Ich bin ein Teletubbyzurückwinker

Day 1 Berlin

Landed at 7 AM, took the S-bahn and the tram to Matternstraße 11, in the Friedrichshain neighborhood and checked into our Airbnb

 

After dropping off our stuff, went to the nearby organic supermarket to pick up some staples.

Went around the corner for cappuccinos and croissants, then went out to walk around the neighborhood.

We heard a voice coming out of a speaker, so we headed toward it and found a group of people entering an event space. We decided to blend in with the crowd to see what was happening (newly refurbished space having its grand reopening?).

Turns out it was a conference of educators

so we left and kept exploring the area.

Had a fabulous lunch at a place recommended by Bhob's boss.

Wanted to walk some more, but it had been (pleasantly) drizzling, so we stopped home for a while to recharge our batteries and wait for the rain to stop.

Well, it didn't stop, so we decided to make a pilgrimage to Aldi Nord

The ones in Berlin are owned by Aldi Nord, the same one that owns Trader Joe's in the US. They are more on par with Lidl, versus the US Aldis, which are owned by Aldi Sud

and find someplace to get a cocktail. I googled "cocktails near me" and found Bar Solut, our dream-come-true, open 24 hours a day bar 650 meters from our apartment (watch out!)

Had some great drinks and fun conversation with the bartender, Nihan (who didn't really use recipes for the cocktails, but just looked at the menu and poured in the listed ingredients; apparently we'd ordered some Deep Cuts), and Rafael, the only other person in the joint. He gave us some great tips about which venues in town would be worth checking out for live music.

Got back to the apartment about 34 hours after waking up in Minnesota, ready for some shut-eye.

Our efforts were thwarted by the low-battery chirping of the smoke detector in the bedroom. I messaged our host and he offered to come over, but it would have been disruptive and awkward and required an exceptionally tall ladder, so we told him we would wear earplugs and he could do it the next day.

I typically don't get a great night's sleep the first night in any new place, so it was merely one additional hindrance. We sat in the living room and read until we got sleepy enough to try again.

 

Day 2 Berlin

Let ourselves sleep in until 7:30, had coffee and flax muffins and got out the door by 9:30. We wanted to take advantage of the good weather by walking around, so we picked an arbitrary destination (Brandenburg Gate) and headed towards it via metro. 

Whilst on the metro we decided to first make a pilgrimage to Hansa Studios

Depeche Mode* recorded two albums there, as did some lesser folks whose names escape me

From there, meandered to Brandenburg Gate

Wandered around

 and had lunch at one of a long line of bougie salad places** before going to The Best Museum In Berlin

Hopped back on the metro to check out the Kreuzberg neighborhood

Reminded me a little bit of Roma and La Condesa in CDMX

Got a coffee tonic and a cocktail before winding our way back home, which helped us to connect the dots and start understanding the layout of the city.

Stopped back home to recharge before leaving for our evening's activity. We were delighted to see that our host had been by to remove the chirping smoke detector!

I went to the nearby Turkish restaurant to pick up a döner wrap for us to split before heading to ORWOhaus to see one of our favorite bands, Arkona, preceded by Aeternum and October Tide. 

The venue was way out on the outskirts of town, among the car dealerships, railyards and motocross track. We had a hard time finding it, but at least we were not alone, as we saw a bunch of other people dressed in black, looking at their phones, looking up and around, looking at their phones again...

We finally got there, bought some merch and found a spot with decent sightlines.

It was a fantastic show! The openers had short sets, but Arkona played a solid show. The vocalist, Masha Scream, is a force of nature. Imagine a 40-year-old Helen Mirren as the village witch in a parallel universe where she doesn't get hauled away, and you get a tiny glimmer of her presence and power.

They were a tough act to follow, and the headliner, Batushka, failed to impress us, so we left and got pizza and beer on the way home, where we rested our middle-aged feet.

* "Hansa studio is right next to the Berlin Wall but none of us has ever been to the East. Martin tried once but they refused him entry. Didn't like the way he was dressed. Thought he was a hooligan. 

People imagine we work here because it's wow, you know, really heavy, but I don't feel that. The place is quite suburban. Berlin's like Brixton. Oh, yeah. 

The cellar is a bit weird, innit? I was down here doing the vocals for ‘Shake The Disease’ in the dark, last time we were here, and I was terrified. I had all noises in me headphones like whispers, and apparently sometimes you can see the shadow of a projectionist. It's a bit haunted, this studio."

