A subject at (long) last.

Today we went to Stine's apartment before going out to find me a subject. Her neighborhood is terribly cute. There were so many shops full of handmade and European things, but we didn't have a lot of time.

She made us cappuccino...

...then we hit the road.

We finally arrived at the much-discussed children's farm, where they do NOT in fact farm children but rather allow children to play with animals and build play equipment. There, we met my subject, David, and a few others, including the charming Nino

and equally endearing Ludwig

They were not at all evil like American little boys. They were actually very pleasant and sweet.

The door says, "Hakuna Matata."

Then the three of us had lunch at the Thai restaurant again

before Michelle and I headed back to Kreuzberg to visit her subject at Another Country, where I bought a bunch of used books including a British version of The House of Paper. I went camera crazy on the way there, annoying a great many Berliners with my touristy invasiveness. 

We finally got there and had coffee while Michelle fretted about what the lighting would be like in Another Country.

Kreuzberg is very cool. Stenciled art graces the walls and there is graffiti everywhere you look.

Oh, and I found my place in this world. Now I just need a way to get inside...

Day 7

Today I woke up late and Michelle and I went to check out her subject, a very cool mid-transition transgender woman named Sophie, who runs an English-language used book store.

In the same area, we found a foto laden, a record store and a shoe store, but they were all closed for Father's Day, which in Berlin means "men get to drink and be raucous" day (there was much smashing of bottles and puffing of chests). But we're going to check it out tomorrow. 

It was also pouring all afternoon, so I decided to forego the camera and take iPhone pictures instead.

Tomorrow, Stine is going to take me to some farms and for coffee. I'm excited. She's so nice. More tomorrow.

Once upon a time, there were three bears who didn't have a cottage or porridge or beds. They had a concrete pit in the middle of a city, where they leaned on rocks and heaved giant sighs of boredom aaalll day long, chewing on old tires and climbing quasi-trees for "fun."

But anyway, the Fat Tire Bike Tour was awesome. Our guide, Blakely, was very friendly and made the tour interesting--not that it needed help being interesting!

I rode Ms. Jane Goodall, but today we were the only non-tetrapods.

Berlin by bike is fabulous. I wanted to permanently affix myself to Jane's two-wheeled goodness. We saw a lot on the tour, including a large expanse of the wall, where a man was working on restoration and the rest was covered in varying graffiti.

At first, only a few were daring enough to shoot while biking, but slowly the rest of us started. Most of mine looked like this: 

But some looked like what I was actually seeing:

Mostly free day

This is what color it is at 9:30 p.m. You can also hear birds. If I didn't know, I'd say it was morning.  

Michelle, Kelly, Lauren and I went to Charlottenburg and visited used bookstores and a vegetarian organic restaurant called Gorilla. 

On the way, we saw a wooden playground. 

There were some cute shops, but most were either expensive or just sold foreign things. 

In one store, the dressing rooms were painted like the Abbey Road cover. The bags were very cute and the prices were good, but I couldn't find a single bag without leather. 

And then we saw this funky art at the S-Bahn station. 

And this Moroccan guy asked us where we were from. 

"Florida, USA." 

"No, where are you from?"

 "USA." 

"Ohh, America?"

 Then he just harassed Lauren.

IWhen we got back, Franka Bruns spoke to us about her career. Her photography is beautiful. I a few really stood out for me, like the dalmation in the book shop, the men with pink hair kissing. She and Stine--the two of Mr. Freeman's contacts we've met--have been incredibly welcoming and sincere. We are lucky to meet them.

After that, we went to a Thai restaurant. Great prices and great food.