Nowhere but here, part 1: Berlin

Thought I'd add some photos of things I've seen and had the sense to take a picture of here, that aren't sights, but are unique to Europe/Germany/whatever city I'm in. Here goes:

This is the Ampelmann traffic signal. You find them scattered throughout Berlin, but most frequently in the former East. See the certainty of his stride? That's how a communist is supposed to walk. I'm not sure if they still remain in other German cities, but after the fall of the wall, when lights began burning out, they were replaced by the "boring" Western crosswalk signs. When the public, attached to the stoplights, complained, the city resumed placing these lights in town. They're now a bit of a novelty........

....as we see with the Ampelmann shop, selling all things touristy and Ampelmann

Toronto had its Moose, well Berlin has these guys. All over. What's he holding up? Your guess is as good as mine.

I didn't time this right with the rotating ad display. Ads are slightly more racy than you'd see in North America. When I first got off the train in Berlin, I saw about 4 women in underwear standing alongside the walkway, and had to do a double take. If only.

Berlin takes pride in its sewage system. Unfortunately, the city is built on a swamp, giving you nice whiffs of swamp gas as you walk around the city. Also, this drives the water table up, necessitating.........

these pipes to pump water out of construction sites as foundations are dug. You find them all over the city.

My favourite place to frequent. Booze, smokes and porn. One stop shopping for all your vices!

Berlin washroom graffiti kicks Canadian "your mom" comments' ass.

I'm sure the old folks hate all the graffiti in town, but I found a lot of it quite cool. This was one I saw near my apartment in Friedrichshain.

German goth-punk teens near the foot of the Fernsehturm. I had to pretend I was taking a picture of the church behind them or risk them starting to cry at me.

Tischtennis. A lot of parks have permanent tables like this outside. I had no idea it was so popular here.

A sea of bicycles outside Potsdam Hauptbahnhof. Germans love their fahrrädern.

.....I think this one goes without explanation. The used merchandise wasn't exactly flying off the shelves.

This store either sold clothing or condoms....I'm not sure.

And leaving the best for last, Mustafa's Gemuse Kebap. If you have never tried Döner Kebap, you need to. If you are currently in North America, don't bother; what you can find there is not the real thing. However, if you are in Berlin, stop by Mustafa's, outside the Mehringdamm U-Bahn station. We were told it was the best in the city and so we went, and we were not disappointed. It's all about the care they put into it. The twist of lemon at the end alone made the experience, let alone the singing while preparing our order.