Like this one from a private southern-German railway company. It always attracts to much attention but rumor has it that this train is bringing me back to my small university town. And since I've got attend an university course in international crisis management tomorrow I ought to take it. Too bad I can't take the course online. But enhanced learning methods and learning environments are only slowly coming to German universities.

This one is approaching Berlin. I'd better close the windows.

Does the English language offer a diminutive term for "weather"? This afternoon's climate conditions would have totally deserved it. Thank god I don't have to work in the office today.

.. but wouldn't it be just great if they restarted to clean the tramway tracks? It surprises me to even notice the amount of cigarettes thrown on the tracks. So either the local transport authorities hire more personel so clean the stops or they simply ought to increase the frequency of the trams so people won't have to wait too long making the waiting cigarette unnecessary. I know both scenarios are utopic. ;)

At least with my mum. I remember times when she has been granting me a real bed for when I was staying in Berlin. Now it seems that I no longer have one considering the fact that my current place of rest is inflatable .. not to mention the ever changing consistency which makes the action of getting up in the morning somewhat unpredictable.

Cause I'm about to get some Asian food just next to my parent's place. I know for a fact that it's delicious, but so are Berliner's favorites Currywurst & Kebap which are supposedly rather unhealthy.
 
Ah .. what the heck, I'll just go for it. "Number 38, please." :)

Wow, gerade zum ersten Mal gesehen, dass die Niederflurstraßenbahnen ein Minicockpit am Ende haben. Sie können also quasi rückwärts fahren. (10:13 PM Mar 28th)

Manchmal sind es ja die kleinen Dinge, die einen staunen lassen. So hätte ich eben nicht damit gerechnet, dass der kleine graue Kasten am Ende der Berliner Niederflustraßenbahnen eigentlich so etwas wie ein Cockpit ist. Am S-Bahnhof Marzahn habe ich das jetzt aber herausfinden dürfen. Ich finde das auch eigentlich voll cool. Nur ein bißchen schnell war er unterwegs, vor allem angesichts der Tatsache, dass der Straßenbahnfahrer die Tram im Stehen fährt.

So he did it. And it finally offers some relief one might think. But then again I keep underestimating US media. It's just the beginning of a bigger medial clash. Good for Barack Obama that he already learnt how to counter accusations like not wearing a flag pin hence lacking patriotism or being a secret muslim. The newest thing seems to be the gesture Obama and his wife shared. Not to mention the ridiculous hunt for Clinton and Obama when the two senators had a secret meeting. Sometimes I wonder why I still get upset about the news in America. That's why I love Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report". Both show what nonsense coverage the media landscape produces. Simply compare CNN's US edition with the global one. Notice anything? That's always point when I appreciate the journalistic standard I seem to enjoy here on German public television or our respectably daily and weekly newspapers. Although it saddens me to notice the same decline here, notably with Spiegel Online. It has been my browser's homepage for some years now but I'm actually considering to switch to a different page. But that'd be another story :)

Edit: By the way, why do they care more about the pound than the slap on his wife's back afterwards?

Update: Sorry I had to remove the video of Barack Obama giving Michelle the "pound" because it was deleted on youtube.