-Dave Gahan, 1986

**  This one distinguished itself by using a celebrity name instead of an order number, which is genius because not only is it more memorable, it is entertaining for the people eating there, who get to hear the employees shouting "Jack Nicholson! Ozzy Osbourne!"

Day 3 Berlin

Slept until 9 (!), walked to a different Aldi 

and did some recon for Urban Spree (where we'd had tickets for a show that ended up being cancelled a day after we'd bought them). It was part of a huge, sprawling area of galleries, bars, restaurants, etc that reminded us of Batman Alley in São Paulo. We vowed to return!

Dropped off our stuff at home and got some breakfast at Cafe Bonjour 

Best shade of green ever!

before continuing on to the Stasi Museum

We want to incorporate these slogans with the others onto the facade of the Wilder Foundation headquarters

Stopped at Bar Solut for martinis and espressos with sambuca to perk up for the evening's activity

Took the tram to Kulturbrauerei in the Kollvitzkeitz neighborhood. It is one of the coolest places I've ever been! 

Hard to capture the ambience in a single photo

View from the pizza place where we had supper

It was by total chance that it was the only place that a non-dubbed version of Oppenheimer was showing.

Picked up some candy for Bhob at the convenience store around the corner and wound down to get ready for an early start the next day.

Day 4 Berlin

Forced ourselves awake at 6:45 to take advantage of a good weather forecast and visit Friedhof Grunewald-Forst where Nico is buried.

Took the tram to an S-bahn, but the situation on the ground didn't match the google maps. After a few fruitless forays, Bhob wisely suggested we pivot, get back on the train, jump off at Alexanderplatz and wander aimlessly.

After a shot of cachaça at a tourist trap restaurant on Sucker's Row, we walked around and enjoyed the fresh, sunny morning.

I have no idea what this is, but I remember it from the opening sequence of Wings Of Desire

Went back to the area around Urban Spree, which was hosting a massive flea market (and is a year-round home to a skate park, climbing wall, galleries, restaurants, etc)

Stopped back at home, and then back to the fancy neighborhood from the night before. It was Sunday, so there were lots of families out strolling.

SpongeBob!

 

Returned home and had a late lunch at the Vietnamese restaurant across the street.

Went to Rockcafe Halford, had a few drinks and enjoyed some metal videos.

Walked home and wound down for the night.

Day 5 Berlin

Woke up around 6:30 so we could have plenty of time for breakfast and coffee before getting to the German Spy Museum for our 10:15 AM timed ticket.

It was fantastic! Lots of actual objects of spycraft (tiny cameras, lock-picking kits, things to hide stuff in, dead drops, etc*), and the interactive exhibits for the kids were not dumbed down, but things that I would have done if there were no line (lie detector, laser maze, escape crawl through ductwork).

I thought the pictographs indicated No Photos, so I didn't take any, though I think they really meant No Flash Photos. Sorry!

Went to a bougie salad place for lunch and headed home to rest and research some possibilities for craft cocktails.

Got burgers at the Applebee's of Berlin, Peter Pane,

because it was near our destination, Windhorst

Fabulous cocktails and beautiful atmosphere. Chatted for a second with a couple from Milwaukee.

Before going home, Bhob bought candy

then we stopped at Paule's Metal Eck

Music and decor not as impressive as Halford  Bar, but still fun

and picked up a döner wrap at Tio's.

 

* If I were a moden-day spycrafter, I would design a camera and listening device that works in a Kleen Kanteen and assassin's rifle that fits into a rolled-up yoga mat.

Day 6 Berlin

Woke up at 7, and since we didn't have much planned for the day, leisurely had our coffee and muffins. Left around 9:30 to use recon for Velvet Bar  as a jumping off point for checking out the Neuköln neighborhood.

I'm George Clooney, and I approve this barber shop poster!

Landed on Karl-Marx Strasse, walked around, circled back to La Grappa for some grappa

Made several attempts to find a bathroom (including getting rebuffed by a Jerky McJerkface at a shoe store) before finally finding success at the mall.

Had an amazing stuffed-potato lunch at Trafooo19 Kumpir 

Got a quick brandy at a pub across the street

Walked around, sat at a park, stumbled upon another couple of parks

Richardplatz

Körner Park

Until 5 PM, opening time for Das Gift, the pub owned by Rafael, who we met on our first night in town.

