On the train in Berlin

In front of the big TV tower in Berlin

"This space belongs to you"- East Berlin

This is at Tacheles, which was a major squat in the past. It's in a bombed out block in East Berlin that was never repaired there was a squatted bar and show spaces, but now it's all legal. All the underground activity has moved further out, but Tacheles is still a center for East Berlin, but now there's a velvet lined "goth bar" on one floor and the street level bar (which has a giant beer tap shaped like a dragon, made out of scrap metal, that spits a ball of fire when the tap is pulled) is frequented by tourists.

The walls at Tacheles

Beer? No, they don't drink beer in Berlin

Tacheles get all lit up at night.. sorry... this probably looked in focus to me at the time

Getting down real late one night somewhere in Berlin

What?

Randy and his crazy Russian friend Phillip

I guess mini golf is so hot right now in Berlin. The one we went to was run by students and sold (of course) beer.

On this one you had to ramp it up into the hoop... harder than it looks

The holes are deceptively simple, but mad german engineering is involved. You have a choice of four balls that have different weights and textures that effect play. They are color coded with a suggestion for the best ball for every hole.

This kid was crazy good- he was whipping our asses

These were taken at Randy and Haage's "garden colony"- which is apparantly a common tradition for Berliners to have a plot of garden and small cottage at one of these areas just outside the city. Just dont let your garden get wild and overgrown like Haage's, or the salty German neighbors will give you the screwface.

Haage in her garden

Haage quickly put us to work.

Thsi is Haage's "unique" car- i think she calls it "the thing" or something

Randy and Haage's in Berlin

Special girl was there too

Randy and Haage in Berlin

Me, Laetitia and Mattieu wine on the last night in Paris

And for 10 minutes of every hour all night the bitch lights up and looks like a sparkling bottle of bubbly

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Paris

Big ups to our friends who are doing their own blogger jump-offs about their own respective excellent adventures-
Kate Mullan is writing about the study abroad program she is doing in Tanzania- DalaDala Stops Here
And Erin, Angie and Pete and on about living working and (of course) partying in Buenos Aires and well as snowboarding in Patagonia. It's called (subtle Vermont beer reference) Long Trail to B.A.
Respect!

Wine and scarves are all they need to have a good time.

Just a little picnic at the Tour Eiffel- defintely a worthwhile tradition. Around sunset the kids there look so proper and well-dressed, but after dark the hippies come out and you hear strains of accoustic renditions of "Hotel California".. thats when you run for it.