Consumerism 1.0

| 06-May-2019 |  Today was about efficient consumerism.  We purchased the single day metro ticket for 7€/ea which allows access to all forms of public transportation within whatever zone(s) you select, for 24 hours. Helluva deal.

After our late night, 2am, we got a later start today than usual. Covering much of the same ground as yesterday, though using trams, and the underground, we hit several record shops and a shoe store before calling it an afternoon just before the rain started.

The plan is to take advantage of the single day fare tomorrow too, and take a side trip to Potsdam, about 35km west of Berlin.  Nothing specifically scoped out, but several well-travelled friends recommended it so we should probably check it out.

Pleepleus suggested a light breakfast at the nearby French café prior to heading out today. One wouldn’t want to be under-nourished, nor under-caffeinated. Smart.

We hit five record stores today. Jeff came away with a nice selection of German punk and techno. We’ll have to get it home to fully check it out, but it all looks like our wheelhouse, and the short online clips we were able to sample were intriguing.

The stores were all neat and well organized. The sheer volume of electronic music here is staggering. I picked a collab between two well-known Berlin DJs, and I’m looking forward to checking it out.

We had lunch at a ramen joint near Hard Wax. It was good to take a break, and enjoy some good gyoza and ramen. The Asahi hit the spot.

Just before the final record store we hit the one place I’d pre-scouted as a must-visit: the Trippen factory outlet.  Trippen has been designing and manufacturing since the 1990s, and has an indie aesthetic I love. All kinds of quirky footwear in their small outlet space, but much of it wouldn’t make any sense in my world. I picked out these badass chunky, slouchy black sandals that are somewhat practical art-wear. Rock on.

We got back to the apartment around 5:30 and I decided to pop over to the nearby market to pick up something to throw together for dinner in our tiny kitchen. Pasta is always a good bet in this situation as fresh noodles, sauce and crusty bread are pretty easy to procure. I also picked up a random bottle of German red wine – splurging on the higher grocery store price point: 8€. Right?