Berlin, Berlin, Berlin.
I arrived in the city, as I explained to my family, safe but not entirely sound. I managed to twist my ankle while entering our hotel, and though it didn't swell much it won't take all of my weight and it's sore when I walk on it. The location of the hotel made up for my ankle's deficiencies, fortunately: we are in central Schoneberg, just up the street from the apartment building in which David Bowie used to live and a restaurant at which Jocelyn and I enjoyed glasses of wine during our last trip.
Our stay so far has been very low-key. We tried out an "American rock bar" on our first night, but it was nearly empty since it was a Sunday evening. We returned to The Green Door, a supposedly "hidden" and "exclusive" bar with an extensive cocktail menu that we visited in April, and Hafen, a small bar that we also visited on that trip, on Monday. We explored a few local joints on Tuesday, and spent Wednesday in, getting work done. Our nightlife experiences haven't been particularly memorable so far, perhaps with the exception of a magician we encountered at The Green Door and a waitress who had spent some time living in Miami that we met at a Cuban restaurant. She brought us free shots, for being kindred Miami-dwelling spirits.
Our daytimes, so far, have been more active. they are primarily occupied with work, of course, as they should be, but we've managed to find time for a few other pursuits. On our first morning, Jon snuck out while I was still in bed and returned with caviar, mozzarella, mini toast-like bread pieces, prosciutto, and orange juice. Talk about a lovely breakfast! We also payed a visit to Schwarzes Cafe, our favorite discovery of the last visit. It was delightful to be back - it feels like what Berlin is supposed to be to me. Afterwards we relaxed in a nearby park, working and reading.
the next day we ventured out to a shabu shabu restaurant I had read about online. It was a bit expensive, but it was delicious and it came with a lot of food: 3 kinds of mushroom, chicken, a couple kinds of leafy greenery, salmon, shrimp, 3 kinds of fishballs, 3 kinds of noodles, squid and, of course, thinly sliced beef. Very tasty.
After lunch, I had to rush home to take a phone call with my two learning partners from the coaching class I had just finished. Since it was our final call together we'd planned to do a coaching triad: 1 coach, 1 client, 1 observer who critiques the interaction. It was a terrifying prospect - I had never practice coached before, not ever, not in any context. Somehow I had made it through 3 classes without practicing a single time. Clearly I needed to, since it's the only way to really learn, but I was so scared of being bad! I've never been good at making myself do things (publicly, at least) that I don't think I'll be good at, but this time I had no choice.
And you know what? It went surprisingly well! I volunteered to coach first (Classic trick from the school presentation days - go first so you look brave and there's no one to compare you to!), and though I started off on slightly shaky ground, I soon found my footing and felt much more comfortable. We even arrived at a solution to my "coachee's" problem! It felt fantastic, especially when we'd switched roles and, as coaches, neither of the others managed to lead their "clients" to a strategy. In an email afterwards, both of them also mentioned my coaching session as the most helpful and interesting of the three. So although it was not a perfect session, I feel good about it. And now that my first session is done, I feel much more confident and excited about coaching in general.
I think that's about it for now...the highlights of my trip so far!
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