Following the model of last year’s Notes from SF 2012:

On my first day in Berlin, I…

– caught the 3rd act of an episode of the Simpsons where they go to Japan, dubbed in German

– saw some old friends, and some bands I’d never heard of who were pretty all right

– got briefly confused by the ‘deposit system’ at the bar whereby you pay an extra euro for a token which you then return in exchange for your euro.

On the second day, I

– applied stupid amounts of sunscreen to my forehead throughout the course of the day

– ate a currywurst

– walked through Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and other famous ‘walking-through’ places

– discovered Sternburg Export (.80c/half-liter bottle)

– tried some extra-hot ‘red-top’ Sriracha hot sauce which I’d never seen before

–  listened to two kids on the street throwing down on their respective melodicas

– sat in the grass and drank beer

On the third day, I

– hung out for a bit with Nefertiti and Sakhmet (the dog-headed Egyptian goddess of death and vengeance) et al at the Neues Museum

– also peered intently at a small chunk of rock which purportedly bore cuneiform inscriptions from the Epic of Gilgamesh

– immersed myself in the horror-kitsch ‘Ostalgie’ of the DDR Museum

– acquainted myself with such products as the candybars CORNY BIG and NUTS, the breakfast cereal ‘HONEY BALLS‘ as well as a line of potato chips sold under the name ‘Crusty Croc‘

– used a 33cl can of “Jack and coke” (25% Jack Daniels, 75% cola) to wash down a bratwurst bought from a street vendor

– got rained on

On the fourth day, I

– took the U-Bahnhof to Zoologischer Garten

– saw a fat little old weiner-dog jump in and fetch a stick that his fat little old owner had thrown into one of the ponds at Tier Garten

– ate some kimchi that was bangin’

– caught up with old friend (see ‘first day’ above) over beers at the Hotel Michelberger

– listened to some jazz dudes on the bridge

– dodged the fuzz on the U-6 and had to walk home

– got rained on.

On the fifth day I

– went to the airport

– sneezed at the security checkpoint and heard several real-life Germans actually say “Gesundheit”

– ate a calzone for breakfast

– flew home.