Last night I met with the lovely folks of Shakespeare and Sons, as well as Max Baille, Harriet Lee, and Rosa Rankin-Gee. Today looks like it will be good fun with lots of readings, music, and cocktails whipped up by Harriet and Rosa. If you happen to be in Berlin, drop by the store around 2 p.m. for the festivities. I will be doing a dramatic reading of Tornado by Carmen Petaccio, Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before by Brandon Getz, and some poems if time permits between 3 p.m and 4 p.m.

I'll have some photos posted on Monday since I left my USB chord in lovely Amsterdam.

Last night was more about personal enjoyment, so I won't bore you with the details, but I do want to share some thoughts and observations of the city in general. (I've spent a day in Berlin now, so you'll have to forgive my generalizations)

• 90 percent of people in Berlin smoke. Lots. They aren't shy about bumming a zigaretten either 
• Beers are wicked cheap
• The Berlin Wall exhibit that runs along the Bernauer Strasse is absolutely harrowing
• The beautifully designed Chapel of Reconciliation that replaced the old church of the same name, destroyed due to its iconic status as symbolof division between East and West Berlin, might be one of the most beautiful churches in Europe (if you like clean minimalism) 
• Eine bier bitte is the easiest German sentence to learn 
• There seems to be a fever for pigtails, at least on the street corners I've sat
• Germans say ciaou for goodbye. I wasn't expecting this 

I'll update you folks about today's events sometime tomorrow!