coffee is my lifeblood

Americana and Latte Macchiato at Oxymoron



Grosse Americana mit heisse milch at Impala



Latte Macchiato doppelt at Liebling



Latte macchiato at Baltas

did I mention it was snowing?

frozen Spree

Here is Berlin it is cold and snowy. And freezy, as you can see here.

wall

This is a cross section of one of the lengths of the Berlin Wall that still stands. I was surprised that the Wall wasn't taller and thicker. It takes so little to make division.

ancient beefcake (for PhoebeFay)

This is part of the Pergamon Altar built in the 2nd century before the Common Era. So even way back then, they liked perving at nice bums. This picture should keep you all occupied while I am away in Townsville in Far North Queensland for the next few days.

Some museums keep their star attraction as far from the entrance as possible, so that you pass through many galleries to get there. At the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, I was completely unprepared to walk through the front door immediately into the room which houses the Altar. The force of this astonishing work is such that we were grateful for the stone benches, as our knees were literally (yes, anaglyph, literally) buckling. My companion this day was Barbie, who was enjoying Cissy's Marvelous Berlin-In-Four-Days tour. She had always wanted to see the Ishtar Gate, another piece of the Pergamon's extraordinary loot.

Anemone hupehensis

I found this flower in the grounds of the Kathe Kollwitz Museum in Berlin. I like the work of this artist very much. Her drawings are rather stark & can be overwhelming. They speak of the horrors of war, and in particular its effect on women & children. Her work is full of mothers.


On Unter Den Linden, her sculpture "Mother With Her Dead Son" is enclosed by walls, but open to the sky. Instead of the usual formal pieta with the dead son stretched horizontally across his calmly sad mother's lap, Kollwitz has the grown child enfolded vertically in the bulk of the grieving mother.

Passiflora caerulea

I have been languishing in the Land of Dial-Up (and will continue that sojourn until Monday). In the meantime, let me post this passionflower to celebrate all the May birthday buddies, including me. (I had a very nice time, thanks so much for asking). Happy Birthday also to - Nickemu, Big K, the Gucci Mama, Fynn7, Barbie, Rug Cuz, Tintarella, Schatzi, Nuala Fury, Linz, Kat & Feef-so-far-away.

coloured building

Try this Top Tip: If you live in a concrete building, brighten it up with some funky painted shapes. Superb.

I cycled by the canal

I can't quite remember where I took this photo.

Punica granatum

Today I bought pomegranate juice at the supermarket. It was on special.

Berlin sky

This is part of the roofline of Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin. This 18th century baroque palace was severly damaged by Allied bombing in 1943, but has been restored.