42. at 00:00 CET on 1 January 2021, after the end of a transition period, the island of great britain and a substantial part of ireland disappeared from the north sea, replaced by dashed-line boxes around miscellaneous colonial legacy posessions

‪42½. (this is the eu information centre thing in berlin, „erlebnis europa“)‬

43. okay so berlin has a huge russian embassy right. that's nothing so surprising though i didn't realise it would be so big, it's an entire goddamn 300m-wide city block.

anyway the entire street in front or it is cordoned off! all the way to the edge of the pavement!

43½. so now if you want to walk past that side of it you actually have to walk on the adjacent lane of the road passing by it, which is where i took this picture from. incredible.

the street on the other side is still accessible though.

43¾. a lonely german cop stands and guards the cordoned-off public street in front of the russian embassy in berlin. behind him, the embassy stands lifeless. outside the cordon, berlin continues as lively as ever

44. this is not a photo of the brandenburg gate, it's a photo i took of the sky behind it because, as always, the sky captivates me in a way nothing else can

45. there's this little garden, or lawn might be a more fitting word, in front of the american embassy in berlin. it's mostly grass, but there's a ring of flowers around the outside, and in the centre a huge water fountain spraying, like, at least three times a human height

45½. i don't think it's actually part of the embassy, it's just part of the street in front of it. but, seeing it in the bright sunlight for a moment earlier, that bright green lawn, the fountain, the flag in the background, it just felt quintessentially american

‪45¾. truly, is there any sight so american as a lawn?‬

46.

Notausgang
Emergency Exit

(read the alt text)

47. everywhere i go, i see her face (the swedish state)

48. i am outraged… it cannot be accepted that the flag of germany is defaced by the addition of symbols of this illegitimate „republic“, this is secessionist and a further obstacle to reunification

49. here we find a sacred german shrine: the DB cube. travellers come from far and wide to make offerings to it, in the hope the cube will bestow upon them its favour, and bless their travels on the DB Netz. those who disrespect it are believed to be punished with “fallings out”

49½. what elevates this seemingly humble shrine to such great status? the answer is hard to see in the image, but inescapable in real life: the great DB tower in the distance overlooks this tiny DB shrine. one dare not disrespect the gods when they can see you do it