He wasn't working, but we enjoyed talking to João, the Brazilian bartender.

João had some interesting, outsider's observations about how Berliners have a fetish for rules, and will strictly adhere to them right up to the boundary, but never beyond.

Then it was time for the main event of the day, Velvet Bar.

I have no words. 

If I had to pick one, it would be Transcendent.

If I may pick more than one, I'd say that after reading phrases in its description such as "foraged this" and "seasonal, locally sourced that", it could have easily been precious and snobby. Instead, it was a place created by people who are passionate about interesting flavors, who were very friendly and welcoming. 

Visiting mixologist Guiseppe, arriving straight from the airport from London

Bonus! It smelled of essential oils rather than cigarette smoke

Made it home via an unfamiliar route, picked up a döner wrap at the other Turkish place near our apartment, wolfed it down and wound down for the night.

Day 7 Berlin

Another rainless forecast, another attempt to find Nico's grave.

Left around 8:45 AM for Friedhof Grunewald-Forst.

The google maps redeemed itself from the bad intel of Sunday by leading us through the forest.

Even though Berlin is the least stinky major city I've ever been to, we still enjoyed the fresh fragrance of the woods

Three people exited as we arrived, and then we had the whole place to ourselves for the entire visit.

After that, Bhob had the fine idea to go to Wald Friedhof Heerstraße

Was in The Magnificent Seven

Wrote the screenplay for Metropolis

Hazelnuts and chocolate sustained us long enough to get to our arbitrary destination in Charlottenburg.

Tribute to ABBA and Boney M. We tried to buy tickets online, but it was a confusing setup and terrible website, so we bailed

Ate lunch and got cocktails at the very touristy Monkey Bar

"Sure the view is great, but the view of my phone is greater!"

Went home to rest and shower.

Next stop: X Bar

Yummy cocktails and pleasant conversation with Oliver, the co-owner

Walked to Bryk Bar for some truly innovative flavors. If you had told me the day before that I would be swooning over rum, white chocolate and horseradish foam, I would have told you politely to go jump in a lake of molten lava.

Though not the owner, Eugen took great pride in his work

Strolled around for a bit in the perfect, end of summer weather before hopping on the tram back to Freidrichshain

Modeling my new, custom rain boots

Picked up a döner wrap on the way home and wound down around 11:30.

Day 8 Berlin

Rainy morning, so we took our time getting out to re-up on groceries.

We had tickets for the 1:30 PM Berlin Unterwelten  tunnel tour, so we headed to that part of town to find it, then have lunch and hang out until the tour.

Found a bougie salad place one S-bahn stop away. Went back, found a pub that was just opening up and had a brandy, then went to the tour office. Turns out that the meeting point was a few blocks away, so it was good that we'd arrived early.

It was fantastic! Lots of interesting background, and stories about individuals (which is how I learn history best, versus dates and statistics).

Got to see part of an actual tunnel

Afterwards, strolled around the former wall area

The only surface in Berlin not covered in graffiti

then got a burger at Supreme 

Caption: No amount of cool photos could make up for the excruciating music

and headed across the street to our cocktail destination for the night, Mr. Susan

They specialize in cocktails based on Asian spirits and ingredients. It was a flavor adventure!

Our bartender, Ninon, had just been attending the BCB and let us try her latest creation, a mezcal infused with gruyere cheese. Amazing!

We bonded over our mutual love of Jeppson's Mallört, a much maligned digestif.

Headed home relatively early, wound down and got to bed by 10:30.

Day 9 Berlin

Got an early-ish start to check out East Side Gallery before the throngs arrived.

Impressively color-coordinated couple

Walked to the record store coffee shop

Not organized by genre, title, artist or date

Then home. Got some lunch at the Vietnamese restaurant across the street , then went to the Museum of Photography to see a bunch of Helmut Newton photos of wealthy white people.

On the way home stopped at the Karma Syndikat store that we'd been passing by every day.

Got home and rested for a bit.

The plan for the evening was to go to Reset Bar to see tAngerinecAt We needed a little something to eat beforehand, and I had spotted on the google maps a place near the club, Jimmy's Falafel, that called out to me. 

