Berlin

[kaolinfire]

Spent a whirlwind week in Berlin with Amy and Fenris. Amy was presenting a poster at the Cog Sci conference.

Things I've learned about berlin:

• largest city I've seen that's so pro-bicycle; so many cyclists, so many bike rentals, so many bikes locked up everywhere
• omg cobblestones everywhere! not the major streets, but definitely the minor ones, and sidewalks, and...
• brick, brick, brick - all sorts of brick buildings, and so many variations on types and sizes and arrangements and textures and ....
• so many huge, old buildings; so many grand buildings with statues atop them; statues with lightning rods embedded, I think...?
• lots of awesome new buildings as well
• smokers. wow. haven't been around this many smokers since LARPing.
• bidets!? maybe that was just our hotel.
• many folks did not want to leave East Germany-due in part to their friends and family being there
• East Germany dispatriated a large number of its populace, in many cases as opposed to jailing them

There was probably a lot more that I learned in various ways. I think the above list was mostly put together the first two days we were there, and then it all got away from me....