berlin in colour

It has been a busy spring here. But we have been trying to find time to keep up with some photography.

In fact, we added some difficulty to the process by shooting and developing colour in the last few weeks. Some of the photos we have gotten have made it worth it, but it is quite challenging to develop colour and you’ll notice a lot of mysterious residues and scratches on the film.

I try to tell myself it is a part of the charm. That the aberrations are somehow the point.

I started German classes a few weeks ago and have found the additional workload to be a bit overwhelming. My placement test put me in a high A2 but I do not feel like I was quite ready to jump in that deep. I haven’t studied German in a classroom in 15 years. It’s strange to be a clueless student again – I don’t love it. But German is becoming a bit less impenetrable as I apply myself more.

Mack learns a new word every day now. I wonder how many German words he knows. He spends six or seven hours a day in kita where they mostly speak German.

I have also shifted into presenting my work this spring. I spoke at a conference last week, and have a seminar at the freie universität at the end of the month. In July I will present again at a big conference in Edinburgh. It feels good to have intellectual output again.

The weather here has been lovely. Last weekend – a long weekend – we got three days in a row of mid-20s and sun. It’s nice to live somewhere with a real spring and was also great to get an early taste of summer.

Speaking of summer – we have booked our travel home. It will be a nice long stay, from July 23-September 10. We might still need to find a place to stay for a part of that time if our tenant can’t find her own sublet for the entire duration.

Berlin is such a big city, there are so many discrete areas, vibes, possibilities for how to spend your days. We have been biking around to different parks and play areas in the evenings, eating currywurst and döner, and hanging out with the gaggle of kids in the hof. I’m excited to keep exploring, and also enjoy slowly establishing our regular spots and routines.

I leave you now with an adorable little baby butt.