Red Peppers at Green Week

Since we're on the topic of food anyway, I thought I would share a few photos from Berlin's recent "Grüne Woche," or Green Week. I'm too lazy to describe the event, so here is what the website says:

Established in 1926, International Green Week (IGW) is taking place for the 78th time in 2013. The IGW is a one-of-a-kind international exhibition for the food, agricultural and horticultural industries. At the same time, the IGW is the point of origin for the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) with more than 60 departmental ministers. Producers from all over the world come to IGW to test market food and luxury items and reinforce their brand image. Renewable resources, organic agricultural and products, Fair Trade, rural development and gardening continue to gain importance at International Green Week.

The Bavaria Section

Different countries and German states had booths and sections where you could try their delicacies (samples for free, dishes for a fee). South African wine was EVERYWHERE (I'm not complaining). I obviously had to wander past the US section to be supportive of the homeland but all I found was one measly soft serve stand! Is that really all we have to offer the world?

Found somewhere in between "Thailand" and "India"

I tried many things, including a mackerel sandwich, South African wine, German red wine, more South African wine, Indian chicken curry, red Thai curry, more German red wine, Spanish red wine, German white wine, and coconut gelato. Yes, in that order.

Then there was this cuteness:

That I guess eventually becomes this:

Sorry to my vegetarians, but this wild boar roast was literally right next to the live animals! I guess it's all about knowing where your food comes from. And then covering that knowledge with mustard and tossing it into a Brötchen.

My Green Berlin Weekend

View from the Holocaust Memorial

Gay Pride Parade

Kreuzberg Fountain

Berlinale

I'm back! It's been almost a week since my last post, I apologize. But what a busy week it has been for this unemployed girl! There was a big job interview, weekend visitors, my first live German soccer game, a friend's birthday... and that was just the last two days. Today also marks the end of the 2012 Berlinale, Berlin's annual film festival. About 400 films, primarily European or International premiers, were shown over the past 10 days.

Kelly, my also-unemployed-partner-in-crime, got us tickets last Wednesday to see some Generation 14+ short films, directed by those in the 14-26 year old category. We ended up in the wrong theatre by accident (second time this has happened to me in Berlin) but a nice volunteer snuck us into a different Generation 14+ movie that happened to be playing in that theatre at the same time.

We ended up seeing a short film called Nosilatiaj. La Belleza, or Beauty, about a young girl from the indigenous Wichi tribe in Northern Argentina who works as a housekeeper for a Catholic family. It's lovely. Should you be interested, check out the trailer here. After the film, the young director, producer, and main actress came on stage to talk about the movie and answer questions from the audience.

As much as the beautiful film impressed me, I couldn't help but be even slightly more starstruck by the Ritter Sport tower in the theatre lobby. Some things never change.