Didn’t expect to be shooting disaster pictures when I went down to the weekly expat riverboat barbecue two weeks ago, but what looked to be a gas station was on fire upriver of us. It took the fire department about two hours to get it under control. Yesterday one of my new neighbors almost burned the apartment down, too, so it seems to be a season for fires. A guy upstairs fell asleep while cooking and there was smoke just pouring out his window… he finally woke up when the fire department starting trying to break his door.

That said, Berlin is probably the most mellow city I’ve ever been in. I was thinking about the different cities I’ve spent time in and sort of comparing them to tastes and drinks… Paris is like dark red wine, heady and old and rich. Moscow is a bit like a Red Bull & Vodka – does horrible things to your body and mind while making you both hyperactive and insanely depressed. Minneapolis is like a pitcher of Liennie’s Honeywiesse Beer with lemon slices – both earthily local and a bit gay. Berlin… Berlin makes me think of sipping vodka lemonade on the porch.

Very likable place, anyway. I just wish we were having an easier time finding work, so I could actually relax into it.