(10 million cards is such a big number, i confess we still have a little trouble wrapping our heads around it… it feels strange to know that you are, in a way, responsible for all these postcards being purchased, written, stamped and delivered. 10 per minute, or so. yeah.)

we end up thinking about postcards (and postcrossing) all the time. that, and food.

so our friend c. surprised us by baking these cookies for us, a while back. she even did the icing with special sparkling dust!

we were so happy and surprised! aren’t they adorable? our friends know us so well! :D

there’s a discreet and intriguing memorial near the entrance of reichstag, a row of uneven cast iron plaques, with names and dates. no explanation is given for the curious tourists that wander around it.

the memorial was unveiled in 1992, in remembrance of murdered members of the reichstag. in the borders of the 96 plaques are the names of the politicians from the german parliament that were persecuted by national socialists after they gained power in 1933. it is a simple and inconspicuous memorial, but a noteworthy one.

autumn was intense in berlin, perhaps to make up for a lousy rainy summer. the streets turned into immense fields of yellow, leaves smoothing our steps. it was gorgeous.

we had s. & g. visiting just at the peak of autumn, and they took really nice photos of those days. :)

we made these on one of our baking sessions with d., and they are so so so good! before these, i didn’t know i could bake cookies, let alone something this good tasting! the recipe is from orangette and is an absolute winner.

there’s a lot of butter and sugar and heaps of peanut butter in this recipe, and the amount of salt alone might make you raise your eyebrow, but fear not! the salt will intensify the peanut butter taste, and elevate it to memorable awesomeness!

“heavenly”, “paradisiacal” and “orgasmic” were some of the words used around the table to describe these cookies. they didn’t last long, and were subsequently baked in batches and shipped to family members across the country – because something this good deserves to be shared with the people you love. try them! :)

a few weeks ago, we visited the museum of things. it was an intriguing premise…. all museums have things. so which things would the museum of things have?

the answer, we found out, was all kinds of things! :)

well, mostly interesting things, anyway. instead of following a chronological order, they’re grouped by color, shape, material, function… sometimes in contrast, others in tune, with little words or explanation. the patterns are implicit and easily spotted.

there were toys, measuring tools, german things and foreign things, furniture pieces, appliances…

…kitschy things, cutlery and plates and pots and pans…

… useless things, boxes, tins, cans, electrical odds and bits, old telephones, mail items…
… writing tools, signs, cutting tools, postboxes, hangers…

… creams, perfums and powders, jewellery… we even saw a little shrine from our lady of fatima! there are so many things, you’re guaranteed to find something that makes you go woooow! :D

there’s also a model of the frankfurt kitchen, which revolutionised architecture in the 20s by introducing the concept of functional kitchens with standardized dimensions and layout.

the museum is on oranienstraße 25 (top floor) but it has odd opening hours, so make sure to check them out before you go!

it’s cold, wet and dark, and mould is sneaking into a few corners, despite our bleach-infused efforts to tame it. i don’t like to whine about the weather, but i can feel it chilling my bones and damping my enthusiasm… i’m dreaming of warm sunny days, and keeping the image of these blue skies in my head as a way to make it through this cruel january.

more photos from the holga, here.

we live in a middle-eastern neighborhood, a small island of strange accents, shisha bars and small turkish shops. and since their food is cheap and tasty, we like to indulge in it every once in a while. i can say that by now, we’ve tried and learnt more about middle-eastern specialities than we have german ones… so why not write a sort of glossary about them?

first up (cheese will always come first), halloumi!

we quite like halloumi. traditional from cyprus, it’s a cheese made with goat and sheep’s milk. it feels like mozarella, but saltier, and since it is usually fried or grilled, it reminds us a bit of the slovenian fried cheese. all the falafel shops seem to have a variation of the halloumi salad above, usually with some mint in them. yum! :)