I hereby pronounce table tennis as sport of the season! Why? Because…

- Accessibility! (you’ll find a table in close to every park or off side square – even in my yard)
- Everybody can play and look good whether they’ve got talent or not
- There’s no big investment, no membership fee
- You can carry your equipment around 24/7 – always prepared
- You don’t have to be sober to play

Only two rules apply!
- It’s only cool when you play on concrete tables (except if you’re Paul Newman w.b)
- Be aware of “this is our hood, find your own table!” attitude

Game on!

From around Berlin. Source Flickr

Have you ever studied the nameplates at your building? Schwarzburger Pinke-Panke. That’s the name of one of my neighbours. I still wonder if it’s a joke.

So I started taking photos of nameplates at random buildings. Here are a few. I mean, Morgenstern (morning star) is kind of pretty, Kiss is funky but who would like their last name to be Moron?

- talk about a being an easy target in the school yard!

My favorite gaming girl Ana arrives tomorrow. Yeih! Our weekend begins with a bike ride to Plötzensee for picnic and a swim.

Later we’ll head to the Borgman Fussball Cup to watch the Argentina – Germany game as well as Lining, Lodown, Nowadays, Cookies, Borgmann, Grill Royal and more compete at a possibly lower fussball level.

Plötzensee and the sorrounding area wasn’t always as such an idyllic place. During Hitler’s time in power from 1933 to 1945, a total of 2,891 people were executed (hanged or beheaded) at the Plötzensee prison (still in use).

I read that the executioner got 80 D-mark per “head” and a special ration of cigarettes and the two guards who escorted the prisoners to the execution room each received 8 cigarettes per prisoner.

A memorial stands at the Prison today to honor those executed by the Nazis.

Guillotine

The execution room today

The memorial

Mesteno at random
Braten only with Preiselbeeren
Sponge rubber in Asian drinks
Bike-dude came to Kreuzberg
Dancing in no-queues land
South African saints united
The deepest of sleeps
Quality time at lake abandoned
Spree excursion in red & white
Fish food in bed

Spree excursion documentation

According to yesterday’s Berliner Morgenpost the people from Bar 25 have shown interest in the former amusement park, Spreepark, on the outskirts of Berlin.

I say, let’s stay tuned for more information!

- photos from the day I had my first encounter with German authorities.