I took a few pictures with my new camera.  I have so much to learn about how to use it properly.  I guess it would help to read the instructions.

All pictures can be found here.

Found in a the local döner shop tonight.

On my way home from Istanbul, I began to feel like something was not quite right with my throat.  By mid-week, I (along with everyone else in Potsdam) was down for the count.  On Wednesday, it felt like nobody on the campus was at work.  I went home early on Wednesday – pretty much straight to bed.  Thursday was spent mostly in bed.  After consuming more vitamin C than I can recall doing before, I was beginning to feel quasi-human again (Friday).  After being cooped up all week, I was feeling the need to break out of my own personal Krank Haus.

So what did the break out compose of?  Friday night, the local men’s fußball team (Babelsberg) played – so I went.  It was a fairly strange scene.  At the beginning of the 2nd half, the flares came out, smoke filled the stadium, flares were tossed onto the field, riot cops poured in, and beer and taunts poured onto the riot cops – and the game continued on all the while.  I just kept thinking to myself, “but this is Babelsberg”.  I was smart enough to buy an expensive seat away from all the action.

The rest of the weekend was also full and busy – Turkish coffee with P&J, visiting the Babylon Exhibition at the Pergamon Museum, Drachenfest kite festival (I really liked watching the kites), watching an ultimate frisbee tournament hosted by the Goldfingers (I was not feeling well enough to play), taking Emil to the Turbine Potsdam fußball game, and finally going to a percussion concert (Vanille-Orange) in Berlin.  All-in-all, I think I managed to escape my Krank Haus pretty well.

This weekend is in Zürich with Hil, Ryan and Sophie.

Despite the wind and rain, I ventured out to the local Potsdam Turbine fußball game yesterday morning. The winds were still quite strong. Any ball kicked very high off the ground seemed to take abrubt sharp angle turns in mid-flight. There was one sight that I found very funny. Standing next to me was a man holding a small umbrella with one hand to protect himself from the wind and rain. The wind was much too strong for the umbrella, so it sort of folded/collapsed around his head. With his other hand, he was battling the umbrella to get his beer to his mouth, while at the same time trying to peek out from under his trap to watch the game. I very much wished I had my camera to capture this. It would be much easier to describe with a photo. Oh well. It made me laugh a bit.

Speaking of going in like a lion and going out like a lamb (dove??), on Thursday the Daily Show had a very funny segment describing W’s recent trip to Africa. Maybe something good will come out of this presidency. Hard for me to get my head around that idea ….