Fake meat store

Tonight, we walked by a fake meat store in our neighborhood - it reminded David that his sister had sent him a message about it a while ago, and it wasn't until we actually saw it that he remembered.

What do I mean by fake meat? Well, they are all stuffed. As in, plush toys. Not anything to do with actual animals. We'll try to go back when it's open sometime...

Artothek

On the way back from an apartment viewing (in our current neighborhood) I finally checked out the local library:

I mostly was just wandering around, checking on the wifi and looking for places to work. As I was wandering, I stumbled upon this room, which looked suspiciously like there was artwork to check out:

And it turns out that it is artwork to check out. According to the website (translated version), you can check out up to four pieces of art for up to 3 months at a time with a valid library card. I can hardly imagine a similar system in the US - it seems to say something profound both about the importance or art and the trust placed in library patrons. 

Numerology

I was getting blisters between multiple apartment viewings and sat down on a handy bench while David very nicely ran back to our apartment to get me better shoes. I started to examine the following building: 

Which is covered in these words and pictures that seemed really strange at first...

And on closer inspection, even stranger than I'd imagined. According to the author/artist, the number 43 is a big deal.

Against the backdrop of Berlin, this hardly seems all that strange. 

Trains all day

I ended up running errands this afternoon, which meant I rode the S-bahn, the U-bahn, and a few trams. I didn't get a really good picture of any of them, so here is a blurry S-bahn:

And waiting for the tram in the rain:

In Alexanderplatz

Or rather, Grill Runner in Alexanderplatz. When there's even a small crowd in Alexanderplatz, these street vendors are out. If I ate meat, I might try one just for the novelty... then again, maybe not.

Schloß Charlottenburg

Today we met our friend Trey for brunch, then walked to the Charlottenburg Castle (Schloß). It doesn't look like a castle so much as a large house with an elaborate fence and a really nice park/garden/lawn behind it. The castle garden is really nice to hang out in, and on this pleasantly cool Sunday there were plenty of runners, walkers, loungers, and tourists hanging out there.

Disc golf in Potsdam

It's a post about disc golf... and it's from me, not David! He'd made plans to meet up with a friend and show him the ropes of discing at a course in Potsdam, so I came along to play. Here are a few photos!

The Ryanair experience

For my travel to Madrid, I booked budget carried Ryanair. They have some extra cost-saving measures when compared to US budget carriers - most notably, no free beverages, ads on the seat backs, and a lack of seatback pocket. We also flew into Shönefeld, which doesn't have gates so we board and de-board via stairs.

And my flight included a guy in a hot dog suit (pictured below) and about 10 of his best friends.

"4th" Floor Walkup and the Chocolate Aisle

We live on the '4th' floor, but the trick is that Germans consider the '1st floor' to be the 'first floor above the ground,' so we have quite a walk up the stairs to our current residence (which is temporary and provided by my job.)  The gif above is the walk up one of 10 flights of stairs between the entrance and our apartment.  What a workout!

On a happier note, it's true that most grocery stores in Germany have an entire aisle dedicated exclusively to chocolate.  This was only half of the length of the aisle and only one side at a nearby Rewe supermarket.

At the conference

I grabbed this panorama of the main auditorium of the conference during the break before my talk. It's not too big, and I like how funky the yellow seats are. The talk went well, and I head back to Berlin tomorrow!

Bright Lights, Big City

Tonight I met a friend at Savignyplatz (on the southwest side of Berlin) for a late night beer.  I was sort of mesmerised by the lights at the train station, so I decided to see how an animated gif would look on the blog. 

Conference Banquet

Most conferences have a nice dinner on one of the nights to celebrate all the excellent science - this one included a fancy ceiling and a piano player. I snapped this picture from my seat:

No time for anything more exciting, I've been brushing up the talk I'm giving tomorrow!

Madrid at night

I had a busy day at the conference (and hot - some of the AC stopped working) and I totally forgot to take a picture until I was nearly back at my rental apartment for the night. Ambulances look different here than they do in Germany, which is different than they look in the US. Also, you can see some of the architecture details in the buildings behind.

My next two days are also going to be pretty full, but I'll find *something* to post!

Döner Kebap

This is the other food aside from Currywurst that is most closely associated with Berlin.  It is very similar to Giros, although the pita-like bread uses is generally freshly baked and vastly superior to its processed US counterpart.  Today I had my first one for dinner, and at a price of 2€ I can see it becoming a regular staple.

