rowboats, dogs, and pink bar fur

A brief interruption and then we'll return to our regularly scheduled Malaysia posting:

Berlin continues to be a wonderful place to spend a weekend -- this time with my brother, who's spending the semester there. This was not the first time I'd been to Berlin, and also not the first time I'd been to Schleusenkrug, but there's always something new to discover, like the free rowboats at Café am Neuen See, the dog-filled Volkspark Wilmersdorf near Conor's apartment, and two Kreuzberg bars: one with a bunk bed-like perch overlooking the scene, and another with pink fur and glittery angel wings on its wall. This is what I love about Berlin: the attitude of, why the heck shouldn't we put fur on the ceiling? The city feels spread out and a little lonely to me, as an outsider, but it always manages to charm me.