Berlin - Day 3.

It was another short night after another long day. When I woke up at nine twenty it was already too late to grab the free breakfast provided by the facility. I probably could've made it on time, but I simply didn't want to. And also, I still had half a delicious leftover dürüm from last night, wrapped and sealed in aluminium foil. The best döner in town, said Yisulu. So I rolled over and tried to fall back asleep.

When I snapped up because I realised something, Daniel, the guy from Brazil who I was sharing the room with, was gone. We didn't have much time to chat, but he seemed like a decent guy. Working hard and hardly travelling. What I realised was that I had to be checked out by ten o'clock. My casio said it was 9:56 so I had four minutes left. Four minutes to get up, wash up, get dressed and packed. 

I was downstairs, rubbing my eyes at 10:09. I was late, but nobody seemed to care. I checked out the internet station, one euro for a quarter of an hour. Fifteen minutes of connection to the digitalised world out there. Crazy, I thought. How addicted to and almost dependent on the internet I've become. But then, is it necessary to avoid it? Sometimes it's quite convenient and not all that bad.

Unfortunately the server had some problem that could not be solved. I was looking forward to my dürüm. Some people can't eat savoury stuff in the morning. I found out that I can. But I was craving some coffee, too. Another addiction, or make-believe dependency. Fact is, I like the taste of hot strong coffee in the morning. It's nice. So I went to the cafeteria and the staff was friendly enough to let me have a cup.

I had plans to meet another friend for lunch. I went to the designated coffee shop at Potsdamer Platz a little early and ordered a strong coffee, perhaps to make up for the weak one I had before. I looked out the window and thought about my trip. I've met so many people in such a short time. Haerim on Sunday afternoon. So good to see her. Today she was on a concert, I hope she's having fun. 

Then in the evening I met Hannah, a friend and sister. A friend of mine and sister of my old friend Joseph, who, funnily enough, is in Bonn right now. Man, I can hardly believe it's already been eight years since I first met the dude. Hannah took me to a super mellow place in Kreuzberg. We failed to order any drinks, but managed to talk for almost two hours straight. Never happened before.

Then my phone rang. Soobin told me she was on her way and a minute later she came walking around the corner. We ordered coffee and grabbed some food, a fruit salad, which suited me well because of my defty breakfast. We had actually only met once or twice before, back in Korea last year or the year before that. It was nice to see her, an impartial friend, untouched by the severity of a funeral.

In the afternoon I met Mi and Yisulu for an afternoon trip to the twice-a-week Türkenmarkt at the Maybachufer. We had super fresh orange juice, then turkish bread with pregnant wine leaves, stuffed paprika and different funky dips. We found a little spot on the river bank and watched geese and ducks while the world stood still for a couple of minutes.

I thought about Daham hyung, who was in Paris right now, wondered if he came here too sometimes. I thought about Okhee nuna and her little son. I thought about Hannah who was on her way to Seoul now, and Joseph busy studying in Bonn. Haerim in Düsseldorf. Mina back in Nürnberg. Soobin back at work. It was a thoughtful afternoon. A peaceful end to a meaningful trip.