NSFC in December

So another film club weekend has passed, and we really set the bar high, having watched 6 films over the weekend, plus time for eating and sleeping (plus a nice lie-in). The films included:

Lars and the real girl (establishing relationships can be hard, but a real girl definitely helps! - I love Mrs. Gruner in this film for the way she makes everyone see that we all do a few strange things now and again - great story - I shed a few tears each time I see it!)
REC (virus going around - don't catch it!)
Shaun of the Dead (zombie comedy - a classic)
Let the right one in (very good zombie movie - Swedish original)

and I'm not sure I can remember the others at the moment. I just realised that there was a serious zombie influence in the film list last weekend! REC was probably the weakest of them all, and the fact that it is recorded on a hand-held camera, I felt nauseous within the first 10 minutes. We wanted to start out with a feel-good film, and therefore decided on Lars and the real girl. All of us had seen it before, but I actually forgot how good it is.

Per usual, Esben and I headed home with a stack load of films to watch from the NS selection - good thing it's winter and very cold and dark in the evenings!

Looking forward to the next NSFC in March :)

Winter wonderland in Berlin

Last weekend we travelled by train to Berlin to visit our friends Simon and Nora. Esben had never been to Berlin before, and it had been 10 years since I visited the city, so we were both really looking forward to the trip. And the fact that we'd get to meet up with Nora and Simon again (who had lived in Aarhus the previous year). The train trip was very relaxing, and after changing a few times and even travelling some of the distance by bus, we arrived on Thursday evening into Berlin main train station. Nora and Simon live in the area 'Mitte' which is very central and easy to get to and to get to other parts of the city from. Berlin has a great underground system, so even though it's a big city, it's never too difficult to get around. The first evening we had a great opportunity to catch up on everything, and the next day, Esben and I ventured out on our own. Once I was in the city again, a lot of memories came back, and I remembered many of the places that I had seen on my previous visits. The weather was perfect for walking around - fresh snow on the ground, blue skies, and sunshine. First of all we headed towards Strasse des 17. Juni, which is the main street up through the Tiergarten, and one of the main streets in Berlin as it is the continuation of Unter den Linden from the East of Berlin running into the West. While walking up this street towards the former East part, you meet the impressive Siegessaeule (the Victory Column), and once you climb up to the top, you get some great views of the surroundings. After climbing up and down, we continued our walk along Strasse des 17. Juni and under the Brandenburg Gate. The sun was still shining at this stage, so we were able to take some lovely photos in this area. We continued walking towards Potsdamer Platz and enjoyed some mulled wine at the Christmas markets. It had been 12 years since I had visited Potsdamer Platz, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw it this time - they have been very busy developing this area, and it certainly is impressive. It was also great to be in Berlin during December, as we got to visit numerous Christmas markets during our stay - and when it comes to Christmas markets, the Germans really know how to do them properly!

On Friday evening we went to a vegan restaurant Kopps run by head chef Bjoern Moschinski. The food was amazing and I would definitely recommend the restaurant to anyone on a trip to Berlin. Make sure to book in advance though - it's really popular with vegans and non-vegans alike (the egg salad to start is so yum!!)

On Saturday and Sunday we walked around many different parts of the city, enjoying the atmosphere and most notably on Sunday we enjoyed a very delicious vegan brunch - I think the four of us rolled out of that place. They had everything you could imagine, and more! Over the weekend, we managed to get some shopping in (stocking up on winter clothes/boots), and sample great food and drinks all around the city. In the evenings we caught up on the German detective series Im Angesicht des Verbrechens. Given that we had been hooked on Forbrydelsen (The Killing), we thought we should also watch some German-produced drama, and yes, it was very addictive!

Nora and Simon also shared their wonderful news - they got engaged! So more celebrations in Berlin next November...roll on the next trip :)