Is Germany too cool for me?

Fashion, beer and sex are the focus of this frivolous post. First up - the fashion. Eccentricity is tested and explored on the streets by German youths. Some highlights were the couple who sported matching his and hers pink punk hairstyles. Shaved, spiked designs were streaked with flossy pink. They walked the shopping complex with their black doggy, heads held defiantly high. The punks in Germany put the wanna-be emo and goth lurkers in Forrest Chase to shame. They have shops devoted to 'emily the strange' aswell as shops full of the freakiest gothic fashions around.

Leaving my jumper behind in Auckland was silly because summer has yet to settle in Germany. In Leipzig today, mum and I headed out to covet coats. We fruitlessly searched the train shopping complex with tacky shops like 'Forever 18' for suitable winter wear. Everywhere we went the Germans were decked out in nice warm attire. But on the racks, the dearth of classy clothes was evident. After visiting a museum, we found more shops in the city centre. In one shop I found a gorgeous fitted black jacket with buttons and a small hood. I lost mum however. Approaching a store lady with 'Sprechen Die English?' I was assisted by her colleague who was able to speak English. I explained that I wanted her to hold the coat while I found my mum. They dragged me to the cash desk, pulled out a microphone and told me to call mum over the PA in English. Super embarrassed, I assured them that it was unecessary and set off to find mum on foot. I collected her and we both bought our jackets there. Here's a pic of me at the hostel in my hot new jacket.

Now, let's talk about sex baby. You all know I love a good bookstore, but today that love was sorely challenged. I wandered into a bookstore only to be dismayed by the great books which were only available in German. Moving on to the next room, I discovered it was really a porn shop masquerading as a bookhhandlung. Boooo! German condoms are really funny. They have stupid names like 'Billy Boy' and line the impulse buys shelves in supermarkets. Speaking of markets, we passed a peepshow shop today aptly named 'erotic markt.' Talk about sexual commodification.

As many of you know, I've never been a beer drinker. The wine/spirit core in me was destablised recently when I visited the Belgian Beer cafe in Perth with some sexy peeps. This introduction prepared me, hopefully, for bucketfuls of Bier in Germany. Yesterday, keen to try beer I entered a strange bottleshop in search of a beer. It was occupied by a salesman and about five of his sloshed mates who had fun practising their English with their Australian visitors. The only cold stuff they had was called a Mixery -a combination of bier and cola. I drank it - totally weird but cool. Not as great as beer on its own though.

After a hard day of sight-seeing and shopping, mum and I went to a Bier Bar (Gleis 8) at the station. I pre-mastered enough German to ask the bar lady what she recommends. So we both enjoyed a fantastic Radeberger Pilsner. Want to go back for another! Anyway, I have oodles to share - stories about a cool actress I met, some silly language blunders and more. We are off to Warsaw tomorrow - Berlin was all booked out but hopefully I'll share my Frankfurt and Leipzig experiences soon. Yay for the International Arts Festival in Warsaw!