photos

This is the TV tower next to one of my favorite places in Berlin.  It's called Marienkirche and it's lovely.

This is one of my friends, Eleonora.  She is from Como, Italy.  Yeah...that's where George Clooney goes to relax.  No big deal.

Pastries.  In the shape of...mice? Who knows. Belgians are weird.

Sweet sunset from the east. 

Sometimes Jill visits.  Sometimes we dance. 

My friend and neighbor, Judith. She's kind of a big deal.

Ice cream.  It was good.

The vending machines are sometimes air conditioned.  Sometimes that's the only thing that IS airconditioned here.  These M&M's were cold and delicious.

Street art.  Stickers.  My favorite. So silly.

Some good finds at the flea market. 

Grill parties at the park.  That's my friend, Marcus.

Food.

Every once in a while, one can find ALMOST the right ingredients to make mexican food.  Gracie and I did that. It was decent.  Almost satisfied the craving.

Dogs. Everywhere. All the time.  Not always on leashes.

Sometimes (more than once) cops stop by my house to solve a problem.  Feels like living in Whittier again. Just kidding. Sort of. 

This guy was drinking a mini bottle of champagne on the train...at 9 in the morning.

Only in Germany does the giant advertisement of raw and cured meats actually work as an add campaign.  They know their audience.

Free chocolate.  Thanks for the pose, Gracie. 

Italian cafe.  So cool.  Only 50's and 60's music playing.  Groovy.

This is a bike with a knit cozy on it.  Hipsters...psh.

Bikes

Sometimes I go on bike rides here. I went on one yesterday with a couple friends and one today.  Yesterday we rode in a line and laughed and all dinged our bells and honked the old-timey horns on the bikes and went through tunnels.  It looked like a movie and felt like a dream.  Today was the same.  We just rode through the city and stopped at a community garden where they grow vegetables. 
There were trees and parks and cool wind on our flushed faces and we rode fast and felt strong.

As we rode, I remembered and expressed how much I love Berlin.  One can ride and laugh and talk and stop and get from one point to another and the cars will stop and the time will fly and the temperature will always even out with the wind and the sun and the sweat.  There is never a moment when there is nothing left to discover.  Though there is nothing new under the sun, we will never know it all or see it all, especially in this always changing city.

I think I should walk and ride more often.  When there isn't glass and metal between the world and me, I gain a new perspective and see the world differently and more fully.  And am in it.   There is no hiding when you are on a bike. It's too late. You're already there.  You're faced with the reality of the city and then you get to interact with it and know yourself and others and God in a different way.  It's less isolating.
Plus, bikes are fun cause you get to sit down whilst you exercise.

Fussball

My friend Marcus just told me why he doesn't like Italians.  He cited the 2006 Soccer World cup.  Seven years and he is still mad about it.  He said at the game, they shouted chants that, translated, mean something to the effect of: "we won't eat pizza anymore."
I love my friends. 

 Die (dee) Welt-meister-schaft (velt-my-ster-shaft)=the world cup




I remember a time when we were all discussing a friend of mine not showing up to a meeting because of a soccer game.  It was a really important game.  Dortmund was playing Bayern and he wasn't going to miss it.  As a group of girls sat around discussing it with the leader of our group, who happens to be American, he made the mistake of saying something about the next game interfering with our Wednesday meeting.  He said, "he better not go watch when Dortmund plays Madrid on Wednesday!"  The girls, none of which are soccer fans, promptly and with one voice almost shouted that he will NOT be missing the next meeting, because the match is on Tuesday, not Wednesday.  Even the girls know the schedule.
**none of these girls own TV's or have boyfriends that are soccer fans.  They just know.