German Interludes

customs in Berlin

a venomous attitude

is he rude at home?

does he have a family?

has he ever smiled before?

city walking tour

with guide Silke Schlittermann

history unfolds

Topographie des Terrors

timeline of atrocities

don’t get run over

stay aware of where you are

Berlin has bike lanes

car and subway train traffic

street trams and buses fly by

plexiglass in ground

empty bookshelves underneath

remember the fire

“If they’ll burn books, they’ll burn souls”

that’s exactly what they did

quinoa salad

Auf die Hand Feinstes fast food

beet root and edamame

spring mix and small green apple

water to drink with this lunch

black licorice sticks

postcards for all four grandkids

blue Berlin neck scarves

gummy bears and schokolades

Kinder egg with a surprise

swindlers swaggering

Pickpockets people-picking

graffitied buildings

maryjane-berlin dot com

colorful hair and tattoos

white asparagus

in season six weeks in spring

buttery in soup

never seen the light of day

green above ground, white below

Weidendammer Bridge

lovers’ names engraved on locks

fastened to the rails

authorities cut the locks

the love they symbolize lives

-Kim Johnson