Striezelmarkt (Christmas market) in Dresden--photos

 

USA advances in the World Cup

Loved this tweet from Razzle on Twitter with the accompanying photo of Bill Cosby! It pretty much sums up exactly my own understanding (or lack thereof) of the World Cup rules, but hey--the USA team advanced tonight despite their loss to Germany. So they 'won' even though they lost. Go figure. They're a good team so it's fun to cheer them on.

I think I finally understand why I don't watch sports very often or follow my favorite teams--it's way too stressful. I end up screaming at the TV like my father and brother did years ago when they watched football, and like my husband sometimes does when he watches soccer (with him however it's mostly running commentary). The screaming at the TV is not good for the blood pressure!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

This is me still trying to understand the FIFA rules. #USAvsGermany pic.twitter.com/2xb472yf8h

— Razzle (@MyNameisRazzle2) June 26, 2014

Street performers in Berlin

Enjoyed watching these street performers when we were in Berlin recently. Pretty talented guys who drew quite a crowd. A throwback to my days in New York City and San Francisco, where these types of performances, accompanied by urban music, were not uncommon. 

Tiergarten in Berlin

Tiergarten, a large public park in Berlin, is translated as ’animal garden’ because it was originally designed as a hunting area for the king in the 1500s. At present, it is a lovely urban park for the citizens of Berlin, and about the only (visible) animals that frequent the park are rabbits. In fact, there are so many rabbits (and apparently they are so destructive to the flower gardens in the park) that several of the park’s small gardens are closed off with barriers to both the public and the rabbits. When we were walking around in Tiergarten recently, I noticed mounds of earth here and there, and wondered what they were. Now I know. Rabbits are energetic little creatures, God love them, but their activities are destructive to flower and vegetable gardens. I wonder if the barriers do manage to keep the rabbits out. The flower gardens appeared to be in good shape, so perhaps the barriers are working. But for how long?

Tiergarten is well-described on Wikipedia at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fer_Tiergarten, so I won’t include much more in the way of descriptions in this post. I am posting some photos I took in the garden. The day we were there was a hot sweltering summer day, and the sunlight was very strong. The photos have an unusual, almost shimmering look to them—you know it’s summertime when you take a close look at them. But the heat wasn’t unbearable, and it was in fact nice to walk in the shadows of the many trees in the garden. 

Berlin poster ads