Lazy Days in Berlin

I spent the last two days just seeing people I know, cycling and wandering around Berlin. My lack of real schedule, for the first time in a long, long time is starting to really sink in. I think I’ve sorely missed it. Berlin is a great city to be leisurely in.

Today, back to reality for a while, I am meeting two of my interview victims this afternoon and need to prepare a little. They do interesting work here so it should be fun.

In the meanwhile, I give you some more photos from my “Summer Travels” Flickr set.

David:

Dupé:

Hella & Siri:

Türk-i-ye! Türk-i-ye!

Last night David and Laura took me to watch the Turkey – Czech game at a Turkish beer garden in Kreuzberg. Borg am See, I believe it was called. At first I was only so-so in to it. I have never been a big sports fan. But mass psychosis soon had me standing on the bench screaming Türk-i-ye! Türk-i-ye! with the rest of them. That and the fact that Turkey got back from almost losing 0-2, then made 3 goals in rapid succession toward the end. As soon as the game was over people streamed to their cars and commenced speeding and flag-waving through the streets until the riot police came out in full force.

First I was tempted to find a Turkish flag of my own. Then, after an hour or so I’d had it up to here with the nationalism and the giant posters of Kemal Atatürk. I was tempted to start shouting “PKK! Ödzalan!” and “Free Kurdistan” or something along those lines. Probably good that I didn’t.

Unfortunately I left my camera at home. This slide show in the Berliner Zeitung pretty much captures what the streets looked like.

Dinner in Hökarängen

Last night Tina and I had dinner at Maria’s and Pelle’s commune in Hökarängen. Here are some pics:

(Clicking the photo will take you to my Flickr set for this trip)

Stockholm Slide Show

Photos from Stockholm so far. I want to figure how to embed a slide show, until then here's a link.

It seems wordpress won’t let me embed an actual slide show. Instead click the photo below to get to the set.

Flag Day

Writing this from my Dad’s and Hephzibah’s kitchen, watching my sister and Hephzibah cook Shabbes dinner.

Today is the Swedish National Day, or flag day. For my American friends that’s sort of like independence day except not, since Sweden used to be a colonizer not a colony.

It started out on a not-so-great note. On my way down into the subway I found there was a minor racist/nazi rally at Karlaplan, a small square (or a circle actually) close to where I am staying. The place was pretty much on lockdown and the cops seemed very annoyed at having to allow these guys to do their thing, which somewhat redeemed it. Nonetheless it put me in a pretty foul mood. I’ve been having a lot of conflicted emotions lately so it was nice to experience very pure anger for once.

Anyhoo, the day got much better when I arrived at my friend Rebecka’s birthday party, held in her mom’s garden. All my Swedish friends were there and it was sunny and perfect. Spent the afternoon sitting in the grass drinking mimosas. Babies everywhere. Photos to come.