Hello! It's been a while since I've posted anything, since the Internet here has been on the fritz. Last week our lovely friend Suzie came for a visit. She and Chance are standing on opposite sides of the former Wall ... can you guess who's on which side??

We introduced Suzie to the joy that is the Doener. Supposedly they eat more here than in Turkey, which is where they come from.

What would a visit to Berlin be without a visit to its biggest tourist attraction, the Pergamon Museum? We miss you, Suzie! It was fun!

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It's been a weekend of walks! On Saturday, our friend Ulf took us for a nice little tour of the park near our house...

Here is Jahn, founder of the German Sport Movement in the 1800's, looking very Caspar-David-Friedrich. Thanks, Ulf, for the very nice afternoon!

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, so we decided to take another walk. We ran across this scene in a quieter part of Mitte - one you don't see all that often anymore but that really represents Berlin - an empty, overgrown lot with a decaying building in the background, surrounded by newer buildings.

We had to make a stop at the Maerkisches Museum to look at the Berliner Bears. They're Berlin's mascots, and they're big and very brown. This one had dug himself a hole and was snuggling down in it ... very cute. I was just glad there was a fence between us.

Next picked up my cousin Jeff and (after a refreshing cup of coffee) went to one of Berlin's many many cemeteries. This one has tons of well-known people, including Brecht, Hegel, John Heartfield, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Heinrich Mann ...

Naturally, no trip anywhere is complete without the presence of Carl Friedrich Schinkel. This is his grave. Oh, Schinkel...

I just liked this picture. No story. :)

I'm not sure everyone is aware of the Event of the Year yet, that being when Chance found this record at the second hand store down the street. He tells me he wasn't going to let me see it, because he knew once I did I would *have* to have it. He told me anyway though. He says he couldn't resist. Hmmmm. We vacuumed the house to Kenny Loggins singing "Danger Zone" this morning! Fabulous!

And she's off ... Here's the reflection of Chance and me in Robyn's train window. She left for southern Germany today to visit some other friends ... we wish her a wonderful time!

Look! It's a bud on the vine outside our building! That means it can't be that long until spring... we hope... this week has been fun, living up the last couple of days we had with Jenn --

We visited the Pergamon Museum - home of the Museum for Islamic Art - and looked at lovely glazed mihrabs....

Next we visited the Painting Gallery in the Kulturforum, where one can see many many many pictures of the Virgin Mary. And some Vermeers.

The Kulturforum is also temporary host to Nefertiti while her museum is being remodelled. She is so gorgeous - the photo doesn't do her justice.

Here's Jenn looking out at the large Platz in front of the Reichstag on her last day here. We miss you already, Jenn!!

We are having a great month - all our friends from Seattle are visiting. This week we have our lovely friend Robyn, who flew in last night ... and of course we are treating her to the usual regime of walking in the cold. :)

We made sure to initiate Robyn into one of Berlin's best traditions - the Sunday brunch. And if you think that looks like a familiar face in the background, you're right - we ran into our friend Laure from the Goethe Institut in the same restaurant. Yay for Sundays and food!

The latest event - we finally went and picked up our bicycle from the old Prenzlauer Berg apartment. (Our roommate Jason had let us keep it after he left, but we kept forgetting to go pick it up.) It says "Made in West Germany" on it! So cool!

Hi there! We've been continuing our rigorous walking schedule with Jenn - seeing lots of sights and enjoying the now-melted snow. Here are Jenn and me squished together on the tram ...

Last night we went to a once-a-month event called "Yellow Lounge" where DJ's spin classical music (they were mixing segments of "Carmen"!) and they have live classical performances - this month it was a cellist. It was gorgeous music ...

On the walk home the other night we ran across this sign - what does it mean? "No walking, playing, living or driving"? It's a mystery. As is so much in a foreign country ....

This week we are so happy, because our friend Jenn is visiting! She flew all the way from Seattle and endured much runway-sitting in Copenhagen in order to come visit us. She is fabulous!

We are very proud of Jenn. Despite jet lag and the below-freezing temperatures, she has trooped around with us like a pro, and dutifully looked at churches, monuments, and other sights. Scarves help, though.

... and we even got to go on a cemetery tour with the famous Ulf, the Walking Encyclopedia! (We had breakfast with him, too.)

Chance had a moment with Engels in Marx-Engels Park ...

We've been doing a lot of waiting for the U-Bahn ...

Yesterday we wound up with a tour of the area around Zoostation. Inside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is this gorgeous mosaic ... it's quite impressive.