Took the U-bahn to Kreuzberg, walked around looking for it, and found nothing. We were in some sort of groovy arts encampment that seemed kind of sketchy, a la Hard Times Cafe. 

Giving up, we looked on the map to figure out how to get back to the area where the club was, climbed up the ladder for a kid's giant slide, and found... Jimmy's Falafel!!

Got a couple of sandwiches and they were cheap and delicious! I'm glad our search for food brought us to the area (Görlitzer Park). It was pretty cool.

Had some time to fill before the show, so went to get a drink at Filmkunstbar Fitzcarraldo   and had a great conversation with Ronan, the Irish bartender.

Everything we'd seen regarding the Reset gig said 7 PM, but when we got there after 7, they were like "The first band goes on at 9", and there was no way we were going to hang around for 2 hours for a band we were marginally interested in, so we pivoted and went to check out Cafe Kreuzberg.

No photos allowed, so I only have my memory, but the wallpaper was A-mazing (reminded me somehow of my grandparents' house), the bartender, Robert, was opinionated and engaging (imagine a young, German Paul Weller), and the cocktails were delicious and potent.

After that walked almost an hour (beautiful night!) back to our neighborhood to Booze Bar. They didn't have menus, so we told our liason what our flavor preferences were and he came up with something for us. They were great!

Continued on towards our apartment, with a detour to the Turkish place at the tram stop for a dönner wrap to bring home.

Day 10 Berlin

 Putzed around until the rain let up around 9 AM to go to Friedhof Stubenrauchstraße.

Lots of variety in the headstones, with understated individuality and great fonts.

Always opt for the Perpetuity Package. Trust me on this one.

Ms. Dietrich

My new alias

Strolled around the Friedenau area, 

got Second Breakfast at a cafe, stopped at a pub for espresso with ouzo (which perplexed our friendly bartender), and brandy (which earned us the nickname "The Brandy Family" from one of the English-speaking pub denizens).

Picked an arbitrary destination on the map (a pastry shop) for walking around the area

They charged extra for the hornet topping, so we opted out and kept walking

Found a Turkish coffee shop with house-made borek

Then took the U-bahn and tram home. Spotted an interesting museum poster at a tram stop and managed to get a photo of it with nanoseconds to spare, so we could look up what and where the exhibition was.

Walking home, Karma Syndikat was open, and Bhob wanted to buy a t-shirt, so we went in and were greeted by two sweet dogs, belonging to the shop's owner.

Rested up a bit at home before leaving for our evening's activity, Lobsterbomb at loge.

Left around 5:15 for a Thai restaurant near our venue, but it was small and fully booked. The proprietor kindly recommend another place nearby and they had room for us.

After supper, stopped at ARTliners Berlin to get out of the rain, have a drink and fill some time before the show.

Record store connected to the bar

Got to loge. right at 7. Each got a drink upstairs and nursed it for an hour until it was time to go downstairs.

Luckily for us, Lobsterbomb was on first. They were great!!!

Just like at so many gigs at the 7th Street Entry, everyone hung back behind an invisible line. The lead guitarist said "Lots of room up front! Don't be shy!" so of course I marched up there,  parked myself right in front of the stage and danced like an idiot.

Went past a few nightcap possibilities, but it was 9 o'clock on a Saturday night, and everything was packed, so we just went home.

Day 11 Berlin

 Left around 9:30 AM for the Bröhan Museum . There were crowds of people heading in the same direction, and of course I thought "Oh, great. EVERYONE is going to the museum today!"

Turned out to be some kind of fun run. Good!

The museum was great! All of the kind of Art Nouveau and Modernist stuff I like.

Little individual trays for your Bugles. How thoughtful!

Reminded us of the cover of Songs In the Key Of Life

Even the bathroom stall hardware was stylish

Got omelettes at a cafe for Second Breakfast , then stopped at a pub for brandy.

Walked around a little more, 

but it was chilly and windy, and not too inviting, so we hopped an S-bahn home.

Did some preliminary cleaning, consolidating and packing.

Left around 5:30 to get some supper at a Russian restaurant, Cafe Chagall.

There was a table available in the way, way back smoking area. After about 20 minutes, I walked to the front to find our server to place our order.

About 45 minutes later, after listening to the insufferable profanity* of the Danish (Dutch? Flemish?) young "ladies" behind us, 

and witnessing the server and the cook having multiple smoke breaks, we asked our server if our food would be coming anytime soon. "Ooo, well, you know, the front is very busy..."

