Where to start...
When in Canada, HÃagen-Dazs is advertised as being some kind of vaguely European national treasure - just stick an umlaut in the name plus a couple of redundant vowels and any company started by a Polish-American entrepreneur and owned by Nestle becomes worthy of premium import prices. But how do they advertise in Germany you ask? You'd think they could at least make it maple syrup flavored...
Apparently, palmistry is so advanced that it is now considered abona fidee science. This technical wizard was using a computer to do it.
Found this organ that looked like it was straight out of Fritz Lange's brain in a church in Mitte.
Berlin has, hands down, the most graffiti of any city I have been in. Tagging the tops of buildings is popular.
That's probably because there are so many of these giant monolithic surfaces. There are tons of empty lots in Berlin and the adjacent buildings just end blankly giving a lot of the city a very minimal feel to it. Agoraphobes beware.
Berlin is incredibly spread out with many vast open spaces and huge construction sites. It's especially noticeable coming from Amsterdam, where every available space is filled. In more touristy areas (like here - near Potsdamer Platz) ... 
...fake edifices have been erected, probably in preparation for the world cup, to create a more enclosed, built up feel. Or maybe it's to make architecture students feel all giddy and remember that Baudrillard book they leafed through one time...
Speaking of non-permanent structures.
This is one of the few remaining GDR mega workers complexes I could find. Super run-down. But most of the buildings in the Karl Marx Alley area are pretty new and renovated now.
But buildings are people too.
Frederick is really great. I was initially luke warm on visiting the giant palace in Potsdam but Visnja convinced me and it was actually amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone.
We shuffled around in these massive felt moccasins and were the youngest people there by about 40 years.
This palace was the most opulent and ridiculously rococoo thing I have ever seen. We spent the entire day there and visited 4 huge palaces but only scratched the surface. The grounds are huge just because.
I had to sneak a few photos of interiors because security was tight. Unfortunately I didn't get the undersea ballroom that was encrusted on all surfaces with semi-precious gems and literally millions of shells that then morphed into sculptural elements. You should come visit in the summer.
Hehehe.
The weather in Berlin couldn't have been better - so we grilled up some Wursten and kicked a soccer ball around the park.
A second later Martin Kung-Fu'd this giant rock into a thousand smithereens.
These signs are hilarious.
These trees were everywhere and in bloom. Linden I think.
Berlin has tons of examples of land mark buildings and monuments by the creme de la creme of rockstar architects from all over the world. This is great for the most part but it's a bit disconcerting that the Jewish museum is never referred to without the mandatory Libeskind name drop. It's definitely shiny though.
The Reichstag was...
..Heavily guarded.
In and around Potsdamer Platz.
For some reason I kept having accidents involving my hand around this time. Maybe it's one of those circadian rhythm things. Grass bandages work better than you'd think.
We arrived in time to catch the Berlin Bienale which was good for the most part. The best thing about it was the layout, just one long street with mostly non-gallery buildings converted into exhibition spaces. Particularly interesting was the old Jewish girls school which looked like it hadn't been renovated for years.
Security was really tight there, not for the art though - it is sadly a commonoccurrencee for Jewish establishments in Berlin. For example, this cafe is cordonned off from the street and has a police guard outside.
The school.
All galleries should have slides attached to them.
Taking a break from contemporary art.
Listening to my favorite thing at the Bienale: the sound installation in the cemetery by Susan Philipsz. Also amazing, Patrick Jolley's film Burn.
Visnja, thinking of Burek.
Why does this have a gun on it?
Berlin has great night life. Karsten showed us this place one night that has floating pontoons where boats pull up and become part of the bar.
Treacherous footing.
The garden city.
