next time I'm there.
Yesterday, after traipsing all over creation in a squillion degree weather and a bazillion percent humidity in search of orange Crocs in a particular size (a gift, mine are purple), I walked into the living room and nearly had a heart attack, because the world's stupidest bird decided to fly into our apartment. Seriously - of all the houses on the street, it had to pick the three-cat household?
I barely blinked and Schnitzel was already on it, so I clapped my hands and shouted loudly until the cats scurried away. I'm not sure if they'd been playing with it for a while, but the bird (which looked mostly intact) just kind of stood there on the floor, facing the wall. I opened the window, picked it up and put it on the window sill but it wouldn't fly away.
I put it in a little box and pondered for a bit what I'd gotten myself into, having to nurse an injured bird having no cage and three cats. When no solution came to me, I took the box outside, sat on the front stoop and waited for the little birdie to fly away. No go. I picked it up and put it on my finger, and it held on tight, but wouldn't fly. I looked more closely to see if something was broken but it didn't seem to be, as it kept rebalancing whenever I moved my finger. I thought I'd be stuck there until M came home and took the night shift with it, but suddenly it just fluttered its wings and flew away.
Was it some sort of sign do you think?
So, HI! I know no one is reading, but I've decided that after nearly a year of silence, it might be time to get back into the action. It's been a year of ups and downs, but it's definitely on the ups right now. I won't bore you with the details, except to say that I'm still in Munich, still with M, have a fantastically dull job but work with awesome people in a beautiful office right in the heart of the city.
And what better way is there to get back on track than a new 101 in 1001 list? So here it is. My start date is... right now, so my completion date will be March 21, 2011. Some of the items are lame, and I reserve the right to change them later on. Let the games begin!