Conferencing, day one

I'm in Madrid for the rest of the week, attending the SDSS-IV meeting at the If you like science via twitter, you can follow along on twitter #sdss15. The meeting isn't in downtown Madrid, it's in the outskirts. It's in this building (it's a bit more lonely and hot than it looks).

I also snapped this picture of the Madrid skyline in the distance:

Not pictured: after today at the conference I joined some collaborators for dinner and drinks - very delicious!

PS: David has started posting too, so more pictures for you!!

Chocolate Pizza Quesadillas

My team at work tends to show up late then work late into the evening.  Everyone on the team really likes our team lead, and beyond being a good boss he's been a really welcoming and friendly presence to each of us as we adjust to life in Berlin - everyone I work with directly has relocated for this job (currently we are: an American, a Canadian, a Venezuelan, a Brazilian, a Russian, and a German from outside of Berlin.)  

There has been a running joke in our team about chocolate pizza being the type of food only Americans could dream up since it's such an unholy mix of different cultures.  A few of us decided to stay late after work and cook dinner together (our office has a fully stocked kitchen and bar) and then make the dream of chocolate pizza a reality.  We also decided to spruce up a dead plant on the boss' desk with some origami flowers.

Homeward Bound

Sarah and I are apart for the first time since our move, so to help give an idea of what my day looks like, I will be guest posting whenever we're in different places.  I have a busy week coming up at work, and after a delicious breakfast of Tortilla de Patata I hopped on a train bound for the airport.

Yesterday on the Teleferico Sarah and I saw 3 distinct skyscrapers seemingly set apart from the rest of the Madrid skyline.  I changed trains at a stop near the skyscrapers, and was surprised to find that there were 4 towers, not 3.

Ryanair is a low-cost no-frills air carrier that is (in?)famous for providing rock bottom flight prices at the cost of comforts.  Typical Ryanair departure lounges don't feature seating, and passengers line up (and stand) for over an hour waiting for the gate to open.

Flying into Germany felt like coming home, it was nice to see an abundance of greenery after the yellow, red, and brown hues of Sunny Spain.

Mostly food

Today, David headed back to Berlin and I mostly took it easy so I'd have plenty of energy for the SDSS meeting this week. Here's a sign from the place I had dinner with fellow astronomers in town for the conference:

And here is some seriously amazing tortilla David and I had for brunch:

And a gratuitous panorama of the inside of the tortilla place (La Bodega de la Ardosa). It was really neat inside - more like an old school bar with stand up tables than a restaurant. Both delicious and an experience. Hooray!

Day two in Madrid

Our main torist thing was El Teleférico - a cable car that essentially runs from a park to a slightly higher elevation park. Here's the inside of the cable car station:

We took some pictures from inside the car, but the windows were a little scratched, so most of them weren't all that good. Instead, here's David throwing a disk in the park at the top of the ride. Scenic Madrid skyline included:

We then walked by the Royal Palace, which is pretty majestic:

But most importantly, our day ended in chocolate con churros:

Madrid!

I have a conference in Madrid next week, so David and I are taking a mini-vacation here for the weekend. Despite getting in at about 3, we managed to hit went to the Prado Museum (they have free admission 2 hours before closing) and had some tasty food. And took these pictures:

The first few are on the way to the museum and in it, but this one is the Plaza del Sol at night. 

Tax Numbers!

Yep, tax numbers. I think this is maybe step 8 out of 20 in our quest towards being settled here in Berlin. In other words, no I didn't see anything scenic today!

Exploring Charlottenburg

Tonight we met Trey - who will be one of my co-workers at AIP - for dinner in Charlottenburg (a west Berlin neighborhood). Dinner was tasty, and he showed us around the neighborhood, including this rather large lake (Lietzensee). If we end up moving to Charlottenburg, it will be a super great place to run. 

The picture is by David - he has a better camera and a better eye for photography! 

Frankfurter Tor in the rain

I snapped this picture of Frankfurter Tor while running errands around our neighborhood. According to various informational plaques, wikipedia, and David, there used to be a city gate (tor) for the load leading to Frankfurt (not the one in the middle of Germany - the other one). The towers are part of a long strip of buildings that formed the flagship of East Germany's post-WWII reconstruction.

And because I <3 transit, I snapped this one when the M10 tram was going by.