it’s an advertising for the 60 year anniversary of compal, a very well known portuguese juice brand. the ad is about the concept of fruitology, which they explain is the science, art and ideology of making fruit. it’s all to do with knowing your fruits inside-out, and experimenting with them. for some reason, i find the whole thing quite touching, and i get goosebumps every time i hear it!

after we saw this ad, we discovered a bunch of making of videos, which are delightful as well – particularly the second one, with the portuguese lady teaching the maori man how to sing her lines! :D

so when i found out about loxx through uberlin, i was blown away by the idea. i mean, i knew for some people this is a serious hobby, but doing a whole city? was that possible?

it turns out, not only it is possible, it is also super awesome, and one of the coolest things we’ve seen in berlin so far!

there are moving trains of course, all kinds of them, from s-bahns to the ice – but also trucks and buses that move around the city and magically stop at the traffic lights. there are miniature versions of the brandenburg tor, the tv tower or the reichstag, where you can see and listen to jfk doing his famous “ich bin ein berliner” speech. there’s even an airport – yes, with planes lifting off and landing!


my favourite part was really all the small details. it seems like everywhere you look, there’s something to be discovered, little events and scenes being enacted. we went around it pulling on each others sleeves, excitedly pointing out every scene we’d discovered. i believe you could spend the whole day doing that and still leave with lots you didn’t notice…

and every once in a while, the lighting chances and you can see the city during twilight and night time.

i don’t have words to describe it. it’s just magic. go see for yourself! :)

last year, the boy decided he would pick up running again. he set a goal of 500km for the year, which he completed, and also ran the 30km path of remembrance (above) around ljubljana for his birthday. this year he decided to up the ante and run a total of 1000km plus real races, like he used to do in high school. he ran the 10km race on the brand new brandenburg airport (now late on its opening), and two weeks after that, he ran the half-marathon from the olympia stadium, finishing it in 42th place (out of 600 participants).

he’s still quite good at it, and i’m bursting at the seams with pride. :)

i persevere because there’s a sort of magic in languages, like a key to the country’s culture and modus operandi. i’m also fascinated by the unexpected and delightful words – like glühbirne (glowing pear = light-bulb) or bauchredner (belly speaker = ventriloquist).

sometimes i wonder – will this be the last language i learn? i find it a sad prospect… but at the same time, language learning is so time consuming, and i don’t see the point of doing it if you’re going to do a half-assed job. what’s the purpose of speaking just a little bit of anything? either you do, or you don’t. still, at each new language, the previous ones get dimmed, put aside… not forgotten but just lulled into a silent corner, their words mingling with the new ones. which reminds me, i really should dust off my mandarin books someday…

i’ve been keeping in mind these mementoes from last year, frequently returning to them. so looking forward to many warm sunny sundays in mauerpark’s grass, reading and listening to the karaoke, or just watching the people walk by…

butter toast

octopus rice

cookies cake

pork à la alentejana

pork steaks with ‘shrooms

chocolate salami

palmier

mom’s marmelade

mom’s tomato jam

sweet bean tartelet

pão d’ul

P.’s mom meatballs

pumpkin’s smoked sausage

galão

punched potatoes

limiano cheese

natas

broa de mel

berlin ball (the real ones!)

codfish burger with açorda

burger with potatoes

fancy french pastry

another french pastry

strawberry-profiterole pie

grelos (broccoli rabe)

butter croissant

cheese/ham toast

croissants

butter toast

jesuíta

chocolate croissant

salmon with chestnuts

another berlin ball

pastel de nata

alheiras

meia de leite

my stomach is grumbling already!

when i make these lists, i get the feeling people might think we only eat crap… well, it isn’t true. what you see here is a glimpse, a condensed version of the more interesting things me and P eat. the other stuff, the plain omelettes, soups and other very mundane dishes are not that interesting, and are therefore omitted. believe it or not, all in all, we eat quite decently. :)

I’ve searched the holy books and I’ve dogeared every page
I’ve stolen secrets from the sorcerer’s own sage
Although a connoisseur of fine legerdemain
I’ve just one word for you…

…extraordinary.*

after raising me and my brother, my nanny had grandkids: two boys, who were not exactly easy children – they were rowdy, loud, often getting themselves into trouble. i remember once, one of them broke his head while horsing around, and my mom took him to the hospital. when he returned home, fresh stitches on his forehead, his first concern was to show his wrist to everyone in the street. on it, my mother had drawn a big watch.

after that, i’ve seen her pull this trick on unsuspecting children a few times. if they’re crying or fidgety, she’ll quietly ask them the time, and whether they have a watch? when they say no, she pulls a pen from her pocket and proceeds to draw them one on their wrist. it’s always a big success, and the child will go off, big-eyed and proud, pain already forgotten.

she is extraordinary.

* song by jill tracy.

grandpa died today, after a long, painful battle. he was a good man, a man of the land. i hope he’s in peace now, and that wherever he is, there are plenty of grapevines to prune and vegetables to plant. i know he’d be happy there.