So we put down cash for Bhob's grappa and left for our true destination, 8mm

The cocktails and music made up for all of unpleasantness of the restaurant. 

Left a generous tip and went home, stopping for one last döner wrap.

Ate, made some coffee for the next morning and wound down for the night.

*I have no fundamental objections to profanity when it is used judiciously, like cayenne in a recipe. I certainly don't want a pound of cayenne dumped onto my plate, especially when topped with a steaming pile of "bro".

Day 12 Departure

Woke early enough to eat up everything left in the fridge, clean up and do 1000 idiot checks before leaving at 7 AM to catch the tram and S-bahn to the airport. 

 

Eugen, our Bryk bartender, said that he has never heard anyone use the word "teletubbyzurückwinker", but we think it's hilarious and will continue to use it anyway

 

Random Observations

East Berlin is a relatively small percentage of the city 

Default mode for kids was free range, or minimally supervised at most 

Virtually no jaywalking, anywhere. On the rare occasions that it happened, it was usually us.

Didn't see a single cat. The whole time. Not even in a window.

Lots of well-behaved dogs, though.

Most Asian restaurants also served sushi, regardless of which country's cuisine they specialized in 

Why doesn't every country sell evaporated milk in small, resealable containers?

FAQs

 So... it was a good trip?

Yes!

Why Berlin?

Originally, our only objective was to shop at the Rammstein store.

 

Seriously.

That was it.

 

However, as we started to look at things to do the other 10 days, we realized that there are a lot of cool things to see and do. So we were not at all disappointed to find that the store was temporarily closed.*

Several months after booking the trip, we became rather enamored of extreme metal, and discovered that one of our new favorite bands (Arkona) was playing the night after we arrived. That led to seeing what other bands might be playing during our stay. 

Typically when we travel, evenings have been spent winding down at our Airbnb, so experiencing "nightlife" was kind of new.

 

Beyond that, we’ve both always been obsessed with Cold War East Berlin**, and have consumed countless movies and books about it, both fiction and truth (e.g. Der Tunnel, The Lives of Others, Stasiland by Anna Funder).

It was challenging keeping this one a secret ahead of time, because we know so many people who have spent significant amounts of time there, but we really wanted to make sure to have no one else’s filters on.

* The day after we returned, we got an email from the Rammstein store announcing that they would be reopening the Saturday after we left.

 **Some of you may recall that I once had a cat named Stasi.

 

Are you sure that the choice wasn’t a reaction to your last destination?

No, we had already chosen Berlin before we went to Senegal. However, the contrast made us appreciate things about Berlin that we may have previously taken for granted, like “street addresses” and “a public transportation system that makes sense to outsiders”.

 

How big is it?

Big!

Population as of 2019 3.645 million

 

5.9 times as big as Minneapolis

 

How was the weather?

Great! Ideal temperature range; mostly 50s and 60s, with the highest in the low 70s and lowest in lower 40s.

Lots of overcast days with intermittent drizzle, but my mental picture of Berlin has always been in black and white, so if it had been sunny and cheerful, I would have felt cheated.

What time of year did you go?

First half of October, 2023

How were your flights?

Uneventful!

We flew Delta and every flight arrived on time. Security leaving Berlin, passport control at JFK and security at JFK were really, really busy. We usually arrive early for flights and sit around, but this time it paid off with no stress during the long waits.

MSP-JFK

A220-100

JFK-BER

B767-300ER

BER-JFK

B767-300ER

JFK-MSP

A319

What did you watch on the plane?

MSP-JFK 

5 1/2 episodes of Schitt's Creek

JFK-BER

A couple episodes of The Office

Sarah Silverman Someone You Love

Shaun of the Dead

6 episodes of Fleabag

BER-JFK

Read half of the July/August Atlantic Magazine

Leguizamo Does America

Drop Dead Gorgeous (fun to see some Central alumni in the credits!)

90 minutes of Tár

JFK-MSP

The rest of Tár

4 episodes of Schitt's Creek

Did you learn German?

Not really. I already knew a few words, but I didn't really make an effort.

Do most people speak English?

Yes.

Did you learn the National Anthem?

Nope.

I hadn't realized until I looked for it online that it is the same melody (written by Haydn) as Deutschland über alles, which made it not-so-fun to sing. 

