it's 3:42 a.m., and vince and i are updating our blogs in the lobby. i feel like a zombie after another long day of getting nothing done for my project. today was our last full day of group activities -- fat tire bike tour and lunch by the canal, qi, and an italian dinner just before catching the s-bahn back to the hotel. for the next few days, we'll be let loose to dedicate ourselves to our projects.



the other night, we gathered for a group dinner at the thai restaurant that's just around the corner. franka bruns came and informed us about freelance work, and she also joined us for dinner. in fact, we both ordered the same chicken satay appetizer. when i asked for hoisin sauce for my tofu pho, the waitress gave me a dish of chopped chilis in oil.

afterward, lora and i went to the billiards hall for drinks. kevin met up with us, and we eventually migrated to the cinema next door to the hotel. a bag of crispy m&ms sparked up many conversations, and we ended up being the last ones out as they closed.



we woke up bright and early this morning for the bike tour. we met our guide, blakely, at alexanderplatz and picked out our cruisers. i ended up crashing along the canal, and a few others made some riding blunders throughout the trip. coincidentally, each bike was named, and my bike was named "bruiser."








soviet war memorial through wildflowers in treptower park.

it was a great but exhausting day. there have been so many of those -- one after the other. a lot of us are really excited to finally get our hands on our projects, though. the manager of the lobby is playing kings of leon as i'm typing this, and that's just another reminder of how much i love it here.