Friday, July 10, 2009

Project Vanilla Hugs and Teddy Bears

I arrived in Berlin, the city of my dreams, on June 20 to stay at an organized couch surfing and travelers spot called Project Volunteering. 

Click the link to see the web site and mission statement but basically this spot is a project run by couch surfing ambassadors that hosts anywhere from 3-13 people, including families and kids, at any given time. There's a dorm room where 6-7 people sleep on mattresses and a separate main room for travelers passing through to either have a mattress, the couch or space for their own sleeping bag. Visitors are encouraged to give donations for coffee and laundry but generally everyone shares in cooking and cleaning and there's communal BEER too :) 

I found this option the perfect way to see Berlin. Beyond not having to spend money for a hostel , Project Volunteering was an organized squat in a city of squats. The international community lacked native Berliners but that's how the streets of Berlin look too - filled with artists, writers and creative people from across the globe interacting and sharing ideas. 

It is interesting how romantic and exciting I find the idea of squats and how much I wanted my own bed and privacy after 15 days of living in one. The exchange of ideas, trying new foods and learning new languages was amazing..the waiting for the bathroom, squeezing into the kitchen to find my apple juice was gone and waking up at 5am to the sound of 15 people thrashing and turning at night was not. Not bad, not weird, just different in a way that I came to appreciate having a door. 

As for anyone traveling in Berlin I highly recommend this spot as your place to stay.  Jake, a theater artist from Oakland, CA was my official host but I became quick friends with Timmy, an Aussie native who lives and works as a pub crawl leader in the summer and travels in the winter to spots like thailand and brazil. There is also Emma, a big boned swedish make up artist and jewelry designer who goes to famous night clubs and BDSM spots.... the list of characters goes on and on. 

As for the location.. you couldn't ask for a better neighborhood.  
Project Volunteering is located at 
146 Schonhauser Allee

That's right on the U2 Line at the stop Eberswalder StraBe, two blocks from Mauer Park. 

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