Instead, I learned something a little more playful with less baggage that I have loved since 1982.

How did you get around?

Walking and mass transit. Never needed to take a taxi. Rafael (owner of Das Gift) complained that Berlin's transit system isn't as good as other German cities (because of being separate during the Wall era), but it got us everywhere we wanted to go. 

And the google maps gave us detailed instructions for every step of the way, so we could decide on the fly and not have to look up and write anything down.

How were the motorists?

Courteous 

Is it pedestrian and bike friendly?

It is pedestrian friendly in that motorists strictly adhere to the traffic laws and stop at red lights. There is a lot of uneven pavement/cobblestones so you do have to watch your step. I was glad that I didn't bring my barefoot toe shoes.

It's an ideal city for cycling: mostly flat, and all but the smallest side streets have bike lanes and signals (though I think that riding on cobblestones would rattle my nerves).

Did you drink the water?

 Yup!

Did you eat any interesting food?

 Lots of Turkish döner 

Did you eat any traditional German food?

No.

Did you hear any interesting music?

The concerts were great, and some bars had cool music, but nothing we haven't heard before.

Did you go to Berghain?

It was very close to where we were staying, but if they let in a couple of white, middle-aged Midwesterners like us, their cool cred would plummet, and why would we want to go someplace like that?!

So it looks like you guys just drink all day, or am I mistaken?

There are usually several hours of walking in between drinks, but yeah, pretty much.

What is the difference between pubs and bars?

Pubs: open much earlier in the day, bartender generally 65+, old fashioned decor, music is radio tuned to a pop station, inexpensive, probably don't get asked for a shot of brandy very often

Bars: open after 5 (more likely 7 or 8), creative decor, curated music, emphasis on cocktails, bartender generally younger than 40.

Any highlights?

Exceptionally friendly, helpful, good-natured people. We witnessed countless acts of courtesy, and not just towards us 

Randomly stumbling across really cool parks and places (like Görlitzer Park and Kulturbrauerei)

Next-level craft cocktails, especially at Velvet, Bryk and Mr. Susan

Teenaged girls doing interpretive dance to Swedish Death Metal

Lowlights?

Cigarette smoking still very prevalent in bars and clubs 

Any surprises?

How many lovey dovey couples you see at an Extreme Metal show

Not as cashless as we'd imagined

Did you make it a point to see anything related to the Holocaust?

No, our focus was music and the Cold War era, but we did see lots of these memorial plaques all over town

Why aren't there many photos of you in your blog posts?

Because I primarily use my own photos, and I am just not a selfie-taker. The blogs posts document my trips as experienced by me; I see a lot of Bhob and not a lot of myself :)

What was the exchange rate?

 $1=  €.93

How much did it cost?

Prices were comparable to those in the Twin Cities (except for eggs, which were about double). Restaurants and bars have not yet caught on to the "employee wellness surcharge" that has infiltrated the US.

 

For 2 people, 11 nights:

Flights $2472.10

 

Trip insurance $194.58

 

Lodging $911.55 +$40 city tax 

 

Food:

Groceries $80.22

Restaurants and street food $518.33

 

Household $12.10

Booze (bought separately, not as a part of dinner out, and including very generous tips) $894.15 (!)*

 

Candy $15.80

 

Ground transportation $172.97

 

Admission to attractions $232.11

 

 

Total $5543.91

 

Total "on the ground" $1925.68

 

Average daily on the ground $175.06

 

Total cost per person per day

 $251.99

To pay for a trip like this, you would have to save $7.59 per day for a year.

*Yes, that is an awful lot of money to spend on cocktails, BUT we have discovered that when sitting at the bar,in front of the friendly bartender, we have a captive audience of someone to pepper with questions about our destination. It's a perfect situation for people like us, who are never going to plunk ourselves down next to a stranger on a park bench or bus seat and just start talking to them.

Who should go?

Anyone who:

Would like to visit Western Europe and not have to learn a single word of a foreign language.

Can appreciate a city where every convenience store has a table or two out front where you can drink a beer with your friends.

Enjoys legal public drinking 

Loves live music and/or nightclubs and has the capacity to stay up really, really, really, really late.

Is nostalgic for the days when smoking was allowed in bars.

 

Would you go back?

 Natürlich!

Who watched Stinkerbell while you were gone? 

My dear friends and neighbors Rob and Jennifer