A man, a plan, a wheat beer -- Berlin!

Time's march is cruel in less-obvious ways. Consider the delicious anticipation of your vacation. "In 72 hours I will be sipping a Campari on the Rue de Rivoli" -- that sort of thing.

Well, what do you do when the Rue de Rivoli is at your feet? You despair, that's what. Once your vacation has begun, it's like an undertow pulling you out to sea. You've lost control of your trip, and only when the ocean spits you back onto the beach can you go home.

I'm in a 100-year-old apartment building in northeast Berlin. View a low-budget tour below. Tomorrow, Gluck's "Armida" at the Komische Oper, and I better well visit the grocery store, too, before I starve.