Bayerisches Restaurant

last monday, when josh and i were in potsdam, we stumbled upon this bayer restaurant after about an hour of searching, debate, and indecision. bayern is a state in southern germany with a culture and dialect so different from berlin that it might as well be a different country. in fact, it's still sometimes referred to as "the Free State of Bavaria" (der Freistaat Bayern).

here's the front of the menu:


inside the restaurant:


we each had a liter of beer (eine Maß) which is reportedly the only way beer is served in bayern. i had Schweinshaxe, which is a ham hock (pork knuckle) which is roasted to perfection such that the the skin ends up almost exactly like chicharrón. it was served with beer sauce and the best sauerkraut i've ever had. there's a similar dish called Eisbein, which is a ham hock that is boiled rather than roasted.


Schweinshaxe:

Source: Wikipedia

Tempelhof Airport

"Berlin Tempelhof Airport (German: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) was an airport in Berlin, Germany, situated in the south-central borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. The airport ceased operating in 2008 in the process of establishing Schönefeld as the sole commercial airport for Berlin" (Wikipedia). Tempelhof Airport was also the aiport used for the Berlin Airlift (Luftbrücke, or "air bridge," in German).

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Berlin. I really can't remember the last time I saw the sun here. In the end, the weather here is not so much different from Rochester, and that's pretty depressing.



sun=happiness.


So, Nick and I made our way to Tempelhof sporting our nicest shorts and t-shirts. The Germans, however, were stilled dressed as if it were the dead of winter. When we arrived, this is what we saw:




...lots of kites and other flying objects, such as this one:






Here's the actually terminal which is now abandoned...







And the sun shined aaaall the way home...

Eleven days to go

josh arrived on friday and left this morning. i took off on friday and monday so i could show him around the city. we did the basic tourist routine including a trip to potsdam, the capital of brandenberg state which land locks berlin.

potsdam couldn't be more different than berlin. walking around the cobblestone streets, i decided it is the most different place i've ever been in terms of look and feel. everything is super european, whereas in berlin i don't get that feeling so much. being there reminded josh of paris.

check out some pictures here: http://www.lemonpage.de/Fotoseiten/potsdam-fotos.html

also, there was a coctail party at my supervisor's house on saturday. i met some interesting people, talked to my supervisor's son (who speaks with a new zealand accent...he studied there), and had lots of good food and drink. a good time was had by all.

just eleven days left now. and seven more days of work. my current project is the integration of my real-time heart impedance simulator into the heart model. the code to do this is ready, however i haven't tested it with the heart model yet.

last nite, i received a care package from mom and dad! yay! i got lots of things to eat like homemade cookies along with other assorted creature comforts. thanks! :)