OK, I am currently running around like a headless chicken packing for an extended weekend trip to Berlin with the family, but I still somehow manage to squeeze in some time for bloggin' [go figure...].

Last time I went to Berlin was in December 1988, a little less than a year before the wall came down, and the East block seized to exist, well, technically speaking of course. I remember we went to Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburger Tor, and strolled down Kurfürstendam. It'll be interesting to see what it looks and feels like now. I expect there's still some mental, or at least visual, separation of the city in east and west, with the eastern part being less "modern" and more bohemian than the western part. I heard that the eastern part should have lots more atmosphere, including cafés with poetry reading.

Unfortunately, I can write my entire German vocabulary on the backside of a small stamp in Verdana Bold 16pt, and still leave room for extra notes, so, hopefully they are really international and speaks some English. I wonder if you can get by for four days in Berlin only knowing how to say "thank you", and "one large beer"? You probably could, and they would consider you to be a really friendly guy with an unquenchable thirst as well.

I am hoping to make a light getaway to an internet café one of the days to write something from Berlin, that would be really nice, well, at least for me. Otherwise, I will probably have something to contribute when I get back.

From the speakers in my living room, Everything but the Girl and Etienne de Crecy kept the nice beats flowing.