June 12, 2010

Two photos taken in the Beyoğlu district.  

1. The view from Galata Tower.

2.  How to wash your dog.  
Step one: Go to a car wash. 
Step two: Attach your dog, using a leash, to a hook on the wall.
Step three: Shampoo your dog.
Step four: Hose your dog clean. 

June 11, 2010

At Topkapi Palace Museum.


June 10, 2010

The Hagia Sopha.  Surely one of the most breathtaking spaces ever built. 


E. got this kid's permission for a photo.  We wish we knew the story. 



June 9, 2010

On June 8 we said goodbye to E's parents and their friends.  They headed back to the U.S.  We hopped on a train to Vienna.  The next morning we hopped on an airplane, and several hours later we landed in Istanbul.

I quickly lost track of which mosque was which (they look remarkably similar), but I believe this was outside the New Mosque.  What caught my eye here was the contrast between the beautiful blue tiles, and the pile of junk.  There's a metaphor for Istanbul lurking there, I suspect.




June 7, 2010

Prague Astronomical Clock, with Segway


June 6, 2010

I'm having trouble picking just one photo for this day, so I'm cheating.  

After some further sightseeing in Berlin, E. and I, her parents, and their friends hopped on a train and headed toward Prague.  June 6 was our first full day of sightseeing there.  Here we are on the funicular on Petrin Hill. 


We had lunch in a local pub, The Hippopotamus.  If if you should ever need to entertain your in-laws in a far-away place, I recommend large pieces of roasted meat.


Everything about the cathedral is beautiful, but this window by Mucha is exquisite.


June 4, 2010

(Continued from May 28, 2010.)

After a quick visit to Bonn, we put my parents-in-law on a train to Mainz, where they joined a guided tour that looped through southern Germany, and then through eastern Germany, culminating in Berlin.  Ah yes, Berlin, where E. and I were camped out.

On June 4 we took them and their biking in Potsdam, which was fairly hilarious given that two of the four couldn't ride bikes.  We rented tandems for the occasion, including this heavy, old oddity.

May 28, 2010

It may help to tell the story if I jump back to the end of May.  My parents-in-law and two of their friends flew into Frankfurt, and then took the train up to Bonn.  On May 28 we took them on a quick tour of must-see destinations in the area: the Aachen and Cologne cathedrals, and Schloss Augustusburg (shown here).


June 3, 2010

We had a brief respite in Berlin post-fellowship, pre-in-laws.  Taking advantage of this lull, E. and I made a point of it to see the recently opened Ritter Sport concept store near Friedrichstrasse.  In case you have been deprived, Ritter Sport is by far the best brand of mass-market German chocolate.  It is a brand we stand behind proudly.  You might also stay it's a brand E. stands under, hoping nothing tips over. 

June 1, 2010

After ten months in Germany for me (twelve for E.) it was finally time to say goodbye.  The Fellows and their spouses gathered for a final shared meal at the Cafe im Literaturhaus in Berlin.  It had been a cold and wet day.  Our hosts had previously scheduled a farewell cruise, and over the course of the day, there was grumbling, and rumblings of bowing out.  Who wanted to venture to the outskirts of Berlin to have dinner on a boat in the rain?  We got lucky though:  The boat company thought we were coming the next day, and the organizers had to come up with a plan B.  Fortunately, plan B was cozy, artsy, and a short five-minute stroll from our hotel.  We had had similar dinners many times before, and we were still in good spirits.  It was hard to believe this was the end.   

Resurfacing

If you follow this blog at all, you'll know that it's been a long while since there has been anything to follow at all.  At last report it was May, E. and I were living in Bonn, and Lena was winning the Eurovision song contest.  Since then--well, I don't want to give away the story, so I'll just say that a lot has happened.  

With this in mind, I am setting myself a new task:to tell the story of the month of June with a photo a day.  There may be a gap here or there, but I think I can pretty much do it.  Here we go.