Seeing:

* Angela Merkel, wearing a gorgeous shade of purple!  My fellow fellows and I were given the opportunity to have our photo taken with her in the Bundeskanzleramt on Wednesday. She was so much warmer and charismatic and graceful in person than she appears to be on television or in photos, or maybe I just tend to have crushes on female heads of state.  Either way, it was definitely the highlight of my year so far.  I’ll be sharing an unauthorized scan of the official photo just as soon as I can.
* my Berlin hotel room with a shower stall stuck right next to the bed.

Hearing:

* Christoph Heusgen, Merkel’s foreign policy and security advisor, defending Germany’s decision to send troops to Afghanistan.
* the voices of all my fellow fellows in Berlin during our last official get together of the year.

Tasting:

* lots of Riesling at all the fellowship events this week.

Feeling:

* like I am only in the middle of my research, so how can my fellowship program already be coming to a close?  Thankfully, I have an extension for a few more months, but it feels strange to be saying goodbye already to some of the others who are leaving on time.
* sticky in this humid weather in a country with an aversion to air conditioning.

Smelling:

I have such a hard time coming up with weekly smells, my nose must not be sensitive enough!