There’s more serious, historical stuff to write about, but for now I’m going to spend a bit of time on what we’re spending most of our time on: wandering. Each day we’ve generally had a destination or two, but once we’ve had our time there, we have inevitably found ourselves just setting off in some or another random direction to see what the next block or two holds.

This being Berlin, the result is predictably unpredictable. Two blocks from where we’re staying, choir music summoned us to…a sidewalk runway fashion show? Around the corner from the Disneyfied-but-still-obligatory visit to Checkpoint Charlie is a museum dedicated to the much- (and apparently justly-) maligned Trabant, along with a site where you can apparently rent one to drive around town. Pass.

(Note: this was my first real-life exposure to a fashion show and it was fascinating. God I wish I were an anthropologist or something, so I could have some sort of framework for thinking about the incredible cacophony of social signals and behaviors on display in this utterly alien culture.)

Other turns took us to Bülowstraße, the faces of its buildings anointed with breathtaking street art, and Nollendorfplatz, apparently Berlin’s traditional gay neighborhood in the middle of some sort of Pride fair.

When not on foot, we’ve been indulging in random explorations on the buses. The Berlin public transportation system is frighteningly civilized. Whenever we’ve picked a destination, there has inevitably been a bus stop with a block or two, with a route that will take us within a few minutes walk of where we’re going. And tickets? About $40 gets you a seven day pass on all the buses and trains in the area. Not that in our four days so far there’s been any sign of anyone checking for tickets for anything. A bus pulls up, you step on. When you get to your destination, you push the “Stop” button, thank the driver and step off. Repeat as necessary.

And take a seat, London, the main routes through Berlin are also serviced by those double-decker buses. Climb the stairs and you get a roving front row seat to the city. Last night, just because it was crazy hot out and we had nowhere else to be, we rode the M29 out to where it ends in the suburbs near Grunewald, wandered the woods, and joined the bathers throwing tennis balls for the bevy of free-range pups at the lake.

Honestly, between all this wandering and exploring I am trying to get a bit of work done. There are a stack of software updates and feature enhancements I’m supposed to be reviewing and improving for OpenRVDAS, crafted by my co-conspirators in this increasingly-official project (I’ll have to tell you about that some other time).

And the farm. It’s midsummer on the farm. Aside from everything growing like crazy – which is everyone else’s problem – there are three different major infrastructure projects, no, wait – four – that I’m supposed to be riding, shepherding forward. And this year we have two different kids’ educational programs onsite in my absence. A lot of it, obviously, is beyond my control while I’m 5000 miles away as the Airbus flies. But a lot of it needs little little nudges to keep whatever momentum we’ve managed to generate from dissipating us back to square one.

It’s just so hard to focus on overdue septic system expansion permits when it’s a summer morning here, and just beyond the cobblestones of this sidewalk café lies the entire city of Berlin, promising more surprises just around the next corner.